“A sinner saved by grace”—that’s how many—maybe most—Christians would identify themselves.
Sounds good—humble, honest, theological. But is it true? And is it helpful?
I’m going to answer no to both questions.
First of all, it’s not helpful. People act from their identity. If you identify yourself as a sinner, guess how you’re going to act? And when you struggle with temptation, that temptation is going to seem much stronger than it really is if you are, in fact, a sinner. Identifying yourself as a sinner, in my opinion, dooms you to a lifelong battle—a mostly losing battle—with sin, because no matter how hard you try, your old sin nature is always there, lurking in the background, ready to make you mess up once again.
But there is a different—and very biblical—way to identify yourself that places you in a much stronger position to overcome sin.
Before you accuse me of heresy, let’s look at what the Bible says. Romans 3 tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. It quotes Psalm 14:1-3, Psalm 53:1-3, and Ecclesiastes 7:20 to say that no one is righteous. In 1 Timothy 1, Paul calls himself the chief of (or worst of) sinners. And in Romans 7, he seems to describe his own personal struggle with sin. Jesus said, “There is no one good except God,” (Mark 10:18) and says, “If you then, being evil…” (Matthew 7:11).
So yeah. I get that. I’ve read and reread all these passages with care.
But we really need to wider context of scripture. For example, consider this passage:
But all sinners will be destroyed;
there will be no future for the wicked.
The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
Psalm 37:38-39 NIV (emphasis mine)
If you are a sinner, then who are the righteous? And if we’re all sinners, we’re all going to be destroyed, we have no hope. Or consider what Jesus says in Matthew 26:45: “the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners.” If we’re all sinners, then the disciples were sinners, and Jesus was already in the hands of his disciples, so He was already in the hands of sinners. If we’re all sinners, then His statement doesn’t make sense.
And if we’re all evil, and none of us are good, then why does Jesus say, “A good man brings forth good out of the good stored up in him…” (Matthew 12:35) Why do Psalm 1, Proverbs 13, Isaiah 1, Amos 9 and other passages make a distinction sinners and the righteous?
Maybe it’s time to take a second look at all those passages we quote to “prove” that we’re sinners.
Paul calls himself the chief of sinners in 1 Timothy 1. But what evidence does he give to support that claim? He explains that he persecuted the church. Did he persecute the church before his conversion or after?
Before, right?
So what is he really talking about? Yes, he uses the present tense, but he’s talking about himself before he came to Christ. He’s not talking about himself in the present, otherwise he couldn’t tell us to follow his example in Philippians 4:9.
And what about Romans 7. Again it sounds like Paul is talking about himself, talking about a losing battle with sin. But dig deeper into the passage, and read carefully from Romans 7:14 to Romans 8:14. Paul is contrasting two ways of approaching sin, the law, and God. You can walk according to the flesh (sometimes mistranslated “sinful nature”) or you can walk according to the Spirit. What is the flesh? Do a word study throughout the Bible, and I think you will come to the conclusion that the flesh is human effort apart from God.
Here’s what I think he’s saying: If you think you can go it alone apart from God, your life will be a mess. You will struggle with sin and never overcome. But if you invite Jesus into your struggles, He will set you free from sin and give you the power to overcome. Go it alone, and your path leads to sin, death, and hell. Invite Jesus in, and your path leads to righteousness, life, and heaven.
So, no. I don’t think Paul is describing his post conversion self in Romans 7. If he’s describing himself at all, he’s describing himself before he met Jesus Christ.
So, what are the takeaways?
Have all sinned? Yes. (Setting aside those who are incapable of knowing the difference between good and evil. That’s a whole different conversation.)
Compared to God, are we good? No.
Are we good enough to earn our way into heaven? No.
What is a sinner? Someone whose life is characterized by sin.
If we’ve invited Jesus into our lives, are we sinners? No.
Do Christians have a sin nature? According to Romans 6:6, our sin nature is dead. If it’s dead, it’s not alive. If it’s not alive, it can’t do anything to make us sin. So no, I don’t believe we do.
Why do Christians sin then? Because we are, at some level, deceived. Just like Eve in Genesis 3 (1 Timothy 2:14). She didn’t have a sin nature either before the fall.
In my view, the big problem with running around saying, “I’m a sinner. I’m a sinner,” is this: It insults the work of God. God’s work in us (Philippians 1:6) is far stronger than our sin. God is in the process of transforming us. Sin will fail, but God’s work in us will succeed. In the end, we will be without sin. Righteous you and righteous me will walk the streets of gold.
When we are born of God, God’s spiritual DNA is placed inside our soul, and we cannot live a life of sin because that kind of life is incompatible with God’s DNA. (1 John 3:9)
Hope these thoughts are helpful. Here’s a video with more information.
Be encouraged!
Dwight
