If Your Truth Makes You Hate People, Something Is Wrong

There is something deeply wrong when our beliefs cause us to look at another person and hope they are destroyed.

It does not matter how wrong we believe they are.

It does not matter how sinful their lifestyle may be.

It does not matter how badly they have treated us.

It does not even matter if they openly oppose everything we believe.

If our response is hatred—if somewhere inside us we actually want to see them condemned—then we need to examine what is happening in our own hearts.

Because that is not the heart God reveals toward the lost.

The Bible tells us:

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”— 2 Peter 3:9 KJV

God desires repentance.

God desires restoration.

God desires salvation.

And if we are becoming more like Christ, shouldn't His desire increasingly become ours?

Truth Should Produce Compassion, Not Hatred

Sometimes Christians believe that standing strongly for truth means becoming increasingly angry toward the people who reject it.

But Scripture gives us a different picture.

Jesus never told us to hate our enemies.

He said:

“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”— Matthew 5:44 KJV

Think about how radical that is.

Jesus does not merely tell us to tolerate our enemies.

He tells us to love them.

He tells us to pray for them.

That means when someone opposes us, our prayer should not be:

“God, destroy them.”

Our prayer should be:

“God, reach them.”

“God, reveal Yourself to them.”

“God, bring them to repentance.”

“God, save them.”

Because if we truly believe someone is walking toward destruction, how could hatred possibly be the appropriate response?

The appropriate response should be compassion.

Love Doesn't Mean Silence

But there is another extreme we have to avoid.

Some people have redefined love to mean never telling anyone something that might make them uncomfortable.

That isn't biblical love either.

If I genuinely believe someone is walking toward danger, loving them does not mean standing silently while they continue toward it.

Love warns.

Love speaks.

Love tells the truth.

Paul wrote:

“But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.”— Ephesians 4:15 KJV

Notice that Scripture does not tell us to choose between truth and love.

We are commanded to have both.

Truth without love can become cruelty.

Love without truth can become enabling.

But biblical love speaks truth because it desires restoration.

There is a massive difference between saying something because you want to hurt someone and saying something difficult because you desperately want to help them.

Why Are You Correcting Them?

This is where we need to examine ourselves.

Before correcting someone, maybe we should ask:

What am I hoping happens after I say this?

Do I want to embarrass them?

Do I want everyone else to see that I am right?

Do I want to win an argument?

Do I want them to feel the pain they caused me?

Do I secretly enjoy imagining God's judgment falling upon them?

Or do I genuinely want to see them restored?

That question can reveal a lot about our hearts.

You can say something technically true while carrying a completely wrong spirit behind it.

Paul gives an extraordinary warning about this in 1 Corinthians 13:

“And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.”— 1 Corinthians 13:2 KJV

Imagine that.

You could have knowledge.

You could understand mysteries.

You could possess incredible faith.

And still completely miss the heart of God if you do not have love.

Being right does not automatically mean we are representing Christ correctly.

Jesus Wept Over People Who Rejected Him

Look at Jesus approaching Jerusalem.

He knew the rejection that was coming.

He knew what people would do to Him.

Yet Scripture says:

“And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it.”— Luke 19:41 KJV

He wept.

That should challenge us.

Jesus looked at people who would reject Him and His response was grief.

Sometimes we look at people who reject what we believe and respond with anger, mockery, celebration when they fall, or excitement at the thought of judgment.

But Jesus wept.

There is a difference between recognizing that judgment is real and wanting judgment to happen to someone.

Christians should absolutely believe what Scripture teaches about sin, repentance, judgment, salvation, and eternity.

But those truths should make us more desperate to reach people—not more excited about their destruction.

Look at the Cross

The clearest example is Jesus Himself.

While being crucified, Jesus said:

“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”— Luke 23:34 KJV

Think about who He was praying for.

These were not people who had merely disagreed with Him on social media.

They were crucifying Him.

Yet Jesus' heart was still turned toward mercy.

And then look at Stephen.

While he was being stoned to death, Scripture records:

“Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.”— Acts 7:60 KJV

That is what happens when the heart of Christ begins transforming someone.

The world says:

“You hurt me, so I want you to hurt.”

Jesus says:

“Love your enemies.”

The world says:

“I hope you get what you deserve.”

Grace says:

“I pray you discover the mercy I didn't deserve either.”

We Were Once the People Who Needed Mercy

This is something Christians can never afford to forget.

We were not rescued because we were better than everyone else.

Paul wrote:

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”— Romans 3:23 KJV

Every believer is someone who needed mercy.

Every believer is someone Jesus died to save.

So how could receiving mercy make us arrogant toward those who still need it?

The closer we become to Jesus, the more we should recognize how desperately all of us need Him.

That should produce humility.

And humility changes how we speak truth.

Instead of:

“Look how terrible you are.”

Our posture becomes:

“Let me show you the Savior who rescued me.”

Jesus Never Compromised Truth

None of this means Jesus ignored sin.

He didn't.

Jesus called people to repentance.

Jesus confronted hypocrisy.

Jesus exposed religious pride.

Jesus warned about judgment.

Jesus spoke difficult truths that caused some people to walk away.

So biblical love cannot mean simply affirming everything another person chooses to do.

Sometimes love must say:

“This path is hurting you.”

Sometimes love must say:

“This isn't what God desires for you.”

Sometimes love must say:

“You need to repent.”

Sometimes love must warn about consequences.

But the question is:

Why are we saying it?

Are we speaking because we cannot wait to condemn them?

Or are we speaking because we cannot bear the thought of them remaining separated from God?

Those motivations may produce similar words, but they come from completely different hearts.

The Goal Is Restoration

This is also why biblical correction should always have restoration as its goal.

Paul wrote:

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”— Galatians 6:1 KJV

Notice the word:

Restore.

Not humiliate.

Not destroy.

Not expose for entertainment.

Not prove how spiritual you are.

Restore.

And notice how restoration is supposed to happen:

“In the spirit of meekness.”

Why?

Because while correcting someone else, Scripture tells us to remember that we are capable of falling too.

That realization should destroy spiritual arrogance.

Maybe This Is the Heart Check We Need

Before we speak about someone who is lost...

Before we correct another believer...

Before we respond to someone who hates Christianity...

Before we enter another theological argument...

Before we post about someone's sin...

Maybe we should ask ourselves:

Do I love this person?

Not:

“Do I approve of everything they're doing?”

Not:

“Do I agree with them?”

Not even:

“Do I like them?”

But:

Do I genuinely desire God's best for them?

Do I want them restored?

Do I want them healed?

Do I want them reconciled to God?

Do I want them to know Jesus?

Because if what we believe causes us to hate people and wish eternal destruction upon them, we need to examine whether our hearts are actually reflecting the God we claim to represent.

But if knowing the truth causes our hearts to break for people...

If it causes us to pray for those who oppose us...

If it causes us to desire repentance instead of destruction...

And if we love people so deeply that we cannot remain silent when we believe they are walking toward danger...

That begins to look a lot more like Jesus.

We shouldn't hate anyone enough to want them condemned.

We should love them enough that we can't stay silent about the One who can save them.

At New Fire Ministries, our desire is not simply to know what Scripture says, but to allow the truth of Scripture to transform how we live, love, correct, forgive, and represent Jesus to the world. Keep seeking Him, keep testing your own heart, and above all, keep becoming more like Christ.

Pastor Scott