Stop Calling Christians Sinners (Transcript)

I recently witnessed a good friend being put out of fellowship from his local church for unrepentant public sin against his wife. The process was handled in accordance with Matthew Chapter 18, which starts with approaching a sinning brother, confronting him lovingly about his sin.

If he doesn’t repent, one or two others are brought in to confront the person, and if he still won’t repent, then you tell it to the church, and if he still won’t repent, then you treat him as a heathen or tax collector (that’s not a reference to the Internal Revenue Service, but another way of saying you treat him as an unbeliever, as though he were never born again at all).

Although outwardly the process appears to have been handled Scripturally and with humility, as the final disfellowshiping was announced to the congregation I heard something repeatedly that not only bothered me, but I believe actually compounds the problem of sinning in the church.

What I heard repeatedly in that meeting, both in teaching and in prayers, was the referring to all Christians as “sinners”. It was in the context of intended humility, something like, “As we gather to talk about this unrepentant friend of ours, we need to remember that we are all ‘sinners’.”

But of course it wasn’t just a theme of this meeting, but a common one. This referring to all Christians as sinners is common in the typical Bible-believing church. And I want to address it Biblically.

Are Christians sinners?

A Popular Bumper Sticker

But before I answer that question from the Scriptures, I want to introduce the topic by talking about a common bumper sticker that has been around ever since I became a Christian in 1976.

I've never liked the bumper sticker that says, "Christians Are Not Perfect -- Just Forgiven". It's true we're not perfected yet in every way, but it's not true that we're "just forgiven".

A lot more has been accomplished with our regeneration, our "new birth". We are a new creation. Old things have passed away, all things have become new.

Self-Abasement

But there is sometimes a real pride in self-abasement. How's that for an oxymoron? Colossians 2:18 says, “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement...”


I have a couple friends who are so into self-abasement that they actually say that God didn't send Jesus to die for us because He loved us, but only for His own glory. Well, He certainly did it for His own glory, but how absurd to deny the very clear John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that...He gave his own begotten Son...".

One friend even claims his favorite Bible verse is in Job 42, when Job says, "I abhor myself". When it's pointed out that "abhor" is a questionable translation, translated “I retract”, for example in the NASB, he says it's still his favorite verse, but he likes “abhor”.

Of course we need to be Christ-centered. Indeed, the more Christ-centered we are, I believe the more we will be amazed at what He has done in us. And the more Christ-centered we are, the more we will walk by the Spirit.

Yet, I believe that, ironically, to deny what God has done in and to us, is a sort of unbelief that quenches the Spirit.

All Christians Are Saints

And that brings me to the main point of this message. The biblical truth is that Christians are NOT Sinners in their new identity. They are Saints.

Now someone may quickly say, “Well sure they’re Saints, whatever that means, but they’re also Sinners. And if you don’t keep calling Christians Sinners then they’ll get all high and mighty and think they’re something.”

So allow me to make two things clear.

1. First, Who should get the glory and credit for all this new creation? Well, the one who did it all, of course, and that’s the Lord. Whatever we are is by grace.

"What do you have, O man, that you did not receive?" -1 Cor. 4:7

"You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created." -Rev. 4:11

2. The second thing I’d like to make clear is that I’m well aware that Christians sin. That’s not the issue.

Before we were born again, we inherited a sin nature, a sin spirit, from Adam.

It’s that sin nature that sends a person who does not believe in Jesus Christ to hell.

And if you’re not born again, you still have that sinful nature, or spirit.

But when you’re born again, the old spirit, the old nature, is put to death in Christ on the cross, and replaced by a new nature. The Bible calls the old spirit “the old man”, and the new spirit, “the new man” or “new creation”.

Do We Have Two Natures?

So then do we have two natures? Two spirits? No, the Bible says the “old man” is dead, was crucified with Christ on the Cross. So we don’t have two natures, we still have one.

But it’s new, and it loves Jesus Christ and it hates sin. It believes in Jesus. Or as we say, YOU believe in Jesus. Because that spirit is YOU, and YOU are that spirit.

Now this spirit has a soul. And for discussion purposes we might say that this soul is our mind, emotions and will. [listen to Mp3 re how our mind, emotions and will were not "born again", but our spirit was]

So this spirit has a soul, and we live in a body.

But the real you, the real me, we are spirits. We are spirit beings. And to top that off, the Bible says that we have been given the Holy Spirit of God to live in us, also. Now we aren’t the Holy Spirit and He is not us, but the Bible does teach that we became one spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:17). That’s amazing.

O.K. So why is this even important? Who cares if we say we have one nature or two natures? Who cares if somebody says we are both a bad spirit and a good spirit? Who cares if somebody says that we are two natures, old and new, battling ourselves?

Well, aside from the value of Truth itself, it’s important because we will live out our lives based on what we think is real. We will tend to ACT like we think we ARE. If we think we are partly evil, we will think it’s “natural” to act evil.

Or to put it another way, if we think we are a Sinner in our nature, in our identity, then we will think it’s “natural” to sin. We will think that, “Hey, this is me. This is who I am. I’m just a Sinner. Of course it’s natural for me to sin.”

And the problem with that thinking is it’s not Biblical.

Is Sinning Against Our Nature As Christians?

The Biblical truth is, when we sin it goes AGAINST our nature. Our new nature. This New Man, this New Creation. Sin goes AGAINST our nature.

So when we sin, we aren’t doing what’s natural, as a believer, but we are violating our own new nature. I’m being redundant on purpose here.

Because when you know the truth that you are not a Sinner, but a Saint, a separated one, a holy one, a new creation, then that truth can help to set you free.

As a believer, you are a new creation, a new spirit, a new identity in Christ, and the more you understand this, and review it, and believe it, the more your life will reflect it.

Let’s just look a little bit at our new identity in Christ. First, we are:

Holy (Eph. 1:4, "just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love"),

Righteous (2 Cor. 5:21, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him"),

Saint of God (Rom. 1:7, "To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints"),

Blameless (Eph. 1:4, "just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love"),

Christ as Our very Life (Col. 3:4, "Christ who is our life"),

A Son of God (Jn. 1:12, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name"),

A Citizen of Heaven (Eph. 2:19, "Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God"),

An Ambassador representing the Kingdom of God (2 Cor. 5:20, "Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God"),

Son of the Second Adam (1 Cor. 15:45, "And so it is written, 'The first man Adam became a living being.' The last Adam became a life-giving spirit"),

Born from Him (Rom. 8:9, "But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His"),

With all your Needs (not greeds) Supplied (Phil. 4:19, "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus"),

Blessed with every Spiritual Blessing in Heavenly Places (Eph. 1:3, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ"),

Unstopped by the obstacles of the world (Phil.4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"),

Navigating our Loving Father’s “obstacle course” designed to conform us to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:28-29, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren")

A New Identity

You have a new identity, not that of a Sinner, but of a Saint.

By grace the old you has died, and the new you has come. That’s why Rom. 6:6 says, “knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin."

But we have to "reckon" that. We have to "consider that true". We have to "choose to believe that". Rom. 6:11, “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

Don’t deny when you sin. Admit it. Confess it. But recognize that’s not your identity. That’s not who you are. That goes against who you are. You’re dead to sin and alive to God in your spirit, in your nature, through Jesus Christ.

Stop saying you’re a Sinner. “Such WERE some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” -1 Cor. 6:11

You WERE a Sinner. Now you are a Saint.

Now Rom. 6:12 makes sense. After Paul tells us to reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God, Rom. 6:12 says, “THEREFORE do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.”

See how that makes sense? If we were still SINNERS it wouldn’t make sense. It would be saying, “since you’re SINNERS, don’t let sin reign in your body.” That doesn’t make sense and that’s why so many Christians are confused. But if you are no LONGER a Sinner, then it makes sense to say, “don’t let sin reign in your body”. It’s not you. It’s AGAINST the new you.

Friend, accept this by faith as your true identity!

Set your mind on it!

Dwell on it!

Meditate on the truth of it!

Then, moment by moment act like it is true! Praise the Lord in all things, whatever circumstances you may encounter, acting as if Christ is expressing His Life through you.

Because He is.

Denying The New Creation (Transcript)

In 2 Corinthians 5:17 it says a wonderful thing about what God has done in the life of the believer.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Let me ask you this: Are you one of the Christians who are afraid of the New Creation? I believe a lot of Christians are. And so they deny it.

They don’t mean to deny it. When you quote them 2 Corinthians 5:17, they don’t say, “I know the Word of God says we are a New Creation, but the Bible is wrong.”

They don’t say, “Ol’ Paul the Apostle slipped up on that one. He didn’t know what he was talking about. He got a little puffed up with himself and went too far.” They don’t say that.

But they still deny the New Creation. They still deny 2 Cor. 5:17. And it’s sad, because I believe it affects their relationship to God. Why that is we’ll talk about in a little bit. But first...

Why would anyone deny the New Creation? I believe it’s for two main reasons, and in both of those reasons these people mean well. I give them all the benefit of the doubt. If they knew what they were doing, I don’t believe they would do it. They love the Lord, they love His Word, and it would sadden them to think they were actually going against the Word of God.

So what are the two reasons Christians deny the New Creation?

1. It just isn’t taught much by the church in general.

The church is filled with bad anthropology. Anthropology is the study of man, and good anthropology is biblical anthropology. And good anthropology rightly divides the word of God by distinguishing the difference between what man is like BEFORE the New Birth and AFTER the New Birth. BEFORE regeneration and AFTER regeneration.

Now pretty much all Bible-believers will teach that the Holy Spirit comes into a Christian when they’re born again. That’s not the issue. We all agree on that. The bible says, “Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” (Rom. 8:9)

But what about the believer themselves. Are they changed or not? Are they a New Creation or not? Your answer to these questions tell whether you have right anthropology or wrong anthropology.

What the Scripture teaches is that we ARE a New Creation. And this is just part of the New Covenant promised by God through the Prophets, and fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Listen to the prophet Ezekiel in fortelling the coming of the New Covenant:

Ezekiel 11:19 "Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh."

Ezekiel 36:26 "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."

Now those who teach against the New Creation will say things like, “We’re just Sinners. We’re no different than that pagan guy across the street there.”

But is that true? Not according to the bible.

You see, the bible makes a distinction between what we ARE and what we DO. Of course we sin at times, even as Christians. The flesh wars against our new spirit, our new heart, and sometimes we are deceived by the world, the flesh and the devil, and we make wrong decisions, and we sin against God, our Savior. And that’s an awful thing.

But when we do that, we actually are not behaving as ourselves in our new nature, we are going AGAINST ourselves. We are acting against what we really ARE after God has given us a new heart and made us a New Creation.

That’s why you will never see in the New Covenant Scriptures Christians referred to as Sinners, but over and over you will see us referred to as Saints.

Again, not because we don’t sin, but because that’s not who we are, that’s not our identity, that’s not our nature anymore. And so our goal is to walk by the Spirit, not just the Holy Spirit, but our own new spirit as well.

See, we are now one spirit with the Spirit of God. He has joined His spirit with ours. And He wouldn’t do that with our old sinful spirit. He gave us a new spirit, made us a new creation, and then joined His precious Spirit with ours. That’s exactly what it says in 1 Cor 6:17, "But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him."

But this isn’t taught much in the church, even though it’s as clear as can be right there in Scripture.

And that brings up the second reason why I believe well-meaning Christians deny the New Creation.

2. They think it takes away the glory due to God alone.

And that's why I give them the benefit of the doubt. We want to glorify God. Every believer ultimately wants to glorify God. We should give glory to God alone.

Since He did it all by grace, we can take no credit for it.

But suppose an architect built a magnificent building, and no one would admit it was a magnificent building because they didn’t want the building to get any credit? Silly, isn't it?

That’s how it is with God and the New Creation. It doesn’t take away from God’s glory to acknowledge the miraculous wonderful thing He has done in our hearts...it actually GIVES Him glory!

To deny the New Creation, to look at believers as just Sinners, is to deny what God has done AND WHAT HE IS DOING.

The True Story of an Ex-Con

Let's take a look at a passage here. I want to tell you a little story. I love to tell this story. If you've heard it before, bear with me.

There's a Pastor at Palo Alto Bible Church. He's passed away now, but his name is Ray Stedman. And he tells the true story of a time when a man came into his congregation who had just gotten out of prison.

And when he was in prison he had bcome a Christian. But he had not had much time to grow, and he came to Ray Stedman's church, and sat himself in the middle of this wealthy and educated congregation. And Ray Stedman tells the story of what the man told him afterwards.

As Ray Stedman was preaching from this passage in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 6, verses 9 through 11...let me go ahead and read the passage, and then I'll tell you what Pastor Stedman said.

"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the Kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."

Now as Ray Stedman was going to read this passage, he asked the congregation, "Would you do me a favor? As you hear yourself in these roles, in these identities, would you just stand up, so that we might just see what the work of God has been in the life of this congregation? As I read these, would you just stand up?"

And he began to read.

Now meanwhile, this ex-con is in the audience, and he's thinking, Man, I'm in the wrong place. Look at all these people. Smart. Educated. Money. These are not my kind of people. I don't know what in the world I'm doing here.

But as Ray Stedman read these things, the congregation began to stand up one by one. "Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves..."

And one by one the congregation began standing up, because these are things that they once were. "...nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the Kingdom of God."

And by the time he got finished, virtually the entire congregation was standing up. And the ex-con looked around and said, "These are my kind of people!"

Well, why did he say that? Because he realized that these people, in their hearts, in their identities, had once been no different than him. But look at what verse 11 says, "such WERE some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."

You see, these are the kinds of things that we were before we were made a new creation.

A Few More Scriptures

But now I’d like us to look at a few more scriptures which demonstrate that you are a New Creation.

2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

Now let's look at Romans Chapter 6, verses 1 and 2, "What shall we say, then? Shall we sin so that grace may abound?"

You see, Paul had just gotten through explaining that we're saved by grace, that it's a free gift, that even though we have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, that even though the wages of sin is death, that as a free gift God has forgiven our sins, and declared us righteous in Christ (that's in Romans Chapter 5).

Now he says, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound?" See, that was the logical question asked by his audience. Well, gee, if the more we sin the more grace abounds, should we continue in sin?

He says in verse 2, "Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" You see the logic there? Our old man, our old spirit, our old nature, was put to death on the cross and we became a new creation.

And Paul is saying, "Certainly not. We shouldn't continue in sin. We're a new creation now." Verse 3 says, "Or do you not know, that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into His death? Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism [that's talking about the baptism that the Holy Spirit baptizes us into the Body of Christ] into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

That's that new creation. That's why he says in Romans 6:6, "Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin."

See, we were crucified with Christ, our old man, and became a new man, a new creation through Christ.

Now he says in verse 11, "Likewise, you also, reckon yourselves [that means 'choose to believe', 'consider', reckon yourselves] to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

As we reckon ourselves dead to sin, as we realize that we have been crucified and are dead to sin, we take on a whole new view of what God has done. And we realize that we are a new creation. Only then can we "not let sin reign", verse 12.

"Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body." See it says, "Therefore...[because we're dead to sin and alive to God in Christ...therefore] do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in it's lusts."

It's only when we understand that new creation that we really understand how to not let sin reign in our mortal body.

Verse 6:14 then says, "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you're not under law, but under grace." See, it's all of grace. We were made a new creation by grace, we have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit by grace, we were made one spirit with Christ by grace, We are a New Creation!

Why Do We Need This Truth?

Why do we need this truth? Because how else will we not let sin reign? By sheer will power? By the Law?

Paul explains in Romans 7, verses 13 through 25 how impossible that is. The very thing he wants to do, he can't do. The very thing he doesn't want to do, he finds himself doing. Why? Because that's what we do when we walk by the flesh, when we don't understand our new creation.

And as he point out, sin is in us, in our members, but it's not us!

But I don’t want to wander too far off our subject. Let me just mention one other scripture that indicates clearly that we are a New Creation:

Gal. 2, starting at verse 19, "For I through the law, died to the law, that I might live to God."

How'd that happen, Paul?

"I have been crucified with Christ. It's no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me."

You see, we've been crucified with Christ. We're new creations now.

So what’s the harm of just flippantly saying “We are still sinners just like that unsaved guy over there”, and attempting to be humble by saying that? What’s the harm, if it makes me humble?

1. It’s never humble to deny the work of God in the new creation, in the New Covenant.

It’s never humble to deny what God has said and done.

The mantra you will hear goes like this, “A high view of God, and a low view of man.” Well, that's not scriptural, that's not rightly dividing the Word of God. Of course we should have a high view of God, but to have a low view of man is to deny what God has done. We give a high view of God partly because of the wonderful thing He has done in the new creation.

2. It makes sin seem natural to the believer.

We don’t see it as a foreign entity and we don’t see our sins as going against our nature, and so we neglect the path of walking by the spirit.

If we don’t see ourselves as dead to sin and alive to God, how can we reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God? (Rom 6:11)

3. It robs us of the joy we receive when we realize the amazing thing that God has done for us and in us.

When we realize that we’re not just forgiven, as wonderful as that is, and that we are also made new, we will marvel even more at this marvelous Christ who redeemed us.

And we have a taste of the joy that is to come when even the sin which dwells in our members is done away with, and we can be not only a New Creation in our spirits, but in our bodies as well.

So, don't deny the new creation. Embrace it and praise the Lord for what He has done.

Denying The New Creation

This week's message on Grace Walk Radio:

Denying The New Creation

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The Black Dog White Dog Theory Disproved

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The Black Dog White Dog Theory Disproved

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Are Christians Wicked And Depraved?

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Are Christians Wicked and Depraved?

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Are Christians Wicked And Depraved?

I want to deal today with statements that are often spoken BY Christians TO Christians ABOUT Christians.

To put it another way, I have many times heard preachers and teachers use these statements to describe their audience, even while assuming that their audience was made up of believers in Jesus Christ.

Or let me put it one more way to clarify what I’m saying:

These two statements are used to describe born-again Christians. And I want to challenge that thinking, not only because it’s not biblical, but because being unbiblical, it is ultimately harmful to the Christian walk, denies the work of Christ in the believer, and confuses an understanding of the New Covenant.

I will give you the two statements in just a moment, but first I want to say a word about the New Covenant.

The New Covenant is the basis of our understanding the work of Christ on the Cross, on our behalf, and should result in our praising and glorifying Him for His awesome work. It should also result in our freedom to draw near to Him in fellowship and communion. And it should result in the freedom of the very Life of Christ being lived out through us.

But teaching these two statements as applying to believers, to Christians, stifles our understanding of the Work of Christ, it stifles our freedom to draw near to Him in fellowship and communion, and it stifles the very Life of Christ from freely being lived out through us.

O.K. Terry, so come on, what are the statements, already?

Well, here they are:

First Statement

1. The first statement actually is a verse of Scripture from Jeremiah 17:9. I’ll quote it from the King James Version, because that’s how it’s usually quoted, even by preachers who normally use a modern version of the Bible. It goes like this, and if you’ve heard much preaching and teaching, you’ve heard it a hundred or a thousand times:

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.”

Now modern versions will more accurately read, “desperately sick”, but in making their point, most preachers will revert back to the King James, because it drives their point home stronger.

And their point is simply this. That you, as a believer in Jesus Christ, still have a heart that is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.

Now, before dealing with the actual question of whether this applies to a born-again believer, let me make it clear that I’m not disagreeing with the truth of God’s Word. When God inspired those words of Jeremiah, He meant them. I’m certainly not calling into question the truth of the verse, only the truth of to whom the verse applies.

Second Statement

2. The second statement I want to deal with is also a statement that I agree with. I think it’s biblical, and I have often taught the statement myself, but NOT as applying to a born-again Christian.

The statement is actually the first point in the so-called 5 Points of Calvinism, and is usually called “Total Depravity”. It’s not a single verse of Scripture, but is deduced from several Scriptures, and goes usually something like this:

Man is Totally Depraved, in the sense that every part of his being has been affected by his inheriting Adam’s fallen nature, and he therefore has no spiritual good in him and can do no spiritually good act.

I believe this statement is perfectly true, when applied to the right persons.

The truth of this statement is the basis for Paul’s words in Romans Chapter 3, “There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who seeks for God; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”

But, again, our question is, does this teaching of Total Depravity apply to the born-again Christian?

Let’s put the two statements together and examine the truth of them as they apply to a true believer in Jesus Christ.

If we combine the two statements and boil them down to their essence, and apply them to Christians, we could say, “Born-again Christians are wicked (Jer. 17:9) and depraved (Total Depravity).”

Let’s examine, Scripturally, if that is true. Let’s look at some biblical truths and compare.

The New Creation

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

This is a most amazing part of the New Covenant, that God has given us a new nature, made us a new creation. He didn’t just add it on to the old nature, we were transformed in our spirit, and made a new man.

The Old Man was crucified with Christ, and is now dead. That means that we don’t have two natures, as is commonly and unbiblically taught. Our very nature was changed, in our spirit, and we were made a new creation.

Now that doesn’t mean there are no problems. Although our spirit or nature was born-again, made new, our flesh was not.

That’s why Paul is careful to say, in Rom. 7:18, not just, “I know that nothing good dwells in me,” but he adds, “that is, in my flesh.”

Did you know that a probe applied to a certain part of your brain can bring you back to a day in your life when you were five years old, and your mind will experience it as if it were today?

See, we still have the same essential body, the same physio-chemical brain, and unfortunately, some bad thought patterns ingrained in our flesh. These things are more physical than most Christians are led to believe. We know now from medical science how closely related our brains are to our minds.

I say all that to say this, that as Christians we are no longer wicked in our heart, in our nature, in our spirit. In fact, Jesus has come to dwell in our spirit and the Bible says that we are one spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:17).

The promise of the Prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah to give us a new heart has come to pass in the New Covenant. It’s no longer accurate to say that the heart of a Christian is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, or sick. We have been made new.

And God wants us to know that, because if our hearts are still wicked, then it makes perfect sense to live or walk like wicked people, doesn’t it? But if we are a new creation, with a new spirit that loves Jesus and hates sin, IN OUR NATURE, then it makes perfect sense to live or walk like Christ-lovers.

And that’s why Paul pounds it through our heads in Romans 6:6, when he says, “…our old man was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be made powerless, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.”

And in verse 11, he says, “Reckon yourselves dead to sin, and alive to God through Jesus Christ.”

In other words, don’t reckon yourselves wicked and depraved. Don’t be so foolish. You’ve been made new. Your nature has been changed. You are a new creation.

That’s one of the many ways in which our minds need to be renewed. Our spirit was born-again, made new. But our minds still need to be renewed, so that we are not squeezed into the mold of the world. But also our minds need to be renewed so that we are careful not to deny the work of Christ on the Cross in which he not only paid for our sins, but allowed us to be crucified with Him, making us dead to sin and alive to God.

No longer wicked and depraved in our heart, in our spirit.

Will we still act wickedly at times? Perhaps even lots of times?

Yes, but such wicked actions spring not from our nature anymore. They don’t spring from our spirit, but from being deceived by the world, the flesh and the devil. Being deceived into thinking that the desires of the flesh which war against the spirit are best. And so we find ourselves agreeing with Paul that “I do the things that I don’t want to do, and the things I want to do I don’t do.”

But we need to also agree with Paul when he says, “But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is in my flesh.”

What does he mean? Simply this. That in his heart, in his spirit, he loves the Lord, he loves good, he loves what is right, and he hates sin. That’s his new nature, that’s his spirit. But in his flesh, in his members, in his physical brain, still dwells sin. And it’s that sin which is operating, not the new creation Paul.

And so Paul had to do the same thing that you and I have to do. To learn to walk by the Spirit, and not by the flesh. And part of that learning to walk by the Spirit is to realize that as believers we are no longer wicked and depraved in our nature. We are new creations, God-lovers, sin-haters. And we can live like it, IF we walk by the Spirit.

When we fail, thank God we have an Advocate. We are forgiven, all our sins, past present and future.

But what a joy it is to walk like what we are, new creations who love Jesus Christ.