The issue of the forgiveness of all sins has been fully dealt with once and for all by Christ at the cross. Does this mean we should use our freedom as an opportunity to seek after sin? Of course not! We’ve been baptized into Christ Jesus and into His death (not to be confused with water baptism). One who has died has been set free from sin and we are no longer spiritual slaves to it. We were also raised with Him in order that we can walk in newness of life - the life of God that has been gifted to us. God’s grace now empowers us to live in a way that reflects the righteousness of God. Living in the reality of this will become easier as you begin to understand the identity of who God has already made you to be. As a forgiven, holy, perfected, and sanctified child of the King, we should now consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
607. Forgiveness Complete! Now Empowered to Walk in Newness of Life
The issue of the forgiveness of all sins has been fully dealt with once and for all by Christ at the cross. Does this mean we should use our freedom as an opportunity to seek after sin? Of course not! We’ve been baptized into Christ Jesus and into His death (not to be confused with water baptism). One who has died has been set free from sin and we are no longer spiritual slaves to it. We were also raised with Him in order that we can walk in newness of life - the life of God that has been gifted to us. God’s grace now empowers us to live in a way that reflects the righteousness of God. Living in the reality of this will become easier as you begin to understand the identity of who God has already made you to be. As a forgiven, holy, perfected, and sanctified child of the King, we should now consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
588. Fake News: Believers Still Have a Sinful Nature
Many Christians have been taught they are living with two natures; one that is holy and righteous, and another that is sinful. At the very least, this is misleading and at the most it’s just plain erroneous. One who has come to belief in Christ, born in the newness of life and given a new heart, cannot also have a nature of evil dwelling within the spirit of the inner man. Confusion occurs when we define the flesh as a sinful nature, and some of this stems from a popular Bible translation using the phrase "sinful nature," although it has been revised in many instances since 2011. Believers are not defined as sinners with a nature to match - we are now described as partakers of the divine nature.