Follow up to “Sinner and Saint”

We should not be surprised when Christians sin.

I have heard lots of people say things like, “I don’t want anything to do with Christians or going to church—they’re a bunch of hypocrites.” My friend Charlie Jones had a great response to that: “Well come on down anyway, one more won’t hurt!” Why should you be surprised when one of your Christian brothers or sisters says something foolish or hurtful, or does something thoughtless, or lets you down? Don’t you do the same things? Why should they be any different?

Our own sin should keep us from being overly critical or judgmental of each other. Jesus says in Matthew 7:1-2 (NIV)  Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Too often we think exactly the opposite about our fellow brother and sisters. We are much more apt to be angry, critical, and harsh towards our fellow Christians because they are God’s people and they should know better. When we do not treat our fellow Christians with the same grace that we ourselves have been shown, we are forgetting our place and the great value God places on those who He sent His Son to bleed and die for that they might be His. When we bear ill will against one of God’s people, we are really bearing it against God.

The reality is that one of the main reasons God allows other people, even fellow Christians, to hurt us is to give us the opportunity to treat them with the same love, grace, and mercy He treats us with. You can’t give forgiveness without first being offended. You can’t show compassion without being moved by seeing another in pain. You can’t show mercy unless you have been put in the position to punish someone. The same is true with learning how to be long-suffering, patient, baring one another’s burdens, and being gracious. When we respond to sin with judgment, criticism, and anger we are missing what God wants us to be learning: what it feels like for God to be in relationship with us, and how to be like God with others.

We should not let our sin define who we are. God defines who we are. He says we are saints. None of the New Testament authors refer to Christians as being sinners; they are unanimous in referring to them as saints. I am not saying that Paul, John, Peter, or James thought Christians did not sin, every gospel and letter in the NT says the opposite is true. But they all dealt with sin the same way: you are no longer a sinner but a saint, how can you go on sinning? As Paul says in Romans 6:15-18 (NIV),

 Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

We used to be slaves to sin. But no longer. We have been set free. We are saints. Sin is no longer the defining characteristic of who we are, it is the Spirit of God living in us that defines us and gives us out identity. Yes, remember that you are a sinner, but be focused on becoming the man or woman God wants you to be. Yes, remember the horrible price your sin and rebellion against God cost Him, but focus on the fact that God thought you were worth the price. You deserve hell, but focus on the fact that you are going to heaven as one of God’s sons and daughters, holy and dearly loved.