Sinner or Saint?

Is a Christian still a wretched sinner?   What does the bible actually say about this?  Do we still have an old nature or do we have a new nature?  If you really have a new nature, what is that new nature like?  Can someone have two natures?

A post on the blog Modern Reject states the following in very bold words:

We’ve all heard Christians say it and we’ve most likely said it ourselves: “I’m just a sinner saved by grace.”

We tell unbelievers that we are sinners just like them, only difference is, we’ve met Jesus, accepted His gift of salvation, and been saved.

And let me just say, this is completely false.

That’s right. We are lying when we speak these words. We are not sinners. We are something quite different…

You see, somewhere along the way Christians got the idea in their minds that they need to refer to themselves as “sinners” and not saints. Yet, the Bible, more specifically, the New Testament, does not refer to followers of Christ as sinners in the present tense.

The world seems to know that there is a sharp distinction between a sinner and a saint, but why don't most Christians understand this?  This is a serious case of mistaken and confused identity.

If you are a Christian, and have always believed you are just a sinner saved by Grace, you are in for a real treat. Get ready to be set free and released into a completely new and radical way of seeing yourself as God sees you!

A Sinner is not a Saint, and a Saint is not a Sinner!

Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Paul reminds us that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. (Rom. 5:8) Catch that? Paul did not write that Christ died for us while we were still sinners so that we could remain sinners.  Look at Romans 5:19 - we are made Righteous through the obedience of Christ.  Also, notice the contrast between the words "sinners" and "righteous".  You are either a "sinner", or you are "righteous".  You cannot be both.  You must stop seeing yourself as a sinner, and see yourself as God sees you, as a righteous saint.

Romans 5:19
For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

Good Heart, Bad Heart 

It is very common to hear Christians quoting Jeremiah 17:9 -  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?

Many take this to mean that all men's hearts are deceitful and wicked, including Christians.  But is this really true of the new covenant Christian?  No, a Christian is one who has a good heart, whose heart has been changed through the new birth, the soil of this kind of heart is fertile and fruit-bearing. This kind of heart hear's God's truth and lives it out.

Luke 8:15
But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

Did you catch that?  "a noble and good heart" So it is possible to have a good heart!  And here's how it happens - God gives us a new heart the moment we are born again and surrender our life to him!

Ezekiel 36:26
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Hebrews 8:10
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Matthew 23:26
Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.

Matthew 12:35
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.

Matthew 23:26 shows us that is possible to have a cleansed heart that is pure.  How wonderful and freeing is that?  Matthew 12:35 also shows us that it is possible to be "good" and have "good treasure" stored up in our heart with "good things" coming out of it.  Amazing!

John 7:38
He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

Matthew 7:18
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.

Jesus said that two types of water can't flow from the same source.  Jesus also said a bad tree can't bear good fruit!  I'm telling you loud and clear - if you are a Christian - you are a good tree! You are not a bad tree!  The scriptures are so clear - I could go on and on with scripture after scripture!  You cannot have two natures - one good, the other bad!  Any object or being cannot have two natures. For example, Wood is wood, that is it's nature!  Gold is Gold, that is it's nature!  Your nature is either sinner or saint  it cannot be both!  You are a born again new creation; the old is gone, the new has come! 

The Struggle between Flesh and Spirit

Yes, we will still struggle with the Flesh, but I can prove that many reference where some translations say "sinful nature", the actual greek word used in many instances is "sarx", the word most often translated to "flesh".  It is more accurate to translate that word in these cases as "flesh", not "sinful nature".  For example, in Romans 7:18, the NIV translates "sarx" as "sinful nature", but the New King James more accurately translates it as "Flesh". Yes, we still struggle with the "flesh", but the flesh is simply our old patterns of behavior and ways of behaving.  The flesh is not our nature.  "Sinner" is not our nature.  Wicked and Deceitful are not our nature. 

Sin is an invader to be fought against and removed, like a speck of dust that gets in your eye or a sickness that invades your body.  If we have a speck of dust in our eye, we take it out.  If we have sickness, we seek healing from it.  It shouldn't become part of who we are!  If we have sin, we need to confess it, repent of it, and then have nothing to do with it!  We are not to identify ourselves with the sin.  Sin is not a part of us, it is something to get rid of!  Since we are "in" Christ, when God looks at us, he sees the righteousness of Jesus, he sees the new creation.  He doesn't see our faults, sins, and failures.  Isn't this amazing!  If God doesn't identify us with our sin any longer, why should we!

Here is an example: If we get angry, the enemy is the one who brings shame and condemnation, saying things like "you're just an angry person, you'll never overcome this, you are an evil sinner!  We must not receive that curse to our identity, instead we must declare the truth like this.   "I am a saint, I am righteous, I am holy, sin has no place in me!  Jesus, cleanse me from this sin, remove its effects from me, and fill me with the Holy Spirit so I can walk free from this sin!"  This type of response sows to the Spirit, and you will reap a harvest of righteousness because you are drawing near to God.  The first type of response pushes you away from God because you believe yourself to be unclean, dirty, and unable to go to God for the grace you so desperately need.  Here is the lie we begin to believe.  "If God hates sin, and I am a sinner, he must detest me."  But, if we are able to separate our identity from the act of Sin, we can partner with the Holy Spirit to war with it and overcome it.  We will hate the sin,  but not hate ourselves.  This mindset will empower us and fill us with the desire to be free from the sin. This mindset will then enable us to turn to God, drawing on his love and grace to overcome it.

Example:  Two men are walking through a dirty, muddy parking lot.  One is dressed in a new, clean, white Tuxedo.  The other is dressed in old, dirty, oily overalls.  Which one of these men is going to want to stay out of the mud more?  You guessed it, the clean one.  When we see ourselves as clean, we will have no desire to partake in sin.  We will desire to remain pure and undefiled.  This is a much more powerful motivator than the lie that we are dirty, rotten, filthy sinners!  Of course, we must never forget that the only reason why we are clean and pure is through the love, grace, forgiveness, and power of God!  We are completely dependent on him! 

It's time to start believing the truth, rejecting the lies and shame.  We are saints, born again new creations, sons and daughters of God, full of boldness and confidence regarding our identity "in" Christ!  Anything less is faithlessness and a denial of the real power of God to transform lives and hearts!

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

The new creation is Holy and Righteous. 

Ephesians 4:23-24

²³ to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

 

 

 You are holy and pleasing to God

Romans 12:1 

 ¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

Objections:
Some will raise an objection from 1 Timothy where Paul states he is the Chief of sinners or Worst of Sinners.  Here is my response to that.

1 Tim 1:12-16."I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners -- OF WHOM I AM THE WORST. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, THE WORST OF SINNERS, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life."

I have a hard time believing that Paul was actually talking about himself in a present tense being the "Chief of Sinners" Literally. I believe he is talking about what he would be like without Christ. He is very aware of his weaknesses and the ugly sinfulness Christ has delivered him from.

Whatever the flesh once manifested itself to be in our lives--some extreme form of evil, whatever we have done that is now, in our own sight, bad or ugly --we have to remember that is an area of weakness that needs to be guarded very carefully, because we can return to that in an instant, no matter how long we have been Christians. There is that aspect of realizing the depths from which we have come and where we could fall back to without Christ. However, I believe the scripture also has to be examined in context to be clearly understood.

Paul refers to the time when he was persecuting and killing those who followed Jesus (past tense). Paul no longer did these things - it would be ridiculous to state that Paul remained a terrible "sinner". It would bring no glory to Christ if Paul's life did not change. Pauls life was radically changed when he encountered Christ. It brings great glory to Christ when the worst of sinners comes to him and their life changes in such a dramatic, black and white fashion. Here is Paul - a persecutor, blasphemor, and violent man - now he is gentle, humble, peaceful, and loving. Did he still sin? Of course! Did he still have the capacity to fall back into grievous sin without the grace and love of Jesus Christ?  Sure!  But was his identity still a wretched sinner? Absolutely not!

I believe there is a strong distinction in the New Testament between a sinner and a saint. However, sometimes our behavior may not line up with our identity. A sinner will sometimes act Saintly, and a Saint will sometimes act sinfully. As we become more secure in who God says we are, and the radical change that has taken place in our nature, our behavior will change.

I love the past tense descriptions of our old way of life in Eph. 2:1-3. There is no question in my mind that we are no longer sinners, but we are now saints!

Eph. 2:1-3
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath