THE LOST POWER OF SIN TO CONDEMN
THE LOST POWER OF SIN TO CONDEMN
“So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you ..And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin: but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” Romans 8: 8-10.
Christian Doctrine, the foundation of Christ’s Church, has alas been blamed for its many schisms and separations, but that is not true! False doctrine is the culprit of division - never truth!
Words mean different things to different people, and it is not uncommon to have people misunderstand or misread even the Holy Scriptures. Culture, education, or lack of it, fixed convictions of what is right or wrong, all can colour one’s reading and error can often be but a jot or tittle away from being expressed as truth.
So it is when we turn our attention to the vexed question of sin.
The Church, it seems, is still as divided today on the subject of sin as it ever was. The Gnostics of St John’s day saw ‘knowledge’ as one’s ticket to heaven, and sins of the flesh held no bar to a triumphant entry into Heaven. On the other hand, some Christians held, and still hold the view that all unrepentant sin, no matter how trivial, and whether committed knowingly or unknowingly, will send the guilty one straight to Hell. As with all extremes, neither view comes even close to the Biblical teachings of Christ and His Apostles on this important matter.
The doctrines of “sinless perfection” and “sins forgiven, past, present and future”, whilst having little Biblical support, per se, do have some element of truth in them, but one must always be careful when promoting such doctrines.
In much the same way that “once saved, always saved” is a dangerous simplification of the believers eternal security in Jesus Christ, sinless perfection, without careful teaching, opens the door to needless condemnation of the brethren and will often cause division where none should exist.
To grasp this thorny nettle one must first understand what sin is, and why our Holy God hates it so much. The Bible quickly defines sin for us so that we be not left wondering “…Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4.
Dear reader, it is God’s Law in view here, and every law which ever proceeded from the mouth of God, from Adam to the close of the Book of the Revelation, is still the subject of that aforementioned text. Had God not come in the flesh in the form of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, we all, Jew and Gentile alike, would still be living under the curse of God’s laws simply because of man’s pervasive sin. Instead, happily, as Christians we now live under His Grace. Praise His Holy Name!
Because of Christ Jesus, men can now live only one of two ways.
Either he is hid with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3b), or he still has the wrath of God abiding on him because he knows not the saving grace of God through His Son. See John 3:35-36.
Incredibly, since our Lord’s atoning sacrifice on Calvary’s vile Cross, sin, and its deadly consequence, has forever been dealt a mortal blow by God. He now offers all mankind deliverance from the power of sin and the opportunity to live righteously in Christ Jesus.However, God’s hatred of sin remains, but His wrath against those who transgress His law, rests only upon those who turn their back upon the Lord Jesus! Beloved, be not deceived , He still judges all sin, and the sin of rejecting or ignoring Christ and His finished work, is the final sin which will eternally consign men and women to hell. Please read Romans 6:1-23.
Paul, the apostle, announces God’s will thus: “There is therefore now no condemnation (from God) to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” Rom. 8:1-3.Friends, join me here and shout aloud Hallelujah !
Because He was a sinless sacrifice for sin, Christ has CONDEMNED sin in our mortal bodies! In other words He took away the power of sin to either CONTROL us or to CONDEMN us as born again Christians!
It must be fully understood that this incredible promise is given ONLY to the born again saints of God, though it be offered to all!
Dear reader, please know this, a born again Christian is he or she who has undergone a true spiritual rebirth, one worked by the will of God and His indwelling Holy Spirit, not one worked by the will of man.
Jesus taught very carefully that it is only the “good ground” hearers of the Gospel, who are the truly born again! All other “grounds” in his parable, were never converted, despite the fact that some may have enjoyed for a time, some religious experiences! See Matt 13:18-23 and Luke 8:11-15.
Make no mistake beloved, God calls upon us to deal with all sin in our lives and expects us to live a life pleasing unto Him, lest He chastise those whom He loves. The simple truth is, if sin does not repel you with little or no sense of self loathing at ones own sin, then you must question whether you be a Christian at all!
Truly, perfection is God’s perfect plan for all of His Children and we must strive to be perfect, as our heavenly Father is perfect. He has given us all, even His babes in Christ, the wherewithal to succeed in our battle with both inward and outward sin and no Christian should ever sin, for no Christian ever needs to sin. Biblical perfection is perfect love for God, and is where one reaches “perfected holiness” - that state of completeness in Christ which “...Beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” (Matt 13:23) with each tally meeting with God’s approval!
Rod Rowland
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