There is a false teaching in the church that is causing many people to consider themselves still sinners. Some will even say, I know the Bible says we are saints, but we are still sinners. This double-minded thinking prevents one from receiving the fullness of God's grace. How we see ourselves has a huge impact on how we behave. Let's see what the Word tells us.
Paul tells us in Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Notice Paul says, 'while we were still sinners'....were meaning past tense. We are no longer what we were. We are a new creation! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
63 times in the New Covenant believers are referred to as saints.
We are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. God does not live in a dirty house. We have been cleansed ONCE for ALL by the blood of Jesus. The sooner we start seeing ourselves as saints instead of sinners, the sooner our behavior will match up with this awesome reality.
:-)
Paul wrote in Romans 1:7, "to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints:"
Paul wrote in Romans 8:27, "because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."
Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:2, "to those who have
been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling..."
We know as believers that we are sanctified (set apart by God) from several verses in the New Covenant.
One being 1 Corinthians 6:11, "Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified..."
Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:17-20, "so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us."
Paul tells us in Romans 6:13, "and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousnes to God."
This is an indentity crisis for many. God tells us we are no longer sinners. We have been given a new, pure heart. We have been made a new creation. The old self has died. We are holy-sanctified. We are righteous. We are seated at the right hand of the Father. This was all finished 2000 years ago. We can not be all these things and be a sinner. Now does a saint ever sin? yes. It is part of the transformation process of realizing who we really are. The mind is being renewed to catch up to the reality of who we already are. When we focus on Jesus and walk in the Spirit, we don't sin. When we take our focus off of Jesus and walk in the flesh, we sin in our self-efforts. It does not change our identity. Again, we did nothing to become who we are and we can do nothing to change who we are. Our sainthood is permanent because Jesus is permanent. Amen! :-)
Now you may be asking, why dont people act like saints? Why are so many people out there setting bad examples? I am certainly not here to judge anyone as we all have our stumbling blocks. The reason can be simple. The focus is self-conscious vs. Christ-conscious. When we focus on the flesh (self-efforts), life is difficult and we stumble. When we focus on Christ, life is easy and we live out of the abundance of the finished work of Christ. Christ is our reality. Anything else is like the Matrix (great movie by the way). When we enter into His rest, the works of the Spirit naturally pour out of us. This is when the fruits of who we actually are become seen. These are the fruits of the Spirit not fruits of the flesh. Huge difference here! :-) The behavior starts to match up with the reality as the transformation process renews the mind.
There are several verses advising us to remain focused on Christ (Christ-conscious).
2 Corinthians 10:5, "We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."
Capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ. :-)
2 Corinthians 10:5, "We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."
Capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ. :-)
Colossians 3:2, "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God."
Romans 12:2, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."
Imagine a child growing up being told they are beautiful every day and feeling beautiful and loved every day. Now, imagine that same child growing up being told they are ugly every day and feeling unloved every day. There are going to be different behaviors associated with these two examples. It is the same with the sinner vs. saint concept. Make sense? Imagine waking up every day knowing you are a saint compared to thinking you are a sinner. It changes your mindset automatically if it is truly believed. This is a huge one for seeing the grace of God. It is finished. There is nothing for us to ‘do’ except live out the reality of who we are in Him. Rest from our works (self-efforts) and let the works of the Spirit flow through the temple of the Holy Spirit. God does not live in a dirty house. He lives inside us! You, yes YOU are a saint. As believers we are saints! The sooner this reality is believed and accepted as truth, the sooner the renewal process will begin and the Holy Spirit will take care of the rest. Amen! :-) Thank you, Jesus!
Romans 12:2, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."
Imagine a child growing up being told they are beautiful every day and feeling beautiful and loved every day. Now, imagine that same child growing up being told they are ugly every day and feeling unloved every day. There are going to be different behaviors associated with these two examples. It is the same with the sinner vs. saint concept. Make sense? Imagine waking up every day knowing you are a saint compared to thinking you are a sinner. It changes your mindset automatically if it is truly believed. This is a huge one for seeing the grace of God. It is finished. There is nothing for us to ‘do’ except live out the reality of who we are in Him. Rest from our works (self-efforts) and let the works of the Spirit flow through the temple of the Holy Spirit. God does not live in a dirty house. He lives inside us! You, yes YOU are a saint. As believers we are saints! The sooner this reality is believed and accepted as truth, the sooner the renewal process will begin and the Holy Spirit will take care of the rest. Amen! :-) Thank you, Jesus!
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