Why the Sins God Hates Most Aren’t the Ones We Talk About
In the book of Proverbs, there is a startling statement: “The Lord hates six things; in fact, seven are detestable to him.”
One of my personal disciplines is to read a line from Proverbs every day (or dangerously close to every day). As I read that Proverb a few mornings ago, I was struck anew by not only the strength of that statement, “The Lord hates,” but also the specificity that followed.
The Lord hates six things;
in fact, seven are detestable to him:
arrogant eyes, a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that plots wicked schemes,
feet eager to run to evil,
a lying witness who gives false testimony,
and one who stirs up trouble among brothers.
(Proverbs 6:16-19, CSB)
Does anything strike you about that list? As in, what wasn’t mentioned? It is often observed that there are two “groups” of sins, those of the flesh and those of the spirit. Sins of the flesh include such things as gluttony and lust. Sins of the spirit include… well, the seven things God says He hates.
It’s not that sins of the flesh don’t matter or aren’t sins – they do, and they are – it’s just that the sins of the spirit strike a deep chord in the emotions of God. Perhaps because the sins of the flesh are the ones we elevate, while the sins of the spirit are the ones we embrace. Or, as Dorothy Sayers once wrote, in our day, someone
... may be greedy and selfish; spiteful, cruel, jealous, and unjust; violent and brutal; grasping, unscrupulous, and a liar; stubborn and arrogant; stupid, morose, and dead to every noble instinct—and still we are ready to say of him that he is not an immoral man.
But he is.
Another reason (and I would argue the paramount one) why sins of the spirit offend God so deeply is that they so deeply disrupt and disavow the community God has established for His people and, as a result, disavow God.
In the Gospel of John, we have the poignant final words and prayers of Jesus regarding His present and future disciples before He went to the cross. Captured between John 13 and John 17, Jesus pours out His heart. It is considered by many to be among the most moving sections of the New Testament.
What occupied Jesus the moments before His atoning death for the sins of the world?
Not surprisingly, He was concerned that the world would recognize His gift. And how would that happen? Christ’s torrent of prayer and pleading begins and ends with a passionate call for unity among those who did and would claim His name. The observable love between those who called themselves His followers was seen by Jesus to be everything.
Why?
Jesus said it would be this unity, and this unity alone, that would arrest the world’s attention in such a way as to confirm that He is from the Father.
We often marvel at the growth of the early Church, the explosion of faith in Christ in such numbers and speed that in only a blink of history, the Roman Empire had officially turned from paganism to Christianity. We look for formulas and programs, services and processes, strategies and techniques. The simpler truth is that they first shared the gospel like it was gossip over the backyard fence. But what did they subsequently observe in the communal life of the messenger who shared that gossip? As Tertullian notes, the awed pagan reaction to the Christian communal life was, “See how they love one another.”
As is often pointed out, when the Bible speaks about such loving unity, it doesn’t mean uniformity, which is everyone looking and thinking alike. The biblical idea of unity is also not to be confused with unanimity, which is complete agreement about every petty issue across the board—though within individual churches there should be unity of purpose and an agreement on the major issues related to doctrine and mission. By unity the Bible means first and foremost a oneness of heart—a relational unity. Being kind to one another, gracious to one another, forgiving of one another. It is not about assuming the worst, shooting the wounded, or being quick to be suspicious. Biblical unity is about working through conflicts, avoiding slander and gossip, and being generous in spirit. It is giving each other the benefit of the doubt, distributing ample doses of grace in the midst of our sin and imperfection, and demonstrating fierce loyalty.
As Francis Schaeffer pointed out, such love is the mark of the Christian. Not just a feeling of love nor an acknowledgment of love, but rather a demonstration of love. And it is not simply decisive to our faith, but also to our witness. As Schaeffer observes, drawing from the biblical witness:
Jesus is giving a right to the world. Upon His authority, He gives the world the right to judge whether you and I are born-again Christians on the basis of our observable love toward all Christians.
That’s pretty frightening. Jesus turns to the world and says, “I’ve something to say to you. On the basis of my authority, I give you a right: you may judge whether or not an individual is a Christian on the basis of the love he shows to all Christians.”
Schaeffer was right when he maintained that the world cares little for doctrine. One thing and one thing only, Schaeffer asserts, will confirm the truth of a message to a world that has disavowed the very idea of truth: “the love that true Christians show for each other and not just for their own party.” This is, Schaeffer concludes, the final apologetic. Unloving attitudes and words cause a “stench that the world can smell…. Our sharp tongues, the lack of love between us… these are what properly trouble the world.”
Maybe it’s time we remember what God says He hates and why.
James Emery White
Sources
Dorothy Sayers, “The Other Six Deadly Sins,” in The Whimsical Christian.
Francis Schaeffer, The Mark of a Christian.
Photo Courtesy: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/ra2studio
Published Date: February 10, 2025
James Emery White is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, NC, and a former professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also served as their fourth president. His latest book, Hybrid Church: Rethinking the Church for a Post-Christian Digital Age, is now available on Amazon or from your favorite bookseller. To enjoy a free subscription to the Church & Culture blog, visit churchandculture.org where you can view past blogs in our archive, read the latest church and culture news from around the world, and listen to the Church & Culture Podcast. Follow Dr. White on X, Facebook, and Instagram at @JamesEmeryWhite.
Originally published February 10, 2025.
