Saint, not sinner

As a Christian, I have reservations about the characterization "sinner saved by grace."  Perhaps it is just a problem for me and people who think like me.  I can see all the value it might bring, but for me it is defeating.  It is quoted by very godly people that are much farther along and more mature than I am in the faith.  This has made me try to understand the underlying meaning they are trying to express.  But it still gives me pause.

In particular, J.D. Walt emphasized it, today, when he was expounding on Romans 3:9-18.  He definitely falls into the category of  "farther along and more mature."  His heart, faith, and reason have taught and inspired me through the daily Wake-up Call from Seedbed.  

I think when people like J.D. say it, they are expressing a godly humility that counteracts the tendency toward arrogance of those of us with Wesleyan roots.  Sometime, people who are "entirely sanctified" deny their sins because "godly people don't sin."  God forbid.

They may also be reassuring people who think that God will cut them off when they sin.  No matter how close we get to God, we still live in a fallen world with fallen bodies.  God does not give us sinless perfection in this life because to do that would require him to take us out of this world.  "We have an advocate", not sinless perfection.

They may be trying to connect to people who are not Christians and would not understand the concepts of victory over sin.  A common complaint is, "You Christians think you are perfect."  Actually, we Christians are the most conscious of our imperfection because we have the Holy Spirit nudging us.  So maybe this is an attempt to build a bridge.

It may also be a way to communicate why Christians should not condemn public figures who sin.  There is a matter of church discipline to consider, but it's always important to remember "But for the grace of God ...".

All of these are good intentions and if they are fulfilled I thank the Holy Spirit for using "sinner saved by grace."  But as I said, for me, personally, it is jarring at best and extra-biblical at worst.

Take a specific sin: theft.  If someone robs your house, you don't trust them and you expect them to steal again.  They are a thief.   If someone we trust cheats the IRS, we may believe it's theft but we don't usually call them a thief.  Identification is separate from behavior.  (It's hard to make a metaphor that doesn't get clouded by the significance of the sin.  I'm assuming cheating the IRS is as much a sin as robbing a house, but we don't immediately yell, "thief" in the latter case.)

Over time we may come to trust the thief but only after he has worked hard and we will probably never forget the theft.   He probably stole because he was too lazy to work.  Perhaps his history led him to believe that theft was the only way to get ahead.  Perhaps he just hates you.  Whatever.   Imagine a magic potion that would remove the reason for the theft.  You apply that potion and resolve to trust him.  In one miraculous act, you remove the need for theft.   You give him the keys to your house, you trust him with your car,  but you tell him he is still a thief.  If he steals again, he's going to tend to brush it off with, "Well, I'm only a thief."

What if instead you tell him, "you are now an honest person but beware because stealing again will push you back to being a thief."  Pure psychology and common sense makes it clear that the second approach is more effective.  Identification drives behavior.

But, some might say, Alcoholics Anonymous emphasizes that their members never stop being alcoholics.  That's a healthy attitude because it keeps them on their toes.  But there is a difference.  Alcoholics anonymous talks about a "higher power" and good for them.  But we're not talking about a higher power.  We're talking about The Higher Power.  There are no compromises here.  There is no shortage of grace and power.  AA does not have a "magic potion", Christianity does.  AA is focused on your opinion of yourself; Christianity is focused on the opinion of God who said, "I will remember their sins against them no more."  Christianity is not trying to prevent old addictions; it is making a new creation.

And we're not talking about a propensity toward a particular sin.  We're talking about a propensity toward Sin.  The stakes are infinitely higher.  

I am not a sinner saved by grace.  I WAS a sinner but God has made me a saint.  Although there is a valid danger in using the word saint because of the Roman Catholic use of the term, it is never-the-less biblical and applies to all believers.  1 Cor 6:11, Eph 2:19, 1 Cor 1:2.  (I'm not trying to prove what I consider obvious.  The new testament frequently refers to Christians as holy, sanctified, saints.  The wording may change per translation, but the concept remains.)

I repeat that I am not objecting to the use of the phrase if the Holy Spirit can use it to direct someone from pride.  But for me, it rings of despair.  Imagine if Paul spent Romans 7 describing the hopelessness of trying to satisfy the law, then started chapter 8 with "But you're just a sinner saved by grace." 

I feel like many Christians are living in "the first half of the gospel" as J.D. would put it.  They either have given up on being holy in this life or they have found themselves accepting salvation by grace but trying to work for sanctification.  I personally fall heavily into the second camp. 

I have found that calling myself a "saint who can still sin" to be much more conducive to the attitude I think God wants me to have.  I'm reminded that I have the power of his Spirit (the "magic potion" of my metaphor) and I don't have to change myself.  I am no longer a sinner.  My house is a suitable dwelling place for the Holy Spirit who has done all he needs to make it his home.  It's all God, none of me.  The house is in a dirty neighborhood and I can resist ongoing renovations.  I can track in mud.   (I can stretch a metaphor too far.)   But the Holy Spirit lives in me.

So, when I resist sin it is with the attitude, "This offends God.  It's not what he made me to be."  Rather than, "I'll never be good enough" or worse "how much can I get away with, given that I'm a sinner anyway."  In my life, I have found this alternative wording has helped me stop working to be sinless while letting the Holy Spirit work in me "to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose."

5/3/2023

Today's Wake-up Call really emphasizes the humility value of "Sinner Saved by Grace".  He quotes John Newton, “My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things: that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Saviour.”.  This is a great attitude and it inspires praise and gratitude in my heart.  Perhaps when I am prone to move ahead of the Spirit I should call myself a "sinner saved by grace" and when I am (more frequently) discouraged by my sin I should call myself a "saint who can still sin".