What does it mean to abhor what is evil (Romans 12:9)?

"Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good." There is an intimate connection between the first and the last two members of this verse — unfeigned love, hating evil, cleaving to good. Where love is real, there must be the abhorrence of evil specially if that evil touches the object of our affections — and the most persevering devotion to the injured one. To reach the full meaning of this verse, we must rise to Christ. He is before the mind of the Spirit, and of faith. In the Old Testament (Isa. 1:16-17) we read, "Cease to do evil: learn to do well." The language in the New is much stronger; Christ is in question. The words to abhor and to cleave to, express the highest degree of hatred on the one hand, and the most devoted attachment on the other.

"But," some may ask, "how am I to abhor that which is evil, and cleave to that which is good? Am I to take these words only as a kind of moral principle, or, if you please, scriptural rule or precept?" No; for then, with all its authority, it would have no power, if taken only in the deadness of the letter (though the word of God in itself, as we know, is profitable for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works).

But how, then, am I to abhor that which is evil? By cleaving to that which is good. And how am I to cleave to that which is good? Let us turn to the eleventh chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. There we find the answer to both these questions. What was the word of exhortation, addressed to the new converts at Antioch by Barnabas, who "was a good man" (mark the connecting link: "for" between verses 23 and 24), and "full of the Holy Ghost and of faith." He "exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord." Thus by cleaving to His Blessed Person, by Whom grace and truth came into the world, and Who Himself is perfect goodness, grace, love, meekness, holiness, truth, in short, everything that is good and lovely, yea, "who is altogether lovely," we learn how to cleave to that which is good, by cleaving to Him, Who is perfect goodness Himself. Thus it was that Barnabas was called a "good man" by the same Holy Spirit, Who tells us in the Old and in the New Testament, yea through the lips of Christ Himself, that "no man is good, but God only." Barnabas was an upright man (through grace), and filled with the Holy Ghost, who glorifies Christ, and receives from His, and shows it unto us, and he was "full of faith;" and faith looks neither within nor around, but looks "off unto Jesus," and thus the heart feeds upon every thing that is good, in the Person of that Blessed Lover of our souls; and the more Barnabas fed upon Christ, the more he clave to Christ. Therefore, he was the fit man to exhort those new converts at Antioch, that they would cleave with purpose of heart unto the Lord." That was then, and is now, the way, of "abhorring that which is evil, and cleaving to that which is good." Thus it is we learn to "hate even the garment, spotted by the flesh," or even a spot in the book. If the apostle Paul exhorted the Christians at Rome, to abhor that which is evil, and cleave to that which is good, he did not do so by way of a mere legal precept or rule, but because those at Rome were not "babes in Christ," like those at Antioch, and therefore knew the way how to abhor that which is evil, and how to cleave to that which is good, and, therefore, they needed only to be reminded of the blessed practical Divine principle of truth, because there was strife and contention amongst them, and they were occupied with that which was evil, and thus in danger of getting under the power of it. And from the same reason, I have made these remarks about the way, to abhor that which is evil, and to cleave to that which is good, to the younger of my Christian readers, as we are living in a time, when the danger of getting occupied with that which is evil, is much greater than when the epistle to the Romans was written.

First, love is to be unfeigned: it is a root principle of all true fruit for God. Pretense of any sort has no place. This connects necessarily with abhorring evil, for love is energetic and sensitive: evil is thoroughly revolting to it. And just so, on the other side, there is to be a cleaving to what is good. Well for us to often test our souls by these two things: do we positively abhor evil, and cleave earnestly to good? This is the real activity of love, for love cannot but feel strongly against what is harmful to its object, and favorably toward what is beneficial.

Having set before us some of the many forms of service we may be privileged to exercise by divinely given grace, we are now exhorted as to the conduct, and spirit, which should mark the Lord's people, and without which every form of service will be marred.

(V. 9). The first three exhortations plainly have reference to ourselves, personally. We are each to see that our love is unfeigned, that we treat evil with abhorrence, and that we are devoted to that which is good. Alas! It is easy to feign love, and hide malice by professing to act in love. Joab can kiss the man he is about to murder (2 Sam. 20:9-10.), and Judas can kiss His Master in order to betray Him. The flesh can act like Israel of old, of whom it is written, "With their mouth they show much love, but their heart goes after their covetousness" (Ezek. 33:31). Unfeigned love, is an unselfish love that thinks of the good of others.

Love and abhorrence of evil will ever be found together. Says the Psalmist, "Ye that love the LORD, hate evil" (Ps. 97:10). A false charity may ignore evil under the plea of love, and even treat evil doctrine as to the Lord of little account. Unfeigned love will lead us to abhor evil without ignoring the good. In our abhorrence of evil we may overlook much good; or, in seeking to cleave to the good we may compromise with evil.

Charity, because it is God's presence, and that we feel His presence, and look to Him in it, is intolerant of evil. In mere brotherly kindness, the brother being the object before my mind (and, if God's presence be not felt, we do not realise it, nature coming in so easily and here in its most unsuspected and kindly shapes), I put man before God, smother up evil, keep kindness going, at any rate so far exclude and shut out God. Charity is His active presence though it will be in love to man; but it gives to God all His rights. He it is that is love, but He is never inconsistent with Himself. His love to us was shewn in what was the most solemn proof of His intolerance of evil, the cross. There is no true love apart from righteousness. If God is indifferent to evil, is not righteous, then there is no love in grace to the sinner. If He abhors evil, cannot suffer it in His presence, then His dealings with us as sinners shew the most perfect love. If I have ten children, and they go wrong, and I say, 'Well, I am to shew love to them,' and I take no account of their evil ways; or if some of them go wrong and I treat them as if there was no difference to my mind in their well doing or evil doing; this is not love but carelessness as to evil. This is the kind of love looked for by unconverted man, namely, God's being as careless as to evil as they are; but this is not divine charity which abhors the evil, but rises over it, dealing with it either in putting it away or in needed chastenings. Now if God were indifferent to evil there is no holy being to be the object of my love - nothing sanctifying. God does not own as love what admits of sin.

With recognition of evil there needs no further enquiry, no further putting of the question: What is to be done? This question is only legitimate when we find ourselves in presence of at least two resolutions, as to which we have to make up our mind; but, evil being recognized, there is only one fit resolution — to abstain from it. God says. "Cease to do evil;" "Abhor that which is evil;" "Abstain from all appearance of evil."

This reminds me of an incident as to our point. Many years ago an honoured servant of Christ was engaged with a few brethren in some important translation, which the Lord had laid on his and their hearts, and at which they assisted him in their little measure. One morning, on beginning their work, he noticed a little spot of ink in his book, He took out his penknife, and whilst erasing with the greatest care the little blot, so that hardly a trace of it could be discerned, said, as if speaking to himself rather, than to those with him: "I hate spots." The writer of these lines, who was one of them, never forgot the lesson conveyed, though perhaps never intended, by those three words. They were the most practical interpretation of the divine injunction, "hating even the garment spotted by the flesh," and "abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good," which, amongst the rest, formed the subject of their translation.

Mark, Christian reader, it is not only a question of avoiding doing wrong, but "abhorring that which is evil." Nor is it merely "doing good;" there is plenty of that in our Laodicean time; but it is, "cleave to that which is good."

In the Old Testament God's people were admonished to "cease to do evil," and "learn to do well"; and in the New Testament we are enjoined to "abhor that which is evil," and "cleave to that which is good," and the like. (Isa. 1:16-17; Rom. 12:9.) With Spirit-led, God-fearing souls they always go together. To rest in having separated from evil would be perilous indeed, and might soon incline to greater evil, or end in cold and dry orthodoxy. It is always a critical moment in our history when we are called to purge out the old leaven, or to purge ourselves from vessels to dishonour, lest we should think too much of the act of faithfulness and be puffed up, instead of going on in all things seeking the glory of God in obedience to His word.

In closing the first list of gifts and class of servants (Rom. 12:6-8), he adds (Rom. 12:9), "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good," in other words telling us that a "loving heart," a "separated path," and a "devoted walk," are grand moral requisites for a true servant.

Next comes what we shall realize more as fruit in holiness. That word "fruit," which we do not find here, we shall find in Galatians in a striking connection (Gal. 5:22, comp. ver. 19). Here we have the fruit of the Spirit in contrast with the works of the flesh. Activity is not necessarily fruit, as we must easily realize. Fruit is a growth, the product of life, and which needs nurture and maturing in order to be right and ripe. There is a unity about it which in work there is not. In how many directions the flesh may work, even religiously; but fruit in holiness cannot be mistaken for this. Here the apostle's first word is that which brings us to the heart of the matter. Love is the divine nature. It is, in a sense, the whole thing, but then we make so many mistakes about it, that we need to have this carefully guarded. Love itself abhors that which is evil, cleaves to that which is good. You cannot, in fact, cleave to what is good without abhorring the evil which is its opposite. Then, how much there is in the world of the affectation of love, an outside show of it which may deceive even, not merely others, but one's self also. How often we mistake in our estimation of the reality of the love we have to others. People are necessary to us, they minister to our pleasure. We appreciate that, value them in a sense, and call this love, but "love seeketh not her own." It does not claim, but ministers. The love, here again, is brotherly love. The apostle is not traveling beyond that at the present moment; and again we see how self-denying it is, all the more, perhaps, because it does not dream that it is self-denial. "In honor preferring one another," ready to give that which others might suppose to be our own due. All this clearly connects together.