NOTE: New Light Faith Ministries and Barry Johnson Ministries, founded by Rodney V. Johnson and Barry O. Johnson, respectively, are partnering to offer Bible studies for Christians who are seeking to grow in their relationship with Jesus. This is a Bible study lesson, not a sermon. The Bible studies teach foundational truth that are designed to challenge, encourage and, most importantly, flame the fire of hunger in the Christian who wants to learn more about who they have become in Christ Jesus. The Bible studies you find on this site contains the written version of the lesson. However, these lessons also include a video and an audio file of the study, a PDF version of the lesson and a sheet for note taking. If you would like any of the additional resources for these studies, please email us at newlightfaithministries@gmail.com or bjteachingltr@gmail.com for more information or contact us at the email provided on both of our Sermon Central pages. Be blessed.
Are Christians Still Sinners, But Saved By Grace? Part 1
(Rev. Barry Johnson and Rev. Rodney Johnson)
Introduction
“I’m a sinner saved by grace!” This is a very popular saying in the Church today, although it’s not true. You see, held within this statement are two professions of faith. The first one says “I am a sinner” while the second one says “I am saved by grace.” Scripturally, the second statement nullified the first statement so the statement as a whole is false. A more accurate statement for a Christian is, “I was a sinner who was saved by grace! Now I’m a righteous, blameless, holy child of God!”
This is the first lesson in our series dealing with the question of whether or not a person, who has accepted Christ and is saved, can continue to live the life of a sinner because they are saved by grace. It has been a topic of discussion between Barry and me for quite some time, not because we disagree about whether or not it is true, but because it seems to pop up from time to time in conversations that we have with other people. For example, recently I had breakfast with someone who began sharing with me some of the things about the relationship they were involved in. The person is single and dating. As I listened to the person, I finally asked them, “Aren’t you a Christian?” The person replied, “Yes!” So, I asked them based on the Word of God, “Why are you sleeping around then – don’t you know what the Bible says about that?” The person responded: “We are all sinners! Don’t you still sin?” At this point I attempted to explain the difference between living in sin and occasionally sinning. The person’s response is one of the reasons why we developed this series. Most Christians do not understand that they are no longer sinners, but they can choose to commit sin.
People love to quote what Paul wrote in Romans 3:23 when he said, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This truth is not a justification for continuing in sin as Paul also later wrote, “(1) What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? (2) Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? (Romans 6:1-2) Then later in this same chapter he wrote, “(11) Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (12) Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. (13) And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. (14) For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:11-14) Yes, we have been saved by grace, but our salvation is not a permission slip for continuing in sin which we will explain in more depth in a future lesson. Barry and I also discuss this topic from time to time ourselves because, as you can see by my conversation with my friend and former co-worker, it is a teaching that is readily accepted and believed by nearly everyone in the Church. We believe that the primary reason the “we are sinners saved by grace” teaching is so readily accepted as a universal truth in the Church is because most Christians still find themselves committing sin after they have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior without the guilt because they truly believe they are still saved even though they know they are living a life that is sinful. And there is a reason for this, which we will cover briefly in this lesson and in more depth in a future lesson.
There is little question in our minds that the primary “proof text” for this belief is Romans chapter seven. A proof text is a verse, passage, or even a chapter that is taken out of context to establish a doctrine or belief. Oftentimes what is taught does not agree with the totality of Scripture. We believe that this is the case with “we are sinners saved by grace.” Many Bible scholars, pastors and ministers interpret Romans chapter seven as a Christian whose new nature is struggling with the sin nature. Do you remember the cartoons where a person has an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other? The devil is trying to get the person to something wrong and the angel is trying to convince him not to do it. That is the primary way Romans chapter seven is taught in most Churches today. We are going to walk through this chapter, line by line, in a future lesson. While you may be wondering why we are not looking at the chapter in this first lesson our reason for not doing so is simple: we must lay a foundation first before we jump into the chapter. Examining Romans chapter seven without a proper foundation would be like trying to put a roof on a house before the floors and walls are in place.
The Beginning
So, the obvious question now is, “Where do we begin?” Let’s start at the beginning, and we don’t mean Genesis chapter one, verse one. But we must be clear about the origins of this false doctrine (teaching) because that is exactly what “we are sinners saved by grace” is, a false teaching. This is a doctrine, a teaching that has been birthed in the Church by deceiving spirits and demons, which use men and women in leadership positions to spread such lies in the Church. “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.” (First Timothy 4:1) Now before we continue, we need to make something absolutely clear. Most of the men and woman who teach “we are sinners saved by grace” truly believe they are teaching the truth and, more than likely, they are teaching what they have been taught themselves by their leaders. They are not intentionally leading the Church astray with this teaching. They have simply been lied to and misled by deceiving spirits and demons. Why is the seemingly unquestioned belief that Christians are sinners saved by grace a doctrine of demons? Well, get comfortable, grab your favorite beverage and join us as we begin to answer that question.
Jesus states in John 10:10 that “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” What is it that the thief, Satan, wants to steal, kill, and destroy in our lives? The opportunity for the Word of God to grow and mature in us. He knows that if that happens, he will have to deal with people who are looking more and more like Jesus in the realm of the spirit. If the thief cannot stop people from getting born again, he will do everything he can to convince them that, even though they now have Jesus, they can also still live the way they have always lived and be okay with God. He wants you to believe that there are no repercussions for living in sin once you are saved because once you are saved you are always saved. So if a person accepts the teaching that we cannot stop sinning AND God knows this and doesn’t expect us to stop, then there is absolutely no motivation, incentive to attempt to stop. But what does the Bible say? When we read the Bible we see that God commands us to live a life that is different from the one we lived before we were born again, and we see this in First Peter 1:14-16. “(14) As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance: (15) but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, (16) because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’” (First Peter 1:14-16) God wants us to live lives that reflect who we have become and not who we used to be. And the life we are to live now is one of holiness. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 5:48 – “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Jesus says our goal must be to walk perfectly in this life because our Father, who lives in us, is perfect. When Jesus says we are to be perfect, He is talking about agreeing with what the Father expects of us. He is essentially saying, in a different way, what we see in Amos 3:3 – “Can two walk together unless they are agreed?”
The doctrine “we are sinners saved by grace” teaches us that our lives are okay even if we are not living holy. “We are sinners saved by grace” teaches us that it is okay not to be perfect. “We are sinners saved by grace” teaches us that it’s okay if our walk, our way life, does not agree with what the Bible says. And, again, we see the origins of this teaching in James 3:13-15. “(13) Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in meekness of wisdom. (14) But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. (15) This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.” What we have seen so far is any doctrine or teaching that allows us to act in a way that is unholy, that does not pursue perfection or allows us to walk a different path than the one God walks, is demonic in origin.
The question before us is “Why is ‘we are sinners saved by grace’ a doctrine of demons?” And the only way to answer that question is to begin with this question: What happens to us when we are born again?
What happens to us when we are born again?
This is the first question because it seems to us that few Christians truly understand what happened to them when they were born again. They don’t seem to grasp the importance and significance of the change that has taken place inside of them and Barry is a witness to this. He had been a Christian for years when he first heard a teaching about what happened to him when he accepted Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior and was born again. Barry said imagine living with God’s life and nature on the inside of you for years and not knowing how it changed you or what that change meant for your life? He said for years his life was hits and misses when it came to adhering to what the Bible said and having a true understanding of how he should live and what he could accomplish for the kingdom of God. And, based on what I see in the Church, Barry’s experience is where most Christians are today. They don’t know what happened in them when Jesus came into their lives.
And the problem lies, in part, with those of us who preach and teach from the pulpit. It seems like most pastor are teaching his or her congregation that, even though they belong to Jesus, they will still sin. And they said it as an undeniable fact. In other words, “The salvation that Jesus gave to us really didn’t change us because we are still going to sin. It is just who we are.” They will say “You still have a sin nature, but now you have God’s nature too.” Because of this, most in the Church believe salvation is an “added-on” to their sinful existence. We are being taught that accepting Jesus doesn’t really change who we are. He leaves us as He found us, sinners who are now going to heaven. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a damnable heresy and Satan sits back and smiles because he watches the pulpit do his job for him. The Apostle Paul says this in Second Corinthians 11:13-15. “(13) For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. (14) And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. (15) Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.”
Before we go further, we need to discuss the definition of sin from a biblical viewpoint. The complexity of sin is illustrated by a great number of Hebrew words with the more important ones being hattat (a missing); pesa (rebellion/transgression); dwon (perversion); and ra (evil). In the Greek, the most common words are hamartia (missing the mark); parabasis (transgression); adikia (unrighteousness); anomia (lawlessness); poneria (depravity); and epithymia (evil desire.) Scripturally, when we sin, we hurt our relationship with God because we did not adhere to a holy standard that He had established. It is disobedience, unbelief, ignorance, the positive assertion of assumed autonomy, and the wicked deviation from, or a violation of, God’s righteous will and law. Now this is important and I need you to hear me on this point because it is the basis for this entire series. A feature of the biblical definition of sin is that it is not just a lack, a failure, or a deficiency. The ignorance that is sin involves not only the lack of true knowledge but also the substitution of falsehood. Sin is commission as well as omission. Sin has no place in the holy will of God, nor does God allow the existence of another reality alongside and equal to His own creation. And to be clear, sin was not part of God’s original creation because He is incapable of sinning. First John 1:5 states, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” Light cannot produce darkness. Sin is darkness. Adam opened the door for sin, for darkness to enter God’s creation when he ate of the forbidden tree. Romans 5:12 states, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” The phrase “because all sinned” is not a reference to a sinful act that we may commit. It is talking about the sinful nature that we received as Adam’s descendant that separated us from God.
With this understanding, a sinner, in the Old testament, was generally one who despised God’s will as expressed in the Torah, in contrast to the righteous who submitted themselves to the law of God. Psalms 1:1 & 5 says, “(1) Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful…. (5) Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.” However, in the New Testament the term is used with several different meanings. (1) In the Gospels it is most often used to denote someone who does not keep the commandments of the Torah (harlots, tax collectors and those who had fallen short of the strict observances of the Mosiac law.) (2) Occasionally it refers to one who violates the Pharisaic interpretation of the Torah. (3) It refers to Gentiles who live outside of the Jewish law. (4) The New Testament Epistles most often use the term “sinners” to refer to the whole human race in its state of separation from God because of sin and to all human beings as they are without Christ! Also, the term refers to those who lead lawless, immoral lives. My point is this: once a person accepts Christ as their personal Savior, nowhere in Scripture do they continue to be referred to as a sinner because their lifestyle ceases to be dominated by a willful life of sin even though there will be occasions when they will sin and thus repent.
So, in this first lesson, our focus will be on answering two questions that will bring us to the answer to the overall question of “Why is a Christian sinner saved by grace’ a doctrine of demons? The first question is, “How does being born again change us spiritually?” And the second question is, “How can being born again change how we live?” Are you prepared to see who you are and how you can live? We hope so because we are going to be reading a lot of scripture!
How does being born again change us?
#1 – The devil is no longer our father.
John 8:42-44: “Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. (43) Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. (44) You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”
#2 – We are freed from the power, the authority, of darkness.
Colossians 1:12-14: “(12) Giving thanks to the Father Who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. (13) He has delivered us from the power [authority] 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.”
#3 – God becomes our Father.
First John 4:4: “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
First John 5:4: “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.”
#4 – We receive eternal life.
First John 5:11-13: “(11) And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. (12) He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (13) These things have I written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”
#5 – We are made holy just like our Father.
First Peter 1:15-16: “(15) But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, (16) because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’”
#6 – We can think exactly like Jesus.
Philippians 2:5: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”
First Corinthians 2:16: “For ‘who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.”
#7 – We are just like Jesus; except we are not deity.
John 14:12: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”
#8 – Sin has no power over us any longer!
First John 3:8-9: “(8) He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. (9) Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.”
Let’s read verse nine out of the Amplified Bible, which gives us a better understanding of the words “does not sin.”
“No one born (begotten) of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, for God’s nature abides in him [His principle of life, the divine sperm, remains permanently within him\; and he cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten) of God.” (First John 3:9, Amplified)
Titus 2:11-12: “(11) For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, (12) teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.”
How can being born change how we live?
It’s all about our choices. Once we are saved, our default is not a life of sin – sin becomes a choice and we are empowered to make different choices.
#1 – We can choose how we are going to live.
Romans 6:4: “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
Romans 6:12: “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.”
#2 – We can choose to bless those who have wronged us – to do otherwise would be sin for us.
Romans 12:14: “Bless whose who persecute you; bless and curse not.”
#3 – We can choose to love God by living by His standards.
John 14:15, 21, 24: “If you love Me, keep My commandments….(21) He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him….(24) He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.”
#4 – We can choose a “servant’s heart.”
Galatians 5:13-14: “(13) For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (14) For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’”
#5 – We can choose to share a brother or sister’s burden with them until they are restored.
Galatians 6:1-2: “(1) Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. (2) Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
#6 – We can choose to agree with the mind of our new nature.
Ephesians 4:22-32: “(22) That you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man, which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, (23) and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, (24) and that ye put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. (25) Therefore, putting away lying, ‘Let each one speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members one of another. (26) “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, (27) nor give place to the devil. (28) Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. (29) Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. (30) And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (31) Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: (32) And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
Ephesians 5:1-4: “(1) Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. (2) And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. (3) But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; (4) neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.”
#7 – We can choose to forgive people and live in peace with them as to do otherwise is sin.
Colossians 3:12-15: “(12) Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; (13) bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. (14) But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. (15) And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.”
Summary & Close
“I’m a sinner saved by grace!” While this seems to be an accepted and unquestioned belief in the Church, and one in which many find comfort, it is simply not true. If you have accepted Christ as your personal Savior, you ceased to be a sinner! Sin can no longer dominate your life as a Christian! The born again life that we received when we accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior has transformed us into beings who can literally change people’s lives. But we haven’t been taught who we are or that we truly are “God’s hand extended” to a lost and dying world and to brothers and sisters who have lost their way. Jesus lived the born again life. If you truly want to see what the born again life looks like, read the four gospels. In the gospels you will see Jesus “living out” the life that now lives in us. In the gospels you will see how Jesus thinks. In the gospels you will see what Jesus believes. In the gospels you will see what Jesus teaches. In the gospels you will see what is important to Jesus. In the gospels you will see Jesus living a sinless life. In the gospels you will see Jesus use His life to give life to others. In the gospels you will see what your life can be like too. You can think like Jesus thought. You can believe what Jesus believed. You can teach what Jesus taught. What was important to Jesus can be important to you. Jesus’ sinless life can be your sinless life. How Jesus used His life on earth to give life to others, you can use your live to do the same.
Henry Ford is credited with saying, “Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right.” This is a very true statement. If you believe you can do something, you move forward and do it. Likewise, if you believe you cannot do something, you don’t even try because you have already convinced yourself that you are going to fail. Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…..” Now let me propose a question to you. “If you believe that you are a sinner, can you ever see yourself not sinning?” Let me rephrase, “if you believe in your heart that you are a sinner, will it be possible for you to see yourself not sinning?” As long as we see ourselves as sinners, we will continue to sin freely without being guilty because we are just doing what is expected of us. However, when we begin to learn who we are in Christ and what has been made available to us, then we will begin to see and understand the power that resides within us that gives us the ability to make the choice to not sin. Jesus said, “(13) Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. (14) Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)
