We're All Messed Up!

There's a popular teaching these days regarding the words that come out of our mouths. We must be careful not to label ourselves something we're not. And while I agree wholeheartedly, and have taught that we must never put a label on ourselves that doesn't belong to Jesus, there is one exception to that rule. Knowing "who we are in Christ" is the issue.

Who we are in Christ is paramount! The Bible tells us over and over again how we are now accepted by God (John 1:12), secure in our salvation (Romans 8:31-39), children of God Himself (Gal. 3:26), and that we are made righteous and holy (Eph. 4:24).
However, the teaching in question is this: we must not say "I'm a sinner" any longer. That to say such a thing somehow denies the power of Christ and the work of the cross.

I say baloney. So does the Apostle Paul. As we delve deeper into the first few chapters of Romans this Sunday, we will be confronted with Paul's earnest words to believers beginning in Chapter 2: "We're ALL messed up" (my paraphrase) :). Indeed, we are saved from sin - no longer slaves to sin, but are now slaves to righteousness. He goes on to say in Romans 7, "I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate... What a wretched man I am!" The Apostle James says, "Confess your sins (present tense) to one another" (James 5:16) and "Whoever knows the right thing to do and doesn't do it, sins" (4:17).
Both epistles were written to believers in Christ - just like you and me. Both epistles in every way disagree with the popular teaching that we shouldn't say "I'm a sinner."
 
"But," we say, "My sins - past, present, and future - are forgiven in Christ Jesus!"
Very true - totally, Biblically correct.

"So why should I continue to acknowledge that I continue to sin?"

Only one answer suffices: TO BRING GLORY TO GOD. As I've asked in recent weeks, "What is the chief end of man?" Answer: to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

If I refuse to acknowledge I'm a sinner saved by grace, then I lead other unbelievers to assume I had a one-time encounter with Jesus when He saved me, and that's all I needed. If I refuse to say "I'm a sinner," I fail to give glory to God for His continual work of sanctification in my life. I miss many opportunities (for every sin I commit and am saved from - from now until the day I go to be with Jesus) to point the world to the Savior, acknowledging again my sincere and desperate need.

Paul follows up his famous Romans 7 passage with this: Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!