LOVE THE SIN BUT HATE THE SIN

By H. Stanton See

From time to time when people write letters to the editor that point out that certain activities are sinful, other people conclude that "God and Christians hate" the individuals that engage in those activities. The reason that they come to this conclusion is that they believe that to hate the individual’s action is to hate the individual himself or herself. That conclusion is wrong for the following reasons:

The first is one that can see from the natural realm. A mother still loves her son but hates his stealing. A mother still loves her daughter but hates her using drugs. Again, a mother still loves her son but hates his committing murder. Likewise, God and Christians loves individuals yet hate certain activities that they engage in.

The second reason is a misunderstanding of love. The word that is most often translated love in the New Testament carries the idea of "active good will." This is why Christians can love their enemies ("But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you," Matt 5:44 (NKJ)). For example, if you see a child putting their hand on a hot stove, love (active good will) will promote one to try to stop that action. When a mother sees her son engaging in stealing, love prompts her to try to get her son from stealing. Thus, love will prompt a Christian to warn a thief to stop stealing because the Bible says "Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need." Eph 4:28 (NKJ). Love is what prompt a Christian to tell a murder that murder is a sin "being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers," (NKJ) Rom 1:29. So we see that love will prompt a Christian to warn people of sin and try to get them to change their life so that they can go to Heaven.

The third and most important reason is that God has demonstrated His love in that He sent His Son to die on the cross for all men and women. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (NKJ) John 3:16. Also, Paul writes in Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (NKJ) Yet this love does not mean that God will overlook and condone an individual’s sinful actions as the Bible plainly set forth throughout the scriptures. Peter states in 2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance."

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