Christians and Sin

I do not argue that Christians are immune to the effects of sin. But, on request from a friend, I thought I’d talk about my belief (backed by the Bible) that Christians are not sinners.

Already, you may be a tad confused over what exactly I’m saying. So here’s some analogies of what I mean:

A man breathes. Yet is his identity ‘breathing’?

A woman has two legs. But is she known as ‘bipedal’?

The answers to the above are simple – no. Although humans breathe and walk on two legs, their identities are not encompassed by these two facts. It is the identities of human beings that I wish to explore here.

So what do I mean?

Well, to those who believe that all humans are sinners (by the conventional definition of someone whom sins), I wonder this – what is it that differentiates Christians from non-Christians? Why are we any more deserving of Jesus’ forgiveness? Is it simply because we acknowledge Him as Lord? Or to truly acknowledge him, should we be reborn and transformed into His followers?

In answering these coterminous questions, we have to (as always) turn to Scripture.

“We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will.”

– John 9:31

Not actually spoken by follower of Christ, but useful in our search for answers nonetheless.

For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

– Romans 5:19

Interesting – through Adam’s sin, we were corrupted, but through Christ’s sacrifice, we are cleansed… even made righteous…

We also see many sections where sinners are differentiated from Christ’s followers, for example:

My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

– James 5:19

Luke 6:32-36 is another reference along these lines.

Not only does God not listen to sinners as above, but:

The LORD detests men of perverse heart but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.

– Proverbs 11:20

I know, it’s an Old Testament verse that only describes God’s relationship with his people before Jesus’ ministry. But even this is intriguing – is it true, then, that in some way, humans can be blameless?

And about the human heart – here’s a section from Jesus’ explanation of the parable of the seeds:

But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

– Luke 8:15

Similarly:

The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

– 1 Timothy 1:5

So humans can, and Christians do, have a noble and good heart? We have to, if we’re going to ‘produce a crop’, and more importantly, if we are going to love (which we are commanded to do).

(Below, a random video for a bit of a break as usual – this time, a weird American ad to get kids to take tough classes for college)

In a very complex jumble of speech, we have another reference:

We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have a desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is the sin living in me that does it.

– Romans 7:14-20

Ok, so if you understand that, great, but if you don’t, just look at the last sentence or two – they’re the ones I want to focus on. It is no longer us (Christians) who sin, but the evil within us. This is because we are new flesh (reborn, cleansed, made righteous etc.) with old flesh (evil, sin etc.) sitting as a burden on our shoulders. Therefore, do we sin? Or is it the evil, old flesh within us that sins? And furthermore, are we sinners?

There are more verses:

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 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 sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions 0 it is by grace that you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus…

– Ephesians 2:1-6

And more:

Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.

– 1 Corinthians 1:1-2

(Another break, this time a video of the Foreign Languages part of the above ad series; it’s mildly amusing)

Now, let’s wrap all this up in a nice little bolded-and-coloured summary of conclusions.

1. Christians are not, and cannot be, sinners. As the good seed, we must have a good and noble heart in order to ‘produce a crop’, and although our old flesh still inhabits us, we are not dominated by it as non-Christians are.

2. Christians are righteous. Similar to the above point, but different. Not only are we not sinners, but we are quite the opposite – we are of good and noble heart. Only through Christ’s sacrifice is this so, and through our transformation into new flesh. Like the human hand, evil is still a part of us, but it doesn’t enslave us as it once did.

3. We still need to ask for forgiveness. Why? Because our body still sins. When we allow our old flesh to take hold momentarily, and once our new flesh reclaims command, we must acknowledge what we did wrong and present it to God for his judgment. He will always strike it from the record, because the righteous shall not be held accountable to sin.

So, as a final word, any readers can feel free to question and challenge the conclusions drawn from this exploration. In fact, I encourage it.

Please do.