Does God Hate Some People? Yes, Check It Out

Summary:  Does God love every person and everything? No! In fact, Scripture reveals a number of things and people that God hates! You may be among those who are surprised to discover from Scripture that God does hate some people.


Proverbs 6:16-19  There are six things the LORD HATES, seven that are DETESTABLE to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

•• Listed here are seven things God hates, that He detests.

• Many mistakenly conclude that God is love only. But this Scripture tells us that there are things — even people! — that God hates.
• Let’s examine ourselves to see if we’re doing any of the things that are hated by God.

1) “HAUGHTY EYES”, KJV: “a PROUD look” —

Proverbs 11:2  When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

Proverbs 16:18  Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

•• Shortened by many to “Pride goes before a fall.”

• A pastor who fell into adultery once told me: “I thought I was doing a good enough job that God would overlook it.” Pride before a fall!
• Another minister was heard to say not long before he fell into sin and disgrace: “This is the most anointed ministry on the face of the earth today.” Pride before a fall!
• A young man said to a pastor friend of mine, “I’m having trouble with pride.” My friend succinctly and wisely replied, “Why? What do you have to be proud about?”
•• The fast track to a fall? — Pride

• Contrast Jesus’ teaching in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3).
• God hates pride. In a broader sense, as these verses clearly show, God hates sin.

2) “A LYING TONGUE” —

Revelation 21:8  …and all liars — their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.

•• God hates all liars.

• Psalms 5:5b-6a  …you hate all who do wrong. [6] You destroy those who tell lies.
• Parents, teach your children always to speak truth.
• Jesus: “I am… the Truth…”
• Good relationships cannot be built without honesty.
• Decent societies cannot survive on a foundation of falsehood and lies.
•• God hates a lying tongue.

3) “Hands that shed INNOCENT BLOOD” —

Joel 3:19  But Egypt will be desolate, Edom a desert waste, because of violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood.

•• God hates the shedding of innocent blood.

• That is one of the reasons God judged Egypt.
• Imagine the blood guilt of abortion doctors!
• Imagine the blood guilt of the judges and politicians who allow the shedding of the blood of innocent, unborn babies!
• Psalm 11:5 confirms that it is not just the act of violence that God hates, but the person doing the violence: “The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, he hates with a passion.” I would not want the Lord to hate me with a passion!

4) “A HEART that DEVISES WICKED SCHEMES” —

Jeremiah 17:9, KJV  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

•• Jesus gave a list of sins (here’s another Bible list of sins) and He said that they proceed “out of the heart” (Matthew 15:19).
•• Proverbs 4:23, KJV  Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. [NIV:  “Guard your heart…”]
•• God hates the heart given over to wicked schemes. Taking that a step further, we can see in Scripture that God can even be found to hate people who are commited to unrepentant wickedness. For example, Hosea 9:15 (NASB) says of idolatrous Israel: “All their evil is at Gilgal; indeed, I came to hate them there! Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of My house! I will love them no more.”

5) “Feet that are QUICK to rush INTO EVIL” —

•• Quote #4 above, about the heart’s tendency to wickedness, has already brought up evil.
•• The hated conduct here is the quickness to rush into evil.

Titus 2:6  Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled.
•• Self-control is the antidote to quickly falling into temptation.

• For example, (Proverbs 29:11) “A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.”
•• God hates a swiftness to rush into evil.

6) “A FALSE WITNESS who pours out LIES” —

•• “False witness” — violates one of the Ten Commandments.

• We saw earlier the broader truth that God hates liars. Here we are specifically reminded that God hates people who lie about other people. You might be asking, “Hmm, does God hate me?” To that I would reply by quoting the verse: Are you “a false witness who pours out lies”?
• God hates people who do harm and disservice to His system of justice.
• I was once selected for jury duty in a trial in which the accused had allegedly been drinking alcohol. In the questioning of us potential jurors, integrity required that I had to speak up about my beliefs and my preaching against alcohol. I was admittedly not impartial from the outset, and the judge rightly dismissed me from the jury selection.
•• God hates a false witness.

• Notice that this is a PERSON that God hates! I’ve heard Christians say that God hates no one. That sounds noble, but it is anti-Scriptural. Here it is clearly said that “…the Lord hates … a false witness.” So in answer to the question “Does God hate anyone?” … Yes! He hates a false witness.
• See #7 below for another type of person the Lord hates.

7) “A man who STIRS UP DISSENSION among BROTHERS” —

Titus 3:10  Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him.

•• Another PERSON that God hates!

• A pastor friend of mine was once counseling a very divisive person. The pastor concluded with the startling statement, “…and besides that, GOD HATES YOU.”
• I imagine that the man he was counseling was shocked. No one would be surprised if he had replied angrily, “Well, you just tell me, why does God hate me?” The Bible clearly answers that — “…the Lord hates … a man who stirs up dissension among brothers,” and he was just such a divisive man.
• “…a man…” — that is a person that God hates. Again, perhaps it might cross your mind, “Is it possible that God hates me?” And again, the answer is in the verse: Are you “a man who stirs up dissension among brothers”?
•• What is a fast track to incurring God’s hatred? — be a talebearer, a gossip, a person who sows seeds of discord.

• Contrast the Beatitude: “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9).

In summary: There are seven things or persons that God hates, according to Proverbs 6:16-19:

• Haughty eyes
• A lying tongue
• Hands that shed innocent blood
• A heart that devises wicked schemes
• Feet that are quick to rush into evil
• A false witness who pours out lies
• A man who stirs up dissension among brothers

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Check out our related sermon: Do All Liars Go to Hell?

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©2004, 2018, James H. Feeney.
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