A common cliché in the modern Church is "Hate the sin, love the sinner". As Christians, we are obviously called to hate sin. God hates sin, so much so that it cannot dwell with Him (Psalm 5:4), and we can only be saved by becoming separated from it through faith in Him. Even then, faith would do us no good if Christ had not been our substitute in death.
And that really is the thing: Christ is our substitute. This, according to Romans 5:8, is how God shows His love for us. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." God indisputably hates our sin, yet loves us sinners. He also commands us to do likewise. In His famous Sermon on the Mount, Christ declares "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:43-48). In other words, not only are we called to love the sinner in spite of their sin, even if their sin is against us, but we are called to do so in order to be like God, as His children.
Personally, I think that's an open and shut case. Matthew 5:43-48 leaves no room for interpretation. Love your neighbor, love your enemy, love those who curse you, love those who hate you, love those who persecute you, love those who abuse you, all of this is right before your very eyes, recorded not only in divinely inspired scripture, but as the divinely recorded words of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is my not so humble opinion that when God speaks, He speaks with truth and authority.
But there are those who would disagree. See, elsewhere in scripture, we read that God hates people. In Romans 9:13, for example, we read "As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." This, too, would appear to be an open and shut case. But, does the scripture truly say that God hates Esau? Let's read it in context.
First, note that term "as it is written". In other words, Romans 9:13 is neither the first, nor the only time scripture declares "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated". Where is the other? You would think it would be around Genesis 25 - 36, which contains the primary record of the two brothers. But actually, it is in Malachi, long after both brothers have died. Let us read the relevant passage:
"The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the Lord of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the Lord hath indignation for ever. And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The Lord will be magnified from the border of Israel." - Malachi 1:1-5
And so we see that God's love and hatred is not even talking about the brothers themselves, but rather, the nations they fathered. And this "love" and "hatred", far from being a feeling, is actually regarding the favor God shows to these respective nations. God loved "Jacob" (Israel) by prospering them, whereas He hated "Esau" (Edom) by making life particularly difficult for them, to say the least. And of course, this is where we get into the proper interpretation of Romans 9, but for sake of today's article, we'll set that aside.
Suffice to say for now, neither God's love and hate, nor the two brothers to whom they are directed, are strictly literal. But if you're still not convinced, consider a more troubling passage. In Luke 14:26, Jesus tells us "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." Whoooooooooah, Nelly! If I am to be a disciple of Christ, I must hate my father, mother, wife, children, siblings, and even my own life? Well then, I guess the most sensible thing to do here is strap on a suicide vest and call a family reunion... No, because Jesus is not speaking literally here. When He says we can't be His disciples if we don't hate our loved ones, what He's actually saying is we must show Him preference over them. If you have to choose between Christ and your loved ones, Christ has to win every time, or you're not His disciple. It evidently does not mean get a divorce, abandon your parents, disown your kids etc. and follow Christ. That would be in serious conflict with literally everything else in scripture.
So, clearly, Romans 9:13 is being heavily misunderstood. Not only does it not mean what many think it means, but it would be in direct conflict with other scriptures if it did. But it gets still worse for those who use it to disagree with "hate the sin, love the sinner", because Romans 9:13 is not talking about us, but God. Now tell me, brethren, are we entitled to do everything the Lord does? Or is this relationship not more along the lines of "do what I say, not what I do"? We are told "you shall not murder", yet God, as the Author of life, gives life to whom He pleases, and takes life from whom He pleases. We are commanded "you shall not steal", yet everything under Heaven is the Lord's. We are even told not to avenge ourselves, but the Lord declares "vengeance is mine". (Romans 12:19).
Now, personally, I find it inconceivable that God would command us to be more loving than Himself. However, if that was the case, we would still be required to obey. If God hates someone, but commands us to love them, we must still love and let Him hate. Why? Well, because He's God. He gets to act in ways contrary to how He commands us, for the same reason you get to walk right through your door without so much as knocking, yet you can tell me to stay outside. Thus, even if God hates sinners, we are still called to love them.
We can be grateful, however, that God, while He hates sin, does indeed love the sinner, for we are sinners. And what charge has He given us? "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:1-4). It is beyond clear, therefore, that even the condemned are outside the love of God only by their own choice. Just as scripture tells us "We love him, because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19), we may extrapolate and say He hates because we first hated Him. Therefore, it is safe to say that "Hate the sin, love the sinner" is entirely Biblical, because God follows it, and commands us to do likewise.