Hate the sin, love the sinner

   I know, there's been an endless amount of controversy over this phrase. It's been on my heart for the last few weeks, and I to be honest, I haven't wanted to say anything. Is it Biblically accurate? Yes. We are to love everybody regardless of their sin, without falling prey to condoning (loving) their sin. We are always to hate the sin in this world, and to love it out of people. So if we're checking off boxes we have 1) hate the sin - CHECK and 2) love the sinner - CHECK

You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He preserves the souls of His saints;
He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
Psalm 97:10 

So where's the controversy?
The controversy surrounding this phrase is broken into three parts:

1) By saying that we hate someone's sin, we're being offensive. This sin that this person is committing is a part of them, and by saying we hate it, we are likewise saying that we hate them.

2) By saying "love the sinner" we are labeling this person as a sinner,
something that's not our place to do.

3) We are only capable of focusing on one thing at a time -
we need to focus more on loving the "sinner", than hating the sin.

Part 1 - I've mentioned here before, and it's pretty open news, that I suffered from anorexia for four years. I let it in, and I let this foreign sin become a part of me. When my husband, or my mother, or my best friend would tell me that they hated my eating disorder, I was offended. It was mine! I felt they had no right to hate what was mine. Looking back now, it was a turning point. The faithful people I had in my life didn't just want me to be "happy", but they wanted me to be whole. They could see that my sin wasn't a part of me, it wasn't who I was, and they pointed it out. It hurt my feelings at the time, but their willingness to speak up, and address that it was a SIN and NOT a part of me was what helped me begin to break out of the bondage of it. I'm thankful that they offended me, because in doing so they helped save my life.

A friend loves at all times,
And a brother is born for adversity.
Proverbs 17:17

 Part 2&3 - We need to understand that we are ALL sinners by nature. But, we have a responsibility to make a separation between the sin and the sinner. Until we can make a separation, we will either love the sinner and love the sin or hate the sinner and hate the sin - and it's crucial that we see a separation. I don't want to be labeled as only my sins, and I'm sure no one else does either. But often, we only see people for their sin. We see "the guy that sleeps around", "that lesbian girl" or "the mouthy gossip", rather than seeing them as people, just like us, who need a Savior, just like us.

But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 
Romans 3:21 - 26

   We had some friends visit us from our hometown, and one of the things we talked about was being offensive and when is it appropriate, if ever, as a Christian, to offend someone. While our discussion was a little bit more in depth, it can be summed up simply: we are called to share the Word, at the discretion of the Spirit, to whomever, and whenever, the Spirit guides us to, regardless of personal comfort and despite whatever offense those around us may take.

   Several girls that I went to college with routinely post pictures of themselves to social media, boasting their pride in their bodies. I take offense to that. I was following an "inspirational" Twitter account that began sharing things that were Biblically inaccurate. I unfollowed and was offended. I popped into a new store to check it out, only to find that their t-shirts were filled with horrific obscenities. I took offense. The world is not cautious about offending Christians, yet Christians tip-toe around the world, not wanting to hurt anybody's feelings. While I was offended by these things, they struck a chord in me - they're not trying to offend anyone or hurt anyone's feelings, they just want to show off what matters to them, and share what they deem to be important. Why don't we, as Christians, have that same boldness and that same desire to share what matters to us? Because we worry about being offensive. God is calling up a generation of warriors that understand they're going to get dirty. Warriors that know they can't tiptoe around anyone, but adamantly proclaim the name of Jesus!

Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.
1 Corinthians 16:13
 
   A warped view of love has blossomed in our society - one that defines love as unconditional support and acceptance in everything you do. It doesn't sound like a bad thing at first. Unconditional? Good! Support? Great! Acceptance? Yes! But that's not love. The Bible lays out that God is love, and He said "come as you are" not "stay as you are". I'm thankful that our Father's love for us isn't unconditional acceptance, but rather encourages change. I'm thankful that our God hates the sin and loves the sinner. I'm thankful that my God loved me too much to leave me in the pit of who I was, and support who I wanted to become, but rather burdened my selfish heart towards Him as He offered me light and hope.

   The Bible is incredibly clear about hating sin and avoiding it at all costs. Christ died a horrific death so we could be found sinless. Sin is a big deal. We all fall prey to sin daily, but that doesn't make it any less of a big deal. But it is possible to separate sin from the sinner - Christ already did that on the cross. The people that helped changed me were the ones who didn't just "love the sinner", but they strongly, adamantly, hated the sin. Those were the ones reminding me that Christ died so I don't have to be this way. They loved me, but because they loved me they hated my sin. Those who are bound to Christ, bold IN Christ, know what sin is capable of doing to someones life, and when you love someone you don't JUST love them, but you're against anything that threatens them.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7 

   We serve a God that loves the sinner, but hates our sin. He removed our sins from us, as far as the east is from the west, because He is capable of making a separation between who we were and who we are in Him, a separation between the sin and the sinner. We need to extend this same love to others. Understand that we all fall short, we all sin... but we all can come to Christ and be made new again.

He has removed our sins as far from us
    as the east is from the west.
Psalm 103:12