I Know I Heard That Somewhere… Pt. 2

This week we are going to have a second week of I Know I Heard That Somewhere. One aspect of Practical Theology is addressing misconceptions that people might have about what God’s word says! This week, we are going to be looking at a saying that we might hear when we talk to other Christian friends, or that we may even say! I think that this saying has a good intention, but unfortunately it is often talked about like it is straight out of scripture. The unfortunate reality is that it is not from the Bible!

Our saying this week is, “Hate the sin, love the sinner.” There’s definitely biblical reasons that people would say this, but I think that we can be more specific about what Jesus wants.

The closest verses to this idea are Jude 22-23. These verses say, “Have mercy on those who waver; save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.” In that last phrase, you can see a similar statement. We are to have mercy, which in this case could also be translated as sympathy, but to hate the “garment defiled by the flesh,” which in this case is referring to sin.

But, this is not quite the same meaning. Jude is specifically writing to a group of Christians who were dealing with troublemakers (they are never called false teachers) who sneak into the church and attempt to divide the church. These people over time begin to wear down others and lead them astray. So as Jude is writing these words, he is warning the believers to not be attracted to this false teaching while also caring and trying to correct the believers who are struggling with these false teachings about Jesus and salvation!

This distinction matters. The phrase “Hate the sin, love the sinner,” is often applied to non-believers. That is not a good application of the idea that we see in Jude 22-23. So, I would propose a different New Testament instruction would be more appropriate. 2 Corinthians 5 speaks heavily about our salvation. 2 Corinthians 5:20 gives us specific instruction. Paul writes, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, ‘Be reconciled to God.”

Look at what Paul encourages us to do with non-believers! Instead of passively standing by as they sin and hoping that they figure out what they should do instead, we are to plead with them! We are to speak to them as Christ’s ambassadors, pleading with them to be reconciled to God. That is evangelism! It may not be what the world considers love, as it means that we do not affirm sin, but it is important that we live this command out and that we plead with non-believers as we point them towards God!

So with this in mind, is it wrong to say, “Hate the sin, love the sinner?” It is not necessarily wrong to say that, but it is important that we do not use this man-made saying to replace what God tells us in scripture- that we are to be pleading with non-believers for their repentance and reconciliation to God! That is what it actually looks like to love the sinner.

Pastor Daniel