God hates sinners yet Jesus says for us to not hate. Why?

by Matt Slick

Email:  I have a question after reading pages "Does God hate anyone?" and "Is it fair for God to love Jacob and hate Esau?"  Obviously, God does hate sin and logically, sinners. But why then, would Jesus teaches us in Matthew 5, not to be angry at brothers, not to hold grudges? Is it just when God asks and requires us not to hate but love our brothers (1 John 3:15), God Himself hate Esau?

Response:  When God hates, he does so righteously.  When man hates, he often does so unrighteously.  It is the latter situation that is our concern.  As humans, as sinners, we often let our emotions rule us and in so doing, we sin.  This is why Jesus urges people not to become hateful.  But, at the same time, God can properly hate individuals because of their own righteousness.  This is so, because God's judgments are always proper.