Standing Against Sin Without Standing Against People

We are living in a time when disagreement is quickly labeled as hatred. If you take a firm stand on a moral issue, someone will assume you are attacking a person. If you speak clearly about sin, someone will say you are unloving. But that is not how Scripture frames truth.
When I stand against the sins of the world, I am not standing against the person committing them. I do not hate them. I do not see them as disposable. I do not treat them as beyond hope. I stand against what is destroying them.

Sin is the enemy. People are the mission.

The Bible is clear that all of us have fallen short. Romans 3:23 tells us, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (LSB). That levels the field. There is no moral high ground for any of us. When I call something sin, I am not pointing down at someone else. I am acknowledging the same disease that once owned me.

Jesus never blurred the line between loving sinners and confronting sin. In John 8, He did not condemn the woman caught in adultery, but He also did not affirm her sin. He told her, “Go. From now on sin no more” (John 8:11, LSB). Grace and truth were present at the same time.
That is the tension our culture struggles with. The world says love means affirmation. Scripture says love sometimes means warning.

If a man is walking toward a cliff, love does not cheer him on. Love calls him back.
Standing against sin is not hatred. It is a conviction rooted in God’s holiness. Proverbs 8:13 says, “The fear of Yahweh is to hate evil” (LSB). Notice it does not say to hate people. It says to hate evil. There is a difference.

When believers speak clearly about biblical sexuality, greed, pride, injustice, abortion, racism, corruption, or any other sin, it is not because we despise people. It is because we understand the cost of rebellion against a holy God. Sin destroys marriages. It destroys families. It destroys communities. Ultimately, it separates people from God.

Love refuses to stay silent about that.

But here is where we must also examine our own hearts. The same grace that rescued us is available to anyone. There is no category of unforgivable sin for the repentant heart. If God could redeem Saul the persecutor and turn him into Paul the apostle, He can redeem anyone. None of us deserved mercy. We received it.

That posture should shape how we engage not only moral issues but also political differences and personal opinions.

We have lost the ability to disagree without demonizing. If someone votes differently, holds a different policy position, or interprets a cultural issue differently, they are often treated as enemies. They are labeled, mocked, unfriended, or cast out. That's immaturity!

That spirit is not from Christ. It's from the Devil, and it's divisive.

You can stand firmly in your convictions without vilifying the person across from you. You can believe someone is wrong without believing they are worthless. You can debate ideas without attacking identity.

In fact, as believers, we must.
Ephesians 4:15 calls us to speak the truth in love. Truth without love becomes harsh. Love without truth becomes hollow. The Christian life requires both.

This also means we must refuse the temptation to treat people as permanently defined by their worst moment, worst vote, or worst opinion. The gospel does not operate that way. The cross declares that people can change. The Spirit transforms hearts. God is still in the business of redemption.

So when I stand against sin, I am standing for something greater. I am standing for holiness. I am standing for repentance. I am standing for freedom from bondage. I am standing for the dignity of people made in the image of God who are worth loving enough to tell the truth.
And when it comes to politics or differences of opinion, the same principle applies. Conviction is not hatred. Disagreement is not dehumanization. Strong beliefs do not require a hardened heart.

If we as Christians cannot model that, the world will never understand the difference between biblical conviction and cultural hostility.
We are called to be different.

Stand firm in truth. Refuse to compromise what God has clearly spoken. But never forget that every person you disagree with is someone Christ died to save.

You can hate sin and still love the sinner. You can reject false ideas and still respect the person holding them. You can engage in politics without turning it into personal warfare.

That is not a weakness. That is Christlike strength.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Pastor Jody