God Hates Sin, But Loves the Sinner
• The religious cliché that ‘God hates sin but loves the sinner’ implies that the sinner is accepted by God in their sins. God saves from sin, not saves in sin (meaning to remain to continue in sin and to sin).
• The religious cliché that ‘God hates sin, but loves the sinner,’ implies that God’s view of sin is based on the unrighteous instead of on His righteousness and holiness. The cross was the divine measure of God’s hatred of sin as it was the measure of His love for the sinner. God cannot, and will not, love the sinner outside of acknowledging and accepting His work on the cross.
• The religious cliché that ‘God hates sin, but loves the sinner,’ implies that God’s view of sin is flexible. Yes, God hates sin, and because He does, He must judge sin. And how can He judge sin if not to judge the object that bears the sin — the sinner! The wonder of it all is that God is love, and because He is Love He has already judged sin in His love, by His love, and through the Son of His love: Jesus Christ.
• The religious cliché that ‘God hates sin, but loves the sinner,’ implies that there is only one kind of sinner; however, this is a false premise: there are two types of sinners: forgiven and unforgiven. Which one are you?
© Copyright 2020, Mary Haigh
This article may be used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.
All Scripture references are from the Authorized King James Bible. (KJV)