I found a fantastic blog where there was a discussion on whether or not Christians should really still refer to themselves as 'sinners'. I grow very weary of hearing christians refer to themselves as "a sinner saved by grace." Now I was a sinner and I was saved by grace, but I am no longer a 'sinner'. Now I am a child of God, an heir of God and Joint heir with Jesus Christ! We were dead in trespasses and sin, but now we are alive through Christ Jesus. I Corinthians 6:11 Praise the Lord.
So this comment was posted by a brother who I will designate only by the name, Adriano, since I dont have permission to share his full name.
Let us consider Gal 2:17 & 20 in the NT study of whether Christians ought to call themselves sinners. Paul is saying that if we are found sinners we’re making Christ a minister of sin. 17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.. . 20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Many professing Christians confess they are still sinners, being taught by their pastors and many others. Believers who understand the Bible should see themseves as washed by Jesus’precious blood and are holy, spotless, without wrinkle as they continue in His love (obeying His commands) and therefore ready anytime He comes for them.
Sadly, some are taught to believe they are still sinners and are powerless against the bondage of sin and are not ready for His coming. To deliver us from the penalty and the power of sin, Jesus was crucified, died, was buried and rose again. This is the gospel. He did it, not for Himself being sinless, but for us who were once sinners.
To appropriate for ourselves what He did, we must believe that when He was crucified, we were crucified, when He died we died, when He was buried we were buried with him and when He arose we rose with Him in the newness of life. Romans 6. We can say with Paul. I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me. (Gal2: 20)
In John 8:34 Jesus said, He that commits sin is a servant of sin ( a sinner). The new man who rose with Christ from the dead is a servant of righteousness not sin ( which John mentions in 1 John 1:8).
The just shall live by faith. By faith we as believers identify ourselves with what Jesus did on the cross. Now having been raised in the newness of life, every moment of our life we should use our eyes ,hands, minds and our entire body to do things righteously. Of course, we only do that by rhe Power of His Spirit that He gave us.(Rom.8:11)
His love now shed abroad in our hearts should motivate how we walk each moment of our daily life. Sin, though still possible in this body, has lost its power to the believer who is yielded to the Spirit of God.
In summary, a believer who continues to abide in Jesus is not a sinner anymore but a saint (sanctified by the Blood), righteous (justified by faith), holy (living free from the bondage of sin, spotless purged from an evil conscience), a vessel ready for the Master’s use and ready for His soon coming with clouds of glory.
Amen
How fantastic is that! Doesn't it make you heart rejoice! There's a song and I can't find it any where online to post for you, but it goes, "I'm not a sinner any more, I've been washed in Jesus Blood that He shed up on the cross of calvary. He paid the price, He bought my soul! By His blood he made me whole! Oh praise the Lord I'm not a sinner any more."
I am so glad that we can, by His power, leave the days of sin-I-will,-sin-I-must, sin-I-can't-help-myself behind and rejoice in Victory through Jesus!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
Thanks for an interesting article Vondi. I've seen this topic evolve into a heated debate once. When I look at myself and my shortcomings, I certainly can see that I still commit sin. But what I see is really not the point. What I did find interesting though, was the words Paul wrote to Timothy: "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners -of whom I am the worst." 1 Timothy 1:15. Now, because of this being a point of some heated discussion and discord between the Lord's children I went to dig a little deeper. I looked at the original Greek and Paul did not say "Of whom I WAS the worst," he used the present tense when he referred to himself as a sinner. "of whom I AM the worst". But more than this, I believe the advice Paul gave Timothy along the lines of arguing about words or terms, is really sound advice, "Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen." (2 Timothy 2:14). Seeing that whether I call myself an ex-sinner or a current sinner does not affect my salvation in anyway, I decided to make peace with the issue and not be bothered what people call themselves. Bottom line is that our salvation is given by faith in Christ Jesus and that's really all that matters at the end of the day.
ReplyDeleteI will accept your comments with out any ill will. But I will continue to encourage everyone to pursue righteousness because they can find the victory that Jesus has for us.
ReplyDeleteNot only I, but a myriad of other saints as well, can testify that Holiness is not an impossibility and a sin free life is not beyond reach. John tells us 'he that committeth sin is of the devil" but "whosoever abideth in Him (Christ) sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him."
There is tremendous blessing in living a holy life and I wish that joy for everyone. I can only testify that there IS Victory.