I am a sinner. This statement is true.
But what does it mean? “Sin” and “Sinner” seem to be theological terms, terms that some religious people use. To some, it is a term to describe those “other people out there”.
But I am one. And I know what it means.
Now I’ve heard all sorts of things over the years. One is “sin” is an archery term that means “to miss the mark.” I think that is too light of a definition. I’m not an arrow missing the bullseye. I do miss it, but it is far, far deeper than a poor shot with a bow.
What sin is in essence is this – my heart by its very own nature declares I am my own god. I will have no other rule over me. I am an autonomous creature, captain of my own soul. If there is a god, I usurp his role – I will have that job. That is what “sin” is – an offense to the true God.
It is, as Jesus told us in a parable in Luke 19, the cry of our natural hearts:
But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’
Luke 19:14 ESV
It is the lie of the Garden. You need not settle to be a mere image bearer. You can be AS God. An equal. As I learned it in the KJV, Satan tempted Eve with this:
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Gen 3:15 KJV
This word “sin” encompasses this desire for creatures to be as their Creator. It is ridiculous on the surface, but yet it is the natural desire of every human heart.
The heart of sin makes statements like “I don’t care for whatever order the Creator has for his creation, I will decide everything as my own god. Nobody can tell me who/what I am or how I am to think and behave.” We ALL are born with this as our attitude.
Yet there are two kinds of sinners: a) repentant and forgiven, or b) non-repentant and condemned already. As we are all born with this “I am my own god” in our hearts, we are all born condemned already. As the apostle Paul put it – we are by nature children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3). Apart from repentance, all a person can do is sin, no matter how “good” their deeds, because they are done from a heart that says they are their own god with no true faith in the true God. As Paul stated it, whatsoever is not of faith is sin (Romans 14:23).
But there are those who come to see their sin as just that – sin. An offense to God. They come to see that there is a true God and we are not Him. They come to see the rebellion against their Creator in their hearts, and they run to him for mercy and grace, which he so freely grants. They for the remainder of their natural lives on this earth will still sin, will still “miss the mark” of God’s perfect righteousness, but are no longer absolute slaves to it where they can do nothing but sin. They fall, but they repent and get back up in faith. And God is pleased to be their God and will one day glorify his people and remove this propensity in their hearts to go their own way.
Yes, I am still a sinner. But I am a forgiven one by faith in Jesus Christ alone to pay the just penalty for my sins – all of them – past, present, and future. Then he grants me his perfect righteousness. And one day he will glorify me such that the desire to sin in my heart is fully and finally removed. That will be true freedom. If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I imagine the day where every thought, every motive, every desire of my heart will be fully righteous and thus I’m free to fulfill every one of my heart’s desires to the uttermost. One day.
So the question is not are you a sinner, but what kind of sinner are you? In this life it is not perfection, but direction. What path are you on?