Reconciling God’s Anger With His Love

Q

I’ve always heard the phrase “God loves the sinner, but hates the sin” and we are called to do the same. Because God is love, I am convinced that He truly loves all even the sinners (as stated in Romans 5:8). But I read in Psalms 5:5 and Psalms 11:5 that he hates the workers of iniquity, and those that love violence. How do we reconcile this?

A

The verses you cited are from the Old Testament, before the cross. In Colossians 1:19-20 Paul wrote, “For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in (Jesus) and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, whether things on Earth or things in Heaven, by making peace through His blood shed on the cross.”

This doesn’t mean everyone will be saved because of the cross, but that all the sins of mankind were paid for there. Remember, John the Baptist called Jesus, “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). That’s why whosoever believes in what the Lord did for us there will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).