We like to point out that we need to "hate the sin but love the sinner." It sounds right and good. But ... is it biblical? Let's look. There is a lot of Scripture that tells us that God hates evil. Proverbs explicitly says God hates seven things (Prov 6:16-19), including arrogance and lying and scheming. He hates injustice and oppression (Isa 61:8; Zech 8:17). He hates ... hates ... hates idolatry (e.g., Deut 13:6-11). We know "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness" (Rom 1:18). That is, He hates the ungodliness and unrighteousness of suppressing the truth about Him. So far, so good. And we read in Galatians that salvation is available to all regardless of nationality or gender or status (Gal 3:28). That's good, too.
But we get tripped up when Jesus says things like, "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26). Now, hang on. Jesus requires hating people? So maybe "hate" means something different than we're thinking. Oh! Like "love." We're to "love God," not in a romantic, emotional sense, but in a faithful, choosing, committed sense where we seek His best ... and the best of those around us. The same with "hate," not in an irrational and emotional sense, but in the sense of setting aside or opposing or ... deprioritizing, downgrading, demoting someone or something in favor of ... well ... God, especially. So biblical "love" is "to choose in favor" and "hate" is "to reject in favor of something else."
Now try it again. King David wrote, "You hate all who do iniquity" (Psa 5:5). God said, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated" (Mal 1:2-3). So ... it's not strictly true that God loves the sinner, but hates the sin. He definitely hates the sin, but there are sinners He hates. (As a side note, Scripture says Esau never repented (Heb 12:16-17).) It's not the "hate" we think of, and it's always for sin, not anything else, but ... if we're going to love what Jesus loves, we'd better love Him first and His people second and the world third, not ourselves, careful always to never embrace their sin ... or our own.
7 comments:
To David: Happy 45th Birthday! Hope you have a truly blessed day.
Thank you.
Like many things, it depends on the meaning of X. It is one of the disadvantages of speaking a living language that is translating dead languages. What made sense as a translation 50 years ago no longer makes sense as the language has shifted. I would imagine that if you looked into the depth of the meaning of the words used for "hate" in those passages, they would mean something close to but not quite what we think of when we consider the word "hate" today.
Since I have been admonished my entire Christian life to “love my neighbor,” “love others as myself,” and even “love my enemy,” it does seem contradictory that I should “hate the sinner” (of which I am one, of course). The verse you included aides my understanding of this apparent inconsistency, where Jesus said, "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26). This does not say to me, “If you are a Christian, you must go about seeking to harm your loved ones because they are despicable.” Rather, the inclusion of the clause, “hate … even his own life … [to] be My disciple,” clarifies for me that hate here means “to devalue to the point of being willing to lose it [in favor of gaining Christ].” I am willing to lose my familial relationships--all my earthly loves ones, if necessary--to follow Christ. I don’t detest my loved ones, but I hold Christ in higher esteem. Indeed, since I wish to despise the things that God hates, I oppose the people who are set against God and His truth, even as I seek their best (i.e. love them).
This is one of those formulations that isn't necessarily wrong in it's message, but it's hardly complete either.
I also suspect that David is right to some degree that the shifting meanings of the English words have distorted the message.
Certainly from a human perspective, as Lorna pointed out, we're supposed to love ... everybody, not as in "a warm feeling of affection," but looking out for their best interests. Since we don't know whom God will save, that would include everyone. And we ARE commanded to regard everyone as image bearers of God.
Many more to you, David!
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