How Does a Christian View Sin?

After Romans 5, Paul asks a pivotal question of those who do believe in 6:1, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may increase?” This is an important question for those of us who believe, and I hope, the majority of us who are receiving this weekly CCFW email. 

How do we view sin once we are saved? We know that it is not a master enslaving us, that we no longer have imputed sin, and that God has created us anew through His Spirit (2 Cor 5:17). But we still struggle with sin, don’t we? Here are a few points that I hope will encourage us to have a proper view of sin now that we are in Christ:  

• We can always escape temptation.

  • Sin is no longer our master and no longer all that we can do. God promises that “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it” (1 Cor 10:13). 

  • The Bible also talks about Christ being tempted as we are, and yet without sin (Heb 4:15). He is our sympathetic High Priest who empathizes with our weaknesses and shows us the way. 

• When we sin, our first response should be confession and repentance.

  • Martin Luther famously penned the 95 Theses beginning the Protestant Reformation. The first line said, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, 'Repent,' He willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance." 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

  • To confess means to agree with God that we are still sinners who sin. To repent means to turn from our sin and commit to doing so continually. 

  • Sometimes in our sin we feel like we aren’t saved. A good way to “test yourself to see if you are in the faith” is to be honest about whether you are confessing and repenting to God regularly (2 Cor 13:5) and continue to trust. Sanctification is a roller coaster, but its progress should be upward. We can rest in the assurance that God gives us in the gospel that salvation is not earned by us, and it is not kept by us either (Heb 12:1–2; 1 Cor 1:8). James 4 is a very important passage for us to use to analyze our submission to God and repentance of our sin.

• Harboring sin is the greatest threat to our faith.

  • "He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion" (Proverbs 28:13).

  • Luther described sin as a fire that needs fuel. And the more we fuel the fire with sin, the bigger it gets. There are many analogies we can use to talk about unconfessed habitual sin, but one thing is true, “The one who practices sin is of the devil. ... No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God" (1 John 3:8–9). Are you living and abiding in habitual sin? 

  • Romans 6:12–14 says it well, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments for unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace."

  • When we harbor sin, we throw fuel on a fire that destroys us and those around us. Worse than that, it erodes our relationship with God who will not answer our prayers or bless us (Is 1:15; Pro 28:9; James 4). 

• Be killing sin or it will be killing you. || John Owen

  • The Mortification of Sin by John Owen is an excellent explanation of this process. The mortification (subduing) of sin should be an active part of a Christian’s life. We fight temptation with prayer, repentance, God’s Word, community, etc.

  •  In the Bible, God always commands do-not, removing, taking-off, or stopping sin with the opposite being do this, filling, putting on, and starting. A good example of this is in Ephesians 4 where Paul says, “In reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside (put off) the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” This model is seen throughout all of Scripture and helps us understand how to “kill" sin. We fight sin actively by putting it off, stopping it, etc., and we guard against sin by putting on righteousness, starting new habits, etc. 

Much more could be said about “killing sin” and doing what is right. But that is the entire pursuit of the church for the glory of God. We as brothers and sisters in Christ have the opportunity to counsel one another with God’s Word and care for one another through action, rebuke, correction, submission, confession, and love. We help each other conquer sin, be accountable, fight the good fight, and practice the “One Anothers.” The mission of the church is to glorify God by “making more and better disciples of Jesus,” and we help each other within community to do just that. 

Sola Gratia,
Caleb

Resources:

• Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know (Wayne Grudem)  

• How Does ‘Willful Sinning’ Threaten My Salvation? (Video by John Piper)  

• “Put Off and Put On” (Jerry Bridges)  

• “Doctrine of Sin”  (Paul Tripp)  

• The Mortification of Sin by John Owen