Is 'Love the sinner, hate the sin' biblical?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

“Love the sinner, hate the sin” is not a direct Bible verse, but its message is rooted in biblical principles. God perfectly hates sin while also loving sinners and desiring their repentance and salvation. Scripture calls us to show mercy and compassion to others while also rejecting sinful behavior. As imperfect humans, we are reminded to love others in the way we see them, interact with them. We should also show our love for others in practical ways, such as through prayer, respectfully sharing the truth, and pointing them to Jesus. While helping them see the destruction that sin causes, we must guard ourselves from sinful influence. Following God’s example to love the sinner but hate the sin means lovingly confronting sin without excusing it, always aiming to reflect His grace and truth.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• God can perfectly hate sin and unrepentant sinners in all holiness while also perfectly loving sinners and desiring they repent and receive forgiveness (Psalm 5; 11; Malachi 1:3). Those who love God will repent of their sin.

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• Jude 1:22-23 says, "And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh." These verses tell us to extend mercy and compassion for people who are caught in sin and doubt while still hating the sin.
• The New Testament affirms that God can perfectly hate sin while still perfectly loving sinners, desiring for them to repent and come to Him for salvation (Revelation 2:6; 2 Peter 3:9).
• Human beings cannot love perfectly nor hate perfectly (without malice). So we need the reminder to love the sinner yet hate the sinful action. We are called to love others and also "to keep oneself unstained from the world" (James 1:27). "Love the sinner, hate the sin" is one way to do this.
• Christians are called to follow God's character of love: "Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:8-10). Notice that God loved us before we loved Him. We should follow that example with those around us.
• We can love those around us (all sinners) through respect (1 Peter 2:17), praying for them (1 Timothy 2:1), and telling them about Jesus, regardless of their apparent or hidden sin.
• We know that sin leads to death (James 1:15; Romans 6:23) and that we should speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). It is not wrong to prayerfully point out others’ sin, as long as we do so with love and respect. In fact, it is unloving to allow people to remain stuck in their sin.
• People need to hear about Jesus. We love people by caring enough about them to share the truth of Christ, yet we hate sin by not condoning or excusing it. In both our love for the sinner and our hate for the sin, we must honor God, letting our reasonableness be known (Philippians 4:5) and speaking with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15).

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

Loving the sinner while hating the sin requires balance and wisdom. Practically, it means showing compassion to those struggling with sin while also refusing to excuse or condone their actions. For instance, when we see a friend or family member caught in harmful behavior, we should approach them with love, offering help and encouragement without compromising the truth about the consequences of sin. This might involve praying for them regularly, having honest conversations about the impact of their choices, and lovingly pointing them to Christ as the solution. At the same time, we need to guard our own hearts from being stained by the world, maintaining our own holiness by setting boundaries and avoiding the normalization of sin in our relationships. Loving others this way can be difficult, but by following the example of God's love for us—who loves us even in our sin while hating the sin—we can reflect His grace and truth in our interactions.

UNDERSTAND

• The phrase “love the sinner, hate the sin” is not in the Bible, but the concept is biblical.
• God demonstrates perfect love for sinners while hating sin, and we are to seek to emulate that.
• Christians are called to imitate God's love by showing compassion, sharing truth, and rejecting sin.

REFLECT

• In what situations do you find it most difficult to separate a person’s sin from your view of them, and how might God's example guide your response?
• How can you lovingly speak the truth about sin in someone’s life without coming across as judgmental or harsh?
• What boundaries do you need to set in your own life to stay unstained by sin while still engaging with others compassionately?

ENGAGE

• What does it look like for a community or church to love sinners well while still standing firmly against sin?
• How can we support other believers in balancing grace and truth when dealing with difficult or sensitive moral issues?
• Why is it important that our conversations about sin be rooted in love?