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Loving And Hating or
Downstream And Upstream Christians

Her leaders within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to make dishonest profit. And her prophets have coated with whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery, and they have oppressed the poor and needy, and have oppressed the stranger without justice. I searched for a man among them who would build up a wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. Ez. 22:27-30, NASB

Downstream Christians are a necessary part of the Kingdom of God. They love God and love people. They see the devastation sin causes in people’s lives and work hard to help them as they minister the Gospel to them. They feed the poor, help the hurting, look after widows and orphans, run hospitals and clinics, teach and give counselling, and do much more.

Loving And Hating:
Self-Sacrifice

Jesus on the cross with light coming down

These Christians are giving of themselves and their finances to show the love of Christ to a lost and dying world. It can come at great personal sacrifice and may even mean risking their lives. These are great soldiers in the Kingdom of God, and it is a ministry each Christian can have in their sphere of influence. We all know people who can use a helping hand, a friendly smile, and a word of encouragement.

Even though we may not be personally involved in ministries working with strangers, we can often provide financial support for the front-line workers. In some way, we can all be downstream Christians helping the hurting and devastated put their lives back together.

Why do I call these essential and loving people downstream Christians? It is because they are working downstream or after a disaster has occurred. And sometimes, they are too late. Precious lives are lost. The great tragedy is that we need so many downstream Christians.

Loving And Hating:
Confronting Evil

The verse we started with portrays a society much like our own: injustice, robbery, cruelty, and deception from everyone, from government leaders to church leaders. God was looking for an upstream believer who would stand against the rampant wickedness of the day. At that time, He found no one.

What are upstream Christians? They are the ones trying to prevent evil people from having their way. They want to stop the harm before it happens, or at least stop it from continuing.

Christians committed to Christ are usually good at loving, but loving is only half the equation. The other side is hating wickedness [Ps. 45:7]. We think hate is not Christian. Often, we are not good at confronting evil and trying to stop it before it ruins people’s lives. If we had more effective upstream Christians, far fewer broken lives would flow down the river, needing to be put back together. Isn’t that a great goal - to stop the devastation before it happens?

Loving And Hating:
Can Hate Be Christian?

But can hate be Christian? It is never right to act in a hateful way, being spiteful or vindictive. Yet God hates.

You shall not behave this way toward the Lord your God, because every abominable act which the Lord hates, they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire for their gods. Deut. 12:31, NASB

It is not just evil acts that God hates. Evil does not exist as an abstract. It is the person who gives himself to evil that God hates.

The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, And His soul hates one who loves violence. Ps. 11:5, NASB

Look how the NIV translates this verse!

The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, he hates with a passion.

A love for God and a love for people will inspire a holy hatred of evil people and the devastation they cause. It will motivate us to take action to stop their insidious plans. God is looking for people passionate about righteousness who hate evil and are willing to expose and stand against wicked people.

In commenting on this verse, Charles Spurgeon said: “O people of God, how foolish it is to fear the faces of men who shall soon be faggots [fire kindling] in the fire of hell! Think of their end, their fearful end, and all fear of them must be changed into contempt of their threatenings and pity for their miserable estate.”

Loving And Hating:
Objections

This is where some people will complain that this is making Christianity political. C.S. Lewis was afraid of this possibility. He did not want Christianity to be identified with a political party. We will avoid this real danger as we realize a couple of points. First, despite much wickedness in government, it is not the only source of evil. Second, Christianity does not support any political party. It preaches the absolute Lordship of Jesus. It proclaims that every political party must bend the knee to King Jesus on every point without compromise. Its votes will go to whatever party is most closely aligned with the values of the Kingdom of God without ceasing to expose the evil in every party.

Other Christians immediately put Romans 13 on parade. They claim that we must meekly submit to authorities no matter how evil they may be. This is a significant topic that we may discuss in another article. But look at the context.

First, the Christians of Paul’s day were wondering, as citizens of the Kingdom of God, if they had to obey earthly governments at all. The Jews were famous for violent resistance - which was about to culminate in the disastrous Jewish War of AD 66-70. Paul warns that anarchy and violent rebellion are not for the Christian. Second, we must consider which government authorities are God’s servants to whom we must submit. Romans 13 is clear: Those who reward righteousness and punish wickedness. Can evil governments committing and approving mass murder through abortion and euthanasia and other wickedness be considered God’s servants? Of course not! What a hideous idea. To actively or passively support these governments is to become an accessory to their crimes. God will not look the other way.

Loving And Hating:
Opposing Evil

The early Christians were martyred in the arena because they insisted that Jesus Christ was King, not Ceasar. Many Christians today are only too happy to bow down to our modern Ceasars. So, how do modern Christians show both the love of righteousness and the hatred of evil?

There are many ways. Apologetics can present the Truth, working to turn people from evil and self-destructive paths. This would include Young Earth Creationists who expose the wicked and damaging religious doctrine of evolution. Pro-Life workers often are there after some damage has been done [downstream] but also work to prevent the greater damage of abortion [upstream]. Christian parents who oppose evil school policies that seek to destroy the children are working in this regard. Believers who work to change unjust laws are being upstream Christians. Plus, many more.

Prayer is also vital—not just prayer for protection but active prayer against evil people and their agendas.

Pour out Your wrath on them’ let Your fierce anger overtake them. May their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents. Ps. 69:24-25, NIV

Listen to the words of Paul:

But Elymas the magician..was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, stared at him, and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not stop making crooked the straight ways of the Lord? Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand. Acts 13:8-11, NASB

Part of the problem with praying against evil men and women in power is that often there are no righteous people to take their place. Removing one evil to replace it with another does no good. Therefore, teaching the ways of God is an upstream activity. But to have Godly practical solutions to real-world problems, we must understand the Law of God. Many Christians have rejected the Laws of God as “Old Testament” or out-of-date. We deal with this in our Master Life and Biblical Law courses.

Even though we are to hate evil and the people who actively pursue it to the harm of others, do we delight in their destruction?

Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord God, “rather than that he would turn from his ways and live? Ez. 18:23, NASB

We can also pray that God’s grace will lead them to repentance. If they turn from their wicked ways and embrace Jesus as Lord and Saviour, we can rejoice like the angels in heaven. But until that happens, we must oppose them and their destructive ways.

In closing, some of you may be wondering about Jesus’s words in Matthew 5:39 about not resisting an evil person. This is a very good question, one that we will address in another article.

For more information about Glenn Davis, see our About Glenn page or visit Glenn Davis Books.

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