You’ve likely have heard the saying, “hate the sin, love the sinner,” and while it is true that we should hate sin (most of all, our own sin), it is contrary to the gospel to hate the sinner. After all, Christ died for the ungodly; he came to seek and to save those who are lost (Luke 19:10). “God demonstrates his love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Yeshua died for us – the just for the unjust – that we may reconciled with him (Rom. 5:8; 1 Pet. 3:8; 2 Cor. 5:21). Indeed Yeshua was maligned by the self-righteous of his day by being called “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Luke 7:34, 15:2). So it is a spiritual misstep to hate the sinner because we hate their sin.
On the other hand the sages have repeatedly taught that love cannot take root within our hearts unless there is a hatred of the enemy, that is of the devil and sin. Indeed to hate sin indicates love for the sinner because sin inevitably yields suffering and loss (Psalm 97:10). So how is it possible to love others – including ourselves – if we do not hate evil? How can we exist within this state of inner contradiction? Doesn’t “holiness” mean separation from what is evil and to no longer partake of “works of darkness” that mark a godless life? (Rom. 13:12; Eph. 5:11; 1 Pet. 4:1-3). Is that not the meaning of “sanctification”?
So how can we love someone who does evil? Well, it’s not really that difficult. Indeed, as C.S. Lewis once observed, we love someone who does evil all the time – namely, ourselves! “You dislike what you have done, but you don’t cease to love yourself. You may even think that you ought to be hanged… Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person’s ultimate good as far as it can be obtained.” The point Mr. Lewis makes is simple. If we are able to love ourselves despite our shortcomings and faults, surely we ought show the same compassion to others. “Forgive us our sins as we forgive others,” Yeshua said, for if we do not forgive others, we ourselves remain unforgiven (Matt. 6:12-15).
It’s easy enough to love goodness; it’s no struggle to desire or cling to our supposed ideals. Even the pagans do as much. But Yeshua wants us to go beyond these sorts of natural affections to the realm of the divine, that is, to love our enemies and to care for them (Matt. 5:44; Luke 6:27). But how is that love possible if it is not a decision, an act of will to unconditionally give goodness to others (including ourselves)? When we pray and ask God to forgive us, our spirit cannot say “amen” and receive pardon unless we trust in God’s unconditional love for us. And this is the very love he wants us to give to others…
Still, there is this tension within us – the “demand” to be perfect alongside the reality of our daily imperfections…. Since we must, however, presently coexist with evil, what is essential is for us is to remain righteous by holding God’s goodness close to our hearts. This is the goodness of God’s unconditional love, his grace that overcomes all the evil in ourselves and others.
The devil seeks to steal, kill, and destroy; he wants to steal goodness from our hearts. He tempts us to judge ourselves and others as being no good, unworthy, sinful – and therefore unlovable. To overcome this temptation is a work of faith wherein we re-accept that we are accepted by God on account of his great love. That is the meaning of the redemption, after all, that God so loves you that he bears your evil and loves you in spite of it all. Yes, the Lord will help us and transform us so that we will learn to walk in love and stop being evil, but we love God because he first loved us. Or as C.S. Lewis again said, “the Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.
The only way we can overcome evil is by the power of faith, seeking God in all things, and understanding that his redemptive love is our salvation. Practically speaking this means learning to see the good in all things, and especially in others. We have to overlook much, to forgive much, and so on, but that is what Yeshua meant when he said “judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24). Such righteousness “sees beyond” superficial appearance to discern the underlying good. It is seeing by the truth of mercy and by the truth of hope more than “factual” seeing… The Hebrew word for “righteousness” is tzedakah (צְדָקָה), which is a kind of giving to others than goes beyond natural measures of justice, such as “eye-for-eye” retribution or even the reward for doing good.
“Judge righteous judgment.” Don’t be holier-than-thou, damning others for their sinfulness. If we are not willing to overlook imperfections in ourselves and others, we will be miserable, angry, and hateful people. As Nietzsche said: “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster, and if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” Again, we overcome the power evil by means of the greater power of the good. And that’s really the message of the cross, after all: God overcomes evil by means of love. Focusing on the good does not deny that sin and evil are real problems, but it ensures that our response to such is grounded in God’s love that overcomes the darkness. Amen.
Hebrew Reading:
- Isa. 53:5 Hebrew page (pdf)