We have all heard the saying "hate the sin, love the sinner".
That is not biblically accurate. Scripture actually says God hates sinners, and it is reinforced repeatedly. The caveat is that God loves a repentant sinner who turns from his wicked way. And if we are His, which He foreknew from the beginning, He loved us while we were yet in our sins and died for us.
Forgiveness cannot be received without repentance, that cannot be stressed enough. And repentance is not without fruit or action. Fruits meet for repentance. Words alone mean nothing, repentance is lived in word AND in deed.
I happened to find 2 cents from the Book of Enoch to add to what I've already studied on this subject.
Enoch 93: 6-11
6. Woe to those who build up iniquity and oppression, and who lay the foundation of fraud; for suddenly shall they be subverted, and never obtain peace.
7. Woe to those who build up their houses with crime; for from their very foundations shall their houses be demolished, and by the sword shall they themselves fall. Those, too, who acquire gold and silver, shall justly and suddenly perish. Woe to you who are rich, for in your riches have you trusted; but from your riches you shall be removed; because you have not remembered the Most High in the days of your prosperity.
8. You have committed blasphemy and iniquity; and are destined to the day of the effusion of blood, to the day of darkness, and to the day of the great judgment.
9. This I declare and point out to you, that he who created you will destroy you.
10. When you fall, he will not show you mercy; but your Creator will rejoice in your destruction.
11. Let those, then, who shall be righteous among you in those days, DETEST SINNERS, AND THE UNGODLY.
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Psalms 5:5
GOD HATES ALL WORKERS OF INIQUITY.
And more from the apocrypha:
Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 12:6 KJV
For the most High hateth sinners, and will repay vengeance unto the ungodly, and keepeth them against the mighty day of their punishment.
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God has mercy on sinners, which is different than outright loving them. He extends His love, which they are able to receive if they meet His conditions (repentance). The choice is theirs to make whether to embrace His love or reject it.
I bring this up because it is a commonly held belief (misconception) I hear over and over again, and I recently countered my auntie on this very thing. After proving to her with scripture that God does not love sinners, she decided that she still loves them in spite of God. And it settled me once again that if someone clings to a belief which they claim is biblical, even if you can show them otherwise, they will reject the Word of God to hold onto their false belief. Only God can change a deceived heart.
For a detailed article on this subject matter, with exhaustive scriptural support, I recommend this:
Shalom (peace) unto you in Jesus name, in spirit and in Truth.
That is not biblically accurate. Scripture actually says God hates sinners, and it is reinforced repeatedly. The caveat is that God loves a repentant sinner who turns from his wicked way. And if we are His, which He foreknew from the beginning, He loved us while we were yet in our sins and died for us.
Forgiveness cannot be received without repentance, that cannot be stressed enough. And repentance is not without fruit or action. Fruits meet for repentance. Words alone mean nothing, repentance is lived in word AND in deed.
I happened to find 2 cents from the Book of Enoch to add to what I've already studied on this subject.
Enoch 93: 6-11
6. Woe to those who build up iniquity and oppression, and who lay the foundation of fraud; for suddenly shall they be subverted, and never obtain peace.
7. Woe to those who build up their houses with crime; for from their very foundations shall their houses be demolished, and by the sword shall they themselves fall. Those, too, who acquire gold and silver, shall justly and suddenly perish. Woe to you who are rich, for in your riches have you trusted; but from your riches you shall be removed; because you have not remembered the Most High in the days of your prosperity.
8. You have committed blasphemy and iniquity; and are destined to the day of the effusion of blood, to the day of darkness, and to the day of the great judgment.
9. This I declare and point out to you, that he who created you will destroy you.
10. When you fall, he will not show you mercy; but your Creator will rejoice in your destruction.
11. Let those, then, who shall be righteous among you in those days, DETEST SINNERS, AND THE UNGODLY.
///////
Psalms 5:5
GOD HATES ALL WORKERS OF INIQUITY.
And more from the apocrypha:
Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 12:6 KJV
For the most High hateth sinners, and will repay vengeance unto the ungodly, and keepeth them against the mighty day of their punishment.
////
God has mercy on sinners, which is different than outright loving them. He extends His love, which they are able to receive if they meet His conditions (repentance). The choice is theirs to make whether to embrace His love or reject it.
I bring this up because it is a commonly held belief (misconception) I hear over and over again, and I recently countered my auntie on this very thing. After proving to her with scripture that God does not love sinners, she decided that she still loves them in spite of God. And it settled me once again that if someone clings to a belief which they claim is biblical, even if you can show them otherwise, they will reject the Word of God to hold onto their false belief. Only God can change a deceived heart.
For a detailed article on this subject matter, with exhaustive scriptural support, I recommend this:
Shalom (peace) unto you in Jesus name, in spirit and in Truth.
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I suspect Adam caught it, even if much of xtianity seems to miss the larger point...