God's servant David, a man
after God's own heart, wrote these words under the infallible influence of God
the Holy Spirit - "Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? And am not
I grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect
hatred: I count them mine enemies" (Ps. 139:21-22). A reasonable inference
from those two verses is that those who are the Lord's enemies, those who hold
our God in contempt, are to be counted as our enemies and held in contempt by us.
Yes, the Lord said for us to love our enemies and to
pray for those who despitefully use us. That I can do, by the grace of God. If
a man abuses me, slanders me and does me harm, I can love him, forgive him,
pray for him and seek the best for him. BUT OUR LORD NEVER COMMANDED US TO
LOVE HIS ENEMIES! And that is something I cannot do. Elijah held the
prophets of Baal in contempt. The Apostle Paul pronounced a curse of eternal
damnation upon any who came preaching another gospel. John the Beloved forbids
us to receive into our homes those who deny the doctrine of Christ, telling us
neither to feed them nor to wish them well. David hated those who hated his
God. And I find that same passion in my heart for the false prophets of our
day.
Love
for Christ constrains me to hold those in contempt who rob him of his glory as
our Redeemer and King. Love for the souls of men compels me to denounce those
who preach a false gospel. Love for the
How can I do otherwise? Those who are the enemies of the cross of Christ are my enemies. I will not, I cannot cease to denounce and oppose the doctrines of antichrist and those who preach them, whether it comes in the form of papacy or fundamentalism. Loyalty to Christ demands loyalty in opposing his enemies. It would be far easier and much more reasonable for me to embrace as my friend, a man who had brutally raped and murdered my wife than it would be for me to embrace as my brethren men who are set in opposition to the gospel of the grace and glory of God in Christ.