“Love the sinner, hate the sin” is not a Bible verse. Saint Augustine of Hippo is credited as saying it some 300 years after the time of Jesus. Saint Augustine supposedly said, “But my sin was this, that I looked for pleasure, beauty, and truth not in him but in myself and his other creatures, and the search led me instead to pain, confusion, and error.” Saint Augustine’s collective lesson was that he wanted everyone to know that happiness and peace of mind cannot be found depending only on ourselves. Saint Augustine taught that to be complete, we had to recognize God and God’s divine plan for each of us.
“The clearest use of this phrase actually derives from Mahatma Gandhi in his 1929 autobiography: ‘Hate the sin and not the sinner.’ But Gandhi’s full statement has a bit different flavor: ‘Hate the sin and not the sinner is a precept which, though easy enough to understand, is rarely practiced, and that is why the poison of hatred spreads in the world.’ Gandhi rightly observed that it is difficult — perhaps impossible —to see someone else firstly as a ‘sinner’ and to focus on ‘hating their sin’ without developing some level of disdain for the person. Perhaps this is why Jesus did not ask us to love Sinners but to love neighbors and enemies.” (Merritt, 2017)
Paul reminds us that sin is what separates us from God/Jesus. Sin causes harm and is damning. Paul asks whether “we will continue in sin that grace may abound” and answers with a booming “God Forbid.” In Romans 5:8, Paul reminds us that Christ voluntarily sacrificed his life and suffered for us on the cross while we were sinners. In Matthew 7, Jesus tells us that those that condemn others will be condemned. The Bible is very clear that all judgment is not being condemned. Matthew 12:31 warns us, “All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men.”
We should be cautious about using the term “Love the Sinner and hate the Sin.” Like many things we use in everyday conversations, it has many interpretations. We must ask if we really mean what we are saying or are we trying to sound more intelligent or kinder than we really are?
“The simple fact that we label the person we are talking about as a “sinner” indicates that we do not have a love for them in the first place. To label someone a “sinner” is to imply that they are outside of God’s grace and unless they clean up their act, cannot be forgiven. To label someone a ‘sinner’ reveals an ‘us vs. them’ mentality, where you are the ‘righteous’ person looking down your nose at the poor, wretched, ignorant ‘sinners’ down below who just cannot get their act together. If only they would listen to what you tell them to do… We Christians pay lip service to the idea that ‘We are all sinners’ but we reveal that we do not really believe this when label someone else a sinner.” (Myers, 2015)
The world is currently under attack and experiencing moral and cultural decay like no other time before. In some circles, behavior that would have ruined a person and been considered illegal and disgusting is now applauded and admired. Child trafficking, pedophilia, bestiality, many forms of child endangerment, cruelty to women, and many other deviant behaviors are behaviors and actions that should never be appreciated in any form or fashion. Evil will always be evil, and trying to love evil while simultaneously hating evil defies physics and common sense. We should pray that God would intervene and change those involved with the evil, and like in Matthew 8, Jesus cast the demons out of the possessed individual. Demons were responsible for violent behavior, acting out, and being out of control. Jesus approached the situation and rendered judgment on the demons. The people parading in the street, claiming to be coming for the children, raping and immorally treating women and children, and engaging in the current deviant behavior are also possessed by demons. In the not-so-distant past, it was considered mental health issues. The demons in Matthew knew they were wrong and would be judged just like those today know their actions are wrong. During the 1970s and early 1980s, the liberal left chose to do away with mental health hospitals. As a result, homelessness, deviant behavior, criminal behavior, and the family unit have suffered. Renaming a sin or accepting deviant behavior does not make it right. NAMBLA, the North American Man/Boy Love Association, tries to advocate adult sexual relations as if it is normal. This is and will always be a form of perverted rape of a child. There is no such thing as consent involving a child.
“Using ‘hate the sin’ as a license for cruelty defeats the purpose of proclaiming the truth. The gospel needs no help causing division; it is foolishness to those who reject it (1 Cor. 1:22-24). Because the gospel will divide based on its exclusive nature, our job is not to further that division but to simply love the Lord our God with all our hearts (emotions), souls (being), minds (thoughts), and strength (effort). Our second directive is to love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. (Matt. 22:37-40) God hates sin because He is holy. Sin is contrary to His nature and prevents humanity from approaching Him. But because God is also loving, He desires a relationship with humanity. Jesus was the solution to the problem of sin, atoning for our unholiness and making possible what would otherwise be an impossible relationship with God. Thus, God doesn’t hate sin arbitrarily. He doesn’t take joy in condemnation (2 Pet. 3:9). He judges because He is holy, and sinmust be judged. (Masonheimer, 2023)
James 4 reminds us that whoever knows what is right and chooses to do wrong will be committing a sin. We as humans want to justify our behaviors and try to convince ourselves and others that we are not sinners and better than those that do sin. James also tells us that acting religious and having an unbridled tongue is deceiving himself, and his religion is worthless. We should also keep in mind that we do not know as much as we think and have no grounds to judge others. Proverbs tell us to fear the Lord and that only fools despise wisdom and instruction. Instead of “Love the Sinner and Hate the Sin,” we should say and pray that the sinner will find a better way with Jesus and still not condone or approve of the sin. This could be said, “Pray for the Sinner and Hate the Sin.”
Masonheimer, P. (2023). The Problem With “Hate the Sin, Love the Sinner.” Retrieved from Every Woman a Theologian: https://phyliciamasonheimer.com/hate-sin/
Merritt, J. (2017, 1 4). One problem with Kim Burrell’s ‘hate the sin, love the sinner’ argument. Retrieved from U.S.A. Today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/01/04/kim-burrell-hate-the-sin-love-the-sinner/96158416/
Myers, J. (2015). Stop Saying You “Love the Sinner; Hate the Sin.” Retrieved from Redeeming God: https://redeeminggod.com/love-the-sinner-hate-the-sin/