God LOVES the SINNER but HATE the SIN! OR God HATE the SINNER and HATE the SIN! “God hates the sin, but loves the sinner” has become the motto of American evangelism today. Certainly, God hates sin – about this there can be no equivocation. And the Bible makes it plain that God loves the sinner. But the Bible also states unambiguously, with striking frequency, that GOD HATES SINNERS. The Bible says that He will laugh at the wicked when their calamity comes like a whirlwind, and that He rejoices over the wicked to destroy them. If you find this concept of God incompatible with the tenets of your religion, I question whether you really know the God of the Bible. Justice is an attribute of love. A Judge in a courtroom of justice rejoices to catch the criminals, convict, and punish them. Is it because he is unloving? No. If he is loving, he will be glad the rapists, murderers, car thieves, child molesters are sent to jail - for the greater good of society. God hates sinners in the same sense a Judge would hate criminals - for the greater good of mankind! God hates sinners in the same sense that He hates the devil - to promote the general welfare of man. Not because God is hateful, but because He is benevolent. For the greater good of the universe, He will rid the earth of all rebels and reign forever. It’s best, it’s right, it’s the loving thing to do. As long as sinners serve the devil by continuing their relentless war against God, their Holy Maker hates, abhors, curses, detests, despises them, and will ultimately destroy them in His wrath - because God is Love. There is a sense in which God loves all men unconditionally, sinners and saints, that is not at all contradictory to the Biblical teaching of God’s hatred for sinners. God loves the sinner in the sense that He is benevolent to them - He wills their good. God wills that all men repent and not perish (II Pet.3:9). His disposition toward man is to show mercy - He is longsuffering, He is slow to wrath and quick to forgive. He does not send speedy judgment when we sin, but convicts us by His Spirit and gives us time to consider our ways. God’s unconditional love for mankind prompted Him to send Jesus to die to motivate man to turn from sin to God, and to secure the salvation of those who meet the terms of the covenant. Most of the time the Bible speaks of God’s love, it is in the context of Jesus death on the cross (John 3:16, Rom.5:8, I John 3:16). This type of love for man is unconditional. God’s benevolence for sinners is not emotional drivel or sentimental feelings. He does not accept sinners “just the way they are”; they must repent (change) and believe in order to be accepted by Him (Acts 10:35). He doesn’t love sinners the way that they want Him to: He does not give them unconditional approval, unconditional acceptance, unconditional forgiveness, or unconditional friendship. He has unconditional love for the sinner, but he doesn’t like them. The Bible also speaks of a love God has for man that is CONDITIONAL. Hear the Word of God: Proverbs 8:17 “I LOVE THEM THAT LOVE ME: and those that seek Me early shall find Me.” John 14:21 “He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and HE THAT LOVETH ME SHALL BE LOVED OF MY FATHER, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said unto him, IF A MAN LOVE ME, he will keep My words; AND MY FATHER WILL LOVE HIM, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him.” John 15:10 “IF ye keep My commandments, YE SHALL ABIDE IN MY LOVE; even as I kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” John 16:27 “For the FATHER HIMSELF LOVETH YOU, BECAUSE YE HAVE LOVED ME, and have believed that I came out from God.” I John 2:15 “Love not the world, neither the things in the world. IF any man love the world, THE LOVE OF THE FATHER IS NOT IN HIM.” God’s conditional love is the love of complacency and friendship, such as the love a man would have for an old, faithful comrade. God’s conditional love is fellowship. We enjoy this love only by responding in a loving way to the influence of His unconditional love. “We love Him because He first loved us.” We cannot know God and His conditional love unless we cease to love sin and He becomes our First Love. Love by definition must be voluntary, so God cannot force His love upon anybody. That would not be BENEVOLENT.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 20:36:27 +0000
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