WE ARE NOT ALL SINNERS!

So this is a sermon that is preached very often: ‘We’re not perfect. We’re all sinners.’ Welp! Lies!

I’m not saying I don’t sin. I’m just saying I’m not a sinner. Let me explain.

Sin is a nature.

It is a disposition, a state that puts you in submission to a law – the law of sin and death. To be a sinner is to be a slave, a bondservant to sin. It is to be subjected without choice to the dictates of your nature. Let me show you two things.

A. That SINNERS ARE UNBELIEVERS.

1. Romans 5:8 – But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners [After you have accepted that Christ died for you, how can you STILL be a sinner?]
2. Matthew 9:13 – I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. [You’re either a sinner or you’re called to righteousness by Jesus 🤷🏽‍♀️]
3. James 5:19-20 – Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth [i.e. the gospel, thus meaning if anyone apostatizes/loses their faith], and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death [😱🤯!!!] and cover a multitude of sins.

B. That SINNERS ARE RULED BY A LAW WORKING IN THEIR MEMBERS BECAUSE OF THEIR NATURE.

1. Romans 8:2 – The law of the Spirit of life IN Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
2. Romans 6:17 & 18 – Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.
3. Romans 6:6&7 – We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ, we were set free from the power of sin.
4. And the famous Romans 7 that is always truncated just at the point when Paul delivers the Good news: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. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but 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 sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is taking me to death?

Thanks be to God, who does this through our Lord Jesus Christ! – Verse 25a

So here’s what I’m saying. A believer is NOT a sinner. Scripture acknowledges that we sin sometimes. John writes [to believers] in 1 John 2:1, ‘I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.’

However, the spirit and nature of a believer is absolutely different from that of a sinner.  Romans 6:8 says ‘Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead die no more; death hath no more dominion over him.’ You have taken the nature of the Righteous One, with whom you died and rose as a new man. So you are no longer a sinner,

YOU ARE A SAINT!

Want proof? I can drown you in them! Look at how the Spirit of God refers to believers throughout scripture:

Revelation 5:8 – And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. [Other modern versions say ‘the prayers of God’s people’]. And no, it’s not about dead believers. Let me bring it closer home.

Romans 8:27 – Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Acts 9:13 – Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem.” [The irony, he was talking about Paul!! 😂😂]

Look at how Paul referred to believers he wrote to, even those he scolded for their waywardness and called foolish one time😂:

Ephesians 4:12 – And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…

Ephesians 5:3 – But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints [notice how these things do not phase the righteous nature of believers?]

Philippians 1:1 – Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi… Chapter 4:22 ends with ‘All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar’s household.’

Philemon 1:5 – I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints.

1 Corinthians 13:13 – ‘All the saints greet you.’

To the believers in Hebrews 13:34,  Paul says ‘Greet all those who rule over you, and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you. [I like how casually Paul puts it! 😂]

Here’s what you need to understand: A believer is sanctified in Christ Jesus! It’s what Paul says in his greeting to the church in Corinth in chapter 1 of his first letter. In Chapter 6 he reminds them of how they used to be thieves and idolaters and fornicators, and further reminds them that they were washed, sanctified [can you not even glean the word ‘saint’ from here?😍], but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. So even though scripture says ‘There is none righteous, no, not one’ [Romans 3:10], Christ changes the narrative in 5:19. By His obedience, we have been imputed with righteousness! He talks about a righteousness not of his own but one from God, that nothing other than a renunciation of faith in the One who imputed it can destroy!

Paul was red-eyed when he wrote to the Galatians. [I’ll end soon, don’t worry 😂]

Oh, foolish Galatians! Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? – Gal 3:1a & 2

When people preach for you to ‘work out your own salvation with fear and trembling’ in a manner that means you need to work your way into heaven, here’s what they’re saying: that Christ’s work in you as a sanctified person was insufficient and incomplete. If you could not work out yourself right from the start, you cannot work it out now any more than before. When Jesus redeemed and sanctified you, you were sanctified once and forever. For as long as you remain a believer in Christ, you are a beneficiary of His perfect work of sanctification.

The next time somebody says ‘we’re all sinners’, tell him ‘Nah fam! I ain’t a sinner, I’m a Saint!’ 😉😎

PS: This is relevant to know because a lot of scriptures relating to apostasy and unbelievers are misdirected to believers. eg. ‘Depart from me you workers of iniquity’. Others are just misunderstood, like ‘working out your salvation’. In the weeks that follow, I will attempt to explain what each of those ‘warnings’ mean. If you have any you struggle with, just drop me a dm or comment it here, and we’ll do justice to them! Thank you for reading!!

Love You Big,

RAD ❤