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[reddogs]

Can we hate the sin and still love the sinner?



I always thought this was simple for every Christian, to "hate the sin but still love the sinner". Many of my friends, classmates, and even family, got involved in paths that led to sin including what for many in South Florida is a age old profession, smuggling.

They got into the drug smuggling, transportation and drug use. We had one of our classmates that was incapacitated by drug use just before our graduation and we refused to let him be left behind, and forced school administration to let him graduate with the rest of his class. We always felt that right or wrong, we would stick throught thick or thin and love our 'brother' no matter what 'sin' he had done, as some of us had been together since our first day of school....

Thus as I came across other individuals that had fallen into the domain of vice and sin, I applied the same principle of "hating the sin but still love the sinner", but sometimes its not that easy. When they steal and it affects you directly, or from the affects of who knows what damage your car, or commit adultery, is it still easy to love them........

What are your thoughts?

[GrammieT]

Can we hate the sin and still love the sinner?



I always thought this was simple for every Christian, to "hate the sin but still love the sinner". Many of my friends, classmates, and even family, got involved in paths that led to sin including what for many in South Florida is a age old profession, smuggling.

They got into the drug smuggling, transportation and drug use. We had one of our classmates that was incapacitated by drug use just before our graduation and we refused to let him be left behind, and forced school administration to let him graduate with the rest of his class. We always felt that right or wrong, we would stick throught thick or thin and love our 'brother' no matter what 'sin' he had done, as some of us had been together since our first day of school....

Thus as I came across other individuals that had fallen into the domain of vice and sin, I applied the same principle of "hating the sin but still love the sinner", but sometimes its not that easy. When they steal and it affects you directly, or from the affects of who knows what damage your car, or commit adultery, is it still easy to love them........

What are your thoughts?

No, Reddog: 

It certainly is not easy,    but it is required if we want to be an influence for good in that persons life    . . . . or if we want to be an example of the Father's Love to those around us   .  We must even be willing to suffer hurt to our disadvantage if I read scripture correctly.

Yup, I'm still on the wheel here too!  

But Father God is working with me and loves me far beyond what I am worth to myself and maybe even others because of what His Son paid for me at Calvary!   

   Father God for Your Son, Jesus and His willigness to sacrifice His life for me because He loved me.   

GrammieT

[Johann]

Can we hate the sin and still love the sinner?



I always thought this was simple for every Christian, to "hate the sin but still love the sinner". Many of my friends, classmates, and even family, got involved in paths that led to sin including what for many in South Florida is a age old profession, smuggling.

They got into the drug smuggling, transportation and drug use. We had one of our classmates that was incapacitated by drug use just before our graduation and we refused to let him be left behind, and forced school administration to let him graduate with the rest of his class. We always felt that right or wrong, we would stick throught thick or thin and love our 'brother' no matter what 'sin' he had done, as some of us had been together since our first day of school....

Thus as I came across other individuals that had fallen into the domain of vice and sin, I applied the same principle of "hating the sin but still love the sinner", but sometimes its not that easy. When they steal and it affects you directly, or from the affects of who knows what damage your car, or commit adultery, is it still easy to love them........

What are your thoughts?

Will you still bail out your friend after he has mis-used your friendship uncountable times?

[bonnie]

[quote
Will you still bail out your friend after he has mis-used your friendship uncountable times?
[/quote]

Is it a sign of not loving someone if you do not bail them out of trouble after repeated times you have bailed them out?
Maybe loving them is allowing them the consequences of their actions while you still be friend and stand by them.

[princessdi]

All great posts thus far.  I am with Bonnie, though, tough love comes in with the repeat offenders.  You can still love them, but you cannot become codependent.  More often than not, they need to hit rock bottom and fully feel the consequences for the actions.  Nothing says you cant' love them trough it.  Perhaps visiting or writing them in prison/jail, encouraging them along the way.  God let David fell the full brunt of his actions, but never stopped loving him, did he not?

[bonnie]

duplicate

[bonnie]

Will you still bail out your friend after he has mis-used your friendship uncountable times?

Is it a sign of not loving someone if you do not bail them out of trouble after repeated times you have bailed them out?
Maybe loving them is allowing them the consequences of their actions while you still be friend and stand by them.

Bailing out those that are friends/family is not necessarily love. Maybe the greatest sign of love is not bailing someone out.Maybe that is no love at all

[Johann]

Will we ever  be finished with that question?

Can we hate the sin and still love the sinner?
- - -
 When they steal and it affects you directly, or from the affects of who knows what damage your car, or commit adultery, is it still easy to love them........

What are your thoughts?

[princessdi]

Probably not as long as we see those we don't like as personified sin. 

[abrasax]

Of course we can hate the sin and love the sinner. It can be hard to seperate the two in your mind sometimes, but you have to remember that is your weakness not theirs. God tells us to love everyone. Any sort of judgement of someones character is a sin.

You speak of tough love but remember that it is not your job to judge someone and make decisions for their life. It is God's decision. It is extremely easy for Christians to think they are good people, but they are wrong. They are no better than the worst sinner. Our actions may be pure and others may be sinful but God loves us both the same, the exact same. God loves you only as much as he loved Adolf Hitler, and he created you the same as he created Hitler. The biggest sin of all (and easiest to commit) is judgment, that is a sin only God is allowed to commit.

[princessdi]

Abrasax,
I agree wholehartedly with your first paragraph. 

However, the second..........I believe the question was about bailing someon out of trouble as they continue to misuse you.  God does not require that we submit ourselves to be mistreated or become codependent.  You know when someone has mistreated you.  Now you can forgive them, but that doesn't require you again placing yourself in their line of fire.  It's like continuing to give money or allowing a drug addicted loved one to stay in your home when they continue to buy drug with the money and steal your things to finance their drug habit.  You can forigve them for stealing , but they don't get to stay in your home.......without some serious drug rehaban lifestyle changes.

Of course we can hate the sin and love the sinner. It can be hard to seperate the two in your mind sometimes, but you have to remember that is your weakness not theirs. God tells us to love everyone. Any sort of judgement of someones character is a sin.

You speak of tough love but remember that it is not your job to judge someone and make decisions for their life. It is God's decision. It is extremely easy for Christians to think they are good people, but they are wrong. They are no better than the worst sinner. Our actions may be pure and others may be sinful but God loves us both the same, the exact same. God loves you only as much as he loved Adolf Hitler, and he created you the same as he created Hitler. The biggest sin of all (and easiest to commit) is judgment, that is a sin only God is allowed to commit.