Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin

We have heard the phrase, "Love the sinner, hate the sin" many times in our lives.  But have you given thought to the subtle, silent transformation that has happened?  It has changed to, "Love the sinner.  But you must also tolerate their sin.  Don't judge."

Even in many churches today tolerance is preached, because they say, "We need to love like Jesus loved."  Or we also hear, "My God is a God of love."  Let's examine those statements to see if they hold fast to the Word of God or if they are misguided, unbiblical statements.

First of all, is God a God of love?  Absolutely!  His character is pure love.  You will see that thread throughout the Bible.  His love can be described as Sovereign (Deuteronomy 7:8; 10:15), Great (Ephesians 2:4), Abiding (Zephaniah 3:17), Unfailing (Isaiah 49:15-16).  The list goes on an on.

But just as His character is pure love, so is His holiness and righteousness.  (Leviticus 19:2; 1 Peter 1:15,16; Ephesians 5:1).  Again, this is a small representation of the Scriptures that adhere to His holiness.

When Jesus came to earth in the form of a human, He did not lose any part of His divinity.  Being God, not created-but Creator, He shares those attributes with the Father.  That did not change in His earthly ministry.  Here are a few verses on Christ's character.  Love and Compassion (John 13:1;15:13, Isaiah 40:11; Luke 19:41), Holy and Righteous (Luke 1:35; Acts 4:27; Revelation 3:7, Isaiah 53:11; Hebrews 1:9), Just (Zechariah 9:9; John 5:30; Acts 22:14).

All too often, our made up version of Jesus does not match biblical truth.  Sin is not something we define based on the current tides of our culture.  Sin is revealed by Sovereign God.  It is anything that does not measure up to His standard of perfection.  Read the Ten Commandments to reveal sin in your life.  Then go to Jesus' sermon in Matthew 5:21-48.  Verse 48 says, "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."  

Doesn't sound too tolerant to me.  He died to achieve that perfection for us.  We can't do it without Jesus.  We are incapable of perfection (holiness).  But once the Holy Spirit reveals to us that Jesus  lived a perfect life, died a cruel death, for us, taking our sin upon Himself, how can we tolerate sin?  If we claim Christ, not just the label "Christian," but if we truly claim Christ then, as Paul David Tripp says, "You can't look at the life and death sacrifice of the cross of Jesus Christ and also look at sin as being okay."

Is there sin in your life right now?  Are you living under the guise of tolerance?  If you have never repented and put your trust in Jesus, that is the first step.  If Jesus is your Lord and Savior by what He's done, and you have sin in your life, confess it, repent (turn from it and turn back to Him).

Yes, love the sinner.  For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Rom. 3:23)  Love enough to be bold enough to share Truth.

Don't tolerate what He hates.  Don't overlook what He abhors.  Don't flirt with sin.  It is life and death! Let's call it what it is.  Let's warn those who are among us who claim the title Christian but don't claim the Christ who paid it all.