Skip to main content

Those Who Hate their Brother

Those Who Hate their Brother


Excerpt

‎This warning is clearly intended for Christians as the words “his brother” plainly show. An unsaved person can indeed hate a brother of physical kin, but since he has no spiritual kin he cannot really hate his (spiritual) brother. If John thought that no Christian could hate another Christian, there was no need to personalize the relationship with the word “his.” But the opinion, held by some, that a true Christian could never hate another Christian is naive and contrary to the Bible and experience. Even so great a man as King David was guilty of murder, which is the final expression of hate. John was warning his readers against a spiritual danger that is all too real (cf. 1:8, 10). And he was affirming that a Christian who can hate his fellow Christian has not genuinely escaped from the darkness of this present passing Age. To put it another way, he has much to learn about God and cannot legitimately claim an intimate knowledge of Christ. If he really knew Christ as he ought, he would… 

Walvoord, John F., and Roy B. Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Vol. 2. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985. Print.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Furnishings of the Tabernacle

Furnishings of the Tabernacle . ‎The book of Exodus details the construction of the tabernacle and its furnishings. As Yahweh’s sanctuary, the tabernacle served as God’s dwelling place among the Israelites—the expression of the covenant between Yahweh and His people ( Exod 25:8–9 ).

The Ten Plagues of Egypt

The Ten Plagues of Egypt

A Threshing Floor

A Threshing Floor In the ancient world, farmers used threshing floors to separate grain from its inedible husk (chaff) by beating it with a flail or walking animals on it—sometimes while towing a threshing sledge. Sledges were fitted with flint teeth to dehusk the grain more quickly. Other workers would turn the grain over so that it would be evenly threshed by the sledge.