I once heard someone say, “Don’t label me a saint so you can hold
me to a standard that you believe that you can’t or are not called to live up
too.” Isn’t it true that in our hearts we tend to label people saints who we
look up to in the faith? Most often we do this because we believe they are more
holy than us, more powerful than us, or closer to God than us. However, when we
do this we tend to elevate them, but lower our view of ourselves to point of
labeling ourselves sinners.
However, give me one passage in the Bible where God identifies His
children in Christ as sinners; sinning does not make you a sinner. Who you are is not defined by what you do, it is defined by who God
says you are. Though our actions are meant to be an overflow of our identity,
our actions ultimately don't dictate our identity, God's word does.
Hebrews 10:14 identifies believers as having been "forever made perfect" through the sacrifice of Jesus. This is past tense, already done (made), and 'forever' established. Yes we are still 'being made holy,' being set apart in our daily walk through the power of the Holy Spirit, but this does not nullify the truth that by Christ's “one offering He forever made perfect those who are being made holy.” Only God has the right to identify us, for that is the right of the Father.
As long as believers identify themselves as sinners they forfeit the reality, full inheritance, & authority they have as forgiven, redeemed, & more than conquering sons. Just because I sin I am not a sinner (identity). That does not mean I will never sin, but partaking of the sin nature as a saint does not identify me as a sinner. It just means that I am a son of God, a saint, who sins; in that moment I am acting outside of my true identity. But as long as I label myself a sinner I will continue to live that way because my actions will always follow my view of myself.
Our sin can never override the identity that God speaks over us. One of the major reasons the body of Christ is not walking as victoriously as it should is because believers have knowingly & unknowingly identified themselves as things that God has never said they are. Many have forfeited their authority & power in Christ over sin because they have believed false identifies that the enemy has fed them. Once we enter into Christ through faith our identity is never determined by what we have done or will do, it is always determined by what God says of us.
Let’s Do This Together
Do you see yourself as a Saint or a Sinner? What labels have you given
yourself or have others given you that keep you in a low view of yourself? What
is God’s truth of you pertaining to those things?
I agree with the thrust of your article and importance of reminding believers of this truth. But as a point of balance, don't forget that Paul identified himself as the "chief" of "sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15). And he didn't say "I was." He used the present tense of the verb and said, "I am." Paul thought this point was important enough that he prefaced his statement by announcing that, "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance." Apparently the Holy Spirit speaking through Paul wanted to make sure we remember that we "are" sinners who have been "made" sons (Galatians 3:26). Perhaps this is so we never take for granted the amazing grace in Christ that God pronounces over us in identifying us as sons.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I have seen myself as a sinner many times. It happens when I categorize sin or even worse, when I measure the sin. In other words, I tend to think of how wretched a sinner I am by how bad I think the sin that I've committed has been. However, you are right in that God uses a much different approach when it comes to what we call "our sin" or "sinner." It seems clear to me that God is more interested in how a person sees themselves after they have sinned rather than the sin they have committed.
ReplyDeleteI think Pastor Joseph hit the nail on the head in that he is not rejecting our sinfulness, but rather how we view ourselves after we've sinned or at best, how we view ourselves after we've repented of our sin.