7 Things God Hates

A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. The Lord will bless to us the reading from his word. Proverbs is one of five Hebrew poetry books in our Bible.

They're all didactic, they're all given for instruction, or if you like, for direction, as we have been hearing. So if, for example, you want to know what kind of wife to choose, or how to raise kids, how to escape temptation, how to live right, how to avoid wrong, the answers are in Proverbs. So I commend it to you for your reading.

We've read of seven things that God hates. You'll notice the structure in which it is set. There are six plus one.

There are six things that the Lord doth hate, yea, seven are an abomination unto him. Now I've reflected on these and saw them as a contrast to the first seven of the Beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5. It's like the Beatitudes turned inside out. Now not one of these seven was found in the devoted Christ.

He is the antidote to all seven. None of these should be found either in his people. So that's basically the line that we want to take in the next few minutes.

So let's come then, without further ado, to the first one. What does God hate? He hates a proud look, a proud look. Now, if you want to know what, if you're wondering what is a proud look, we could perhaps put it as simply as ABC.

It is an arrogant appearance. It is a boastful bearing. It is a cocky countenance, if you will.

Now pride was the sin of Satan, Lucifer, the son of the morning. I will be like the most high. And the Lord Jesus said, I saw him fall like lightning from heaven.

James reminds us that God opposes or resists the proud. And pride is a treacherous thing, isn't it? It's in each one of us, to some measure or other. There's not one of us is exempt from it.

Now, a proud look projects the self-promoting importance of an individual seeking his own greatness here and now. So this man with a proud look, he's so full of himself, we might say he's like a walking personal pronoun. Me, I, mine, and so on, a walking personal pronoun.

But this was never found in the Lord Jesus. He taught us in Matthew chapter 5, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. That is, the children of the kingdom are conscious of their own inherent spiritual need, and they look to the Lord to meet it.

Pride was never found in him. You remember he could say, learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, Matthew 11. And as God looked upon the devotion of Christ, he saw one who ever moved in unblemished humility before him.

And this is what God loves, the ornament of a meek and a quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price, 1 Peter chapter 3. So we learn that God hates a proud look. And secondly, God hates a lying tongue, a lying tongue. And again, Satan is the great deceiver.

And again, this is something that should never be found in a child of God. Is it possible for Christians to tell lies? We remind our hearts that it was present in the early church, sadly. You remember on occasion, the brethren in Jerusalem and the apostles, they had to write to the saints in Antioch.

And in Acts 15.24, we read, for as much as we have heard that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying you must be circumcised and keep the law, to whom we gave no such commandment. So here were individuals that set out from Jerusalem, they went to Antioch, they were posturing as though they were advancing the work of God, all in an attempt to control Gentile believers, legalists, going beyond the word of God for this dispensation. They were prepared to use a little bit of falsehood to fill in, to advance their agenda, to suit their own ends.

And it was found in the church then. And it's a reminder to our hearts, we must never go beyond the word of God. It is deceitful.

But the Lord Jesus never told a lie. You remember that he could say, the words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me. The words that I speak unto you, he said, they are spirit and they are life.

He was the very personification of truth. God hates a lying tongue. We live in a world of falsehood, don't we? In fact, I noted that last year, I may have mentioned this before, but the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary, every year they choose a word for the year.

Last year, it was post-truth to describe the world in which we live. We live in a post-truth world, a world that is full of falsehood. And as a believer moves through, we're often grieved in our spirits.

We often mourn the fact that the world is so full of falsity. The Lord Jesus taught, blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. But if you and I are to be credible, effective witnesses for God, we must put away all lying from our lips.

And speak every man truth with his neighbor. The psalmist prayed, deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, because God hates a lying tongue. I'm on to a third thing now.

God hates hands that shed innocent blood, heartless cruelty. Again, is this possible to be found among believers? You would hope not. But you remember that in 1 John, the apostle, the spirit of God, saw fit to instruct us to love one another, not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother.

Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer. And ye know that no murderer, ye know intuitively that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. So let me ask you a question.

Do you hate anyone? It is possible for a believer to hate. The Bible equates hatred with murderous intent, that wanting to be top dog, putting the other down. And says our verse, that's an abomination to God.

The next verse there in 1 John 5, or 1 John 3, sorry, goes like this. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. The Lord Jesus was never marked by heartless cruelty.

Out of love, he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. That's true Christianity.

He was never marked by hatred. Even though he came on to his own things, and his own people, they refused him, they received him not. He never retaliated.

He never acted in his own self-interest in that regard. Meekness always marked him. He never asserted his rights.

You remember the occasion when there was the temple tax that was due. And he directed Peter to go down to the lake with a line and a hook, and cast it in, and to bring up that fish, and there was a piece of money in its mouth, the equivalent of a shekel, that's two half shekels. That was enough temple tax for both Peter and the Lord.

Though it was his father's house, he had the right not to pay. But in meekness he did not assert his rights. And then he taught us, Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

We do well not to advance our own rights, particularly if it infringes upon others. God hates heartless cruelty, but meekness will be rewarded with blessedness. I'm on a fourth thing now.

Verse 18, God hates a heart that devises wicked imaginations. Or we could just call that wicked planning, scheming. You'll notice that it's the heart that is the source.

So here's a person that's brooding over this situation. And as a result, the level of anger, as it were, has just reached maximum critical point, critical mass, and it's about to explode, and so they are eager, they're hungry to take someone down. That's the idea.

A heart that devises wicked imaginations. Whatever it takes, I'll bring that person down. And those kind of thoughts then are seen in the behavior that it produces.

And things occur that are just not right. Just not right. Sadly, this can happen among believers.

But it was never found in the Lord Jesus. He ever went about doing good, healing all that were oppressed of the devil. For God was with him.

He ever did good. Dorcas, you remember that dear sister in Acts chapter 9? She was full of good works. And Paul instructed the Galatians, he said, As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them that are of the household of faith.

So we should ever make it our business to be doing good unto others, to be a help to them. That's after the character of the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not merely to score points, by the way.

Not for our own personal advantage. That would still fall into the bracket of scheming, wouldn't it? God hates a heart that is marked by wicked planning. But then the Lord Jesus, he taught us, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.

So instead of being hungry or eager to bring someone down and do something that's not right, better to be marked by this, hungering, thirsting after righteousness. There's a blessedness associated with that. For they shall be filled.

And fifthly, there are feet that are swift in running to mischief. Now here's that thought again of being eager, eager in hurt. That's the thought with mischief.

To hurt, to trouble someone. Not just the fact that the feet here are running to do mischief, but they actually are running impulsively, impulsively to hurt or to cause trouble. Sadly, it is part of human nature.

There are some dear folks and they just can't help but get into trouble. And wherever there's trouble, they'll be found right in the middle of it all. Always in the thick of it.

God hates that kind of eagerness. Feet that are swift. He hates it.

Again, that is after the character of the devil himself. He goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He's eager to bring the hurt.

The Lord Jesus never did that. The Lord Jesus did not have those kind of feet, did he? Rather, we read how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace. His were feet that brought good tidings to men, that published peace to men, that brought mercy to men, that deserved wrath from God.

And so you and I too, we should be eager to show mercy rather than to be impulsive in running after this thing to bring hurt or trouble to individuals. So the Lord Jesus taught us again, blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. And there's a blessing associated with this kind of behavior found in the children of God, to bring mercy to people.

Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of thy love. Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for thee. Taking on a little of his character, the person of our Lord Jesus, God hates eagerness to hurt, but blessed are the merciful.

Now quickly, watching that time, I want to come to the sixth one. A false witness that speaketh lies. Verse 19.

A false witness that speaketh lies. This is clearly framing deceit. And again, it's with the intent to hurt.

It's a false witness. Bearing fake news. We live in a world of fake news.

Not something that's communicated necessarily with the use of malicious words. It could also be as dangerous as the results of innuendo. Just a suggestion.

Just the way you bat your eyelids. A nod. A wink.

Just to destroy someone in their reputation. God hates this kind of slander. God hates whatever kind of falsehood we may communicate, even innuendo.

God hates it. I find that very searching. But the Lord Jesus, He never spoke a wrong word.

Never once. Never did He make an accusation or slander anyone or make any kind of innuendo that would be to someone's hurt. All His words were truth.

He always acted sincerely. He was marked by absolute truth. And so He taught us to be pure in our words, in our communications, to be marked by purity.

For blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Our lips should always be marked by purity. You remember, again, Paul instructed the Ephesians, he said, let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good for the use of edifying, that they may minister grace to the hearers.

That's what we want to be about, brothers and sisters, isn't it? And again, that was found perfectly in the devotion of Christ. May we be marked by that as well, because God hates a false witness that speaketh lies. We come to the seventh.

And it would seem that the Spirit of God is perhaps highlighting this one to be at the top of the list. There are six things that God hates, yea, seven, that are an abomination unto Him. He that soweth discord among brethren, bringing in division, bringing in strife, and that would be the end result, perhaps, of any of the above, any of the previous six.

So on furnace in our hearts, on furnace, hard thoughts, malicious words or behavior, on truths being communicated, will likely result in a spirit of division and strife. And that's like a cancer, that spreads. That's a pernicious spirit.

And God hates it. God hates it. He that soweth discord among brethren.

And again, it's lovely to notice that the Lord Jesus never did that. He never did that. He only had goodwill in His heart, and He prayed for us as His people, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world might know that Thou hast sent me and hast loved them as Thou hast loved me.

The world knows if we love one another, but sadly the world knows if we're divided too. I was talking to a man recently, and he reminded me of an event that took place almost a quarter of a century ago. The world hadn't forgotten the division that came in amongst the people of God.

God hates it. We should be marked rather by oneness in Christ. And so as we think of these things, all of these need to be put far from us.

God hates sin of every shape and of every form. So let us be done, brothers and sisters, if this conference has any impact upon our souls, let us be done with all that grieves Him. And let us ever seek to walk and to live a life that brings pleasure to Him, that is directed by Him, that is devoted to Him, that is free from defilement, that will glorify His name.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. Let us never be guilty of sowing strife among brethren. But rather, as Paul wrote to the Ephesians again, in chapter 4 again, he said this, let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice, and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

These things God hates, six of them. Yea, seven are an abomination unto Him, a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. May we never be guilty of it.

May we rather emulate the person of our Lord Jesus and be Christlike in all our behavior and into reactions one with another.