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[ Created: 2017-03-14 11:47:07  Updated: 2023-02-01 16:36:49 Owner: rl ]
Title: Animosity, ill-will    
     
     
     
     
 
    
 
     
     
     
     
 

 

The antithesis of love.   

Hate takes many forms though we don't often recognize it unless it manifests violence.   

If you do not love your neighbor as yourself you likely have the ability to hate them.   

Not considering the other person's position implies that you have in some sense "written them off".   When this happens the next step in degraded relations is animosity.   

Our country was founded on freedom and the 1st amendment guarantees freedom of speech.   

Be careful who you consider hateful.   Be careful that you are not deceived by a cloak of love or soft speech.   

The enemy transforms himself into an angel of light.   why?   To deceive.   

If a person is not in relationship with Christ Jesus it is likely that their motivation is hate.   Again, they might not appear violent.   They may even seem 'right'.   They may even seem sincere.   
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of the Lord: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. -
We test spirits by being sensitive to the holy Spirit and by knowing the Word of the Lord.     

Jesus 'knew all men' by the discernment of the holy Spirit .     

Jesus treated people based on their spirit.     

Those who had a humble, seeking spirit, He responded to their need .     
Those who had a proud or caniving spirit He resisted and rebuked .     

If their words, position, ideology and actions do not mesh with the Word of the Lord you should see them as a messenger of Satan.   

Did the Lord really hate Esau?    Short answer: No!   

But the Bible says so, doesn't it?   
As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. -
The Lord loved the spiritual nature of jacob.     

God hated the carnality of Esau.     

The Old Testament perspective on the Lord was not the Truth.     

Jesus is the Truth!     

When we hear that it is not the Lord's will that any perish, we understand that the statement about Esau was based on perception and not Truth.     

Esau was a Carnal Minded individual.     We know that the Carnal Mind is enmity with the Lord.     

God loved Esau but hated his Carnal Mind.     

The fact that Esau sold his birthright meant that Esau was not concerned with the Lord's plan.     He was only concerned about his physical needs.

We must distinguish between motivation, actions and conclusions if we are to have any hope of understanding the Old Testament.   

The motivation is often unclear in the O.T.   The actions are abundantly clear.   The conclusion is often skewed by not understanding the motivation.   

In Esau's case, for example, the Lord loved Esau as He does all humanity.   However, Esau was not interested in the Lord or His plans.    Esau loved the Lord's creation .   

The evidence is abundant.   He sold his birthright (promise of the Lord's blessings) to jacob for a single meal.   He was a man of the earth, the field.   He was content to just enjoy the physical life.   

Because his heart was not toward the Lord he suffered great loss: his birthright, the primary blessing from Isaac and a lack of respect by people who saw him as less than his brother.   

So, man, by his 'great' powers of logic and misunderstanding of the Lord's sovereignty concluded that the Lord must hate Esau and love jacob.   After all, jacob was greatly blessed.   

We see this same conclusion being made today when a person's actions produce negative consequences but they refuse to take the blame.   Rather they blame the Lord for hating them.   
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. -
The Lord is love and His love is manifest in Christ who made it possible for us to be born of His Holy Spirit and so be In Christ.     

But, He gives us the choice between life and death.     When a person receives Christ Jesus they receive Eternal Life.     When a person rejects Christ Jesus they enter into Eternal Death against the Lord's will.     

This verse totally undermines the false doctrine of Extreme Sovereignty.     We do not see all men coming to repentance so the Lord's will is not done with respect to every human being.

That verse is the Truth.   Any idea that the Lord is a respecter of persons is a lie from Satan.