Love the Sinner

I read a well written blog about the phrase “Love the sinner; hate the sin.”  Her stance was that we should love the sinner and leave the sin to God.  She said the statement carries a judgmental air and separates us from being helpful to those in sin.  While I assent to a lot of what was said, it troubled me much.  I’ve never liked that phrase.  Yet I have several deep inner questions that arise after reading the blog.  As is normal, I’ve chewed on it for awhile and now I take it to the page.

First of all, I address the phrase.  Honestly, it doesn’t matter whether I hate the sin or not, and in the long of it, it does not matter if I love the sinner.  Should I let another’s desire to commit certain acts deter me from my own stand?  What if I dearly love some of those people involved in those acts?  What if I don’t like them so much anyway?  That changes neither the guilt nor the result of sin.  Doing nothing to restore that person adds our guilt to theirs.

We are to love those of the household of faith, but we are also admonished to pray for those who are taken by sin and we are told to restore them to walk separate before the Lord.  A proper procedure for doing that is given in various places in the New Testament.  And we are cautioned to consider our own behaviors when we do either of those.

Frankly, I don’t think God is as concerned with step 1, 2 and 3 as He is with the restoration of the person to a right relationship to the body of Christ and to God himself.  We should be involved in the ministry of reconciliation – regardless of our other gifts and callings, for that is the purpose of the church.  As each example of healing in the New Testament had personal characteristics, the ministry of reconciliation will have personal characteristics; but in the end, that is the point –to be reconciled to God.

If I allow my fear of sin, rejection, or even punishment to dissuade me from following my God, I cannot call that anything but sin.  If I fear being labeled a judgmental person or being misunderstood so much that I ignore the ministry of reconciliation, I have transgressed against my God and his purpose in me and I have transgressed against the person who needs to be reconciled.  Jesus cautioned us that if he was hated and misunderstood we should expect the same because in the end, the enemy is the same. 

The truth is people love their sin.  They don’t want it identified as sin because then they must deal with it one way or the other.  This is true of all of us.  And Paul said in Romans that is why the law was given: to make sin seem sinful.  It was a necessary job and the law did it pretty well.  The problem is people centered on the law and not on the rift between God and man that comes from disobedience, ignorance, and self –centered living.

The definition of sin given in the blog also disturbed me.  This is a personal vendetta, but the idea of tying sin to the breaking of God’s law ignores about half of the Bible.  I know Adam and Eve were told not to eat the fruit of that one tree and they disobeyed.  But Satan made it about rules and restrictions to confuse the real issue.  Satan himself was created for greater and more noble things than he ever aspired to, though he was the greatest of God’s creation in his prime.  His pride and selfishness made him separate –fall short- from the glorious plan of God.  He became the antithesis of God and the enemy of God’s design.

God gave Adam and Eve dominion over all He created on earth.  They were designed to be so much more than what they became when, self-serving, they separated themselves from the ‘glory of God.’  Sin is missing God’s mark.  God designed each of us with a purpose and a plan.  We are born into the “missing it” family.  God provided redemption and reconciliation so that we can partner with Him to be brought back into line with His glorious design.

Paul argues that the law not only came after the offense, but hundreds of years after Abraham’s example of ‘righteousness by faith.’ Christ came to undo the works of Satan.  Before God breathed life into the dirt sculpture that would be Adam, Jesus was already chosen to be the sacrifice for sin, the gap sealer, the restorer of the plan, the reconciler of those who miss the target.

The third problem I had with the article was the lameness of reconciliation.  It appeared to me as a huge hole in her reasoning.  And so, I will say what I feel about how we are to reach a world that is condemned, separated from God and headed away from the purpose for which they are created. 

            Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 

The first step to a personal ministry of reconciliation is to love God and love people.  Loving people does not mean that you see no evil.  It means that your concern is not based in personal opinion or in social opinion, but is based in your love for God and his design which results in a love for the person that supersedes human emotion and selfish concern.

The woman caught in adultery was given as an example in the article.  A big point is made of the fact that Jesus did not condemn her.  A small point is made of his command to go and sin no more.  Now if the ‘sin’ is simply breaking a law, I could see that.  But I believe his concern was that her sin was sending her away from her target which was God and His design –she was missing her mark.  He had to address that or the rest was useless. The compassion of Jesus waited to address her sin until the others left based on their own guilt. But their guilt had no bearing on her need to be reconciled.

The second step to being a minister of reconciliation is to learn how to hear and follow the voice of God.  God desires that people be saved from the doom that awaits if they continue down a path of error.  He wants his servants to be involved in the process of bringing people to repentance, redemption, reconciliation and renewal.  Since redemption and restoration are individual, the methods and timing of our message must be individual also.  The only way to accomplish that is to hear from God and respond in obedience.  It may not make you popular or loved in this world that okays every evil and thrives on it, but it will be the saving of many precious lives.

My personal experience is that God most often brings us into a prayer of reconciliation before he sends us with words of reconciliation.  But I have also experienced times when God said “. . . . . .” and it didn’t take a month of prayer to figure it out.  To obey is better than sacrifice because it shows confidence in and respect for the God who commands us.

One last word I will offer.  Give up your opinions of right and wrong and agree with God.  Whether in my life or in the life of those I love, I must agree with God before I will have the power to participate in change.  Sometimes facing my sin – my missing the target of God’s purpose and plan is difficult because I forget the power of the cross that has redeemed me.  When we focus on ‘the breaking of God’s law’ and not on the plan He had from the foundation of the earth to redeem us, we will get sidetracked.  When I accept my own lack and God’s unthinkable provision, I have the strength to ask for change in myself that is based in his love and redemptive power not in my ability or desire.  The Bible says that even faith is a byproduct of God’s love and grace.  It doesn’t come from the natural man.