What can I do to come to hate my own sin?

from the old testament

• Sin separates us from God (Psalm 66:18; Isaiah 59:1–2). We can pray for the Lord to reveal our sin to us and lead us out of it, as David did: "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23–24).
• Righteously fearing God (Proverbs 8:13) and acknowledging our sin puts us in a good place to receive God's comfort (Isaiah 57:15).
• The more we understand God's holiness, the more we will become aware of our sin, as Isaiah did when he saw a vision of God (Isaiah 6:5).
• Studying God’s Word and praying makes us more aware of our sin (Psalm 29:2; 119:11, 163; Isaiah 6:5).

from the new testament

• Everyone sins, including each of us (1 John 1:8).
• We can’t help others out of their sin if we don’t acknowledge our own (Luke 6:42).
• Hating our sins isn’t about self-loathing. It’s about repentance before a holy God who is willing and able to forgive us and help us overcome sin (1 John 1:9).
• We come to hate our own sin by realizing that practicing sin enslaves us (John 8:34).
• When we sin, we’re giving into the flesh and working against the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote in Galatians 5:17: "For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do."
• Hating sin is part of loving God. We belong to God, not ourselves (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). As we love Him more, we will want to please and honor Him; we begin to hate anything that leads us away from Him.

implications for today

The Bible tells us we deserve death for our sins (Romans 6:23). It also tells us that God loves us, and that He loved us even when we were fully enslaved to sin and living as His enemies. In fact, He loves humanity so much that He provided a way of reconciliation and true life in Him (John 3:16–18; Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:1–10; 1 John 4:19). God the Son (Jesus) took on human flesh, lived a life perfectly in line with God’s design for humans, died as atonement for our sin, and rose back to life proving His identity, the sufficiency of His payment for sin, and the reality that we can be restored in Him (1 Corinthians 15; 2 Corinthians 5:17–21). All who put their faith in Jesus Christ are forgiven of sin and brought into peace with God (Ephesians 1:3–14).

Even so, believers still have a sinful nature, and their sin still hurts their relationship with God, as well as harming themselves and others (Romans 6—8). Not only is going against God’s ways (sinning) offensive to Him, it always leads to negative effects. As children of God, we need to learn to hate our sin because it does not reflect our heavenly Father and it does not bring life (Ephesians 4:17–32; Colossians 3:1–17; 1 Peter 1; 1 John 1:8—2:6).

It's important to recognize that we are not alone in our battle against sin! God gives us His indwelling Holy Spirit to help us put sin to death and instead live as God calls us to (Philippians 2:12–13). We also have brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage and help us (Galatians 6:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:14; James 5:19–20; Hebrews 10:24–25). And we have God’s Word to sanctify and guide us (John 17:17).

The world minimizes sin–-a “little white lie,” some “borrowed” paper from work, some “harmless” gossip—but Christians should never do so. Diminishing the gravity of sin, making it seem like “no big deal” and that we’re “basically good,” undermines the transformed life we’re to live as followers of Christ. Sin destroys. It hurts our relationship with our holy God, diminishes our witness, and aligns us with the enemy, Satan.

The lure of sin should be no match for our love of Christ. Our goal should be to lead lives that honor God. When we don’t, we can repent of our transgressions before a holy God and receive His cleansing forgiveness (Romans 6:6; 1 John 1:9).