Love the Sinner and Hate the Sin?

I was reading this morning from the book, Death by Love, and came across an interesting point. The phrase “love the sinner, hate the sin” actually has its origins in the Hindu Gandhi’s 1929 autobiography, yet Christians toss about the phrase as if it comes directly from the Bible. (Before you jump to a conclusion about what I’m saying, please read on.) However, in contrast we can find several places in Scripture where God clearly says that he hates certain individuals or people groups.

“The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.” Psalm 5:5

“The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man. The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.” Psalm 11:4-5

“Every evil of theirs is in Gilgal; there I began to hate them. Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of my house. I will love them no more; all their princes are rebels.” Hosea 9:15

(NOTE: I’ve heard people say that “hate” means “to not prefer”, and that almost always is used in the context of Jacob and Esau. Without outright denying that interpretation, I will say you cannot apply that particular translation of the word “hate” every time the Scripture says God hates something or someone.)

How do we reconcile our use of this phrase “love the sinner and hate the sin” with the Scriptures? If we are going to so freely toss this phrase about, then we must build a case from Scripture that will help it stand. I find it troublesome that Hindu wisdom has crept into the vocabulary of the born again church.

The trouble is that most people, when attempting to build a Scriptural case for “loving the sinner and hating the sin” will turn to places in the Gospels where Jesus fellowships with sinners and tax collectors, and yet ignore the places in the same Gospels where Jesus speaks very harshly to the Pharisees and chief priests. We can’t build an argument for loving sinners without taking into account the fact that for some sinners Jesus reserved some very harsh judgments (woes). Even in Jesus’ ministry, there seems to be some sinners upon whom he poured out love, and some sinners upon whom he poured out anger.

The importance of this question is actually huge. It’s not that we become hateful in our demeanor toward the person sinning, but if we see someone sinning, we do become angry about the sin and toward the person who is committing the sin. What’s the difference between rape and the rapist; murder and the murderer? Can the person sinning be completely extracted and separated from the sin they are committing and be treated as two separate entities? So in the church, when a person is living in open sin, do we say to the person in sin that we don’t agree with what they’re doing, but continue to treat them as if they were doing nothing at all? That’s called a passive condoning of the behavior and actually makes us accomplices to the sin because we enable it to continue. That’s what happened in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 5 when they continued to fellowship with the guy who was sleeping with his step-mom. And in their passivity they too were sinning.

I may sound like a warmonger, but I assure you I am not. I’m just kind of tired of hearing Christians say that born again people should never become angry over sin. And in part, I attribute it to the acceptance of worldly or pagan philosophy, like “love the sinner, hate the sin.” I readily admit that ultimately our anger should always be a motivator to see that justice and righteousness prevails, which is the most loving thing that could happen to the person in sin, thereby in a sense, making Gandhi’s statement applicable. But due to bad teaching in the church at large, we have redefined love to mean the absence of hate. Any parent should know, if I don’t hate the things that would harm my children, then I will eventually allow those things to bring harm to them simply through my passivity. So even though I have hate in my heart toward certain things, I am still a loving father, and I am more of a loving father because I allow myself to hate certain things.

“What about my own sin?” Some people, when confronted with the sin of another person, may begin dwelling upon their own sin and thereby feel condemned because they have exhibited self-righteous anger toward another person for sins that are just as damning as their own sin. I understand why someone may think this way. We must remove the plank from our eye before removing the speck from someone else’ eye. I firmly believe this needs to happen. But let me be clear about this. Satan will attempt to diffuse your righteous anger over sin and injustice by sort of “blanket condemning” you over your own sins. If he can successfully diffuse your anger, then the motivation to hold anyone accountable will be quenched. This type of general conviction over your own sin is not from God, but rather is condemnation from Satan. Conviction from the Holy Spirit is specific and tells you exactly what needs to be repented from. The counterfeit conviction from Satan is often vague and non-specific as if there’s a mystery sin issue you need to deal with, but you just can’t finger it, or it maybe just a general sick feeling about your sinful condition as a whole. This is what will entangle you and could even cast you into a kind of spiritual depression. And it is this sort of non-specific spiritual malaise about our sins which Satan will cast upon us to attempt to derail the healthy, righteous anger which we should have about sin.

I admit that what I am proposing here walks a knife’s edge. If we allow anger to rule over us, we fall into sin. But if we do not exhibit anger and stifle it when it is the appropriate respone, we also sin. Jesus never said that trying to live like him would be without difficulty. So after all of that, let me refocus and ask you all this question: Can a solid Biblical argument for “love the sinner, hate the sin” be built which takes into consideration healthy, righteous anger against sin and those who commit it willfully?

Make War!

Here is the only kind of violence specifically condoned by the Scriptures.

Failures in our Flesh

My friend, Steve Smith, is teaching a study on Wednesday nights right now. I can’t remember the title of it, but it has to do with taking a look at our temperaments and character and using them in cooperation with our spiritual gifts. This past Wednesday was the first night. I rather enjoyed the opener and I look forward to the rest of it.

One verse was given, at the beginning of the study which has bugged me all week long. It’s a familiar verse, so I’m sure you’ve heard it:

“For I have the desire to do what is right, but no the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” Romans 7:18-19

Here’s what’s bothering me. I think we have, in some respects, looked to these verses for comfort, when really they aren’t intended for comfort. Paul deals with the downward pull of the flesh in chapter seven of Romans, so these verses go right along with his theme. And many times I have referred to them when I have failed and taken solace in the fact that even Paul confessed to struggling with failure. And herein is where I have failed to understand.

You see, verse 18 above has been shortened. I shortened it on purpose because when we quote this verse to each other we tend to quote it the way I have shown it above. The first part of verse 18 goes like this:

“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.”

In my mind, as I’ve thought over this since Wednesday, this phrase removes all comfort from these verses. Where I once took solace, I now find a stinging reminder that when I do fail it is because I have relied upon my flesh. So rather than serving as an encouragement that my struggle is not uncommon, it now is a conviction to my Spirit that I have relied upon my own strength and forsook the strength which the Holy Spirit stands ready to give me.

It is not my intention to ruin these verses for anyone. They still serve as a reminder that the apostles were indeed human just like us and had their own battles with sin. But I do not believe that it was their intention when they penned these words to soothe the consciences of their readers. Rather Paul’s intention was to warn his readers that failure and sin await their opportunity to have us. Indeed, Paul says almost this very thing a few verses later in chapter seven, verse 21:

“So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.”

I hope that you will, as I will, seek to be mindful and discerning when we are going about our walks with Christ and recognize not only the good opportunities which lie before us, but also the evil which wants to have us at its first chance. We must discern the devil’s wicked schemes – that they are often running close by, just under the radar, waiting for our guard to drop.

Blindness

As a follow up to what I just posted, I have been reminded about how blind we can be to our own sin. I hope you will join me in asking the Holy Spirit to remove our blindness. You and I will always have sins in my blind spot. Others may see it, but you and I won’t be able to see it.

Holy Spirit, please remove my blind spots so I can see my sins more clearly that I may confess them and kill them by Your power and for the glory of Jesus Christ and God the Father in my life. Amen.

Why Are We Saved?

[DISCLAIMER] Mark Driscoll got me thinking about this. He is partially to blame.

I think the question of “Why are we saved,” isn’t getting a fair treatment. From one point of view, we cannot know the ultimate reasons for why God chose us. But for the most part, many, if not most of us have been taught that Jesus saves us so that our sins can be forgiven and when we die we can go to be with Him thereby avoiding eternity in Hell. This is correct and any answer to this question which leaves this out would be incomplete. But an answer which only contains this would also be incomplete.

We have neglected to teach that equally important to the forgiveness of our sins is that Jesus saves us so we can live holy lives. The command to “Be holy, as I am holy,” is not given to those who do not know God, but to those who know Him. When Jesus saves us He changes our minds, our hearts, the way we live our lives; there is nothing within us that is not changed. The act of redemption is two-fold. There one side of redemption that positionally makes us holy before God immediately when we are born again; otherwise known as justification. The other side of redemption is really an ongoing process of redemption which is the progressive redeeming of our lives on a daily basis. This is sanctification – the process of becoming holy as He is holy.

The problem we endure during our life on this earth is that our sanctification will always be hindered and slowed by the works and effects of sin. Whether that sin be something in our past, or that sin is something in the moment and impulsive. You might wonder what I mean by sin from the past. Maybe you grew up with an abusive parent. Maybe you have suffered something horrible like rape or incest. Maybe it’s just the relentless fighting that went on in your home. Perhaps you directly participated willingly in an occult activity. Perhaps, you were a bully. In all of these cases, you either suffered from the effects of someone else’s sin or you willingly participated in something sinful. And you carry it with you. Being forgiven doesn’t mean that we cease to be affected by past sins. As a born again person, they no longer condemn you, but past sins can still control you. We cannot allow this to happen.

How do they control us? Let’s examine the first scenario where we are affected by someone else’s sin. Ask any woman who has endured rape or incest or has been physically abused how her trust level is with men. Ask men whose wives have been unfaithful about their trust. Neither abused women or men who have unfaithful spouses will be very trusting people, particularly toward the opposite sex. This lack of trust in people can easily become a lack of trust in God and lead to bitterness.

What about issues of race? The sins of our white forefathers has tainted the relations between whites and blacks even to this day. The sins of past racism has birthed deep distrust from both whites and blacks in the present. Generally speaking, whites and blacks attend their own churches, they live in their own neighborhoods and this separation only nurses the distrust. Honestly, it makes it difficult, even within the church at times. Yes, the effects of sins committed against us are real and if left unchecked become generational as we have witnessed with racism in our own culture.

The second scenario, where we intentionally commit sins, can control us as well. How could occultic activity affect me later in life? We see this with the Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians, Paul has to correct them for not separating themselves from idol worship. Their former connection with the occult through worshiping idols was difficult to sever. Paul says to them clearly, “You cannot partake of the table of Christ and the table of demons.” The occult has a powerful grip on those who participate in it and can provide a foothold for Satan to tempt those who have formerly practiced it.

Definition: Redeem – to obtain the release or restoration of, as from captivity, by paying a ransom.

These areas of our lives need to be redeemed through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. The born again woman who grew up with out a father – or with an abusive father – needs to allow the Holy Spirit to redeem that area of her past by teaching her how to live with a husband and love him rightly. The person who dabbled in the occult needs to allow the Holy Spirit to redeem that area of their past by allowing Him to display the surpassing beauty and worth and power of Jesus Christ against the deceitfulness of idols. It isn’t until we actually allow the Holy Spirit to do His redeeming work on these areas that we will understand the true depth and destructive nature of sin.

I know I have harped heavily on past sins, nearly at the peril of ignoring the sins we commit in the present. I haven’t forgotten about them. The sins we commit in the present are equally sinful. I also know that I have tread in waters in which not everyone wants to tread. Talking about past sins we’ve committed or that were committed against us makes people uncomfortable. Here’s my thinking. Past sins cause us to sin in the present. Allowing the Holy Spirit to redeem all areas of my life, past and present, will make me more wholly His in the here and now. This is sanctification. This is part of our redemption as His children. This must become part of the answer we give to “Why are we saved?” He saves us to redeem us; not just for a future in Heaven, but He saves us for a redeemed life on this earth. He saves us so we can live wholly as He lives: Holy.

Why Are We So Messed Up?

This weekend I received some troubling news concerning some one I care about deeply. I won’t go into the details of the situation in this venue, but suffice it to say that this is the latest in a long series of “troubling” news reports, and maybe the most hurtful. It has really caused me to think about why we make the decisions we make. Here’s what I’ve been pondering.

The more I have thought about this, the more I see it in people’s lives, the more I believe it is true. Sin leads to more sin. Bad decisions lead to more bad decisions. Poor understanding only degrades into worse understanding. Scripture clearly teaches this in Romans chapter one. When an individual decides to ignore God, to ignore repentance, the course of his or her life only goes from sin to sin, from bad choice to bad choice. And until you recognize the downward spiral you are in, you won’t escape it.

This is true for everyone, even for believers. I know Romans one is describing the actions of a person who rejects God, and not believers. However, all believers still struggle with the vestiges of sin, even though we are new creations in Christ. Sin still has its seductive attraction for believers and believers are no less susceptible to sin than lost people. Therefore, we too can become entangled in sin, and even deeply so.

What makes it worse when a born again person strays is that unlike the lost person, he or she is in willful rebellion against the One who saved them. Lost people don’t willfully rebel. They cannot choose any other way to live. Saints, though, choose to rebel on a daily basis. We can choose righteous living because the Holy Spirit enables us to live righteously.

So how do we get out of it? How do we recognize when we are in a spiral? The sneaky thing about sin is that it is most deceitful. Many times we enter the spiral without recognizing we’ve entered. Sin doesn’t usually present itself to us as outright rebellion. Sometimes it tempts us overtly. But many times it appeals to our hurts and wounds as a quick fix. And I think it is here, where our hurts and wounds lie, that sin finds the easiest door to open. Anything that will help us to feel better faster is what we tend to pursue. But the real answer is not a quick fix.

At least in my life, I’ve noticed that God most often is methodical and gradual about changing me. It’s almost as if He goes slow so I will take note of the ugliness of my sin as He removes it. And make no mistake, almost always, slow is painful. So for me to quick fix my pain with something else is essentially short circuiting what God intends to do. And you could say that what might have taken God six months, turns into two or three years of painful molding; all because I won’t allow Him to do His work in me in His way and in His timing.

So the question we all need to ask ourselves is, “What is my quick fix?” Is your quick fix food? Is your quick fix money? Is your quick fix sex? The person I mentioned at the beginning of this entry thinks that romantic relationships will bring the pain and dissatisfaction to an end. Failed relationship after failed relationship, each one worse than the last. And the last one was physically abusive. When will the spiral end?

For those of us who are born again, the spiral ends when we stop looking to the pleasures of the world for satisfaction. Jesus Christ is our greatest satisfaction and until we recognize Him as that, Jesus will continue to be one priority among many in our lives, but never what He should be – our ultimate, all satisfying, all powerful, all consuming King, Savior, and Friend.

For the person who has never been born again the spiral ends when you recognize that you have offended a Holy God, and need to be reconciled to Him. And He provided a way for you to be reconciled to Him that gives you all the benefits of Heaven at His expense. Jesus Christ died, and suffered the wrath that you deserved to endure for all eternity, on the cross. Believe in Him, receive the gift of forgiveness God offers you through Jesus, and be born again. Your spiral will never cease until you do this one thing.

One more thing. The fact is that many of us have made so many bad decisions upon bad decisions that our lives have actually spiraled out of control. When you make the decision to turn about and repent, the inertia of your life will continue to push against you. Consequences may never be lifted. But God gives grace to the humble. Repentance is an act of humility. God will extend grace to you in those moments. They will keep you afloat in the whirlpool. Ultimately, God will finish the good work He begins in you when you are born again. The sum of your life is not defined by your mistakes. It is defined by God’s grace and how He still wins in spite of our best efforts to cause Him to fail. In the end, He is left standing, and what we were in the beginning is lost to eternity because He has made us like Jesus.

My heart many times wants to explode out of my chest because I so badly want people to understand the Truth. I hope that this small burst of passion bodes well with you.