Apparently, there’s a new Superman movie currently in theaters. I have zero intention of seeing it anytime soon or commenting on its quality or messaging — I’m more of a Marvel guy. However, whenever I think about Superman, I can’t help but think of his one well-known weakness: Kryptonite.
Superman is an apex superhero with incredible strength, speed, sight and more. He seems almost all-powerful — except when in the presence of Kryptonite. When Superman is near the green rock, he is drained of his strength and power.
Often, when I hear people talk about God’s relationship to sin, I get the sense that they think of sin as if it were God’s metaphorical Kryptonite.
Misunderstanding God’s Relationship to Sin
I frequently hear people say things like, “God cannot stand to look upon sin” or “God cannot be in the presence of sin.”
Most people wouldn’t say that God is weakened by sin, but sometimes they give sin more power in relation to God than it actually has or than Scripture teaches. This misunderstanding often comes from well-intentioned but misinterpreted Bible passages.
Misunderstanding of Habakkuk 1:13
A key verse people often cite is Habakkuk 1:13a:
“You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong.” (ESV)
Isolating this half-verse might lead someone to believe that God cannot even look at sin — that he must turn away because his holiness cannot tolerate even viewing it.
But this is not what the passage teaches. As always, context is king, and reading the whole verse along with other translations helps clarify the meaning.
The full verse in the ESV reads:
“You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?”
Here, Habakkuk is not declaring that God is literally unable to look upon sin. He’s filing a complaint, asking God why he allows the wicked to seemingly get away with evil when God is holy and just.
The issue isn’t God’s inability to be near sin — it’s his patience and restraint in the face of it, which to Habakkuk seems puzzling.
Other translations bring this out even more clearly:
- Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB):
“Your eyes are too pure to look on evil, and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. So why do You tolerate those who are treacherous? Why are You silent while one who is wicked swallows up one who is more righteous than himself?” - New American Standard Bible (NASB):
“Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You cannot look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor on those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up those more righteous than they?”
These translations make it clear: God does not look upon sin favorably or with acceptance, but he is certainly aware of it and present with it in the created world.
Jesus on the Cross: “Why Have You Forsaken Me?”
When Jesus quotes Psalm 22:1 from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46), he is not saying that God has literally forgotten him or that God is unable to look at him because sin is just too much for God to handle.
Instead, God the Father turns away in judgment, not out of weakness. Jesus bears the penalty of sin, but that does not mean God is powerless or incapacitated in the face of it.
When Psalm 103:12 says:
“As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us,”
it is not because God can’t stand to be near sin, but because he chooses to forgive and reconcile. Sin no longer stands as a barrier to a redeemed relationship between God and his people.
Biblical Examples of God in the Presence of Sin
Scripture shows multiple instances where God is clearly in the presence of evil and sin, yet remains sovereign and holy:
- In Job 1, the sons of God and Satan himself come into God’s presence. God does not cower in fear or cast Satan away because he cannot look upon sin. He engages with him directly.
- After Adam and Eve sin, God comes looking for them in the garden. He does not crumple in the face of their sin but instead judges them and then graciously clothes them.
These are just two examples showing that while God hates sin, he is not powerless in its presence.
Why God Hates Sin
God hates sin, not because of what it does to him, but because of what it has done, and continues to do, to his creation and his people.
Yes, sin grieves God (Ephesians 4:30), but it does not wound him because of any weakness in his nature. God chooses not to dwell with sin because of his holiness, not because sin has any power over him.
Sin ruptures the relationship between God and humanity, and God will not tolerate it forever (Romans 3:25).
The Solution: Justice and Mercy in Christ
Sin is serious. That’s why, in his justice and mercy, God sent his only begotten Son to be our substitute. God incarnate took on our sin and its penalty so that we might have eternal and unobstructed relationship with him.
God is not weakened by sin. He is angered by it, and he deals with it in perfect justice and mercy.
Conclusion
May we teach our people both the seriousness of sin and God’s power, justice and mercy in dealing with it.
Sin is not God’s Kryptonite.
It is the problem that God has fully, finally and powerfully addressed in Christ.
