You might think the next two words of the title would be “to tango” – and given how bitterly divided society and politics have become, that would make a lot of sense.  And indeed I intend to address that in a future post but, as promised in the previous post, this one is about love.

The “two” refers to the fact that true love involves two actions.  Dual action required.

The vast majority of people think of love in terms of “lovey-dovey”, fondness, warmth.  And that’s certainly an important aspect and one side of the coin of true, biblical love, but did you know that the Bible actually puts the other side of the coin first when discussing this?

• “Let love be without hypocrisy.  ABHOR what is EVIL; cling to what is good.” (Romans 12:9)

Hmm, very interesting.

First, it states that true love, pure love, is by definition without hypocrisy (which is what makes it true and pure) so that should be our goal, our pursuit.

Second, it reveals that true love STARTS WITH HATRED.  Specifically, hatred of that which is evil and wicked and wrong, anything which goes against, which isn’t in line with the Bible, with the nature of God as clearly revealed therein.  That includes hatred of sin and self (the flesh, i.e., one’s self but NOT oneself, more on this in a future post).  Hatred of the devil and his minions.  Hatred of falsehood, hating untruth of any kind which appears in any way, shape, or form.

Let’s look at just two great examples from the mouth of the Lord Jesus Himself and from the Spirit-propelled pen of the preeminent Apostles Paul and Peter:

• “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea.  Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks!  For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!” (Matthew 18:6-7; see also 23:13-35)  [I love the multiple exclamation points used by our Lord, demonstrating such beautiful emotion and highlighting the utter importance of this grave warning against and to would-be stumbling blocks.  I also love the divine redundancy for the purpose of emphasis:  He didn’t just say a “millstone” around the neck, as sufficient and picturesque and graphic as that would’ve been; no, He said a “heavy millstone” to make the warning as utterly extreme as possible, highlighting to the max its importance.]
• “As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed.  ” (Galatians 1:9)
• “But for those who disbelieve, ‘The stone which the builders rejected, this became the very corner stone,’ and, ‘A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense’; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word [Bible], and to this doom they were also appointed. … those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. … having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousals, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.  And in all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excess of dissipation, and they malign you; but they shall give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. … But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong.  They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime.  They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you, having eyes full of adultery and that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children [the exact same word Paul used in Galatians 1:9] … These are springs without water, and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved [more divine redundancy for the purpose of emphasis:  not just darkness but black darkness].  For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.  For if after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.  For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment delivered to them.  It has happened to them according to the true proverb, ‘A dog returns to its own vomit,’ and, ‘A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.'” … Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming?  For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.’  For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.  But the present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.” (1 Peter 2:7-8; 3:16; 4:3-5; 2 Peter 2:12-14, 17-22; 3:3-7)

[I love everything about the Bible (which is why I’m dedicating the rest of my life, literally, to memorizing, to ingesting every word of it, every word of the Word) including the fact that it never “pulls any punches” – ever.  The passages echoed above are an excellent and effervescent example of that.  It always just “tells it like it is” and simply sets forth the truth and “lets the chips fall where they may” to put it in current-day vernacular.  I love that!]

Ergo, as exemplified so superbly by Peter and Paul and our Lord Jesus Himself, if we are to know and possess and demonstrate true  love we must first HATE – that which is evil and wicked and wrong and unbiblical.

As a brief side note, this is a perfect parallel with salvation itself in that just as it’s impossible to genuinely put one’s faith in Christ to save one from his sins UNLESS one first  admits his sin, sins, sinning, sinfulness, i.e., we must first admit our NEED for salvation, right?  Right.  This brings back beautiful memories from my childhood, when I first learned the gospel and how to share it with others in a super simple, straightforward way, the “ABC’s of salvation”:  Admit, Believe, Confess, remember that?

Just as A comes before B, just as admitting comes before believing, so also when it comes to true love, hating evil comes before truly being able to embrace good.

The latter seems to come much more easily, but if we want to develop a sense of true, biblical love in our lives, we cannot skip over or bypass the former.

Society attaches such a stigma to hatred and anger, doesn’t it.  But, as is so often the case, what society, what the world puts down, the Bible often lifts up.  What the world frowns upon, the Bible smiles at – ear to ear.

It’s absolutely crucial to understand that the Bible is very much against too much anger or displaced hatred, but I find that the world often tries to boil an issue down to just “A” or “B”, to make it a binary choice, when in fact the right answer is usually “C”!  The right answer is invariably somewhere between the two proffered extremes.  And so it is in this case:  it’s not about whether one should be angry but rather how much and when; it’s not about whether one should hate, but rather the object thereof.  Perhaps the best example of this is found in Ephesians 4:26-27 – “BE ANGRY, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.”

Anger must never be allowed to grow too much or last too long – think of it as best done in “small doses” – but is otherwise a crucial component of Christian living.  Indeed, did not Christ Himself demonstrate this too for us?

• “And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.  And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.” (John 2:14-15)

Yes, controlled and properly-directed anger and hatred must come first if one’s love is to be biblical, but likewise it must be followed by that second side of the coin in Romans 12:9, we must take the next step and “cling to what is good.”

I don’t think this needs much explanation or elaboration at all, but I’ll just note that the Greek word translated “cling” here is literally the word for “glue” – isn’t that interesting?  We’re called to GLUE OURSELVES to that which is good as set forth in the Bible.

So from now on, whenever you think of love – true love, biblical love, lasting and sustainable love – don’t forget that it takes two!  So let’s no longer ignore, let’s start exercising the muscles of righteous and controlled anger and hatred of all that is wrong and wicked and evil and ungodly and unbiblical and unjust – in “small but regular doses” – so that we can attain to and possess and gloriously give to God a love which is indeed “without hypocrisy” – He is due nothing less.
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