I grew up in the Presbyterian Church. I can recall as a young boy being scared that if I didn’t pray each night for the forgiveness of my sins, I might go to hell. What if I failed to confess all my sins? What if I had sinned and didn’t know it? What if I sinned and died in a car accident? I lived in constant fear of going to hell if I failed to constantly ask God for forgiveness of my sins – known or unknown.
I lived under this fear well into my adult life. It wasn’t until I was in a ministerial studies class taught by Pastor Ed Eby at Moscow Church of the Nazarene that my understanding of sin changed. I may have heard how the Nazarene denomination differs from the Presbyterian definition of sin, but it was in this class that I remember understanding the Nazarene definition of sin for the first time.
According to the Nazarene Manual, we believe in two types of sin – original and actual. Original sin comes from the disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve. Original sin is passed down to all their offspring (all of humanity) and is humanity’s inclination to evil. As Nazarenes, we define actual or personal sin as a voluntary violation of a known law of God by a morally responsible person. In other words, we must know it’s a sin before it’s a sin and we make the choice to sin. We can gain knowledge of what constitutes a sin by being taught, inference (if I’m told it’s a sin to hit Sally, I can infer that it’s a sin to hit Susie or Jimmy) or if they are contrary to the Spirit of Christ. The idea of not needing to worry about unknown sins was life-changing to me.
Within the last month, I’ve encountered additional life-altering information about sin. I’ve been reading the book, Victory over the Darkness by Neil T Anderson, in preparation for a project that Pastor Wes and I are working on. Anderson reminds his readers that when we accept Christ as our Savior, we are filled with the Holy Spirit and described as “saints” in scripture (Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:2; 2 Cor 1:1, Phil 1:1).
Anderson states, “We are saints who sin, but we have all the resources in Christ we need not to sin.” This is the statement that changed the way I understand sin. For the longest time, I have identified myself as a sinner, saved by God’s grace rather than a saint who can choose not to sin. I’ve focused on the sin rather than focusing on who I am in Christ.
My understanding of sin has grown over my lifetime. I no longer fear sinning without my knowledge. Through the Holy Spirit who lives within me, I have the choice to sin or not to sin. Acknowledging my identity as a saint rather than a sinner and knowing that I have the choice to refrain from sinning has given me a newfound freedom from sin.
Prayer – Heavenly Father, help us all acknowledge that we are saints that sin, rather than sinners who have no choice but to sin. Give us strength Lord to choose freedom from sin. Amen
Anderson, N. T. (2000). Victory over the Darkness (V. Woodard, Ed.; Second Edition, p. 50). Regal.
Blessings,
Pastor Vic