You may have heard some variation of the expression, “Love the sinner and hate the sin,” but this expression isn’t in the Bible. However, it’s no secret that God hates sin. While God hates sin, he also loves sinners.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8 (NIV)

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16 (NIV)

One remarkable difference between God’s love and our love is that he loves perfectly and his love is perfect. 1 John 4 gives us this insight about God’s love and fear.

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

1 John 4:18 (NIV)

Everything God does is perfect. Therefore, when God hates he does it perfectly. When it comes to sin, God hates it because sin separates us from him.

But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

Isaiah 59:2 (NIV)

Although I mentioned that God loves sinners and he sent Jesus to die for us, he doesn’t love the things “they” do and his desire is that all repent and turn from sin.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)

Therefore, when I say that God hates sin and loves sinners, don’t mistake that love for acceptance of sin in any way. Everyone who sins and doesn’t repent from sin will suffer eternal damnation.

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

2 Corinthians 7:10 (NIV)

Thus, when we repent of sin, it leads us to salvation, but if we don’t repent, we suffer death. Consider the wages of sin.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23 (NIV)

Therefore, as Christians, should we be like God and love sinners but hate their sin? If God does it and we want to be like Jesus, shouldn’t we be like Jesus and love those who sin but hate their sin?

Remember that I said God is perfect and everything he does is perfect. Yet, we are imperfect and will never be perfected until we die in Christ.

Consider what Paul said to the Philippians.

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (emphasis added).

Philippians 1:4-6 (NIV)

The “good work” is salvation that will be complete when Jesus comes or when we die. Given that we are a work in progress, we are not perfect. If we aren’t perfect, then the things we do on our own are flawed. This means we cannot love perfectly nor can we hate perfectly.

In Mark, Jesus points out the two greatest commandments.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.

Mark 12:30-31 (NIV)

We are called to love our neighbors as ourselves. Now, I don’t know about you, but sometimes I struggle to love my neighbors, and even when I do love them, I wouldn’t call it a “perfect love.” At least, it’s not God’s unconditional love. Regardless, it’s not perfect.

If I cannot love perfectly, how could I imagine I could hate perfectly? Instead, if I try and “divide” my heart into one that loves my neighbor but hates their sin, I often find myself seeing only their sin. Where is the love in that?

Instead of trying to hate anyone, we should love them perfectly first and once we’ve accomplished loving people as God loves them, we could try hating sin perfectly.

Of course, this doesn’t mean we condone sin or practice it ourselves. Instead, we speak the truth in love. The truth about sin is that it brings only death, per Romans 6:23, and that anyone who sins is a slave to sin.

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

John 8:34 (NIV)

However, remember “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst” (1 Timothy 1:15, NIV). Indeed, “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” as Jesus reminds us in John 8:36.

Therefore, we must tell people about Jesus and what he did for us in love. We cannot do it while being duplicitous, trying to show an outward facade of love while inwardly we burn in hatred at the deplorable things people do. We are not built for these things and if we try to “love the sinner and hate the sin,” we will more likely end up hating the sinner and the sin.