What, then, shall we declare? That we may be perishing in sin that grace may be increasing? May it not be coming to that! We, who died to sin, how shall we still be living in it?
Paul to the Romans 6: 1-2, Concordant New Testament
I've shared on this page the struggles which I've had when attempting to explain my own view of sin to those who continue to follow the teachings of the church. The teaching that it is indeed sin which has separated us from God. The same loving God who has created us in His likeness {Genesis 1:27}. The same loving and merciful God who loved us enough to dispatch His one and only Son that He would be the propitiation for the sin which the church continues to condemn us for {Johns Account 3:16-17}. Does this sound to you anything like the love of God on display? That He would, upon forgiving us our trespasses, continue instead to condemn us for that which He has already forgiven? Likewise, would a loving God choose to allow us to live a life of condemnation? It is for this very reason which I have claimed that the separation theology of the church is a lie. On the one hand, it does nothing to display the one true nature of the Father, which is love {First Epistle of John 4:8}. But, this is what I would expect from a church system not centered on the truth of the Father, but on the teachings of man. At the heart of the issue of sin separating us from God is the belief that Jesus has died for "Some" of the sin which we were once guilty. The author J Preston Eby has written, correctly I believe, that our sin debt has been paid in full by the willing sacrifice of Christ Jesus on the cross {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}. We have now been found justified for that which we were once found guilty {Paul to the Romans 6:7}. In the eyes of those within the church, there continues to be sin which we need to be seeking the Lords forgiveness for each and every day. From lying to cheating to lust, the ghost of sins past still continue to haunt us, so we've been told. For His part, God cannot be in the presence of that sin, so He has separated Himself from that which He has created out of His love for us {Isaiah 59:2}. Such is the dilemma we face when we attempt to "Manage" what we see as sin.
A dear friend commented to me this morning the question, do we sin or do we see Jesus? Unfortunately, far too many believers continue to fall in step with the teachings of the church and see sin instead of Christ. We also have the mistaken belief that we ourselves (If there were an independent self) can do our best to manage the sin we continue to commit. This requires both prayer and the determination to abstain from what we see as sin. Yet, as the apostle Paul so correctly speaks to in his evangel, how shall we who have died to sin still be living in it?{Paul to the Romans 6:1-2}. For Paul has proclaimed the truth which states that Christ Jesus has died to sin "Once for all time" {Paul to the Romans 6:10}. I take this to mean ALL sin past, present and future included. For if there were sin remaining, wouldn't you think that the Father would have provided a way to forgive us of this also? But the truth is that He has. For it is through Christ that we have been found justified from ALL sin. That debt has been paid in full! The issue with sin management is that we continue to see the acts of our flesh as sin. We do not look upon ourselves as redeemed through our life within the Father, but as guilty sinners. Obviously, those within the church have done us zero favors when it comes to proclaiming our life in the Father. For Jesus Himself has spoken to just that in the scriptures {Johns Account 14:20}. Not only has He given Himself that we would be free of the condemnation of sin, He has done away with it entirely, nailing it to the cross {Paul to the Colossians 2:14}. Without sin, there remains nothing to be managed.
Erasing the handwriting of the decrees against us, which was hostile to us, and has taken it away out of the midst, nailing it to the cross
Paul to the Colossians 2: 14, Concordant New Testament
~Scott~
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