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Fact Check: God Hates the Sin but Loves the Sinner

Peter Ditzel

If God hates the sin but loves the sinner, why are the goats separated for destruction in the parable of the separation of the sheep and goats? Here, we see the parable as illustrated by Gerard de Jode in Last Judgment with Separation of the Sheep and Goats, ca. 1580 after Maarten de Vos
If God hates only the sin but loves the sinner, why do so many parables picture a separation of the righteous and the sinners, with the sinners pictured as goats, trash fish, chaff, and weeds that will be burned with fire? (Gerard de Jode, Last Judgment with Separation of the Sheep and Goats, ca. 1580 after Maarten de Vos.)

One of the most common maxims in Christianity is, “God hates the sin but He loves the sinner.” Advocates often back this up with the fact that Jesus tells us to love our enemies and says God “makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5:44-45). On the other hand, Jesus also said, “Depart from me, you who work iniquity” (Matthew 7:23b). Is this a contradiction? No, the Bible does not contradict itself. So, let’s do a fact check: Is it true that God hates the sin but loves the sinner?

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