Same letters but totally different words and meaning. There are some who believe you can reach a point of becoming sinless and not sin anymore. Baloney. The Apostle Paul at the end of his ministry, writing to young Timothy, referred to himself as the chief of sinners.
Yet, Paul knew that he was a saint. He addressed the Christians in all of his letters as saints. He taught in his letters to the church in Rome, the church in Ephesus, the church in Colossae, and the church in Corinth that when Christ died, we died with Him. When Christ was buried, we were buried with Him. When Christ rose from the dead on the third day, we rose with Him. One of his favorite terms is “in Christ.”
That means that in Christ all of your sins are forgiven; past sins, present sins, future sins. You are completely made right with God through faith in Jesus Christ, now and forever. In Ephesians 2:6 he even says that you are seated with Christ in the heavenly places! You are holy in Christ because Jesus paid sin’s penalty and you died with Him and then rose with Him. You have a new Life in Christ because He now lives in you. You in Christ and Christ in you. You are a saint in Christ.
But you still sin. Go figure. What’s the deal? In Romans chapter 7 Paul shares his testimony (I believe close to the end of his life) of the struggle with the “sin that dwells in me…” 7:17, 20, 23. Then in the eighth chapter he shares the victory over the power of sin by walking in the Spirit, and not in the flesh. He also tells of the assurance we have that one day we will be delivered from the presence of sin, “the redemption of our bodies,” 8:23.
Theologians have talked about it terms of saved (past tense, completed action), being saved (ongoing process of sanctification), and will be saved (resurrection and glorification). In Christ, we are saved from the penalty of sin, we are being saved from the power of sin, and we will be saved from the presence of sin.
Being saved from the power of sin, today, is the struggle. We must learn how to win. In Romans 13:11-14, Ephesians 4:17-32, and Colossians 3:1-17, Paul uses the phrase, “…put off…and put on…” to describe how to walk not in the flesh but in the Spirit. What you put off are the grave clothes of your former dead-life with Adam which was dead, dead, dead in sin. Like Lazarus, you are now alive in Christ but still have the old grave clothes hanging on you. Put them off and move away from the tomb! The grave clothes in those verses are described by actions and attitudes that are associated with sin and death. You don’t have to think that way, act that way, treat others that way anymore. You are alive in Christ with Christ living in you, with you, through you, as you!
But when you do sin, here is what to do; first thank God that He has shown you what is offensive to Him in your thoughts, your feelings, your choices, and in your bodily habits. Then repent by thanking Him for the fact that you are forgiven because 2,000 years ago you died with Christ, were buried with Christ, and rose with Him. Then ask God to teach you His ways so that it will be in your experience as He has declared in His word, dead, buried, and risen with Christ to walk in newness of life.
God will continue to reveal to you the cleansing and renewing He is accomplishing in you day by day as you walk in the Spirit. This will continue for the rest of your life, just like Paul’s testimony. The closer you walk with the Lord, the more you will realize how deeply entrenched sin is and you will experience the ongoing change of becoming more and more like Jesus Christ; faith to faith and glory to glory. Not yet sinless, but definitely sinning less and less!
