"God Pities Sinners"

Luke 15:20

By Drew Zuverink

"But while his son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with pity for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him."

Recently, a pastor shared a heartbreaking story about a father struggling with alcoholism. On a hot day, he left his 3-year-old daughter in the car while he went into a bar to drink for several hours. He didn’t leave the car running, and tragically, the little girl died.

When we hear stories like this we get angry - and rightfully so. But what if the alcoholic father was your brother or son? If you have any semblance of a heart you'd still be angry, but might you also feel pity towards him? Would a part of you pity a man who is so enslaved by alcohol that he ended up causing his own daughter's death? Can you imagine living with that for the rest of your life?

Doing Sin

The Bible talks about sin in a couple of different ways. First, the Bible says that humans do sin. We do evil things that deserve punishment. God is rightfully angry when we belittle, mock, shame, hurt, use, exploit, deceive, objectify, neglect, abandon, ignore, humiliate, and oppress people who are all made in his image. One day he promises to pour out his wrath upon people who refuse to repent of such things.

Bound By Sin

However, the Bible also talks about humans being enslaved and tormented by our own sin. In Genesis 4:7 sin is personified as a predator who wants to control us. In John 8:37 Jesus says that people who sin aren't truly free but they're actually slaves to sin. In Romans 6 Paul stresses that before Jesus saved us, we were ruled by sin. Sin dominated us, it was our master, and it brought a whole lot of death to every part of our lives.

The Bible doesn’t simply teach that people commit sin—it reveals that we are pursued by it, bound to it, and ruled by it. Sin is not just something we do; it’s something that enslaves us. Through the Bible we learn that humans are slaves, and sin is the wicked slave master who deforms people who are made in the image of God. Therefore, we don’t just need rescue from the penalty our actions deserve—we need deliverance from the oppressive master that sin has become so that we can become the people that God created us to be.

Of course the Bible teaches that we're still responsible for our actions when we give in to sin, but it's incredibly comforting and helpful to know that he isn't only angry at people who do evil - he also pities them. Just as our hearts ache with both anger and sorrow when we see someone enslaved by addiction—hurting others while trapped in a pit of darkness—God's heart breaks for sinners too. He grieves the damage sin causes, yet he looks on us with deep compassion, knowing how lost and bound we truly are.

God's pity ultimately led him to the cross. In Romans 12:1 Paul describes God's saving works as οίκτιρμός, pronounced "oiktirmos." The word means concern over another's misfortune. Do you understand how significant this is? It means that Jesus pities sinners. He's concerned about them. His heart could not bear to leave us where we were, he needed to act, and he did. He left everything glorious and comfortable in order to spend 30 years helping pitiful sinners like you and me. Then he did the unthinkable and he died for us, taking every last evil act upon himself so that God could pour out his wrath upon him as he stood in our place.

Why would he do that for you?

Ask him.