"But Christians Still Sin..."

I have known a lot of Christians in my short 23 years. You know what's interesting? Each of them sin daily, including myself. Day-in and day-out I sin constantly, continuously, disobeying God's law in exchange for some selfish acts... but I talk as if I no longer desire to sin. Phrases like "free from sin" or "a slave to righteousness" can be heard from my lips, with actions to argue fervently against my words. I know I'm not the only one. Someone recently said to me they became a Christian but they always fall back and go into their old sinful ways, leading to a lot of frustration in their lives. If you ask any honest Christian, they will say the same. So why is this? Why do Christians sin so much?


First, it is important to address why Christians say they should not sin any longer. A Bible study I'm in studied Romans 6 right after the conversation I mentioned earlier (I pause here to give a hat-tip to those I study with for the wisdom they shared in the Spirit that I will be using in this post). This chapter is filled with language of freeing believers in Christ from sin, and instead having them cling to righteousness. Paul, the writer of Romans, ends chapter 5 saying that where sin was abundant, God's grace was extended even more, so that it will be in control through Jesus. He continues like so:
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
(Romans 6:1-11, ESV)

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

Paul's argument in this passage is that the increasing extension of grace in the presence of sin is not a reason to continue sinning. The evidence of this is Christ's death and resurrection. Jesus' perfect life, death, and powerful raising are the ideal visual of how our life in sin has ended and our life in God's righteousness has begun for the Christian. Our sinful nature (old self) was killed with Jesus so it would be destroyed and we are no longer slaves to it. So if we died with him, we surely have been raised and will live with him. His resurrection shows his conquering of death and, therefore our sinful nature, so that we are free to live to God. "So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:12-14, ESV)

Here is the instruction for the Christian, who is dead to sin and alive in Christ, free from sin's power and free to live for God. We have no more reason to sin, we no longer are required to by our master unrighteousness. We are no longer subject to the law, which brings death, but we are subject to grace, which brings life.

Some may raise the question "if we are not subject to the law, doesn't that mean we can continue to sin with no consequences?" That is Paul's next point. Christians are not free to do whatever they want, but in this analogy they are free from sin's rule and have switched to being under the rule of a righteous God. This next passage displays a basic truth of human nature: we are always slaves to our nature. Before I was a Christian, I was a slave to my sinful nature and my flesh's selfish desires but now that God has single-handedly changed my nature through his Son, I am a slave to righteousness. I do the things I do because I want the things I want. When I wanted to sin, I sinned, but now that my nature wants to do good in God's name, I do good in God's name.

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:15-23, ESV)

 Here's what this might look like if we put it in a modern analogy. Say you have a job and while you're working, someone you don't recognize walks in and starts telling you what to do. You find out he does not work at the company and therefore has no authority over you. Do you follow his instructions? No. You continue to do what the boss you know tells you. Fast forward a year. You've left your place of employment and have come to work at a new company. Who do you find is in charge but this man who tried to tell you what to do a year ago at your old job. Do you follow his instruction now? Of course!

I hope we understand now the transformation that happens when we are committed to Christ. Our nature changes from a selfish, sinful nature to one that desires to serve God, we are not slaves to sin, but to righteousness. This is where the confusion between what we read in scripture and what we see in our lives comes in. If the Bible tells me that Christians are not supposed to sin, why are they sinning as much as anyone else?

A major key to understanding comes not in the sixth chapter of Romans, but in the fact it exists. If we all stopped sinning as soon as we were saved, would this chapter be necessary? What would the point be to tell Christians that they should not sin or that they are no longer slaves to their flesh if they could not sin? But this passage, and those like it, exist as an encouragement to live in the manner we have been newly created to be. It would not be here if we did not need to hear it and we were not still capable of sin.

Christians are like the person who was in the military for years under the same commanding officer. They were trained to snap to attention at the sight of their officer and do as he said. Once they left the military, there was no need to present themselves to the officer the same way. But walking down the street they see their former officer and out of habit, because it used to be required of them, they snap to attention before they realize it is not necessary. In the same way, we used to be under sin's rule but have been set free. However, it was so ingrained in us, we still act as if it has dominion, as if we need to snap to attention every time we see opportunity to sin.

There is a truth in the Bible we refer to as sanctification. This is the progressive act of shaping us to look more like Christ everyday and to remove the habits of sin from our lives. This work is not promised to be complete until the day of Christ, when he returns. So we struggle with sin as God shapes us, knowing our salvation is secure, not using it as a reason or excuse.

We are all born with a nature of sin and selfishness and like a man in jail, we are unable to declare ourselves free and walk out the front door. Someone else needs to do this for us. That is why Jesus lived a perfect life, died, and raised from the dead to conquer sin and death. Now those who trust him are set free, and even though we are continually breaking habits, we know it is a process and find freedom knowing it is God's work in his children.

Don't Pray For Patience

The phrase has been passed around for quite some time now, "don't pray for patience because then God will give you an opportunity to be patient in." This saying is not worth holding on to as truth, and should be addressed when we hear it. It paints two untruthful pictures. One tells the believer to not desire to look more like Christ for it will require work and trials. The other is of our Father having a sick sense of humor, giving us more trials when we're asking for his help. The Bible, which should be our basis of the Christian faith, disagrees.

One goal of the Christian is to be shaped to be like his/her Lord, Jesus. We were originally made in God's image (Genesis 1:27) but we fell from this image when Adam and Eve sinned (Genesis 3). For the one who is saved, we are to be more like Christ, both currently (1 John 2:6), and as a hope in a promise we've been given (1 John 3:1-3). Why fear this then, no matter how it comes? The Christian should strive to be like Christ in all things to glorify his/her Father. Trials may not be fun, but trust that they are for good.

The real problem in this saying, though, is the picture it paints of God. Saying that while one is in a trial requiring patience, praying for it will result in more trials is to say that He wants one to develop these skills alone, and will punish anyone who asks for help. This is ridiculous to claim and directly contradicts Luke 11:11-13

What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!

This (ignored) passage comes directly after the (often misused)  verses of Jesus explaining that if we ask our Father for something, we will receive it. He asks those listening if they give their child some calamity in response to a request for food. What kind of person would do that? Even humans, who are evil, will not deliver some trial instead of nourishment. So we should expect this even more from our Father, when we ask for the Holy Spirit. Don't be confused here, because patience is one of the outward signs (fruit; Galatians 5:22-23) of the Spirit promised to those who are to be saved. Therefore, it should be asked, what kind of god would our God be if when we asked for patience in the time of a trial, he instead gave us some serpent or scorpion?

Know, however, that trials are used for our good and are used to sanctify us. James says that we should "count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (1:2-4) For through trials we are made perfect, with the Holy Spirit giving us the strength. This does not mean that our Father sends us trials in the midst of trials because we've asked for help through the original trials.

The Holy Spirit that a Christian has been sealed with is our comforter and source of patience. We may be taught patience through trials, but He is there to guide us through them. Our Father will not give us scorpions or serpents instead of food, and he will not give us calamity when we ask for His Spirit.

How A Body Is Built

What does it look like for a body to be completely mouths? What about only arms or feet? Or, if the legs not only walked, but tried to talk, digest, and think? Taking a look at many churches or para-church organizations answers these questions. These communities have lost sight of what a body looks like and why they are made of different parts and have lost their effectiveness, in at least some sense.

The Thumb-Thumbs from Spy Kids were pretty ineffective...

One cannot say another is acting foolishly, without explaining the proper way to act. So before expanding upon what behavior could be considered an ill-formed body, a proper body should be considered. A brief introduction to the gifts of the Spirit (in which this idea is based) is found in 1 Corinthians 12:4-7.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

Note that the same sentiment is repeated three times in a row. There are different gifts, types of service, and activities, but the same Spirit, Lord, and God respectively. Displaying the gift of teaching does not mean that someone has a different Holy Spirit than one who is an administrator. And because one person serves in the kitchen while another serves as an usher does not mean they serve a different Lord. Finally, the senior pastor and the VBS volunteer serve the same God, who empowers them to complete each of their tasks. Verse seven tells us that all of this, everything we do to serve God in his power, is for the common good. When we use our gifts, whether it's healing or preaching or encouraging, each is for the common good.

Further in the passage(vv. 8-10), language like "to one is given," and "to another" is used to stress that each gift is not given to each person. The same Spirit gives each gift to whom he chooses as he chooses (v. 11). These verses explain that the Holy Spirit has a will in this, deciding who gets which gift, and that he does not empower everyone the same.

Moving forward in chapter 12, is the body analogy. Please read vv. 14-20 for an extension of how foolish these bodies Christians try to form are. The illustration is used to teach that each part of the body is important, and each role needs the other. This is why God, our Father, has built his Church with diversity in the gifts the Holy Spirit has manifested in us. Personally, I am a bad encouragement, but I have a passion and wisdom about the Bible that is not my own. My best friend, ChrisKolb, is a huge encouragement and just as passionate about God, but if he ran a church, paperwork might not get done. Another best friend, Nik, would make the paperwork and leadership duties beg for mercy, but has not been given wisdom in the word like I have. We all need each other, as we'd fail miserably if we tried to do everything. This dependence is good and willed by the Father.

But there are countless people who may have ripped this chapter out of their Bibles. Some churches claim that a specific gift needs to be shown in your someone's life as evidence they are saved. Other organizations require everyone to show every gift of the Spirit that they acknowledge, making all who are involved teach and encourage and administrate and evangelize and so on. While each of these gifts alone are good, there is not a specific gift that proves salvation (that's what the Fruits of the Spirit are for), nor are all the gifts given to everyone. Each believer is instructed to be empowered by the Spirit in the way he has manifested himself in them.

This is a part of the Bible the Church has ripped out or scratched out, so we can hold on to our own power. When will we stop ignoring God's will for his Church?