“For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 (ESV)
We must never tell someone they must feel like a sinner to know and understand that they sin. We can’t make someone experience sin or behave like a sinner. Sin is a fact, no matter how we feel or act the right way. A Christian is concerned about sin, while a lost person is not; they are not bothered by sin. We can all stop doing and acting out sinful behaviors if we try hard enough. We can all behave a certain way to make us feel better about ourselves. But sin is not only behavior; sin is deeper in all of us. Sin affects our being. We can’t tell someone to be saved; they need to be saved if they can try to save themselves. People must know and see themselves in sin. Their being is in sin. Sin is hereditary, meaning we have inherited sin from someone. That someone is Adam when he and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden (see Genesis 3). Because of their disobedience, sin came into the world and affected humanity. Sin runs through all of us like blood in our veins. We all came into this world in sin. Therefore, we are sinners by nature.
For sins to be more fully understood, we must look at the cross of Christ. The cross of Jesus Christ gives us more knowledge and understanding about sin. Because of our sins, Jesus Christ came to die on the cross. Sin had to be removed from us, from our being. We needed a new nature, a new being, because we were dead in sin; our spirit was dead because of sin, and we alone can do nothing about it. Don’t let anyone tell you they have overcome their problems, their behaviors, their struggles in their mind. Don’t let anyone tell you they have figured out how to live a more fulfilling life and that sin does not matter. Sin is a fact that must be dealt with, and sin is only removed by the blood and the cross of Jesus Christ. Sin is a fact as much as the cross is a fact. The cross of Christ was real and is still real today. Sin can’t be changed by doing something new or different; sin has to be killed in you to be put to death, and it was put to death at the cross of Jesus Christ. Sin is in your being, and you and I need a new being. As Oswald Chambers said, “Sin is not wrongdoing; it is wrong being.” He also said, “Sin is mutiny against God’s rule in us.” Sin is anarchy and rebellion against God. Our sin is against God and God alone. Our sin has stained the glory of God, and only by the blood of Christ and the cross can the stains be removed. The only way I can change my being of sin is to embrace the cross of Christ. His life for my life of sin. His life in exchange for my life of sin.
[As adapted from The Bondage Breaker and Stomping Out The Darkness by Dr. Neil Anderson and Dr. Dave Park.]