We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. (Galatians 1:15-16)
Can I just be brutally honest? I have a pet peeve. And this issue of mine has made some of my Christian friends very uncomfortable, if not angry.
It breaks my heart when someone who loves the Lord and chooses to receive His gift of salvation and follow Him, still identifies as “just a sinner!”
But we are sinners, right? Let’s look at the first scripture in Galatians. Paul is saying that we (the Jewish believers) are not “Gentile sinners.” Is Paul saying that Jewish people don’t sin? In 1 Timothy 1:15 Paul says, Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. Paul does not say he was the worst of sinnners? No, he uses present tense, I am the worst. Paul still sinned. What Paul is saying to the Jewish believers is that they no longer belong to the group “Gentile sinners” according to the laws of Moses and the promises to Abraham. Do they still sin? Of course! The Old Testament is full of instructions on what to do when they sin; what sacrifices to offer and when.
What about us, now that we have chosen to follow Jesus and received Him as our Savior?
We are a new creation. The old us has been crucified with Christ.
From now on, therefore, we regard no one (not even ourselves) according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
We are in Christ
And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, (1 Corinthians 1:30)
We are children of God.
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
(1 John 3:1-3)
The question remains. Are we still sinners? No. We are blood-washed, redeemed children of God, in Christ Jesus – who still fall down, skin our knees and sin. But our identity is Child of God, who still has old habits and beliefs, who is still chosen and called by God for good works He has prepared for us – and is cleansing us from sinful habits and beliefs. If our primary identity is Child of God, our actions and thoughts will begin to reflect that. If our primary identity is sinner, our actions and thoughts will reflect that!
What do we do when we sin? I John 1:8-10 tells us,
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and [He] will forgive us our sins and [He will] purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. (Emphasis mine)
First, we confess our sin to God. We agree with God about our sin, that it is not how a child of God acts, thinks or speaks. Second, we stand in His forgiveness, before God because of what Jesus did, but our “unrighteous” words, thoughts and actions still need cleansing. Our minds need renewing, our hearts need purifying, our habits need changing. Notice, He does the purifying. How? Through His Word. Through godly relationships. All by the power of Holy Spirit.
Heavenly Father,
we are Your children
still learning
to walk in our new identiy –
Beloved of the Father,
Co-heirs with Christ,
Chosen,
Called for a purpose,
Held in Your arms.
~ ~ ~