Problem: The Bible says both to hate and to not hate. So which is it? The solution is found in the context of different statements regarding hate. In one sense Jesus uses hyperbole to emphasize how important he is compared to all others and in another sense, were to love our brothers in Christ.
Solution:
You must hate
“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple,” (Luke 14:26).
You must not hate, “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him,” (1 John 3:15).
In Luke 14:26, Jesus is drawing a comparison of importance by exaggerating a relationship. He is saying that it is far more important to love Him than anyone else, including your own parents. Of course, He is not telling people to actually hate their parents. He is saying that by comparison to Him, you must love Him more than all else.
In 1 John 3:15, John is writing to the church about abiding in the love of Christ. In fact, in 1 John, the word “abide” occurs 16 times in the NASB and the apostle continually refers to abiding in Christ (1 John 2:4,24,28; 3:6,24, etc.).
Therefore, we see that a true Christian will love the Lord Jesus supremely and in so doing he will not abide in hatred towards his brother.
