The Dead Sinners Society

Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.  For he who has died has been freed from sin.  Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more.  Death no longer has dominion over Him.  For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.  Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6: 6 - 11 NKJV

I've often thought of writing a book about how I overcame my addiction to pornography.  Of course, I know that there are dozens of self help books out there each claiming that they can help you overcome and become part of the dead sinners society.  The trouble is, many of them are complete and utter garbage, relying on broken theology to somehow cure one of the evils of the skin game.  Trust me, I've been there and lived the nightmare many times over.  I've lost count of just how many books, seminars and videos I've gone through in that vain hope that they would free me.  The trouble was, with each new miracle cure I failed to deal with the heart of my addiction issue.  No, this isn't some cure all I'm talking about.  It's also probably not something one would assume to be a cure for any type of addiction.  For me, it all began with one simple question.  Is this who I really am?  That's right, entry into the dead sinners society requires one to question who it is they truly are.  Was I really this guy who hung out in strip clubs, viewing women as more of objects of gratification than who they truly were?  Like I said, most self help books on this subject are based on a broken theology pushed by the institutional church for years.  I was a sinner, and as a sinner I needed to strive to be more like Christ and pray that God would forgive me for my evil deeds.  Each day was but a walk through the valley of sin, praying that my heavenly Father would finally approve of me.  How could He?  I was a sinner, locked in my own life of sin which God could never be remotely close to.  That's right, God is holy so He needed to keep His distance from me.  Can anyone see the issue with this crap that is still preached from many a pulpit even today?  If we are to believe this line of malarkey, then the dead sinners society has never existed.  Indeed, the apostle Paul may be the founding father of this club, as he realized the truth of who he truly was way back in the day.  I'm almost certain that Paul must have asked himself the very same question I did...Is this who I really am?  Remember, Paul...was the former Saul who breathed threats against the early followers of Jesus {Acts 9:1}.  If anyone was in need of help it was him.  Well, Paul did find help, in the man Christ Jesus whom he had fought so hard against.  It was Jesus who showed Paul that his past behaviors had never been a indication of who he really was in Christ.  It was Christ who showed me that my sins have never defined me.

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galations 2: 20 NKJV

Like I said, this line of thinking goes against most of what the church has told us when it comes to our addictions.  Be it drugs, liquor or porn, when it comes to addictions it is assumed that we are the issue that needs to be dealt with.  We are the sinners, the ones who have fallen away from God.  For His part, God is simply there to deal out His justice on those who deny Him.  Now, if you're a common church member, then you might just fall for this line of thinking.  If you do, it will mess you up as it did to me.  Yeah, I saw God not as my redeemer, but as someone who was simply there to punish my sins.  I lost count of how many sundays I'd walk into church with my head held low like one of the accused on a perp walk.  That's what I felt I was worth.  Then, one night in the middle of one of my strip club tours I was stopped in my tracks.  Placed on my heart was THE question.  Lord, is this who I really am?  Was this my fate upon Jesus giving Himself for me?  Were my sins so great that even Christ Jesus refused to cleanse them?  NO!  It turns out that the man who wandered the strip clubs of Portland...was dead.  That's right, he died long ago.  I had been living a lie.  It took me a bit of time to come to that realization, but eventually I came to see that my behaviors did not define me.  I was not the man I had been pretending I was.  Neither are you.  Wherever your life has taken you, your behaviors have never defined who you are in Gods eyes.  When He looks upon you, He sees His beloved child, not a sinner.  Therefore, you are already a member of the dead sinners society.  That's right, those sins which held us back for so long are no more.  It is Christ Jesus who became sin on our behalf {2 Corinthians 5:21}.  Of course, you'll never see this truth in any self help novel.  Yeah, I should write a book.

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5: 21 NKJV

~Scott~