We are NOT sinners

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We are NOT sinners

Forum: Messageboard
Date: 2001, Oct 19
From: Keith poetkeith

“We are sinners”.
I have heard this same utterance proceed from the mouths of my brothers and sisters so many times that I can’t help but raise my eyebrow, shake my head, and write this message.
I acknowledge that many of you are more qualified than I am in terms of bible knowledge, theological understanding, and spiritual experiences with the Lord. And I’m sure many among you do not need to be reminded of the things that I’m about to share.
I would have preferred that someone else had spoken on the subject. But since no one seems to be particularly bothered (except yours sincerely), I have taken it upon myself to speak my mind (and heart).
I must clarify that I am not trying to teach nor admonish. It is my prayer that that somehow, some of you may be encouraged or helped in some way by what I share here.
Okay, back to the “offending” statement: “We are sinners”.
I would have no qualms at all with statements like:

“Without Christ in our lives, we would all be sinners. All of us need to repent and accept Christ as our Saviour and Lord.”; or

“We may falter in our Christian walk and fall into sin sometimes (or even many times). But thank God for His mercy and faithfulness, in Christ Jesus we are righteous, and by our confession, His Blood washes us clean.”

WE WERE SINNERS
The Truth is: We WERE sinners. But we ARE NOT. In fact, if I understood the bible correctly, we can never ever be sinners again. Once we have received Christ into our lives.
We are now (and FOREVER) in Christ. I am fully convinced (like a certain apostle Paul who lived two thousand years ago) that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God our Father.
We are FOREVER saved. We have ETERNAL life. We have EVER-LASTING righteousness.
We can NEVER be sinners again.
Okay, I can almost hear the immediate retort hurling towards me now: “But we still sin, don’t we? How can you claim to be free of sin? We ARE sinners slowly learning to live holy”.
What about 1 John 1:9 that clearly teaches that Christians should confess our sins?
Yes. I would be the first one to admit that I am not sinless. I am not perfect in my BEHAVIOUR yet. I still sin. I need to confess my sins AND my righteousness in Christ. I am righteous in Christ! I am NOT a sinner.
I have been re-born (I cannot be unborn). I have been redeemed (I cannot un-redeem myself). I have been justified (I cannot un-justify myself). I am a child of God (I cannot be a sinner).
We are not sinners slowly learning to live holy. We are righteous children of God slowly getting rid of the sins in our lives.
BEING AND DOING
There is a difference between our IDENTITY and our BEHAVIOUR. Let us not confuse our BEING with our DOING.
I’m sure many of you must have heard this before: “we are human beings, not human doings”. Oh, how frequently we still insist on confusing the two.
A cat meows because it is a cat. A parrot can meow also, but does that meowing make the parrot a cat?
Many of us still have this idea that a man BECOMES a sinner because he sins. But the bible tells us that a man IS a sinner because of Adam’s Sin.
In the same way, the bible tells us that we do not BECOME righteous because of what we do. We ARE righteous because of Jesus’s righteousness.
When we were sinners (before we accepted Christ), did we perform righteous acts and do good works? Yes. Could those righteous acts and good works undo Adam’s act of rebellion in the Garden of Eden, and make us righteous before God? No.
Now that we are the righteous children of God (after we accepted Christ), do we still sin? Yes. But can such sinful acts override Jesus’s ultimate act of obedience on the Cross, and make us sinners again? No!
Before I was saved, I WAS a sinner regardless of what I did. My acts, my works, my efforts could contribute nothing to affect my position before God.
By the same token, after I was saved and have Christ in me, all my sins have been washed clean. I am totally justified. I am no longer (and can never again be) a sinner. I am gloriously and ETERNALLY saved from sin. I am FOREVER a child of my Father. In fact, I have been washed so clean by the blood of Jesus that the Holy Spirit dwells PERMANENTLY in me.
My actions do have implications on my earthly life and my rewards in heaven, but they have ZERO impact on my identity before God, man and the Devil – I am not a sinner. I am fully righteous and hence totally accepted by God.
I believe the work on the cross is perfectly finished, 100% complete. And I believe that the power of the Finished Work of Christ on the cross far exceeds the power of Adam’s act of disobedience in the garden.
I don’t believe that I could undo Adam’s Sin in the Garden by myself. I cannot believe that by what I do, I can negate the Grace of Jesus Christ on the Cross. Who is greater: Jesus, Adam or me?
Now, the million dollar question: are we (I’m referring to believers here) sinners?
We need to understand that when it comes to determining who we are (sinners or righteous children of God) the only thing that really matters is the belief in, and the confession of the saving grace of Jesus Christ on the Cross. Our works, our deeds, our acts, our thoughts don’t come into the picture at all.
Am I saying that living right and doing good works are not important? By no means! but that is another topic altogether (many of you will refer to the famous debate between the book of Romans and the book of James – Justification by Faith vs Justification by Works).
I believe that when people know/believe they ARE righteous by faith, they will eventually DO good works. Look at the examples quoted in the book of James: we see that Abraham was declared to BE righteous more than 20 years before he went on to DO the righteous obedient act of offering Isaac on the mount. Also, the prostitute Rehab. She believed in Jehovah God (and hence was deemed to BE righteous before Him) 40 years before her faith made her DO the righteous act of helping Joshua’s spies.
Righteousness (which is by faith alone) will produce good works - not always immediately, as we can see from the examples of Abraham and Rehab.
Once we know who we are (our “being”), we will do what we are supposed to do (“doing”). I therefore believe that it is of utmost importance to know accurately our true identity in Christ. So bear with me as I seem to be-labor on the same point over and over again:
We are righteous children who still sin sometimes. We are not sinners who are trying to be righteous.
Shall we discard our “religious”, “legalistic”, and unbiblical thinking and revert instead to the simple but uncompromising Truth in His Word? Shall we quit saying that we ARE sinners?
We were, but we aren’t!
KNOW RIGHT, BELIEVE RIGHT, CONFESS RIGHT, AND LIVE RIGHT
I’m not saying that we should claim to be sinless (I’m still “doing” sins. That’s a fact. But I am not “being” a sinner. That’s the Truth). Therefore I still need to confess and repent from my sins.
But shall we do so biblically?
Let us confess (which in the original greek means “to say the same word”) regarding our sins according to God’s Word that says that we have been totally forgiven.
Let us repent (which in the greek means “change our mind”) concerning the sins in our lives and declare to the Devil and the world that we are righteous in Christ!
Some of you may think that what I’m dwelling on is just an insignificant theological argument, a meaningless debate on spiritual terminology with little implication on our lives. But I truly believe that knowing, believing and confessing accurately who we are in Christ will motivate us to live the victorious, abundant, and fruitful life that Jesus has promised us.
A prince who knows, believes, and declares openly his royal position is more likely to live with dignity and honour than another who believes and talks as if he is a pauper.
Even if the prince falters in his walk and falls into a heap of rubbish, the one who knows, believes, and declares his identity will most likely pick himself up quickly and carry on with his walk. He will still exude his regal confidence, and make bold progress, despite the momentary embarrassment.
But the one who believes, thinks and talks like he is a pauper? More likely than not, even though he might have started out clothed in royal garments, after the fall, he will choose to linger in the heap, wallow in self-pity and even resign to his so-called pauper fate. He will be inclined to tell himself, “what is the big deal of me lingering a little longer in this mess? afterall, I’m just a pauper.”
How may times had I fallen into the same self-defeating thought: “Afterall, I am just sinner!”
I shudder to think of the many unnecessary pity-parties I had attended (alone, of course) and the precious moments I had wasted because I had subscribed to that sort of thinking, which apparently (and sadly), is widely held among many believers. Is it any wonder then that so many of us christians are always yearning for but never experiencing the victorious, abundant, and fruitful life that our Lord has promised us?.
What we know and believe has a huge impact on our lives. Know the Truth, and the Truth shall set us free. Believe right, and we shall live right.
I pray that we can encourage (and remind) one another to live and talk like who we really are in Christ.
And rejoice and the Lord :)
Blessings,
Keith