Charles Spurgeon Commentary 1 John 4:20

"If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love God whom he hath not seen." — 1 John 4:20 (ASV)

For he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

Why, sir, if you could see God, it is clear that you would not love him. If you talk about your love to him whom you have not seen, it is utterly false if you do not love men like yourself whom you have seen.

If a man say, I love God.

Not, "if a man loves God," but if a man says, "I love God." It is a blessed thing to be able to say, "I love God," when God himself can bear witness to the truth of our statement; but the apostle says, If a man say, I love God, –

If man says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar. John is very emphatic in his condemnation of such a man as that.

Some of the most tender-hearted men in the world are the most blunt in their mode of speaking; and some of the most fawning flatterers are the most cruel in their hearts. We love John all the better because he writes so plainly: If man says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar.

And hateth his brother, he is a liar:

It is very rude of you, John, to call people liars. But it is not John's rough nature that uses such strong language; it is his gentle nature. When a loving disposition turns its face against evil, it turns against it with great vehemence of holy indignation.

You can never judge a man's character by his books. Curiously enough, Mr. Romaine, of St. Anne's Church, Blackfriars, wrote the most loving books that could be; yet he was a man of very strong temper indeed.

Mr. Toplady wrote some of the sharpest things that were ever said about Arminians; but he was the most loving and gentle young man that ever breathed. St. John, full of love and tenderness, hits terribly hard when he comes across a lie. He was so fond of love, that he cannot bear to have it played with, or mocked or mimicked. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar.