Romans 5Tell me, does God hate unrepentant sinners. Is there a official stance in the church on this? Can you have the opinion God hates or loves unrepentant sinners? Also, give me your reasoning why you believe, God hates/loves unrepentant sinners.
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoiced in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Jon6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
God does not hate. He is more concerned for those who need healing than for those who do not. That means He cannot hate but love. Jesus told St. Maria Faustina, the greater the sinner the more right that sinner has to His Mercy. There is no hate in God. He may well be displeased with your behaviour yet He longs for your salvation. Remember that love also corrects and our Lord may give you more correction so to help you to understand your high calling that He is searching in you. Remember there is more joy in Heaven when any sinner repents. Certainly this joy does not come from anyone who can hate. The sinner may have hate but never God. Only a loving God has the patience to wait and to help when we need to recover.Tell me, does God hate unrepentant sinners. Is there a official stance in the church on this? Can you have the opinion God hates or loves unrepentant sinners? Also, give me your reasoning why you believe, God hates/loves unrepentant sinners.
No, He does not. Anyone God did not love would not exist (every good, even existence, is a free gift from God). It would, I think, be more accurate to say that unrepentant sinners, in some way and to some extent, hate God, and that God will not force them to enter into communion with Someone they hate.Tell me, does God hate unrepentant sinners. Is there a official stance in the church on this? Can you have the opinion God hates or loves unrepentant sinners? Also, give me your reasoning why you believe, God hates/loves unrepentant sinners.
If God hates unrepentant sinners, he hates us all, because until we are convicted of our sin by the Holy Spirit and conscience we are all unrepentant at some time or another. This is a logical impossibility, because God is love. It is an ontological argument that has no beginning or end, and no amount of “proof texting” will resolve it. Rather, the forces of evil will try earnestly to convince the sinner that no amount of repentance will ever be sufficient, thereby trapping the sinner in cycles of sin.Tell me, does God hate unrepentant sinners. Is there a official stance in the church on this? Can you have the opinion God hates or loves unrepentant sinners? Also, give me your reasoning why you believe, God hates/loves unrepentant sinners.
Scripture tells us that God IS Love - so how can he then hate his creation?Tell me, does God hate unrepentant sinners. Is there a official stance in the church on this? Can you have the opinion God hates or loves unrepentant sinners? Also, give me your reasoning why you believe, God hates/loves unrepentant sinners.
We are a New Testament people! The Old Testament was inspired as well as the New, but our focus is on the Good News of Christ. He directed that we love our neighbors, love our enemies, love with our whole heart.Tell me my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. What about the verse in scripture which states Romans 9:13 [NASB] “As it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated”. How can one defend God loves all with this statement?
Also with these two other verses as well.
Psalms 5:5 and 11:5.
chefmomster2 gave an excellent reply. I will simply add that our limited human language is often not adequate to convey all that needs conveyed.Tell me my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. What about the verse in scripture which states Romans 9:13 [NASB] “As it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated”. How can one defend God loves all with this statement?
Also with these two other verses as well.
Psalms 5:5 and 11:5.
Sorry if I or anyone gave the impression that we should toss the OT…It was not my intention…But we should read the OT in light of the NT, wouldn’t you agree?Alrightie then. I am a funny fish in this sea here at CAF. I’m the one who brought up the topic of God’s supposedly “unconditional” love and had a real hard time convincing anyone that God really does have hatred for persons and things evil. So, I hope this conversation develops and blooms into another healthy debate about the divine attributes of God, unconditional being lacking in that list.
As for someone wholesalely tossing the Old Testament in favor of being a “New Testament people,” I wonder does she cover her ears at Church when they read the reading from the Old Testament and refrain from repeating any Psalms or their Antiphons? Really. The question is valid and there are Scriptural references to God’s hatred. The WHOLE BIBLE IS SACRED, not just the New Testament. It’s words document the portion of Salvation History that brought the Messiah. If anything in that entire history didn’t happen, He wouldn’t have come. It all counts. So do not discount the Old Testament. There is much for the making of a good Christian in those pages and as St. Paul said to Timothy when he was referring to Scripture being good for teaching and refuting and all good works, etc, you know the line, the one the Sola Scripturists use to say the Bible is the only source of Salvation, that one? Well, St Paul was reminding the Christians of that day that they weren’t to reject the Old Testament, although that isn’t exactly what it was called then. So, don’t discount those words because they fly in the face of the God of Hallmark cards who loves everyone!
Glenda
Yes it’s not appropriate to speak of God hating anyone. I would even say that the statement God hates sin is probably not even appropriate to say at least from our human point of view. He has anger and wrath towards us but that is also a product of His love. They are meant for our correction. He always deals with us according to His mercy.We are a New Testament people! The Old Testament was inspired as well as the New, but our focus is on the Good News of Christ. He directed that we love our neighbors, love our enemies, love with our whole heart.
Jesus gave us His good and perfect example and He died for it! He ate with tax collectors, spoke to prostitutes, healed the lepers and visited Gentiles and Samaritans. He urged us to love everyone, but especially those most in need of that love.
From NABRE:
- [9:13] The literal rendering, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated,” suggests an attitude of divine hostility that is not implied in Paul’s statement. In Semitic usage “hate” means to love less; cf. Lk 14:26 with Mt 10:37. Israel’s unbelief reflects the mystery of the divine election that is always operative within it. Mere natural descent from Abraham does not ensure the full possession of the divine gifts; it is God’s sovereign prerogative to bestow this fullness upon, or to withhold it from, whomsoever he wishes; cf. Mt 3:9; Jn 8:39. The choice of Jacob over Esau is a case in point.
Wow! I must say I don’t even recognize what I said from your description. Yikes!As for someone wholesalely tossing the Old Testament in favor of being a “New Testament people,” I wonder does she cover her ears at Church when they read the reading from the Old Testament and refrain from repeating any Psalms or their Antiphons?
Yes, it is valid. Yes, there are references to God’s hatred. But, we must read scripture in the light of the times in which it was written, the genre of the writing, the full context within scripture, and the intended message.The question is valid and there are Scriptural references to God’s hatred.
I truly don’t. The Old Testament is essential to our understanding of the New. But both are focused towards the great gift of God’s Son and the Good News.So, don’t discount those words because they fly in the face of the God of Hallmark cards who loves everyone!