Is that in the Bible?
“Hate the sin, love the sinner”
Not in the BibleIt is often quoted as if Jesus said it, to describe the Christian posture toward wrongdoing.
Where it really comes from
The exact phrase is not in the Bible. A similar sentiment appears in the writings of Augustine, and the modern wording was popularized in the twentieth century. Jesus never used the slogan, though the Bible does speak of loving people while taking sin seriously.
What the Bible actually says
The Bible's actual pattern is more costly than a slogan. God does not merely disapprove of sin from a distance; He deals with it at the cost of Himself, and He loves sinners not by tolerating harm but by dying to rescue them. Christ died for us while we were still sinners. And when Jesus met people caught in sin, He was tender with the person and honest about the sin at once, as with the woman told, neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”Romans 5:8
The deeper truth
The slogan is not wrong so much as too small, and it is easily used to feel superior. The gospel is not that God hates sin and tolerates sinners; it is that God loves sinners so much He bore their sin Himself. If we want to imitate Jesus, the point is not a catchphrase but a cross: a love willing to pay for the very thing it grieves. Start not with what you hate but with how deeply you have been loved.
Questions people ask
Did Jesus say hate the sin, love the sinner?
No. The phrase is not in the Bible. A related idea appears in Augustine, and the modern wording was popularized much later. Jesus loved people and took sin seriously at once, but He never used this slogan.
What does the Bible actually teach about loving sinners?
That God loves sinners so much He bore their sin Himself: Christ died for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). Jesus was tender toward people caught in sin while calling them to new life, as with the woman He told to go and sin no more.