John 3:16-21 New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁶ “For this is how God loved the world: He gave^[a] his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

¹⁸ “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. ²⁰ All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. ²¹ But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.^[b]”

It’s Valentine’s Day. The day of love. The day we receive and give love. The day we remember the One who IS love. The One who loves the world. The One who lovesyou. The One who loves me. The One who commands me to love Him. The One who commands me to loveothers. The One who loved me when I hated Him. The One who loves me and hates my sin.

Scripture says there’s a time to love and a time to hate:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 New Living Translation (NLT)

3 For everything there is a season,
    a time for every activity under heaven.
² A time to be born and a time to die.
    A time to plant and a time to harvest.
³ A time to kill and a time to heal.
    A time to tear down and a time to build up.
⁴ A time to cry and a time to laugh.
    A time to grieve and a time to dance.
⁵ A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
    A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
⁶ A time to search and a time to quit searching.
    A time to keep and a time to throw away.
⁷ A time to tear and a time to mend.
    A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
⁸ A time to love and a time to hate.
    A time for war and a time for peace.

In this season under heaven, a lot of Christians are saying they love God. But only a few are actually loving Him. Scripture is clear: IF we say we love God, THEN our actions will prove we loveHim. IF we say we love God, THEN our actions will also prove we hate what He hates.

What does God hate?

Proverbs 6:16-19 New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁶ There are six things the Lord hates—
    no, seven things he detests:
¹⁷ haughty eyes,
    a lying tongue,
    hands that kill the innocent,
¹⁸ a heart that plots evil,
    feet that race to do wrong,
¹⁹ a false witness who pours out lies,
    a person who sows discord in a family.

If we, as Christians, the Church, the body of Christ, don’t hate the detestable sin of our eyes, our tongue, our hands, our heart, how can we truly love God?

It’s time to hate our sin.

It’s time to kill it. It’s time to tear it down. It’s time to cry about it. It’s time to grieve about it. It’s time to scatter it. It’s time to turn away from it. It’s time to tear it. It’s time to be quiet (and listen to the Holy Spirit). It’s time for war.

If we do not love God, we cannot love people on Valentine’s Day or any other day of the year. And without love,we cannot make disciples.

It’s time to hate our sin.

It’s time to repent.