In
the last year and a half I have heard something said a few times that I hadn't
heard in many years, not since the early 80's if I remember correctly. I was in
a church in Iowa (I live in Texas) and I heard a pastor whose exegesis and
communication of the text was admirable, but then he said, 'Don't call yourself
a sinner, you are a saint. You are saved, set apart for God and no longer what
you used to be. So consider yourself a saint, not a sinner.' (I used a single
quote 'cause this quote is to the best of my memory and not exact.)
Well,
what about that? I certainly don't want to belittle the blood of Christ, the
sacrifice of Christ, the greatness of God's Amazing Grace, the Wideness of His
mercy! Do you? I didn't think so!
But,
it seems to me, if you Sin, you're a Sinner. I mean if you Fly you're a flier,
right? If you run you're a runner, jog-jogger, drink-drinker, wink-winker! etc.
etc.
Now
you may say, "Oh come on! That's not what he's saying." (I used
double quotes 'cause you might actually say that.) But isn't it? I mean in the
final analysis isn't there a bit of "Denial" going on? Reminds me of
the ridiculous line in the old Norman Greenbaum song, "Spirit in the
Sky" when he says, "Never been a sinner, never sinned. I got a friend
in Jesus." (Note gravity of my quote marks.) Yes, when we are justified,
its common to say, it's *Just as if I never sinned*. But, we have in fact
sinned, and will sin till Jesus comes. Yes, I know, we'll work till Jesus
comes, too; but we'll sin as well. And, the Good News of God's Amazing Grace is
important for every believer to remember and live in and exult in; daily;
without parsing the reality of sin.
Here is my contention, recommendation,
suggestion, and 'urging.' Never shy away from owning and rejoicing in the State
of Grace (Ro 5:2) that we are placed into by Almighty God and through faith in
His Son. We are Saints! Set apart for the Holy Use of God, even as the Temple
vessels. We are Saints, even as the saints of old, who through faith:
"conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the
mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword,
were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to
flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured,
refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better
life." (He 11:33-35)
Corrie |
I
would also suggest, that until you have wrestled with the current sin in your
life and seen incredible victories, its really not time to revel in one's
sainthood.
Marty |
R.
C. Sproul may be most noted for one of his best sellers, The Holiness of God.
Some folks have had the temerity to suggest that Dr. Sproul must be head and
shoulders above others in the Holiness of His life. This amazed and saddened
him to hear. As he has said, he wrote it because his sinful heart needed the
exposure to the awesome, abject, inflexible Holiness of God, not because he had
anymore 'inside track' to holiness than any other believer.
"David
Brainerd was an American missionary to the Native Americans who had a
particularly fruitful ministry among the Delaware Indians of New Jersey. During
his short life he was beset by many difficulties." (from Wiki) But listen
to a few excerpts from his journal:
May
13, 1742 Saw much of the wickedness of my heart, that I longed to get away from
myself. I never before thought there was so much spiritual pride in my soul. I
felt almost pressed to death with my own vileness. Oh what a body of death
there is in me. Lord, deliver my soul.
May 15, Indeed I never saw such a week as this
before; for I have been almost ready to die with the view of the wickedness of
my heart...
June 30, Spent this day alone in the woods in
fasting and prayer; underwent the most dreadful conflicts of my soul that I
ever felt... I saw myself so vile... Spent almost the whole day in prayer...I
could not bear to think of any Christians showing me respect.
These are from a man who accomplished more
for Christ than I ever have! And yes, with Brainerd and with the Apostle Paul I
believe Justification is complete. But remember, the initial justification we
have is an accounting term not a term of the soul. Faith has been accredited to
us as the Very Righteousness of Christ, but the work on the soul goes on and
on. And yes, I believe that the 'old man' is dead, but the uprooting of the
vestiges of the body of sin is no less a battle than the driving of the inhabitants
of Palestine out of God's Promised Land!
George
Whitfield: "When I see myself I seem to be half devil and half
beast." And, on another occasion while pressing through the crowds to whom
he would preach: "I wonder why the people did not stone so vile a wretch
as myself."
But
we live in a generation that wants to soften the words, "Amazing Grace how
sweet the sound, that saved a WRETCH like me." OR change Isaac Watts
powerful words; "Alas and did my saviour bleed and did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred Head for such a worm as I?" I have heard
recently that singing the phrase "I'm just a sinner saved by Grace."
Is an affront to God because of the word "just." Please! Its not
about what I am or have done, that I am now a saint. So speaking from all I
have brought to the work of salvation, I AM just a sinner saved by Grace.
In
fact, I say that this is blindness and insensitivity to the Spirit of HOLINESS
that indwells the life of every believer.
I
could go on but remember, I Do Rejoice in God my Savior. I am glad that
Sanctification is a work finished and a work progressing. I am glad that no
amount of my living wickedness alters my standing in Grace one nano-molecule!
But
please, don't tell Christians they aren't sinners. You'll find yourself
disagreeing with the Holy Spirit of God!