The Lie We Tell Sinners About God

Psalm 7:11–1

God’s wrath rests on the unrepentant sinner himself — not on some abstract thing called “sin” floating apart from him. Yet the same God who justly judges rebellion has made a way to reconcile rebels to Himself through Christ. “God hates the sin but loves the sinner,” as most people use it, is not this gospel.

1. God is not indifferent toward the sinner
Psalm 7:11 — “God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day.” A righteous judge doesn’t sentence the crime in the abstract — he sentences the criminal. Sin cannot be separated from the sinner, because an action doesn’t rebel against God. A person does.

2. Scripture says God hates evildoers — not just evil
Psalm 5:4–5 — “you hate all evildoers.” Psalm 11:5 — “his soul hates the wicked.” Proverbs 6:16–19 lists what God hates — a lying tongue, hands that shed blood, a false witness, one who sows discord — always attached to a person doing it, never floating free as an abstraction.

3. God’s wrath rests on people, not just behavior
John 3:36 — “the wrath of God remains on him.” Romans 1:18 — wrath revealed against unrighteous men. Ephesians 2:1–3 — apart from Christ, we are “children of wrath” by nature, not just by behavior. Romans 2:5 — the impenitent are storing up wrath for the day of judgment, whether or not it shows in their life right now.

4. God does love sinners — held together with His holiness, not against it
John 3:16 and Romans 5:8 — Christ died for us while we were still sinners. God’s love and His holiness are both entirely real and entirely true at the same time. He doesn’t stop being holy to love us, and He doesn’t stop loving us to judge our rebellion.

5. The cross proves both truths at once
Isaiah 53:5–6 — our iniquity was laid on Christ, and He was crushed for it. Romans 3:25 — Christ was put forward as a propitiation, meaning God’s wrath was actually satisfied, not simply overlooked. The cross is the clearest proof both of how seriously God takes sin and how much He loves sinners.

6. Christ came to reconcile enemies — not excuse behavior
Romans 5:10 — we were reconciled while we were enemies. Colossians 1:21–22 — we were “alienated and hostile in mind,” not just mistaken. 2 Corinthians 5:18–21 — God made Christ to be sin for us, so that we might become His righteousness. Reconciliation cost something because the hostility was real.

7. The hinge: “If a man does not repent”
Psalm 7:12–13 — the sword is sharpened, the bow is bent, but there is still an “if.” That word is mercy built into the warning. Jonah 3:10, 2 Peter 3:9, and Acts 17:30 all show the same pattern: God warns because He wants sinners to repent, not because He delights in judgment.

8. Why this lie is so dangerous
This phrase is almost never used to comfort the repentant — it’s used to soothe the unrepentant, so they can keep doing what they’re doing while feeling spiritually safe. People are going to the grave believing it.

9. What love actually does
Ezekiel 33:11 — God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but warns them so they might turn and live. Luke 13:3 — Jesus Himself said, twice, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Real love tells the truth, even when it’s frightening.

Closing charge: Now that you know this, you don’t get to stay quiet the next time you hear this lie used to excuse unrepentant sin. Speak the truth instead — God’s love for sinners is real, and He commands every one of them to repent. Souls are at stake.