I had a conversation with my son about bullying and the experience of being bullied. During our discussion, we delved into the topic of sin, as we often do. I found the conversation intriguing because I was curious if my son had been bullied. As he continued to speak, he revealed that both groups involved in the bullying were his friends, which was surprising. I gave him the best advice I could as a father.
I won't comment on the advice I provided earlier, but I'd like to talk about the discussion that ensued. We delved into the reasons why people harm each other and what motivates these actions. It was intriguing to explore why being unkind to others can be appealing. This led us to the concept of sin and the inherent sinful nature of humanity. I'm not entirely sure who initiated this part of the conversation - whether it was my son or me. However, I must mention that my son impresses me with his knowledge of scripture regularly, and I am grateful to my Lord and Savior for such wonderful children.
During our conversation, we came across the phrase "love the sinner but not the sin," but we didn't fully grasp its meaning. Despite our attempts to conceptualize it, we ended up more confused. My son suggested we do a Google search, and I found a helpful link https://www.ligonier.org/learn/qas/is-it-biblical-to-say-god-loves-the-sinner-but-hates-the-sin
that provides a clear explanation of why we should avoid using this phrase. The search also brought up relevant verses, which I will share with you.
Throughout various verses, God emphasizes that it is the sin and the sinner that He hates and will banish to eternal darkness. While I will analyze a few of these verses, there are approximately 100 verses in the provided links that can provide a more comprehensive understanding.
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
This verse expresses God's love for everyone. By interpreting it with righteousness, we learn that Jesus died on the cross to free us from sin, even while we were still bound to it.
Therefore, when we come to Him, it is the new creation within us that attracts God's love, not our past selves. This statement clearly shows that He died for sinners, indicating that He does not approve of or love sin.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
This chapter is highly informative and contains valuable insights that everyone should read. It clearly states that sin is a rebellious spirit that we must eliminate, and also acknowledges our innate tendency towards sinning. These two concepts are interrelated and should be viewed as such. The verse "made Him (Jesus) be sin who knew no sin" refers to Jesus taking on human form to demonstrate that it is possible to live a life of virtue and continue doing so in the afterlife. However, that can only be done through Christ Jesus by giving your life to Him.
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these, the wrath of God is coming.
God reveals to us in these verses that the root cause of sin is our desire for earthly things. To be pure in the eyes of God, we must eliminate these sinful desires from our hearts. As stated in the book of James, aligning ourselves with worldly things can make us enemies of God.
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
To conclude this blog, I'd like to share a verse that explains why we should avoid saying "God hates sin but not the sinner." The verse clarifies that God dislikes both the sin and the sinner, and both can lead to hell. There is no other way to phrase it. God tells us that we cannot love both for we will love one and hate the other.
As always, I hope this helps you gain a greater walk with our Lord and Savior. May god richly bless all who pass through my blog.
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