LOVING THE SINNER AND HATING THE SIN

All of my life I have heard preachers say: "We must love the sinner and hate the sin." Is that merely a cliché or is it really possible? We know it is possible because millions of Christians through the ages have done it. On Sunday, November 11, 2007, The Tennessean published an extremely foolish article with the title, "Does the Bible always tells us so?" by Bill Friskics-Warren, a staff writer for the paper. The article was poorly researched and illogically presented. When a writer consults only those who hold one side of a controversial issue, you know he has an agenda he is trying to sell his readers. Incidentally, that is one of the reasons millions of Americans have no respect for the media. The author of the article asks, "So why do many Christians cling to the handful of Scriptures that cast aspersions on sexual relationships between people of the same gender? Why, when scholars tell us that these passages have nothing to do with sexual orientation as we've come to understand it, do some people continue to use Scripture as a club to judge and condemn" (p. 21-A)? The same author quotes "Daniel Karslake, director of For the Bible Tells Me So, a new documentary that explores these questions, and looks at how this biblical heavy-handedness is tearing families, congregations and denominations apart" (p. 21-A).

I have a number of questions for Bill Friskcis-Warren. He says that some of us cling to "the handful of scriptures that cast aspersions on sexual relationships between people of the same gender." How many passages have to deal with a topic before we can know that the Bible means what it says? There is only one New Testament passage that discusses incest (1 Cor. 5:1). How many more passages must we have before we can oppose incest? And which scholars "tell us that these passages have nothing to do with sexual orientation as we've come to understand it?" There are literally thousands of Greek and Hebrew scholars who dispute the conclusions of liberal theologians and preachers. Which scholars do we believe? Do we listen to men like John Shelby Spong who try to make the scriptures mean what they want them to mean? Many of them could not care less about anything the Bible says. If Bill Friskcis-Warren does not know that, he should have waited to write the article until he had learned more about the issue he discusses. Ignorance is no excuse.

The author of this biased and poorly researched article criticizes people who "use the scripture as a club to judge and condemn." If the author of the article had consulted any serious and dedicated student of the word, he would have known that the scriptures judge and condemn. I am aware that some preachers use the Bible as a club to beat people over the head. But just because some person misuses and abuses the scripture does remove the fact that the scriptures judge and condemn. In fact, there is no possibility of living without judging. If churches did not judge, they could not carry on their work. How could any church withdraw from an erring brother unless that church can judge who an erring brother is (1 Cor. 5: 1-5)? Even a child knows that the word of God condemns certain kinds of behavior. For example, Paul asked the Corinthians: "Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?" He then warned them: "Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:9-10).

The article mentions the topic of our discussion today, that is, "loving the sinner and hating the sin" (p. 24-A). The author of the article and the theologians he consulted either do not understand that loving the sinner and hating the sin is the very essence of Christianity or they do not care. But the Bible is literally filled with examples of that very principle. After Adam and Eve rebelled against the will of God, God did cease loving them. He punished them for their ungodliness, but he never quit loving them. He even announced the plan by which fallen men and women could be redeemed (Gen. 3:15). From that time onward, God developed the plan by which all men could be saved. Let us take note of some of other examples of the principle I am discussing with you, that is, loving the sinner but hating his sin.

Jesus called the Pharisees "hypocrites." He applied Isaiah 29:13 to the scribes and Pharisees. "This people draws near to me with their hearts, and honors me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (Mt. 15:7-9). Do you get the impression that Jesus Christ hated the sin of hypocrisy? If you have the slightest doubt, please listen to these passages. "You blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel! Woe unto you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites! For you make clean the outside of the cup and platter, but within they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.... You serpents, you generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell" (Mt. 23:24-26, 33)?

Does not such harsh language prove that Christ hated the sin of hypocrisy? Is it possible he also hated the Pharisees? The Golden Text of the Bible proves conclusively that Christ loved all men-Jew and Gentile. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved" (John 3:16-17). Christ hates all sins, but he loves all sinners. Why would he die for someone he did not love? The apostle Paul adds: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might be rich" (2 Cor. 8:9).

In his first letter to the church at Corinth, Paul used some of the harshest language in the entire New Testament. He called the Corinthian Christians babies and accused them of being carnal (1 Cor. 3:1-3). Please listen to what he said to them about their ungodly behavior around the Lord's Table. "Now in this I declare unto you I praise you not, that you come together not for the better, but for the worse. For first of all, when you come together in the church, I hear that there are divisions among you; and I partly believe .... For when you come together therefore in one place, this is not to eat the Lord's Supper.... What? Have you not houses to eat and to drink in? Or do you despise the church of God, and shame them who have not? Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not" (1 Cor. 11: 17-18, 20, 22).

Is it possible Paul could love his Corinthian brothers and sisters and be so critical of their conduct? We know he hated the sins of the Corinthians. But did he love the sinners at Corinth? Incidentally, the greatest discourse on love in the world appears in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 13). He concludes this epistle with these assuring words: "My love be with you all in Christ Jesus" (1 Cor. 16:24). In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul explained: "Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved" (2 Cor. 12:14-15).

The apostle Paul was concerned with the false teachers who were attempting to deceive members of the Lord's church in the province of Galatia. Those false teachers apparently believed they could take the best elements of the new covenant and the best elements of the Mosaic covenant and combine them into a religion that was superior to either covenant. Paul strongly condemned the men who were promoting such destructive beliefs and practices. "I marvel," said Paul, "that you are so soon removed from him who called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there are some who trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ" (Gal. 1:6-7).

There are some words in these verses I must examine. The word translated "marvel" (thaumazo) means to be astonished. The word involves irritation and rebuke (Rogers & Rogers, p. 421). The word "pervert" (metastrepho in the Greek) means to change from one thing to another, to change to the opposite (Rogers & Rogers, p. 421). Do you get the impression from these verses that Paul hated the perverted gospel some of the teachers were preaching among the Galatian Christians? If you have even the slightest doubt, please listen to the next two verses from Galatians 1. "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I know again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that you have received, let him be accursed" (Gal. 1:8-9).

Paul also wrote to the same churches as follows: "0 foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among you" (Gal. 3:1)? The word "foolish" means the Galatians were without wisdom. Some versions render the Greek "stupid." If men accepted the false gospel the Judaizers were preaching, they had fallen from grace (Gal. 5:1-4). The Galatian Christians had begun their Christian lives with great fervor, but some of them had become unfaithful. Paul asked them what had hindered them from obeying the truth (Gal. 5: 7).

Since it is obvious that Paul hated the sins of the Galatians, does that mean he did not love them? Why would he have bothered to write to the churches in Galatia if he did not love the members of those churches? The word "love" does not appear very often in Galatians, but there can be no doubt of Paul's love for the Galatian Christians. He asked them: "Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? .... My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you. I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you" (Gal. 4:16, 19-20). Paul also told the Galatians: "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; you shall love your neighbor as yourself' (Gal. 5:14). It ought to be obvious from the letter to the churches of Galatia that Paul loved the sinner and hated the sin.

But hate is such an ugly word. Are Christians ever justified in hating anything? You know the answer before I read some scriptures to you. The Psalmist David expressed hatred for all that was evil. "Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every evil way ... .1 hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.... Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way ... I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love" (Psa. 119: 104, 113, 128, 163).

The scriptures unquestionably make a distinction between hating sin and hating people. In his great Sermon on the Mount, our Lord told his disciples: "You have heard that it has been said, You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them who curse you, do good to them who hate you, and pray for them who spitefully use you, and persecute you; that you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven: for he makes the sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Mt. 5:43-45). The apostle John told his readers: "Whoso hates his brother is a murderer: and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him" (1 John 3:15).

Revelation 2 records a letter that Christ wrote to the church at Ephesus. The church at Ephesus had many wonderful qualities. They labored to the point of exhaustion; they endured under the most trying circumstances; they refused to bear those who were evil; they tried men who claimed to be apostles but were not and found them to be liars. But the Lord had somewhat against them. They had left their first love. The Lord pled with the Ephesian Christians to repent and do the first works. He then complemented them on one other attitude: "They hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans." The Lord said he also hated their deeds (Rev. 2:2-6). In his letter to the church at Pergamos, the Lord stated: "So you also have some who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate" (Rev. 2:15).

We do not know who the Nicolaitans were; nor do we know what their deeds were. It does not matter who they were or what their deeds were. This we know: the Ephesians hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans and so did the Lord. If the Ephesians had hated the Nicolaitans, the Lord would have strongly rebuked them. But he commends them for hating the deeds of the Nicolaitans. In the words of King David, we must hate every evil way (Psa. 119:104).

For the remainder of our time, let us think of some of the great evils of our world. The Holocaust was unquestionably one of the greatest tragedies of all time. Hitler and the Nazis murdered 6,000,000 Jews. Why did Hitler and the Nazis hate the Jews so much? Had the Jews engaged in a reign of terror in Germany? Had they used biological and chemical weapons to kill thousands or even millions of German citizens? Hitler and his henchmen hated the Jews because they were Jews. Is it legitimate for Christians to hate Hitler and the Nazis? All reasonable human beings-even if they are not Christians-must hate the bigotry that led the Germans to kill so many Jews and other people. Incidentally, there are white supremacist groups, such as, the KKK and the Aryan nations, who would probably kill all the Jews, blacks and Hispanics, if they thought they could get by with it. Some of these very dangerous groups might deny that they hate Jews, Blacks and Hispanics, but their words and actions betray them.

9/11 should remind of us of the great evil that exists in our world. The men who flew those airliners into the Twin Towers in New York were so filled with hate for our nation that they gladly sacrificed their own lives to destroy Americans. Our leaders and our people had better be alert to prevent another catastrophe like the one that occurred on 9/11. Jed Babbin's new book, In the Words of Our Enemies (Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2007), warns Americans about the people who hate us. One chapter in Babbin's book has the title, "The Hate Factories (pp. 2357). Another chapter in the book is entitled, "The Hate Networks" (pp. 59-71). May I remind you of the Apostle John's words: "Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer: and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him" (1 John 3: 15)?

In March of 2007, I spoke on this program on the topic, "Illegal Immigration." The response to that lesson was probably greater than to any other lesson I have done in my twelve years on this program. In fact, I had only one negative response. A man in Georgia accused me of hating Mexicans. He compared me to Hitler. He said Hitler hated the Jews and I hate Mexicans. Is it possible he was angry because he is hiring illegal immigrants in the carpet industry? I do not hate anyone, but I have strong objections to criminals. Every illegal immigrant in the United States is a criminal. That is what the word "illegal" means.

Our Lord demanded that his followers love everyone-saints and sinners. There was a lawyer among the Pharisees who asked Jesus: "What the greatest commandment in the law?" Christ answered: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Mt. 22:36-40). If you want to know what it means to love your neighbor, read the story of the good Samaritan (Lk. 10:25-37).

I need to provide you with a wonderful example of what it means to hate the sin but love the sinner. Frank and Elizabeth Morris of Pee Dee, Kentucky, near Hopkinsville, had only one son. A drunk driver killed that son. Elizabeth says she wanted to tie the drunk driver to a tree and run into him with her car. But as time passed, she knew she had to seek the welfare of the drunk driver. She and Frank taught him the gospel. Frank baptized him into Christ. Frank and Elizabeth took the man who killed their son into their home and forgave him of the wrong of killing their son. Did they hate the sin of drunkenness? Probably more than the rest of us can imagine. But they knew they had to forgive in order to be forgiven (Mt. 6: 15). I urge you to hate all false ways, but to love all sinners and seek to lead them to Christ.

Winford Claiborne

The International Gospel Hour

P.O. Box 118

Fayetteville, TN 37334