SIN -VS- SINS
Thank you Father God for this time that we can spend reading and studying your word. In Jesus's name we pray, amen.
I wanted to discuss today the difference between the word "sin" and "sins" as referred to in Romans chapter 5. This is important to understand especially in regards to understanding our eternal security in Christ and who we are now in Christ.
Romans 5:12 says,
12 Wherefore, as by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
The word sin here is in reference to the sin nature, also known as the adamic nature. As believers, we refer to it also as the "old man" or "the flesh". The word "sinned" or "sins" refers to the individual sins committed as a result of the sin nature.
The sin nature is mankind's issue. Every person needs to first acknowledge that they are a sinner. We sin because we have a sin nature. It was passed down to us beginning with Adam, so every person is born with a sin nature. An unbeliever, because they do not have God's Spirit in their spirit, are spiritually dead because of their trespasses and sins. As little children we have the sin nature, but it's not until we reach the age of accountability that we are then responsible for our sins, because that is when we are capable of really understanding that we have a sin nature and can then choose to believe in God to save us by us simply believing the gospel. Christ paid the full penalty for our sins and when you believe the gospel, your "old man" dies and your spirit is made alive in Christ.
Romans 6:6
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
The sin nature is still in your flesh, but you are dead to it (we will learn more about this soon in upcoming chapters). We are dead to the flesh, dead to sin, and alive unto God. Our flesh, the old man, is still vile, but in our inner man we have become a new creature in Christ and we have God's Spirit in our spirit which made us spiritually alive in Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
As believers, we are to walk in the Spirit instead of walking after the flesh. We need to understand that the sin nature is in our flesh, but the flesh is dead to us and so it is no longer our identity. Our identity now is in Christ. The only way to have "victory over sin" is to get sound grace doctrine built up in your inner man, believe it and obey it. We are to allow Christ and His word to live in and through us. You cannot overcome sin by using your flesh! You cannot overcome sin by putting yourself under the law (in fact, that will actually cause you to sin more, which you will learn about in Romans chapters 6-7). God does NOT empower our flesh. He sees it as dead. He wants us to walk in the Spirit instead. When we walk after the flesh and are trying to keep the law in our own energy, we will do nothing but sin.
If we think that we have to do works in order to maintain our salvation, we are actually walking after the flesh. We are trying in our own fleshly efforts to "stay saved". This will be defeating because in our flesh dwelleth no good thing.
Romans 7:18a,b
“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing...
Even as believers, our flesh has not changed. We are to live by the faith OF Christ, not by our faithfulness.
Galatians 2:20
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
Yes, we put our faith IN Christ but we are to put our faith in HIS faithfulness. He was and eternally is faithful! What Christ accomplished for us was completely sufficient to save us AND that includes keeping us saved NO MATTER WHAT.
Romans 8:38-39
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We are to live by His faith also by allowing Christ and His word rightly divided to live in and through us. Allowing Christ to live in and through us is not an automatic thing. We have the choice. In each moment we can either walk after the flesh, fulfilling its lusts or we can yeild ourselves over to obey the sound grace doctrine that we have in our inner man. Which means that we need to STUDY God's word rightly divided regularly, even daily if possible, so that we have sound grace doctrine in our inner man. We need to read and study God's word, meditate upon the scriptures (which just means to really think it over), believe what God's word says and then obey it, applying it to the details of our lives.
Colossians 3:16a
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom;
We yeild our bodies over to serve God rather than to serve the lusts of our flesh.
Romans 6:13
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
And also, we have to rightly divide the scriptures. If we are putting ourselves under old testament levitical laws for example, we will actually be walking after the flesh because it is NOT God's will for us today to obey those old laws, we are to obey the verses in the Pauline epistles which are written to us today and to understand the whole Bible rightly divided. None of us needs to build an ark or give an animal sacrifice or keep old testament food laws for example. If you want to understand God's will for you today, read and study Romans through Philemon in a King James Bible.
Please understand that you WILL sin even as a believer because sin is in our flesh. But, we have God's Spirit in our spirit and we have the mind of Christ (unbelievers do not). As we read and study God's word rightly divided, we can then choose to walk in the Spirit instead of after the flesh which means we will sin less often. You cannot and will not ever loose your salvation after you are saved. This is a wonderful thing!
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