by Randal Matheny

You've heard it said we should hate sin but love the sinner. It's true. The phrase expresses an important truth. But not the whole truth.

The word of God presents two, and only two, positions one may assume before his goodness: submission and rebellion. The Lord rewards submission with blessings, with good, with his presence. He also brings upon the rebellious his due: punishment and justice.

So we should not be so surprised at these words:

"The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. You destroy those who speak falsehood; The Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit." Psalm 5:5-6

He who does not gather with the Lord, scatters. He who scatters receives his full wrath. And he who gathers rejoices, because the Lord defends his cause with victory.

Can Only God Hate?

But the Lord may hate perfectly those who sin, but we should not, you say? Read again.

Not only does the faithful say, "I hate the work of those who fall away" (Psalm 101:3).

He may also rightfully declare, "I hate those who are double-minded, But I love Your law" (Psalm 119:113).

And even more telling,

"Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies" (Psalm 139:21-22).

So what does all this mean? And how do we reconcile hating one's enemy with Jesus' instructions to love one's enemy? Are these railings merely a vengeful Old Testament spirit, while we must show New Testament grace?

Good Hate

Actually, we need both hatred and love toward our enemies. Now let me explain.

First, hating the one who does evil takes sin seriously. Is it really so easy to hate the sin and love the sinner? Can we divvy up a person and his sin? Sin is not some scab that can be quickly, albeit with certain discomfort, picked off to reveal the real person underneath. Sin is part and parcel of who we are. Even after recovery, we must say we are sinners (as per 1 Tim. 1:15).

Second, hating the evildoer is an expression of one's loyalty to God. His enemies are our enemies. In fact, they make themselves our enemies because we insist on submission to God. One cannot pray for the victory of God's cause without desiring the defeat of his detractors.

Third, we are not speaking of our character, but God's cause. Usually there is, in the context of hating the evildoer, a declaration of the writer's integrity (see Psalm 139:23-24) or a reverent appeal for help to observe the commandments (see Psalm 119:114-120). The question is not the perfect moral state of the faithful, but the perfect righteousness of the Lord's cause which he upholds. Hating one's enemy, properly done (and it can and must be done properly), takes into full account the only two positions possible toward God's goodness.

Fourth, hatred of the evildoer does not take justice into its own hands. It appeals to God. And while it waits for God's judgment, it works to turn the wicked from his way. It devotes itself to converting the rebellious into a soul submissive to the will of God.

I can appreciate greatly the sentiment to hate sin and love the sinner. But the Word goes beyond that easy phrase to enter fully into the Sovereign Lord's cause and work ceaselessly that his justice may come to all, in every place.