Although it is often said that “God loves the sinner, but hates the sin,” the words that open the book of Malachi could suggest otherwise. According to Arthur Pink in The Sovereignty of God, “It has been customary to say God loves the sinner, though He hates His sin. But that is a meaningless distinction. What is there in a sinner but sin?” This passage in Malachi is quoted in the book of Romans and is often used as a “strong exegetical support to a traditional Calvanistic interpretation of God’s election: God chooses those who will be saved on the basis of his own will and not on the basis of anything – works or faith, whether foreseen or not – in those human beings so chosen” (The Epistle to the Romans, Eerdmans, 1996, page 597). God…”hated the non-elect before their birth” (The Death of Christ, pg. 227, Owen). In this lecture we will consider another way of interpreting this passage.
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