You are NOT a Sinner

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

This verse is often used in times of trial or loss in order to comfort the afflicted and tell them that God has a plan for everything. His ways are sometimes beyond our limited human understanding and his thoughts are full of wisdom beyond our comprehension. While I surely believe that this verse could be applied to those times of tough circumstances, I also have recently studied that in no way is this verse actually used in context for God’s plans. It is actually in reference to God’s compassion and abundant pardoning of the wicked and unrighteous. This got me thinking and furthered a revelation that I had had some years ago about God’s thoughts towards humanity, and more specifically, towards the believer. Why does God abundantly pardon those who are unrighteous? Well, because his ways are beyond our ways and his thoughts beyond our thoughts. Humans see unrighteousness and create labels, pronounce judgment, and initiate separation. God, however, has different thoughts about sin and the people that are trapped in it. He sees value in the individual, imparts righteousness and forgiveness, and creates unity in reshaping identities and showing “sinners” who they really are—children.

A couple years ago I realized that my daddy (or mommy for all my feminists out there) in heaven had much different thoughts about me than I had about myself. I started to understand that he not only looked past my sin to forgive me, but also completely took care of it on the cross. When he sees me, he does not see a sinner, he sees a son. And this is not just a nice sentiment or thought that he has for me, but it is a reality. You see, all of my life the church told me that I was sinner in desperate need for a savior. And while I understand that all have sinned and fallen short, I can’t help but ask the question, “Did Jesus come just because I was a sinner, and furthermore, did he just save me from sin so I could go to heaven? The answer I have found, on both accounts, is no. Jesus did not die because I was a sinner in need. Yes, I was in need and yes I had been caught in sin, but Jesus came because he saw value in me. He sacrificed his life because he saw purpose and identity for me that I couldn’t see anymore. He knew who I truly was, and came to restore my broken image so that I could see myself in him and start living the God life that I had always hoped for but never knew how to attain. And he didn’t just give his body so that I could go to heaven, but so that I could know and be intimate with my creator. As Jesus states, “Now this is eternal life: [Not that they would say a prayer and go to some ethereal place where all problems are finally gone] that they would know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

Most Christians today would still identify themselves as a sinner, as if it was as true as the law of gravity. What I have started to understand however, is that this sin conscious mentality, and indeed the doctrine of the sinful nature and the believer’s natural depravity, is completely unbiblical. In fact, the Gospel says the complete opposite. The Gospel says that you are holy already. It says that righteousness is not something to be achieved, but rather a gift obtained through the bloody sacrifice of Jesus. It says that the “old man”, the sinner, was crucified with Christ and done away with (Romans 6:6). It says that the flesh, which we are told by the church to constantly fight and beat up with pious acts of fasting and dedication to God, is actually already stripped off and powerless (Colossians 2:11).

Now before you take out your heresy hammer and start commenting mercilessly about how skewed my perception of the Gospel and human nature are, hear me out. Doubtless, for all those bible lovers and church goers out there, verses are coming to mind that would seem to prove me wrong. Perhaps 1 Timothy 1:15, where Paul says he is the chief of all sinners. Of course, Paul is talking about his past life as a Judaizer and killer of Christians. Or perhaps you are thinking of Paul’s conflict in Romans seven, where he does what he does not want to do and doesn’t do what he wants to do. “Oh wretched man am I,” he states, “Who will save me from this body of death!” Of course, in Romans 8, he states that Jesus has saved us from this body of death and that if the Spirit of God lives in us then we are no longer in the flesh (Rom. 8:1-9). Or maybe, as commonly misconstrued, you are thinking of Romans 3:23 that says “All have fallen short of the glory of God,” but are failing to read verse 24, which states, “and are (still pertaining to the all that have fallen) justified freely by his grace. Yes, all have surely fallen, but does this mean that the believer, after entering the kingdom of light, is still fallen? The joyous answer to this question is a resounding NO!!

            The bible makes it clear all throughout the epistles that the fallen man is destroyed. Romans 5 says that we are no longer sinners under Adam but sons under the second Adam, namely, Christ. Romans 6 says that the old sinful you has died. Romans 8 says that the believer is not of the flesh. Ephesians 4 says that the old self has been taken off. Colossians 1 says that the believer is holy and blameless before God. In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul writes to those who are “sanctified”, not to those who are sinners. 2 Corinthians 5 says that the believer is a new creation and that we have been transformed into the very righteousness of God. 1 John states that God is light and in him is no darkness at all, and we know that God lives in us. How could there ever be darkness in a person that carries the very author of light living within them? The list goes on and on. God is constantly revealing to us what our identity is in him and we continue to associate with sin rather than his son. If God doesn’t call me a sinner, but a son, then you bet your bottom dollar I’m going to believe what he believes about me rather than what the church tells me I am.

In no way do I mean to condemn anyone with this mindset or bash the church. I love everyone and enjoy being part of the church community. In fact, the people in my very own church community often communicate the sin conscious beliefs that I am trying to correct. This is a post for your freedom. It is an invitation to start seeing yourself in a new light. You can start believing that David’s prayer, “Create in me a clean heart, oh God” (Psalm 51), has already been fulfilled by Jesus in you. You are already clean, holy, beautiful, perfect, and loved. You don’t ever again have to believe the lies that you tell yourself when you look in the mirror, nor entertain the weight of condemnation that you feel when you aren’t living up to some imaginary standard of religious piety. You see, humans manifest what they believe. If you believe that you are a sinner, and associate yourself with your failures, you will continue to fall into life choices that are lesser than your created purpose and value. If you see yourself as a child, in the arms of a loving father who calls you clean and beloved, you will manifest holiness wherever you go. You will experience purity in your own heart and thus live it out in the world, and more importantly, you will start to see and treat people through the same lens with which you see and treat yourself. If you love yourself and know that God loves you, you will love others. If you never condemn yourself, but continue to see your reflection in your creator, then you will start to see the worth in others. You will be free from the burden of judging others for their sin, and be encouraged to lovingly lead them back to their true identity and purpose.

This revelation completely changed my life. There is nothing better than feeling squeaky clean in the presence of your maker. I have no guilt in anything I have done, am continually finding new religious things that I condemn myself for and so am heartened to come back to the truth, I hardly ever find myself “struggling” with sin (Oh my God, this one is so freeing!!), and I am constantly cheered on by God to live out my destiny and see others according to the wonderful love and thoughts he has for creation. It is so damn good. Search the scriptures and ask God to reveal his thoughts about you. Don’t just take Christian sayings like “We are all sinners saved by Grace” as truth. We were sinners saved by grace, and now we are sons and daughters living in grace. I encourage you to not believe in any identity that the Lord himself doesn’t give you; run fast to your daddy (mommy) and receive new eyes to see yourself and others.

This is an introduction into 4 years and developed revelation on this topic from Papa. If you would like more information or have questions, email me at aaronruss94@gmail.com.  I can give you more scriptural evidence and books and preachers that provide very clear teachings on the topic. If you want freedom, it wouldn’t hurt to check it out. 🙂 The video below is a great intro too.