I Sin Every Day!

"I sin every day in thought, word, and deed." The very words made me cringe. The person who said these words to me was not really bragging about their sin, just merely trying to be factual about their own spiritual experience.

Why I don't think real Christians sin every day in thought, word, and deed....

1. Jesus wins against sin. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus not only defeated sin, He overcame it! If there is victory in Jesus, then we, as Christians have a different option for a lifestyle than repetitive and continual on going sin in our lives. We have been given the opportunity to live differently! The grace of Jesus is greater than all our sin! Simply put, Jesus always wins out against sin where their is human cooperation.

2. If it were true, then it would mean that there's no practical difference between a "Christian" and a non-Christian. No real transformation. Redemption is only a theory. If we all go on sinning every day then we are bound to talk big about what Jesus cannot really do in our lives.

3. It makes Jesus death & resurrection inconsequential. His suffering does little more than convince the Father to overlook the foul stench of sin. His atonement does no more than deal with the past because it is powerless to effect the present or future in any real way. God has never been in the business of "managing" sin. He is always about a cleansing, purifying work in our hearts that effects all of our life!

4. It isn't Biblical... at all. Where does the Bible teach that the standard for the believer is on going sin? But it does teach a lot of things about not continuing to sin!! For example: 1 John 3:6-10, 1 Corinthians 10:13, & Romans 6:12-14 are just a few of the passages of Scripture that call us to a different lifestyle than on going sin. While the Bible does not ignore the reality of sin, it does not standardize it among God's people.

5. It is our past failure dictating the standard Christian life. Rather than the Truth of Jesus defining us, sin begin continues to shape us. It's pretty clear in the Bible that God's intent is that sin would not continue to define our new life in Jesus. Those old patterns of living, values, and thought processes need to be rejected for something better from God! God wants to begin to lead our lives as Christians now.

6. It's hypocritical. When we say that we sin every day we really mean that we are allowed our sins, but others are not. Would we not have a problem with someone who lies every day? What if your pastor only stole money once a week? What if your spouse only committed adultery one day out of the year? It just doesn't work, but it does make us hypocrites! Don't justify your own sin by being dismissive about it and thus a hypocrite.

7. It's not attractive to anyone. Who wants a "religion" that cannot change their life. Who wants a 
faith that simply numbs their moral conscious so that they might be able to endure their own sinfulness through life. The answer is: no one! Those that are seeking real change in their lives look elsewhere when they find that the lifestyle of some "Christians" is no different than theirs. The testimony of the Christian is more than a verbal communication, it is a visible lifestyle witnessed!

8. It promotes a "defeatism" mentality among Christians. We are so busy promoting our imperfections, sins, and 'Fallenness' that we disregard the redeeming work of God. Many churches have testimony services that do more to "brag on the Devil" than glorify God. This promotion of our sin and shortcoming also goes a long way in further confusing people in their ability to distinguish between being tempted and actually sinning. They are not the same. Jesus is grieved when we exalt the works of darkness in our lives over His ability to save to the uttermost!

9. It would mean that we do not have free will in reality. If we sin every day in thought, word, and deed we have lost our volition. We are really claiming that we have no ability to choose good over evil, holiness instead of sin, or righteousness over wickedness. The ability to resist temptation is a gift that Jesus gives, but we reject if we claim to go on sinning all the time.

10. Continual sin undermines God's call for us to be holy. While holiness is not defined by lack of sin, it certainly cannot take up residency with sin. Holiness is more than "not sinning" but cannot avoid the rejection of sin. If we allow sin to remain, the Holy Spirit cannot have freedom to work in our lives the way He intends. You cannot love God with all your heart unless He has all your heart.

Here's the bad news and the Good News!
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (ESV)

So what do you think?


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