You’ve heard that saying or have seen that bumper sticker, haven’t you? For whatever reason, this is the topic of my blog today. Let’s dive in.

I understand the reason for its popularity, but I disagree with the picture it paints of a believer. Let me explain.

And such were some of you [before you believed]. But you were washed [by the atoning sacrifice of Christ], you were sanctified [set apart for God, and made holy], you were justified [declared free of guilt] in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the [Holy] Spirit of our God [the source of the believer’s new life and changed behavior].

1 Corinthians‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬ ‭AMP‬‬

The keyword here is were — past tense. We were sinners. Through Christ we are new creatures.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.‬‬

Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬ ‭NKJV

Again we see there is a change from what we were to what we are. I’m not saying Christians don’t sin, but that we are no longer identified as sinners.

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.‬‬

1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬-‭10‬ ‭NIV

I got excited reading this, seeing for the first time some nuances I hadn’t seen before. This verse led me to the next.

Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.‬‬

Psalms‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT

What is the lie John points to? Could it be that when we continue to walk in sin, we deny the truth that we have been cleansed? As a Christian we are called to walk in fellowship with God, whereas in the Old Testament, believers were exhorted to meditate on the Law. By doing so, we can live fruitful pleasing lives.

So what am I saying? I was a sinner, I was saved by grace, my sins are forgiven and cleansed, and God sees me as pure. If I stumble, if I sin, his forgiveness and cleansing are a confession away because the price was paid once and for all. I have been made and been transformed into a new creation, the old has gone the new has come.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Don’t get tripped up, walk in the light you have been freely given.

Grace & Peace,

Sandy

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