Is It Right to Say That God Hates the Sin but Loves the Sinner?

If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you will probably have heard the saying, ‘God hates the sin but loves the sinner’. You might even have said these words yourself.

There are some Christians, however, who object to this saying. They point out that the Bible refers to God hating sinners, and they claim that the saying is actually misleading.

So what should we make of this disagreement? Is this a helpful saying or not?

In my view, it is a helpful saying, although it is also true that there is a sense in which God hates sinners. Let me explain what I mean.

God hates sin

To begin with, we need to be clear that the first part of the saying – ‘God hates the sin’ – is always correct. There is no sense in which God loves sin or is in any way neutral about it. He only hates it. That’s nice and simple.

Different senses of love and hate

When it comes to the second half of the saying – ‘but loves the sinner’ – things are not so simple. The reason why this is not a simple issue is that we can think of different ways in which God loves and hates people.

It is actually very common in language generally for words or phrases to have more than one meaning, and this is true of love and hatred. There is one sense in which God hates sinners and doesn’t love them. And there is another sense in which God loves sinners and doesn’t hate them.

Let’s take a moment to think about each of these things in turn.

God hates sinners

Firstly, the Bible is clear that there is a sense in which God hates sinners.

In Psalm 5:5 David says:

‘The boastful cannot stand in your sight; you hate all evildoers.’ (CSB)

Note that this verse doesn’t say that God hates the actions of evildoers, although that is certainly also true. It says that He hates the evildoers themselves. So these words make it clear that God hates sinners.

Similarly, in Psalm 11:5 David writes:

‘The LORD examines the righteous, but he hates the wicked and those who love violence.’ (CSB)

This verse is equally clear that God hates sinners.

So the Bible teaches that God hates sinners, but in what sense does He do this?

I would suggest that God hates sinners in the sense that He is disgusted by them. Sinners repulse Him. He is also repulsed by the actions of sinners, but we can’t neatly distinguish between His disgust at the sin and His disgust at the people themselves. God hates sinners themselves in this sense.

The opposite of hating someone in the sense of being disgusted by them, is loving someone in the sense of admiring and being drawn to them. And it can’t be true that God loves sinners in the exact opposite sense to the sense in which He hates them. So, in this sense of loving, we can say that God doesn’t love sinners.

In one sense, then, God hates sinners and doesn’t love them.

God loves sinners

But there is another kind of love and hatred that we need to consider.

The Bible is clear that there is a sense in which God loves sinners.

In John 3:16, for example, we read:

‘For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.’ (CSB)

In this verse ‘the world’ means the people who populate the world. And the Bible tells us in many places that all people are sinners. So the verse is clearly implying that God loves sinners.

Similarly, Romans 5:8 says:

‘But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’ (CSB)

This verse is explicit that God loves sinners.

So the Bible teaches that God loves sinners, but in what sense does He do this?

This love is essentially about desiring the wellbeing of the people who are loved. Even though people are sinners, God wants good things for them. God loves sinners in this sense.

The opposite of loving someone in the sense of desiring their wellbeing, is hating someone in the sense of desiring their harm. And it can’t be true that God hates sinners in the exact opposite sense to the sense in which He loves them. So, in this sense of hating, we can say that God doesn’t hate sinners.

In one sense, then, God loves sinners and doesn’t hate them.

Hating the sin but loving the sinner

We have seen that there is a sense in which God hates and doesn’t love sinners, and that there is another sense in which God loves and doesn’t hate sinners.

He hates sinners in the sense of being disgusted by them, and He loves sinners in the sense of desiring their wellbeing.

This means that if we are thinking of this sense of loving, it is indeed correct to say that God hates the sin but loves the sinner. Although He hates what sinners do, in love He still desires what is good for them.

So the saying, ‘God hates the sin but loves the sinner’, is a good one. However, it doesn’t give the whole picture on the issue of God’s love and hate for sinners, because there is also, as we have seen, a sense in which God hates sinners.

Christians should hate and love sinners in the same ways that God does

We have seen, then, what God’s attitude to sinners is. But what about Christians? Should we aim to hate and love sinners in the ways God does, or should we do something different?

Importantly, in Ephesians 5:1 we are told to be imitators of God, and there is no good reason for thinking that we shouldn’t imitate Him in His attitude to sinners.

Besides, various Bible passages point in this direction anyway.

For example, in Psalm 31:6 David says:

‘I hate those who are devoted to worthless idols, but I trust in the LORD.’ (CSB)

Similarly, in Psalm 119:113 the psalmist writes:

‘I hate those who are double-minded, but I love your instruction.’ (CSB)

And again, in Psalm 139:21-22 David says:

‘LORD, don’t I hate those who hate you, and detest those who rebel against you? I hate them with extreme hatred…’ (CSB)

There is no good reason for thinking that Christians today shouldn’t follow these examples. So we should hate sinners in the way God hates them.

But we should certainly also love sinners in the way God loves them.

For example, in Matthew 5:44-45 Jesus says:

‘But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.’ (CSB)

There is no doubt that the enemies and persecutors of Christians that Jesus refers to here are people who are unrepentant of various sins. This passage therefore clearly implies that Christians should love sinners.

And note how the passage draws a parallel between the love of Christians for sinners and the love of God for sinners. Just as He loves sinners by giving them sunshine and rain, we should also love sinners in ways that are appropriate for us.

In the sense that God hates sinners, then, we should do likewise. And in the sense that God loves sinners, we should also do likewise. We should hate sinners by being disgusted by them, but we should love them by desiring their wellbeing.

 

See also:

The Justice and Mercy of God

Imitation as a Principle of Christian Living

Should Christians Forgive Those Who Are Unrepentant?

Christian Teachers and Evangelists Should Speak Often about Hell