Seth Freeman

No, that phrase is not found in Scripture.  If memory serves, it's actually a quote from Ghandi.  

I personally don't mind it so much as a principle. In practice for me, it would look like not approving of my non-Christian friend's sinful behaviors, but still loving and praying for him as an individual made in the image of God.  

For me, it means not accepting or ignoring sin, but still not judging non-Christians who are only doing what comes natural to them - sinning.

October 08 2013 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Tim Beeker

Hi,

If you'd not care to jaunt through my ramblings, just scroll down to the bottom, where the answer to your question can be found at.  :-D

There is no direct statement such as this, anywhere in the Bible. It is implied. We are to hate evil. That is stated, directly in Ps. 97:10: "You who love יהוה, hate evil! He guards the lives of His kind ones, He delivers them out of the hand of the wrong."

Read the first several verses of Ps. 34.  What do you think needs be done with (not to) an individual like that?  Some people are the manifestation of evil. This is seen throughout the entire Bible.

I was thinking of something this morning, before I got on here... Read Jeremiah, chapter 18 and what it says about how evil and righteousness are treated. While it speaks about "nations," the same principle can be applied to individual people.

Pr. 3:7 states, "Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear יהוה and turn away from evil.

Job 28:28 states, "And He said to man, ‘See, the fear of יהוה, that is wisdom, and to turn from evil is understanding.’ ”

Pr. 8:13: "“The fear of יהוה is to hate evil. I have hated pride and arrogance, And the evil way, And the perverse mouth."

Pr. 4:24: "Turn away from you a crooked mouth, And put perverse lips far from you."

Pr. 17:19-20: "He who loves transgression loves strife, He who exalts his door seeks destruction. He who has a crooked heart finds no good, And he who has a perverse tongue falls into evil."

Pr. 3:32: "For the perverse one is an abomination to יהוה, And His secret counsel is with the straight."

The easiest counsel that can be offered is just what Rav Shaul stated, when he wrote: "For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? Elohim judges those outside. "Purge the evil person from among you.""

Through all of this, just think about what needs be done to the "sinner," as we are all in that group.

To answer your question more directly, I got the following information from a website that gave a brief history of the phrase.  I don't know if we're allowed to post website addresses out here, so I'm not posting where I got it from, but if you want, google the phrase "hate the sin love the sinner."

The phrase is from St. Augustine. His Letter 211 (c. 424) contains the phrase "Cum dilectione hominum et odio vitiorum," which translates roughly to "With love for mankind and hatred of sins." The phrase has become more famous as "love the sinner but hate the sin" or "hate the sin and not the sinner" (the latter form appearing in Mohandas Gandhi’s 1929 autobiography).

Final thoughts...  Love isn't always something pleasant (Heb. 12:5-8). Love also doesn't demand that we associate with those who choose to live a sinful life, willingly.  It is safer to love from a distance. "Separation" is the answer. Elohim (God) will take care of them.

October 08 2013 • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report