Results 1 - 5 of 5
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Are christians sinners or not? | Rom 3:23 | retxar | 69259 | ||
John, When I read Romans 6 I read that I have been radically changed by God’s grace. I see that I am no longer a slave to sin but a slave to God. I see that God has set me free from the chains that Satan had on me. I see that before, my fruit was shame that lead to death. I see now that my fruit is holiness that leads to everlasting life. I see now that I am dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. I see now, I MEAN RIGHT NOW, that sin does not have to reign in my mortal body, and I do not have to obey its lusts. I repeat: This is RIGHT NOW! This power over the sinful lust of the flesh is only possible because Jesus lives in me. This is a power that is above and beyond my own will power. This is a power over sin that the unsaved do not have. So what happens when I sin? It’s not that “I can’t help it”, it is because I choose to allow the flesh to overrule the Spirit. When I read 1John 3 (especially 1Jo 3:9), I see a distinct difference between the children of God and the children of the devil. It tells me how to know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are. This distinction is only possible because of what the presence of Jesus in our heart does, not of any goodness we have on our own. I have heard the statement many, many times that “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven”. This is a good word. However, the focus should be that on the fact that “we are forgiven”, not the excuse of, “oh well, we are not perfect”, as is many times the case. I don’t really like the word “just” used as description of how I was forgiven! A better word would be, “We are forgiven, just not perfect.” I like what Paul said even better. He said, “imitate me as I imitate Christ” (1 Cor 11:1). Too many times we have to say, “Don’t look at me (or other Christians or the church), just look at Jesus”. Well, Jesus said to let people see us for who we are and that should reflect Him (Mat 5:16). Our life should not be a life just like the sinner we were before with the only difference now being that we are forgiven. Paul said God’s WORD should be the manifestation that others see in our lives (2Co 3:2-3), not the manifestation of sin. I haven’t written anything here as any kind of rebuttal to what you said, because I pretty much agree with it all. I just wanted to explain my thoughts a little better. I think my definition of a sinner (a person complacent in sin) is probably a little different than yours (a person who sins), but hopefully you can pretty much agree with the other things I said. God bless you bro, retxar |
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2 | Are christians sinners or not? | Rom 3:23 | John Reformed | 69265 | ||
Dear retxar, I understand and agree with your arguement concerning our position in Christ. We are no longer under the dominion of sin, but because we have a remnant of our corrupt nature within (the flesh), we still sin on a daily basis. I hope you also will agree, that in the world we live in, when a christian states that he is not a sinner, we must be ready to offer a biblical explanation of how it is we can make such a remarkable claim. Otherwise, most people will take it the wrong way and assume the worst: that we are either liars or decieved. I think it best to confess my weakness and brag on Christ's strength, which has lifted me from the bondage of sin, and has provided me with the grace to fight against it. John |
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3 | Are christians sinners or not? | Rom 3:23 | retxar | 69297 | ||
Yes, I can certainly agree with what you are saying. However, I also know that these same people are also going to have a pretty hard time understanding what John meant in 1st John chapter 3. He made some pretty remarkable claims himself! I think the biblical explanation as you suggested is exactly what is called for. I have never had very much success talking to ANYONE about Jesus who was comfortable in their sin. Getting people saved is easy. Getting them “lost” is the hard part! Those who know the chains that satan has them bound with are the ones who are hungry for Jesus. They already know the “bad news”, because they are living it! They are ready for the good news! They not only want to be delivered from sin’s condemnation, they also want to be delivered from sins domination. I would much rather give these true seekers a biblical explanation of this than giving the sceptics the “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven” story, just to justify myself or others. Jesus said that if He did not do the works of His Father to not believe Him (John 10:37), so I better not expect anything but the same treatment! If I don’t do the works of Jesus, don’t believe me! If the ones we share the gospel with do not see the works of Jesus in us, they are never going to believe what we have to say anyway, so I'm not going to spend a lot of time trying to explain to them why I still sin, cause they ain’t gonna listen! retxar |
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4 | Are christians sinners or not? | Rom 3:23 | John Reformed | 69321 | ||
Dear retxar, It is a good thing that I need not preach John Reformed, but Christ and Him crucified. Many of my friends and family are well aware of the changes that my conversion has wrought in my life. They also know that I am not perfect. I am not always kind and loving, but lapse into selfishness and am irritablility as well. For me to tell them that I am sinless (which claiming that I am not a sinner would infer) would not further the Kingdom of God which is the commission that we have been given. What I have been trying to get across on this point is that our testimony should be focused on Jesus and their desperate need of Him. I can't promise them that they will not sin after they are saved. Neither can I promise them health, wealth and happiness. What I can offer is pardon for all their sins; peace with God and eternal life. I believe that we are messengers sent by God to proclaim the gospel of Christ. The message is that without Christ they will die in their sin and be lost for all eternity. But if they believe they will be saved. This is the all I can do. Salvation itself is the province of the Holy Spirit. He must open blind eyes and unplug deaf ears. It is not the messenger that makes the difference but the saving power of the gospel. The gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing but the power of God for those who are being saved. I wonder if we truly understand. 2 Cor 4:3 "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing," I also believe that we are ambassadors of Christ, and as such we have a resposibility to represent Him by desiring to be as much like Him as we can. Therefore we pray, beseeching Him to forgive us our sins and to mold us into a closer resemblence of our Lord. The robes of righteousness provided by our King, and not our filthy rags, are what we should clothe ourselves with. Especially when we are acting in our capacity as evangelists to a lost world. John |
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5 | Are christians sinners or not? | Rom 3:23 | retxar | 69351 | ||
John, You said “I am not always kind and loving”. Surely you jest! :-) I can't think of anything that we have disagreed on during this exchange except for our difference of opinion on what the word "sinner" means. I guess we should not argue over the meaning of a word, least it create strife (2Ti 2:14). You say we are "sinners" because we still sin, and believe if we say we are not sinners, we imply that we live a sinless life. This may very well be the WORLD’S interpretation, but I can see the WORD saying something totally different, so I guess I will just stick with that. If you know of any verse in the bible that refers to a born again saint as a “sinner”, let me know, as this would add some teeth to your argument. Born again and delivered! retxar |
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