Mensa Otabil - God Hates Sin (10/05/2025)
We are learning from Psalm number five, and as we’ve said, the Psalms were very important to the lives of Old Testament believers as well as the early believers in Christ Jesus. It was a way of learning how to pray and worship before God.
So we’re in Psalm 5, and we’re looking at verses 4 and 5: «You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand in your sight; you hate all workers of iniquity».
David’s opening statements in this prayer in Psalm 5, from verse 1 onwards, talk about how he would approach the presence of God. Then he describes how he directs his prayer to the Lord. Now he’s discussing the nature of God and affirming that God hates sin. Just as there are people who can go before God’s presence, there are also others who cannot. God does not allow anything to come before His presence; God is not neutral about sin. He takes a strong stance against evil, which is important for us because many times people think they can live however they please, worship God, go to church, and pray, expecting God to hear them because He is merciful, kind, and loving. However, He also tells us what He hates.
So if God tells you, «I love you, but I hate this,» it is in your best interest to accept His love and depart from what He hates. David talks about what God hates, and there are four things that he mentions. The first is that God does not take pleasure in wickedness. This means God does not enjoy seeing people do wicked things to others. He does not embrace it. So when people act wickedly, whether as husbands, wives, parents, children, or people in the workplace or in a nation, if we are acting to destroy someone else, God does not take pleasure in that, and you cannot come and arrange your prayer before Him; it doesn’t work that way.
Secondly, God does not dwell with evil. He does not give protection or covering to what is evil. When something is evil, God will expose it. He will not say you are so much a favorite of His that if you do evil things, He will cover it, as some earthly people might do. God does not dwell with evil; the word used there means to «tabernacle» or to cover. He does not cover evil; He exposes it.
Thirdly, God does not live with the boastful. He does not entertain the boastful; He does not listen to the boastful. In fact, from the Hebrew, it means God does not give an audience to the boastful. So if you are a boastful person and you come into God’s presence, He will not receive you because He resists the proud. Therefore, when you enter God’s presence full of yourself, believing in your own rights and thinking that what you have done is good enough for God to listen to, recounting all your good deeds, God says, «Get close,» because He does not allow the boastful into His courts.
Finally, David says that God hates all workers of iniquity. This is an omnibus statement, including everything wrong, all manner of sins; God doesn’t like it. So when we come before God in prayer, we must also be mindful of what He doesn’t like and whom He doesn’t want in His presence, so we prepare our hearts to enter His presence rightly. When we come correctly into the presence of God, He will honor His word in our lives. God clearly shows us, contrary to the world’s belief that anything and everybody is acceptable to God, that there are some things not acceptable to Him. So when you come in prayer, check your heart and attitudes.
Let’s pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, keep me away from evil. Purge my heart of pride and deception. Cleanse me and make me whole. In Jesus' name, amen.»
Well, I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.