The Love of God

“God hates the sin, but loves the sinner.” 

An oft quoted phrase meant to express the love of God, and certainly true! Scripture is abounding with expressions of love from the Father (John 3:16, Romans 5:8). As the old song stated, the love of God is “greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell.” 

The peril, however, of this sentiment is the urge to bisect the sin from the sinner.

The peril, however, of this sentiment is the urge to bisect the sin from the sinner. To detach the sin from the sinner is to not understand the depths of our depravity. The chasm into which mankind fell so many years ago was so deep it transformed more than our behavior, it changed our very nature. Our nature became sin (Ephesians 2:3). This nature, sin, is who we are without Christ, not just what we do. We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because that is who we are…we are only acting out of our nature (Ephesians 2:1-2). To understand the depths of our sin is to also understand the severity of our deserved judgment. Hell is not a place solely to punish us for what we have done, but for who we are. We are born standing in direct enmity with the God of the universe (Romans 8:7). The sin isn’t the only thing that will be eternally damned, but so too the sinner (Revelation 21:8). 

Understanding the depths of our depravity gives us a greater appreciation for the grandeur of grace. The gift of grace, the blessing of Salvation, the hope of eternal life that comes through Jesus doesn’t just change our behavior, He changes our nature. Not only do I not behave like before, but I am, quite literally, not the same person (2 Corinthians 5:17). Ephesians 2:4-5 tells us the incredible truth that “God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.” He made us alive! That is language that is indicative of more than just behavior modification; a remade nature is our in Jesus! 

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.

Ephesians 2:4-5

So, let us understand the depths of our depravity. We are not just people who do bad things, we are dead people set in enmity to God. Furthermore, let us rejoice exceedingly in the blessedness of Salvation! In Jesus, we are made alive and moved from enmity to friendship with the Father. While all people experience the love of God in general ways currently (it rains on the just and unjust), it is only in relationship with Jesus that we will be able to experience the love of God for all of eternity, because truly, God is love.