God Hates the Sin and Hates the Sinner

I know you’ve heard it said: “God hates the sin, but loves the sinner.” But is that really biblical? Can we reconcile that view with Psalm 11:5, where the Word says, “The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence” ? Justin Taylor recently approached that very question in this post. Here’s an excerpt he quoted from the late John L. McKenzie:

“There is a lawful hatred of the sinner; and indeed there must be, since such a hatred is the obverse of the love of God. The love of God hates all that is opposed to God; and sinners–not merely sin–are opposed to God. And if such a sentiment is lawful, its expression is lawful; and one may desire that the evil in another receive its corresponding evil–provided that this hatred is restrained within the limits of that which is lawful. These limits are:

1. Hatred must not be directed at the person of one’s neighbor; he is hated for his evil quality.

2. One may desire that the divine justice be accomplished in the sinner; but it must be a desire for divine justice, not a desire for the personal evil of another out of personal revenge.

3. The infliction of evil may not be desired absolutely, but only under the condition that the sinner remains obdurate and unrepentant.

4. It must be accompanied by that true supernatural charity which efficaciously desires the supreme good–the eternal happiness–of all men in general, not excluding any individual who is capable of attaining it. In a word, the sinner may lawfully be hated only when he is loved.”

John L. McKenzie, “The Imprecations of the Psalter.” American Ecclesiastical Review 111 (1944): 91.

Here are a few other quotes on the subject:

“Any and every unrighteous man must be the object of our hatred in respect of his unrighteousness and the object of our love in respect of his humanity; that by reproving the fault in him which rightly earns our hatred, we may liberate that in him which rightly earns our love, that is to say the human nature itself, and set right every fault in it.” – Augustine

“Before we were reconciled to God, he both hated and loved us. Why did he love us? Because we were his creatures […]. Yet at the same time, he hated us, because he is the source of all righteousness and had to hate the evil within us.” – John Calvin

“There was a time when the mountain of granite was not under me but over me, ready to fall and crush me. It was the mountain of God’s wrath against my sin. God hated me in my sin. Yes, I think we need to go the full Biblical length and say that God hates unrepentant sinners. If I were to soften it, as we so often do, and say that God hates sin, most of you would immediately translate that to mean: he hates sin but loves the sinner. But Psalm 5:5 says, “The boastful may not stand before thy eyes; thou hatest all evildoers.” And Psalm 11:5 says, “The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, and his soul hates him that loves violence.”" -John Piper

(HT: Between Two Worlds)

~ by brotherhank on September 19, 2007.