Wednesday Devo

A Saint and A Sinner Romans 7:21-24—So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? It was few years ago that I sat with a youth group on a Wednesday night heard one of the youth pray, “God I thank you that I am no longer a sinner, but that I am a saint.” The youth minister said a hearty “that’s right!” Let there be no mistake, sin is no longer the master over those who are in Christ because we are not under the law, but grace (Romans 6:14). Pride is no longer my master, but I still struggle with it. If the righteousness of Christ has been counted for you, then you are a saint—but you are still a sinner. When the righteousness of Christ is imputed to our credit, did that become a moment in which we no longer sin? Obviously, the answer is no. Of course we sin. It is 9:02 on Tuesday morning and I can already specifically name sins that I have committed today. If being a Christian means that you are a saint and only a saint, then I must not be a Christian because sin is still a daily activity for me. But if it is possible to be a Saint and a sinner, and be a Christian, all at the same time, then that is what I am. I also find my self in good company. The apostle Paul evidently had similar struggles. “…when I want to do right…” Paul suffered from being a saint and a sinner just like we do. Paul says in verse 18 that he desires to do what is right, but lacks the ability to carry it out. He wants to do right, but does wrong and he explains why in verse 20. He says, “Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” Paul has just confessed that he wants to do right (v18), but he does wrong (v19), and that is because of the sin within him (v20). Paul was a Sinner. It’s that simple. The greatest letter ever written was written by a sinner. And if this was the end of the letter we might despair, but it not the end. The very next chapter is full of hope for all of us sinners who are just like Paul. Chapter 8 starts with an incredible truth that we sinners can cling to if we know Christ. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Paul wrote this because Paul knew this. We are sinners and yet we are saints. In R.C. Sproul’s book, “Grace Unknown” he writes, “Luther captured the idea of forensic justification with his famous Latin phrase, simul iustus et peccator, ‘At the same time (simultaneously), just and sinner.’ Luther did not intend to affirm a contradiction. The two assertions, just and sinner, refer to the same person at the same time, but not in the same relationship. The person considered in himself remains a sinner, yet at the same time, by virtue of the imputation of Christ’s righteousness, the person is considered just in the sight of God.” We are all sinners regardless of our standing with Christ. And we are also saints if we have been freely justified by what Christ did on the cross in our stead. Can a man be a sinner and not a saint? Yes. Can a man be a saint and not a sinner? No. Not as long as we are human. The grace of God is our only hope for being counted righteous. A saint and a sinner is what I am.