Are Christians Still Sinners But Saved By Grace – Part 5 Series

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Are Christians Still Sinners But Saved By Grace – Part 5

(Rev. Barry Johnson and Rev. Rodney Johnson)

Introduction

This is the fifth lesson in this series which examines a statement that is very popular in the Church today: “I’m just a sinner saved by grace!” In the first four lessons we looked at scriptures that identified the biblically accurate description of who we are because of the life of Jesus that we have living inside of us: “I was a sinner saved by grace! Now I am a righteous, blameless holy child of God!” Ephesians 1:3-4 states it this way: “(3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, (4) just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” (Ephesians 1:3-4)

In the first four lessons, we provided the foundation for what we are going to cover in this lesson and in the final lesson next month. All the lessons lead up to a detailed examination of Romans chapter seven, which is the chapter many use to support the teaching that a Christian, who is born again and completely free from the power of sin, continues to live under the power of sin. This is why many Christians continue to believe they are sinners. But the truth is this: Jesus freed us from the power of sin, and we see this recorded in Colossians 1:12-14 – “(12) Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. (13) He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, (14) in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:12-14)

In verse 13, the word power is the Greek word exousia and is translated both as “power” and “authority” in the New Testament. However, the primary Greek word for “power” is dunamis, which means “being able, capable or inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth.” Think of dunamis this way: you have two people pulling a rope, one on each end. The goal is to pull the person across the line. Dunamis says the person with the most power, the one who is the strongest, will win. However, the primary Greek word for “authority” is exousia, which means “dominion, authority or rule.” A person who has exousia has a say in the lives of people. An example of this would be a person’s supervisor on the job.

What you are about to hear is very important to you, as a child of God. Satan has never had dunamis (power) over humanity. He cannot make anyone, whether the person is saved or not, do anything against their will. But he has exousia (authority) over people who are not born again through his ability to exert influence over the person’s sin nature. However, we have been delivered from his exousia – his dominion, authority, and rule – because we no longer have a sin nature that he can exert influence over. And this is the important truth that we must grasp and understand.

Why Christians Commit Sin

So why do Christians commit sin? That is the focus of this month’s bible study. We are going to begin in Romans chapter five with verse 12 and verses 19 through 23. Romans 5:12 says, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” We are born into this world as sinners. It’s not our fault. Point the finger at Adam. The moment he ate of the forbidden tree he corrupted the human spirit and condemned every person born into this world to an eternity separated from God. And here is the truth that we must understand – committing sin is not what makes us sinners. We sin because we are born with a nature, a spirit, that wants to sin. We sin because that is who we are before we accept Christ as our Savior and are transformed.