USING BIBLE TENSES BIBLE WAY (PART 5)

Many of us can easily point out that these two terms are not the same at all, that they are, in fact, word and opposite. Great! But the challenge comes at this point: On what premise are they different?

In finding our answers, we must never resort to our opinions in any way. God's opinion is final, and it has been documented for us in the Bible. So, to find our answers, our only resort is the Bible. How does the Bible use these terms? In biblical parlance, who are sinners? And who are saints?

The word “sin” is used in 2 major perspectives in the Bible—in the light of bad actions and in the light of enmity with God.

For the first, even children of God could be susceptible and that is why there are biblical instructions for Christians on actions to abstain from and how to conduct our lives in the midst of a perverse generation.

For example,

Philippians 2:14–15(NKJV)

14. Do all things without complaining and disputing,

15. that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.

However, it is important to note that in this case, sin has to do with bad conducts and the Bible does not refer to Christians as sinners because of this. What makes a man a sinner is in the light of the second perspective, which we will examine shortly.

For a Christian, the Bible emphasizes that being a sinner is a past tense reality.

Romans 5:8(NKJV)

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

See that? This is not because they can never do wrong anymore but because the nature of sin in them, which made them enemies of God, has been broken.

Romans 6:6(NKJV)

Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

Colossians 3:8–10(NKJV)

8. But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.

9. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,

10. and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.

So we see instructions given to these same people who have been set free from the old nature of sin. These instructions are given to guide them because, though they are free from the old man, they can still do the deeds of the old man. But they are not sinners anymore; they were, but, by faith in Christ Jesus, not anymore.

Pay attention to the tenses used by Paul the apostle.

Ephesians 2:1–8(NKJV)

1. And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,

2. in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,

3. among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

4. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

5. even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

6. and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

7. that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

8. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.

Biblically, a sinner is not someone who did something wrong. A sinner is a man that has not been saved by faith in Christ Jesus. A sinner is a man that is dead in sins because of unbelief.

Colossians 2:11–15(NKJV)

11. In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,

12. Buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

13. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,

14. having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

15. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

For a child of God, he has been raised to life with Jesus and is alive to God. He was once dead in sin; now, he is dead to sin.

Romans 6:11(NKJV)

Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It is on this premise that the apostle now admonishes them not to sin.

Romans 6:12–23(NKJV)

12. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.

13. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

14. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

15. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!

16. Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

17. But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.

18. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

19. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.

20. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

21. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.

22. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.

23. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

One salient manner of teaching we learn from Paul the apostle is that he never taught conduct before reality; that is placing the cart before the horse. Rather, he lets us know our present reality in Christ Jesus and on this premise, teaches us to conduct ourselves in line with our new reality.

So, in the light of God’s thought, as documented in the Bible, a sinner is someone who has not believed the gospel of Jesus. The Bible refers to these as ungodly and without strength. This is what we used to be.

Romans 5:5–10(NKJV)

5. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

6. For when we WERE still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

7. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.

8. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we WERE still sinners, Christ died for us.

9. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

10. For if when we WERE enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Godless, that is, without God.

Ephesians 2:12(NKJV)

That at that time you WERE without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

This is the present reality of unbelievers (sinners) but the past reality of the children of God. So, we are not sinners saved by grace. No! We were sinners who have now been saved by grace.

The word “saint”, in the Hebrew and Greek lexicons, is the same word “holy”; it means consecrated. Sanctify (hagiazō)

is the verb form of saint (hagios). A saint is simply someone who has been sanctified by God through faith in Christ Jesus.

1 Corinthians 1:2(NKJV)

To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.

2 Thessalonians 1:8–10(NKJV)

8. In flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

9. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,

10. when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.

The Bible profoundly defines a saint as someone who has placed his faith in the gospel of Jesus. Sainthood is not predicated on good conducts. This means good conducts are not the criteria for being saints; on the contrary, good conducts are the culture of those who are saints already. [For a better understanding on this subject, read the blog post, Understanding Holiness (Calling It What God Calls It).]

The Bible never referred to saints as people who are perfect in conduct, having everything figured out in their walk with God. No.

Even when Paul was rebuking the Christians in Corinth for their shameful conducts, he referred to them as saints.

1 Corinthians 6:1–2,11(NKJV)

1. Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?

2. Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

11. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

In essence, “Why are you guys acting like this? Don't you know you are saints?”

Ephesians 2:19(NKJV)

Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.

This is our present reality.

So, whose opinion would you rather believe? Yours or God’s?

If you are a child of God today by faith in Christ Jesus, you are no longer a sinner (past) but a saint (present).

Amen.

Confession: I am not a product of what the world says or what my feelings tell me. I believe the testimony of the Bible. I am WHAT the Word says I am. I am WHO the Word says I am. I am no longer a sinner but a saint, a member of the household of God. Hallelujah!

Victor Ibosiola © 2022