Heresies in the church 7 - God loves the sinner but hates his sin

I've heard this said so many times by people who try and make the gospel more attractive to non-Christians.

This is what I classify as a Christian cliché. The church is full of these. "Once saved always saved", "Don't look at anyone except Christ", "God has a wonderful plan for your life", just to name a few.  The dangers with these cliché is that they become a substitute for scripture. They are regarded as unchallengeable as inspired scripture.  They often contain an aspect of truth, usually in a very specific context, but the real danger is that they are taken to be absolute truth in all circumstances. This is where this half-truth becomes a total falsehood.  

I'd like to focus on one today "God loves the sinner but hates his sin".

Here is an obvious question - where does it say in the bible that God love the sinner?  

Are you surprised if I were to tell you that no such scripture exist? What we actually find in scripture are verses like John 3:16 “...God so loved the world...”, and Romans 5:8 "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us". Now, these are very different from 'God loves sinners'... There is no doubt that God loves the world, in which sinners are included (in fact every person who ever lived except Jesus falls into the category of 'sinner'). But 'God loves the world' and 'God loves sinners' are two different statements, although a very subtle one.  

When we say that 'God loves sinners', we are saying a few things that we do not mean to say. It implies that God loves the person who is still indulging in his sin. So for the sinner, it's great, God loves me although He hates my adultery. So I'm alright. I don't have to worry about God's judgment because He loves me.  I can still continue practicing my adultery.   It's only my actions he hates, but He loves me yessss!  

The bible actually says God hates the sinner.  Take  Psalm 5:5 which reads, "The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity".  I can almost bet that your preacher never mentioned this in all his sermons.  God hates the workers of iniquity - the sinner.  

But God also loves the world which by implications comprises sinners.  We have to reconcile these two aspects of truth. When we can't reconcile, it's not that scripture is wrong, it’s our lack of understanding.  It is my opinion that the bible does not explicitly state that God loves the sinner because of its implications i.e. God loves the person who is continuing in his sin, therefore endorsing the sin.

So when we say that "God loves the sinner but hates the sin', we really need to be aware of its implications and not risk saying more than what the bible is saying.  We can say that God loves people so much that He gave His only Son Jesus to die on the cross for sinners. But we should not tell an adulterer that God loves him as an adulterer.  It sends the wrong message.

So what attitude should we have?  

 Jude 1:22–23: “Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” 

Dangers of the new 'God-does-not-guide-Christians-so-use-your-own-wisdom' teaching

I came across this teaching recently where the seminary professor taught that God does not guide Christians by telling them what to do - whether to marry a certain person or not, whether to take up a job or stay, etc. You just have to use the wisdom that God has given you and make your decisions based on your best pro-and-con evaluation. As long as it is not a moral decision that contradicts the bible's moral teachings, you can do anything and choose any path.

This teaching alarms me as there are implications.  Besides the fact that this new teaching contradicts many of the teachings by other devoted Christians, especially godly men of the last and previous century, this teaching seems to fly against the teaching of scriptures.

In the book of Acts, we see the Holy Spirit clearly leading the apostles. Go there, don't go there. Granted that God does not tell everyone exactly which step to take next all the time, we have cases whether holy men asked God and He answered. The Old Testament are full of examples of prophets and kings who asked God for direction, and He answered. Are we saying that now, when the Holy Spirit has been poured out, that we receive less guidance? Of course not. God guides nowadays more than ever. He who guided the apostles is the same Spirit who is in us now. 

I digressed from my original intention of writing this article. I want to list some of the dangers of the mentioned teaching.

• It takes God out of the picture. We don't have to ask for God's will anymore. Just weigh the pro-and-cons and decide. This is contrary to the whole spirit of the bible where we are reminded of our constant sinful independent spirit instead of relying on God. My will and decision is what matters since God doesn't give guidance. 
• On a more subtle area, it takes the supernatural out of the bible. God has given us His written Word and is now silent. Don't expect supernatural guidance. Don't expect to hear the voice of God (by this I do not mean a verbal voice, I mean God speaking to our spirit through various channels and means).  
• Another danger is that it also implies that God doesn't care about these kind of decisions. He leaves them totally to our 'wisdom'.   Too bad if some Christians are not too bright!  
• It becomes a very subjective decision.  My pro-and-con will be tainted by my own selfish motives and desires. My conclusion will be different from someone who has different experiences and knowledge, and even age or gender.
• It allows me to do almost anything I want and justify it. It's so easy to rationalize that God wants me to do something when it is actually myself who wants it.  A person can have grand ideas that he will make a great preacher like Billy Graham. He can rationalize that he has good oratory skills, can understand the bible like a theologian and likes the kind of respect given to pastors, so he applies for a job as a pastor. And he gets it based on good academic results and personality.  Imagine what harm he can do the church when he has not been called into the ministry.

When such a teaching is adopted, it encourages seminary graduates to take up pastoral positions because it is something they like to do (after all they have done the training), instead of asking if God wants them to be pastors. Imagine a whole generation of graduates from bible seminaries looking for jobs and applying for any pastoral position that comes along. Imagine them 'pastoring' churches because it is a job they applied and got instead of where God wants them to be. Then ask why there is so little genuine love for the people in the church. Also ask why the pastor also chooses to work in certain ministries and not others. If it is a high profile job like preaching, yes of course. But if it is working in the background encouraging the down-hearted or calling up those people with problems, the pastor is nowhere to be found. These background jobs don't give him the profile he craves.   You end up with a 'hireling' instead of a genuine 'shepherd'. (BTW the word for pastor is the same word for shepherd)

Look at David. In 2 Samuel, he asked the Lord “shall I go up to one of the towns in Judah?”  God directs him to Hebron.  Again in 2 Samuel 23, David asked the Lord if he should attack the Palestines in Keilah.  God tells him to go.  Shall I do this or shall I not?  God gives him the answer all the time.

That is what we must do as Christians. Ask the Lord to direct us. And He will, often not the way we expect. He can direct us so many ways, through our spirit, through the counsel of another Christian, through His written word, etc.  Let’s not limit God to one method only.  At the same time, let’s not limit God by saying He doesn’t guide Christians anymore. 

 “The Lord is my Shepherd..”  (Psalms 23:1).  I’ve never heard of a shepherd who doesn’t leads his flock?  Have you?