True or False: God Hates the Sin, but Loves the Sinner

Many anti-intellectual fundamental Christians have recently love to bring this up.

I first heard this from Stephen Tong: Hate the sin, but love the sinners. This is from the perspective of a preacher. Not from God's viewpoint.

This has also been a typical evangelicals' favorite quote in the mission field. The fundamentals can't stand for it, because they had to understand this from God's perspective, not being used to doing true evangelistic work themselves. I say "true" evangelistic work, because they may be fervent in the great commission, they do not do it out of love. They do it out of pride, out of duty.

Thus, the fundamentals would twist this quote "Hate the sin, but love the sinners" into another phrase "God hates the sin, but loves the sinner" and put it into the mouth of the evangelicals. Accusing the evangelicals of blasphemy.

They are accusing the evangelicals for saying that God loves sinners such that all sinners are saved. But that's really not what any decent evangelical believes nor preaches is it?

ANALYSIS

Of course, if you want to play with words, it's easy to accuse someone by catching and misinterpreting the ambiguity in someone's statement, much less twisting their statements. The ambiguity in this case, being twisted by the fundamentals, is this: Are we saying God loves all sinners or just the elect sinners? Surely, you cannot say God does not love the elect sinners without tripping away from the doctrine of predestination. Otherwise, these anti-intellectuals would bite their own tails, for most of them, though not all, are calvinists. For God has loved the elects since before the foundation of the Earth.

Then there is also to what extend of love are we talking about? The reformed (not the fundamentals who sometimes count themselves no different from the reformed) knew better, there is the common love (or common grace) and special grace. Only common grace is given to the reprobates. Thus, the reprobates enjoyed sunshine, blessing of wealth and so on on Earth. However, this temporary blessing from God's common love is dwarfed by God's special everlasting love for the elects.

CONCLUSION

How could this happen? Why such accusation? Why such twisting of understanding? True, it could very well be some simpleton evangelicals abusing God's love in their mission fields, telling all people that they are all going to heaven because God just loves all sinners. Nevertheless, it is a folly to fall for these simpletons. It is wiser, to consider the theological context of the great commission. To love the sinners one preaches to without falling into their sins. To treat all audience as if they are loved by God yet being fully aware that this is a hope while fully acknowledging that there maybe reprobates among the audience. This is the lesson God wants his disciples to experience and learn in humility beyond duty. Only in this way, would we truly see the monergistic work of God, His love, and Soli Deo Gloria!