Most Christians agree that the crucifixion of Jesus has the power to transform sinners into saints. Many Christians also define the term ‘sinner’ as ‘one who sins,’ and since saints still sin sometimes (or all the time according to some testimonies), there is some confusion about how saints are different from sinners.
If we’re going to keep the definition of “sinner” as “one who sins,” then we need to change the definition of “transform” so that it’s possible for a person to be a sinner and dead to sin at the same time. Fortunately, this isn’t too difficult. We only need to tweak our understanding of a few scriptures.
For example, 1 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.”
What Paul refers to as ‘a new creation’ needs to be understood as ‘the old creation with sins that don’t count against them.’ The ‘transformation’ is not we sinners shedding our sin but God choosing to turn a blind eye to our sin because it cannot ever be fully removed from us. We sinners are gonna keep on sinning. Some of us testify that we sin almost constantly, just like a non-believer.
When we understand sin to be an inescapable aspect of our being, then it makes sense to refer to ourselves as, ‘Sinners saved by grace.’ Jesus cannot fully eradicate our sin so God in His graciousness ignores it. God loves us so much that He pretends we’re righteous so He can fellowship with us.
(Romans 5:19) For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
One Response
“The ‘transformation’ is not we sinners shedding our sin but God choosing to turn a blind eye to our sin because it cannot ever be fully removed from us.” To further show the absurdity, they are actually claiming that God is incapable of fully removing our sin. And yet somehow they fail to see the sheer blasphemy of that claim.