Truth and Faith

If you want to know if someone is really a follower of Jesus, just ask them this one question: "Are you a sinner?" Strange as it is, most people are going to say that they are, and it's because the modern Christian traditions have conditioned them to believe that they are. Not only that, but most people think it to be a humble thing to admit to being a sinner, and they also believe it is exalting Jesus to do so. Why? You guessed it: Modern Christian tradition has conditioned them to believe that. Nonetheless, if someone believes they are a sinner, there are two things that result from it. One is they WILL be a sinner, and the other is that they cannot possibly be following Jesus. Why? Because Jesus is NOT IN SIN, and neither does he LEAD anyone into sin. Neither is it his "Spirit of Truth" that has taught ANYONE any of these modern Christian doctrines such as "sinners saved by grace," "eternal security," or the like. To teach and/or believe that the children of God remain sinners after being born again is nothing but sheer blasphemy. The Bible I read says things like this about being born again, and about 'grace:' "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? GOD FORBID. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized [by the Spirit] into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in NEWNESS OF LIFE" (Rom. 6:1-4). For those with eyes to see and ears to hear, that plainly says that being baptized with the holy Ghost into Christ transforms one into a "new creature." And that sounds kind of familiar because the following verse says the SAME THING: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a NEW CREATURE: old things are PASSED AWAY; behold, ALL THINGS are become new" (II Cor. 5:17). Come on now friend, that's not talking about trading in our old car for a new one. It's talking about being born AGAIN so that we will be something better than the sinful creature that we were. The 'old things' that pass away are the old ways of living, and old ways of desiring, and old ways of trying to cope, and old ways of doing and speaking. The 'old things' are the sinful ways of our 'old man' which we now have power through God's Spirit to put to death, as the apostle noted in another place: "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body [nature] of sin might be DESTROYED, that henceforth we should NOT serve sin" (Rom. 6:6).

The apostle mentioned some more about the 'old things' of the old man in other places as well; and he always noted that these old things are supposed to be dead now that we are a 'new creature' in Christ: "That ye PUT OFF concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts" (Eph. 4:22). And once again; "Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have PUT OFF the old man with his deeds" (Col. 3:9). So where does this widely embraced notion of born again believers still being sinners come from? It's more than evident that it sure doesn't come from the Bible. It comes from teachers of heresy who have chosen not to bear their cross as Jesus instructed us to do, and have not 'crucified the old man' as the apostle Paul declared in the above quoted scripture (Lk. 9:23; Rom. 6:6). I'm sure there are many who think it mighty bold of me to call this modern 'Christian' mindset 'blasphemy,' so let me explain why I'm doing so. First of all, it is not 'the blasphemy of the holy Ghost' to be under this thinking, but it sure isn't leading AWAY FROM that. There are other kinds of blasphemy other than that one unforgivable sin of blaspheming the holy Ghost. Confessing to being a sinner after being baptized by Jesus with his HOLY Spirit and POWER is blasphemy because it simply spits on everything that Jesus died, rose, and ascended to heaven to provide for you and I. This wicked teaching blatantly declares that the suffering, and death, and resurrection, and priesthood of God's only begotten Son has done nothing more for us than the death and offerings of the sacrificial animals of the old covenant, for it is they that they scriptures speak of on this wise: "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins" (Heb. 10:1). But the blood of Christ, which is his Spirit, is spoken of far differently in comparison to those sacrifices: "HOW MUCH MORE shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Heb. 9:14).

As for the comparison of the old covenant priesthood and the priesthood of Christ under the new covenant, we see a vast difference as well: "And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can NEVER take away sins: BUT this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God... For by one offering he hath PERFECTED for ever them that ARE SANCTIFIED. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us" (Heb. 10:11,12,14,15). To be sanctified means to be 'made holy,' and it is certain that the holy Ghost is the witness of that sanctification because it is indeed the holy Ghost by which we are sanctified when we are baptized with it (I Cor. 6:11; Rom. 15:6). Yes my friend, the all encompassing works of our Lord Jesus Christ were and are enough to make us 'perfect,' or pure in heart from sin (Mat. 5:8,48; I Jn. 3:3). And the power of God's HOLY Spirit is able to keep us pure if that is what we want, and if we are willing to pay the price of dying to the fleshly nature and "keeping our hearts with all diligence" (Prov. 4;23). Peter gave it to us nice and straight about sin and the reality of literally dying to it: "Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath CEASED from sin; That he NO LONGER should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God" (I Pet. 4:1,2). If we are not willing to go that route then I suppose we can always fall in with the majority and be good ol 'Christian' sinners. Of course if we die that way we will surely go to a devil's hell, for only those who are "pure in heart" will be saved, and only those who are made holy will be partakers of "the resurrection of life [eternal]" (Heb. 12:14; Jn. 5:29; Rev. 20:6). That should do it for now, but I hope this straight and pure Bible lesson has shed some light for you on the subject of what it means to be a born again child of God. Above all things it does NOT mean that we are sinners, or that it is natural to continue to put up with sin in our lives as if we have NOT been "endued with power from on high" (Lk. 24:49). Amen.