NO LONGER SINNERS BUT SAINTS

Ref: Romans 4:7-8, 2 Corinthians 5:19

Saying, BLESSED ARE THEY WHOSE INIQUITIES ARE FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS ARE COVERED. BLESSED IS THE MAN TO WHOM THE LORD WILL NOT IMPUTE SIN. (Rom  4:7-8)

To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. (2Cor 5:19) 

COMMENT

The grace of God has been preached since our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead and went to heaven and sat down on the right hand of God the Father and mediates for us. He is our devoted  advocate.

 Grace has not been understood perhaps because of the Law of Moses which no living human being can fully keep. There are more than 600 laws and the bible says if we fail in one, we have failed in all. Grace is the unmerited and undeserved favour from our maker. It is nothing but favoritism by God for all those who have taken informed and firm decision to believe in His salvation. Salvation which is translated from the Greek word zoso does not only mean convert, redeem, saved or having eternal life, but also healthy, prospered, free from evil spirits and not suffering. 

Grace has overtaken the law in that what the law was unable to achieve, grace provided. We no longer live in the law covenant but in the new covenant of grace. The law was given to show us that we need a saviour. The law came with Moses, but grace and truth, came with Jesus. Jesus came to fulfill the law but not to discard it. He did not break any; He kept them all.

In view of the love that God has for us, God extends grace to all human beings, without exception. Those who choose to believe in his only begotten son Jesus Christ, are declared the righteousness of God. See Romans 4:3. He does not force anything to us. He allows us to choose the way we want to go while training us to become obedient always. As long as we do not deny (disown) Jesus Christ, we are still traveling the right direction; we cannot lose our place in heaven.

The fact that God is reconciling us to himself, He will not impute (attribute) sin unto us. He has covered us in the blood of Jesus and so we are clean. His action has taken care of the past, the present and the future sins. It is as if we have never sinned. That is what is meant by Romans 4:9 ,”the Lord will not impute sin”. We are therefore declared righteous (sinless) and so saints while still living on earth. God loves us so much that it is His desire to affirm to us that we are on our way to heaven while on earth. We do not have to die and then a priest comes along, several years later, to declare us saints.

 The frequently used statement that we are sinners saved by grace, is very wrong. It is false humility and wrong according to the word of God.

Finally, it must be noted carefully that grace is NOT a license to sin. The Holy Spirit who dwells in a believer will show him the way out of a sin and will not allow him to continue to enjoy sin. Cooperation is what the Holy Spirit demands. He will not act as a school teacher or a policeman.