Sin and the Sinner

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jun 24, 1915

Sin and the Sinner

It has been said many times and with much force, that “God hates sin, but loves the sinner.” There is just enough truth in it to make it a dangerous error. If sin could be separated from the sinner, there might be propriety in the declaration. But can it be separated? What is sin without a personality behind it? How can sin exist without a personality as the seat of its activity? Does sin walk abroad as an entity all by itself? Is God going to separate sin from sinners, taking the latter to himself, and shutting up the former in the dark dungeon of woe, or sending it away to dwell by itself? Has sin sensation, so that it can be punished or exalted all by itself?—No; sin has no existence without an intelligent being with whom it is associated and who is its author. True, it is said that sin is transgression of law. But does sin walk abroad, transgressing law where nothing but itself is found?—Oh, no; sin implies a sinner, an intelligent actor who is under obligation to obey law, but who, because of a sinful nature, violates law and becomes a sinner. Sin, of itself, is an abstraction, but associated with an intelligent actor it is the bane of his existence. Sin is like fire. It cannot exist alone. Unless it has something to feed upon, it cannot exist; it “goes out.” But when fire comes in contact with gunpowder, the result is an explosion, with direful consequences. No, it is the sinner whom God punishes, he who cannot be separated from sin until he has been burned up. Sin in the soul of man continues to do its work until the soul is consumed. The only thing that can separate the human soul and the sin that dwells in it is the blood of Christ.—Journal and Messenger.