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Does God’s Unfailing Love Give A Blanket Approval For Sin?

Does God’s Unfailing Love Give A Blanket Approval For Sin?

Last updated on: August 14, 2026 at 7:00 pm by Kathy King

Does God’s Unfailing Love Give A Blanket Approval For Sin? 2026-08-14T19:00:45-04:00 Kathy King

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“God’s love is not approval. It’s pursuit. He loved us when we were still sinners—still enemies—not because we deserved it, but to bring us to Himself.” Christopher Yuan

There is a common misconception making its rounds through the church at the moment. It has become more prevalent over time; it’s the idea that God loves us just as we are and approves of every aspect of our lives. While in principle, He does love us with a deep and unfailing love, He wants us to mold and shape our lives to be more like Him through the power of the Gospel. It grieves my heart to even write this; it seems as if the church has become a space of theological arguments and sects, topped off with a healthy dose of deconstruction, and you’ve got the modern-day church. In the words of Jesus, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” We’ve replaced strong Biblical principles that give us life with maybe kind of Biblical principles if they fit into our worldview. He who steals, kills and destroys strikes again.

Churches go out of their way not to offend, while sin is offensive to God

One Sunday, I visited a church with the weirdest music. I’m a musician through and through; I also grew up singing hymns at church, along with praise and worship songs. As the melody started, I thought maybe they were teaching us a new uplifting song. The words were as follows: Years and years, begging to turn into something that you’re not. The wrong prayer you have been praying. You are not God’s afterthought. You are made as God intended. You are perfect. Flawless, too! May each one of you remember: nothing severs God from you. I was puzzled by these words. The only perfect and flawless ones are the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Also, years of begging in prayer to be something that I’m not? I thought our prayer was to be crucified with Christ, not to navel-gaze our way into what we think we are? I decided to go home and do a little research about the origin of this hymn.

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A Surprising “Hymn”

The origin of this “hymn” was indeed surprising. It’s from a book called “Hymns of the Holy Other.” After a facepalm, I thumbed through some of the titles of the hymns. They are as follows: Blessed Be the Holy Other, God of Many Faces, God of Queer Transgressive Spaces, Queerly Beloved, Quirky, Queer and Wonderful, The Kingdom of God is the Queerest of Nations, We are a Rainbow, and that timeless classic, Who is the Alien. I had to do a double face palm after that. Dear ones, you are loved greatly by our Creator, but this is what the Apostle Paul warned us about in 2 Timothy 3, this is a form of godliness that is in no way His desire for us. I’m not doubting that those who wrote these hymns had a desire to spread love for those who do indeed feel like outcasts. However, the Scripture tells us what to do: to give them the Gospel, God’s truth, even when it is hard.

It’s time for the church to realize that sin offends God

As I thought about the hymns of “otherness” and the sermon that catered to not offending anyone, I wondered, “What kind of fruit will this produce in the lives of the congregants?” Obviously, it will be a weakened church, but more than that, it will be a room full of defeated churchgoers who do not understand the power of the Gospel of Jesus to change someone from the inside out. No wonder church attendance is down in many areas. If you preach the Gospel of anything goes, defeat and faithlessness will inevitably be the fruit. What did Jesus say that sin does to us? It defiles our bodies, it poisons our minds and eventually causes death.

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Is it time for hellfire and brimstone sermons?

Before you think that I am implying that we need to return to the days of hellfire and brimstone sermons where we beat the pulpit and scare everyone into submission, that is not my intent. Rather, let’s return to strong Biblical principles that are not based on what we think God means; it’s pretty clear- He told us in His Word.

Start by looking at your life. The Apostle John tells us in I John: If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Ask God to shine the light of His Word on your life and ask the Holy Spirit to convict you of your sin. He will; He’s faithful and wants to walk with you.
Realize that a walk with God is to pursue holiness. The Scripture tells us that God’s eyes are too holy to look upon evil. He cannot tolerate it. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, sin entered the world. What was a pure and holy walk with God became tainted by evil, our very natures changed. Sin now reigned in the world; that is why murder came to be; that is why every person who has been born or will be born has a sinful nature. Because of that sin, God sent us a way of escape through Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the Cross.
How do I pursue holiness? Spend time each day with God. Learn His Word. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Pray, a lot. I have a friend who prays each time she brushes her teeth; she prays when she walks through the grocery store; she finds reasons to incorporate prayer into her everyday life. I don’t know what to study. Where do I start? There is an excellent, scripturally sound teaching by Gary Hamrick at Cornerstone Chapel. They go line by line, verse by verse.

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Happiness is fleeting-God’s joy is meaningful

Happiness is not the goal- it’s holiness. Do not seek to please people and tickle their ears with fake doctrine, but make it your aim to follow after Him. David said in the book of Psalms that his soul follows hard after God; early in the morning, he sought to fellowship with God.
Do not lean to your own understanding. We share a common thread in our humanity and our need for the pleasures of the flesh; we often seek loopholes in Scripture to appease our need to sin. There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to destruction. Proverbs 3:4-5 summons God’s instructions for us succinctly.
Acknowledge God in all your ways. Bring everything to Him, even hidden sin. Ask Him to illuminate all the dark places that dwell in you. He promises, nay, He desires to walk with us in a personal and meaningful way. He’s your creator, and as the Psalmist said in Psalm 23, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The word follow in Hebrew means to chase. God chases you with His love!

Final Thoughts

Finally, dear ones, I write this with love for all of you and a desire to crave the pure milk, the pure teachings of the Word. When we seek to placate sin in the name of “not offending anyone,” heartache and pain ensue rather than the peace that passes all understanding. I know that those people who wrote those interesting hymns and preached those less-than-biblical sermons were trying to look through the lens of God’s love. God’s Word is for pure doctrine, reproof and correction to equip you to live in this fallen world. If we the church, stand for nothing, then anything goes. I leave you all with this quote:

“God’s love is a pursuit and rescue mission, not a stamp of approval for sin.” Unknown

Selah

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