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NASB | Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 3:23 since all have sinned and continually fall short of the glory of God, |
Bible Question: A question that has been plaguing me. I believe that christians are sinners because they still commint sin after they become christians. however a person who i was discussing this with says that based on one of paul's letters christians are not sinners. could someone shed some light on this matter? if possible include bible refference. |
Bible Answer: Eph 2:19 says Christians are no longer sinners but saints, so I have to disagree with you and say that Christians are NOT sinners. It is true, as you say, that we still commit sin after we become Christians, but we do not practice sin. Sin will always hurts us, grieve the Holy Spirit living within us, and cause our heart to ache under His conviction until we repent. If we do practice sin and have no remorse, we do not meet the biblical definition of a Christian (1Jo 3:2, 1Jo 3:9, 1Jo 2:4, 1Jo 4:8, 1Jo 5:18). However, that does not mean that we do not have struggles (Romans 7), but it does mean we don’t have to live there (Romans 8). There is a big difference between committing a sin out of weakness of the flesh, verses being one who practices sin, and thus IS a sinner. Let me offer this illustration that may help: When I was at Wal-Mart last night a guy came in the sporting goods department looking at the fishing poles. He asked the guy behind the counter if he was a fisherman, because he wanted to go fishing, and needed some advice from someone who knew the sport. He happily left with his new gear with plans to go fishing. When this same guy hits the water and comes back into Wal-Mart in a few days for some more supplies, he will still not be a fishermen, just a guy who has been fishing. If he continues practicing fishing, he will eventually become known as a fisherman, but if he does not continue practicing the sport of fishing on a regular basis, he is just a guy who goes fishing now and then, not a fisherman. We sin, but we do not practice sin, so thus, we are not sinners. We are Christians doing battle with the flesh and losing out periodically because we try to do the fighting ourselves, and do not utilize the Holy Spirit living within us. This was not a perfect illustration, but I hope you see the point I am trying to make. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh! (2Co 10:3) retxar |