What does it mean to hate evil and love good (Amos 5:15)?

If we are led of the Spirit, we are not under the law, but we shall be led in holiness; we have liberty, and not slavery, but it is divine deliverance from the power of sin; we yield ourselves wholly to God, because we are free to do so, and if God has given you liberty, will you be a slave again to sin? But now being made free from sin and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness. What is holiness? Separation from, and abhorrence of what is evil, and for us by separation of heart to God. I should not call Adam holy, but innocent; God is holy, for God abhors evil, having full knowledge of it, and delights in good; Christ is holy; we, too, are holy, for in the new man which we have put on, we hate the evil and love the good, though we cannot do it as God does. Holiness in us must necessarily have God for its object. In walking in righteousness, the heart has to say to God obediently; the will is not in activity, the lusts not at work. The effect, through grace, is growing separation of heart to God, and acquaintance with Him. Thus you have your fruit unto holiness. What fruit does sin bear? None; it only brings to death. I walk in what is pleasing to God, and thus, the new man being active likes what God likes; and what will be the consequence of this? In the moral activities of this new life, I get separated from the influence of evil, increasing in the knowledge of God; not only actual fruits produced (though that is true, as the tree will be known by its fruits), but this practical bringing forth of internal fruit is connected with righteousness according to the will of God, and a walk with Him in the light.

"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.

Hence in the same verse the connected injunction, "abhorring evil; cleaving to good." It is a word the more needful in our own day especially, because we live in Laodicean times of sickly sentiment where latitudinarian charity abounds, the essence of which is a spirit of indifferentism toward evil, in particular evil against Christ. And the danger as well as the sin is the more extreme, because it is and has long been that "last hour" of which John warns so solemnly, the hour not of Christianity prevailing but of many antichrists, though not yet of the Antichrist. But where love is real, there is and must be the detestation of evil, no less decidedly than the close attachment to good. If the latter attracts, the former offends and is often ill received in the world as it is. But the Christian must cherish the instincts of the new nature and be subject to God's word who has called him out to be a witness of Christ here below where evil meets him at every step and turn. The amiability which would shirk difficulties and apologize for sin is thus proved to lack the salt of the covenant of God, and will soon be seen to be honey and to end in leaven, instead of being the flour and oil which God looks for in such offerings.

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.

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.

Verses 10-13 give a description of the moral condition of Israel. They were unrighteous and loved the ways of unrighteousness; if the judge in the gate judged righteously they hated him for it, those who spoke uprightly they abhorred. The poor they trampled into the dust and extorted the distribution of corn from them. They had built fine houses of hewn stone, but they were not to enjoy them nor the wine from their pleasant vineyards (Deut. 28:30, 39). The Lord knew their transgressions and the greatness of their sins.

Still there was hope, for the Lord is merciful and slow to anger. Judgment is His strange work. Therefore once more we hear His pleadings, "Seek good and not evil that ye may live, and so the LORD God of hosts shall be with you, as ye have spoken." "Hate evil and love good!"

In chapter 5 this remnant of Israel comes still more distinctly into view, a mere tithe of the whole, a hundred left out of a thousand, and ten out of a hundred. (Compare Isa. 6:13.) They are characterised by prudence, or wisdom, in the "evil time." The power of oppression seals their lips, but in their hearts they hate the evil and love the good, and they experience the goodness of the God of hosts. Thus they live before Him.

In verses 14-17 the appeal is more moral, but in conformity with the call to seek Jehovah. "Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so Jehovah, the God of hosts, shall be with you as ye have spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that Jehovah the God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. Therefore Jehovah, the God of hosts, the Lord, says thus: Wailing shall be in all streets: and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing. And in all the vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, says Jehovah."

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.

And this gives me occasion to press a few words from the New Testament, often forgotten in its spirit when its words may be remembered. It is the part of a Christian to abhor evil as much as to love what is good. Beware of the smallest sympathy with him who counts it good to be indifferent, lukewarm, not zealous, who likes no doubt what is pleasant and kindly in itself, but without detestation of that which dishonours God. There is a total defect in the Christian character which (to speak typically) has not the badger's skin as well as the covering of blue. Our Lord Jesus felt strongly against evil. He alone is perfection, and has shown this for our profit and example. Here we see the same principle inculcated in Amalek's case.