"Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." -Matthew 10:28
It is often said among men to "hate the sin, love the sinner." Yet the two are not so easily separated are they? As a matter of fact, there is little more to define the sinner than the body and soul he or she occupies. The body is subject to death and decay no less than the soul is subject to damnation on account of sin.
The One who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell does not mince words as if to say sin is one thing, and the sinner is another. The two go hand in hand and cannot be separated.
It is only within the body of Christ that a true separation takes place, whereby transgression is removed, and the sinner is made righteous in every way, including the body. You have been "sundered from the number of the unbelieving, preserved dry and secure in the Holy Ark of Christendom," while the body of flesh and the soul together in Christ are waging a fearsome battle that crucifies the ungodly passions that continually issue forth from the old self. Apart from Christ, however, both soul and body are worse than dead.
How is one placed within the body of Christ? The Holy spirit does this, both by making known the holiness of God that would destroy both soul and body in hell (because no sin can be found in His presence), and by applying the righteousness of Christ in bodily form upon those who hear and receive His Word.
"Hate the sin, but love the sinner." It sounds reasonable enough, and that is why it is subject to question. God does not deal with the soul separately from the body, does He? No, He does not. He undertakes to deal with you wholly and completely, in terms of nothing less than a new creation. Indeed, Christ is of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting, therefore He alone, and in every way, is your Refuge and Strength.
