Skip to main content

Loving The Sinner

             Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. (Psalm 97:10)

             For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. (I Corinthians 13:12)

           “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

 

            Here we go. This isn’t the only verse about hating evil. There are ten others that use the phrase, and lots more than discuss one aspect or another of hating evil. We are supposed to hate evil. For Christians, this isn’t a new tension. There’s an old adage about hating the sin but loving the sinner. That’s not an easy thing to do. Just ask anyone to whom it is suggested that they love Hitler, the most recent spree-killer, or someone who abuses children or animals. Love those monsters? They are evil!

            But when it comes to “lesser” evils, if we suggest that the deeds are evil, we are denounced as being evil in our hatred of those poor people. Sadly, this is the way evil operates. As long as you can point at someone else as being evil, you’re OK. It’s unavoidable. We cannot let mercy for the people lead to acceptance of their sin. Neither can we let judgement of the sin to lead to judgment of the people. Few of us wake up one morning and decide to become either sinful or a monster, but as C.S. Lewis pointed out, with each thought and act, we are moving either toward being a monster, or toward being something that might inspire worship. We are always a little of both. We are both sinner and victim. Our task is to help the victim, but to do that, we must hate the sin.

            So how do we do this? According to today’s passage, we do this by turning to God, by seeking His guidance and protection, by studying the Word and by praying for wisdom and vision, and by loving both justice and mercy.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen!

  While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)            Do you like roller coasters? I don't. You spend forever climbing a hill. You get to the top and have half a second, then you race down to a low point. Sometimes the racing down involves tying your insides into knots. At the bottom, you either have to be dragged up another hill or you get off the ride. Peter's life was a roller coaster from the time he met Jesus. There would be miracles, and then Jesus would teach things that didn't always make sense, and then they'd go out and perform miracles, and return to be taught. Peter was praised for giving the right answer to "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus said that said answer came from God. Peter was at the top of the hill.            ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prayer Lists

                 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (I Peter 2:2-3)   In connection with what I wrote yesterday about the possibility that I’m wrong, I’m feeling the need to go back to basics - craving spiritual milk because somehow, I missed something. It’s a little embarrassing, craving milk like a newborn, but the truth probably is that we are newborns many times in many ways in our lives. From God’s perspective, we may never be anything more than newborns, forever needing that milk. On the other hand, being a newborn can also be exciting because so much is new. My mind is playing pinball - ricocheting from one idea to the next and through six more before it happens to hit the third again. The main topic is prayer. I have at least seven organizing structures all somewhat influenced by the movie War Room , which I’v...
Post a Comment
Read more