Aug 18, 2010
Sinner?
Posted by Michael Howarth in Theology | Comments (0)
For a long time in my life I was exposed to a thread of teaching in the church that intensely discourages believers from acknowledging their sinful state. The thinking goes like this:
I completely agree with points 1-3. Number 4 is where we take the wrong exit and eventually end up somewhere other than the Bible. I used to think this teaching was benign and even somewhat beneficial because it emphasized who we are in Christ. But, I have found that where the sinner-no-more teaching is popular, repentance or the preaching thereof is usually not. In fact, I once heard a preacher proclaim that he could go through an entire day without sinning and that we should all aspire to such a level of “knowing who we are in Christ.” Now, not only do I think this over emphasis not benign or beneficial, I believe it to be incredibly harmful to a healthy Christian life.
"Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also for willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression” Psalm 19:12,13
As believers in Christ, we will never get past repentance in this life. I am a sinner precisely because I am still prone to sin. The same apostle who penned glorious revelations of "who we are in Christ" also penned the words “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst.” 1Timothy 1:15.
The error simply put is this: We can emphasize justification to the point that sanctification is never talked about. Worse yet, we can miss completely how depraved and helpless we were to begin with. When this happens the gospel in our hearts subtly shifts to become an affirmation of our worthiness. This becomes a feast for the sinful pride living within us.
When we see how incredibly helpless we are, how broken and bent, how marred and inept, when we look through that lense and see the cross, it becomes more beautiful, not less.
If you are a Christian, you are a new creation in Christ. Your old nature has been crucified with him. You have absolutely been born again. The Holy Spirit will use this new nature and the Bible to transform your mind and kill your sin. The Christian life revolves around 2 practices: repentance and belief. In repentance we see our sin and turn to God, in belief we exercise the new creation we’ve become and stand in His grace.
The acknowledgement that we can and do continue to sin, intentionally and unintentionally, is essential to understanding the Gospel. Without acknowledgement of this, proper growth in Christ is not possible.
Posted by Michael Howarth in Theology
