You Are A Saint, Not A Sinner By Pete BriscoeПримерок

We’re No Longer Sinners, We Are Holy Sons and Daughters

God creates out of nothing. Wonderful, you say. Yes, to be sure, but He does what is still more wonderful: He makes saints out of sinners. —Søren Kierkegaard

You are not a sinner saved by grace.

Oops, sorry there. Didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers. Let me explain. At one time you were a sinner, but now that you are saved, your sin-driven past is behind you. You are currently a saint who sometimes sins. There is a big difference between the two!

The difference is in how God looks at you. Look at how Paul describes who you are in Christ:

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. (Colossians 1:1-2)

The term “holy” is the same word used for “saint.” If you continue to say that you are “just a sinner saved by grace,” you are saying that your identity is still that of a sinner.

Not true! At the very moment you trusted Christ, you stopped being a sinner and started being a saint. You were indeed saved by grace from your sin, but your identity as a sinner, which you inherited at birth, is gone. Because Christ saved us, we are now God’s sons and daughters

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. (John 1:12-13)

If we walk around constantly identifying ourselves as sinners saved by grace, we are communicating to ourselves and to others that we are defined by our previous identity as a sinner. It’s tricky, isn’t it? We want to fully acknowledge to the Father and those around us that we continue to sin, but the Father does not want His children to run around and identify themselves as sinners.

Am I just playing with words here? Absolutely not! The distinction between seeing yourself as a sinner or seeing yourself as a saint makes a huge difference in the way you live your life. Because you will act out the way you view yourself. Think about that one for just a little bit! This week we’re going to explore the importance of that in more detail.

Lord Jesus, You have given me a new identity. I am not defined as being a sinner any longer. I am a saint who sometimes sins. I still mess up, but I am a new creation in You. Give me the strength and courage to recognize this and to begin to live in the victory that it proclaims! Amen.