◄ What Does 1 John 1:8 Mean? ►

We are not only sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners. We are inherently sinners because we are part of Adam's race and we entered this world with a sin nature, inherited from our human father. Sometimes the truth of what we were before we were saved by grace through faith, and the glory of who we presently are in Christ, can appear to conflict.

We move from being a sinner to being a saint. We transfer from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light and are accepted in Christ as a child of God. We change from being dead in our sins and at enmity with God to being saved by grace through faith in Christ, and we are given a new nature as part of our new identity in Him. When we move from being a sinner to being saved, we receive a new life (the resurrected life of Christ), and by the power of the Holy Spirit we are returned into fellowship with our Creator, and finally have peace with God.

But before this glorious exchange, we were born with an old sin nature, 'the Old Man' as the Bible calls it. Sin is an intrinsic part of every man and woman which cannot be denied, and bars us from fellowship with our Creator God. Nothing holy or good can ever emanate from our 'Old Man', for that old sin nature is infected forever with sin. Our 'Old Man' can do nothing to please our Heavenly Father.

God hates sin, and God cannot look on sin. God cannot have fellowship with sinners, nor can God ever endorse anything that emanates from our old sin nature, good or bad. Anything that is produced through our 'Old Man' is tainted with sin and is produced from our former, fallen, fleshly nature and has 'Me, Myself, and I' at its core of its nature.

When we are reborn into the family of God, all our sins are forgiven, past, present, and future, and we have peace with God and life everlasting. But some believers erroneously think that salvation means sinless perfection where we can never sin again!

Though all our sins are indeed forgiven and removed far from us, and though God remembers our sin no more, while we live in a fallen body of flesh and blood, we have not become sinless. Indeed: "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us."

The price for our sins was paid at the Cross, removing forever the PENALTY of sin, which is death. Christ paid that death penalty so that our past, present, and future sins would be forever forgiven and remembered no more. But the POWER of sin was also broken at the Cross for we were given a new nature that was free from sin, a godly nature, the 'New-Life' of Christ, and we became a 'New Creation' in Him. And it is our 'New-Life-in-Christ' that must grow in grace and be conformed into the image and likeness of Jesus, but never the 'Old Man'.

We were imputed with the life of Christ when we were born again, and the power of our 'Old Man' was severed at the Cross. And in Christ we have the power to say no to sin (but it is a free-will choice), and we have the power to resist the devil (but it is a free-will choice). In Christ we receive the power to turn from our former worldly ways, our fleshly actions, and our ungodly pursuits that came from our old sin nature (but it is a free-will choice).

The power to live godly in Christ Jesus comes from Christ Himself, for we received His life in us. OH! we do not become Christ, nor do we attain to sinless perfection. Never: "For if we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us." But in Christ, the power of sin has been broken. Let us choose to life our lives as unto Him, quickly confessing any sinful acts or attitudes so that we may quickly be restored into fellowship with the Father. And may we grow in grace, day by day, looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith.

Heavenly Father, thank You that when Christ died, He paid the price for my sins and broke the power of sin in my life. In Him, I have fellowship with You and free access to the throne of grace. I confess that I have not always walked in spirit and truth but have given in to the temptations to follow the desires and cravings of my own heart. I am sorry for doing things that were displeasing to You and omitting to do those things that were pleasing to You but thank You that You are faithful and just to forgive all my sins and to keep on cleansing me from unrighteousness. In Jesus' name, AMEN.