Today we'll look at he final half truth in Adam Hamilton's book Half Truths with his summation at the end.
Love The Sinner, Hate the Sin
"Though Jesus certainly loved sinners, he never actually said, 'Love the sinner.' What he did say (and it's an important distinction) is 'Love your neighbor'."
"When 'Love the sinner' is our mantra, we've put ourselves in a position of seeing others as sinners rather than neighbors."
"If I love you more as a sinner than as my neighbor, then I am bound to focus more on your sin. I will start looking for all the things that are wrong with you. And perhaps, without intending it, I will begin thinking of our relationship like this: 'You are a sinner, but I graciously choose to love you anyway.' If that sounds a little puffed up, self-righteous, and even prideful to you, then you have perceived accurately."
"My hope is to be a Christian without being a jerk. I'd like to help people in my congregation to be Christians without being jerks. And I'd like to encourage you who are reading this book to be Christians without being jerks."
"Our job is not to convict but to love."
"The truth in 'Love the sinner, hate the sin' stops with the first word: Love."
The following quote comes from the last paragraph of Adam's book:
" Half truths confuse, discourage, and often alienate people from God. The whole truths we've discussed give hope and encouragement and draw people to God. Let's set aside the half truths, eliminating them from our spiritual vocabulary, and in their place, let's share and live the whole truths that God doesn't cause evil but redeems it. Let's share that God helps those who cannot help themselves. Let's seek to be the people through whom God works to help people handle all that life gives them. Let's read scripture not as a divine dictation, but as the witness and reflections of God's people, influenced by the Spirit yet leaving room for questions. And let's be people whose lives and faith are defined by our willingness to love."
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