This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Romans 3:22-24 NIVUK
This is quite the place to start our study into what defines a Christian. I'm sure it isn't where you would choose to start it. But it is the truth - an uncomfortable truth, but the truth just the same.
Every Christian is a sinner.
Not just before they became a Christian. Not just before they were saved. But right here, right now.
And not just in the generic sense. Not just in the sense of 'I'm Scottish' or 'I like cheese'.
No, this is specific. Painfully specific. Christians are sinners. Right here. Right now.
But what do we mean by 'sin'?
The word 'sin' has itself been polluted throughout the years. These days it's almost come to mean something that is pitiable or unfortunate.
But when the Bible speaks of sin, it speaks of it in two ways.
Firstly, the sense of something morally wrong - something that is bad:
As it is written: ‘There is no-one righteous, not even one; there is no-one who understands; there is no-one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no-one who does good, not even one.’ ‘Their throats are open graves; their tongues practise deceit.’ ‘The poison of vipers is on their lips.’ ‘Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.’ ‘Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.’ ‘There is no fear of God before their eyes.’
Romans 3:10-18 NIVUK
The Bible is painfully and surgically accurate about the terrible implications of actions that are morally repugnant and wrong:
Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NIVUK
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19-21 NIVUK
Outside are the dogs, those who practise magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practises falsehood.
Revelation 22:15 NIVUK
If you are not a Christian today, allow me to make an astonishing confession. Among the Christian community are people who do some of these things. There are people who claim to be following Christ, but whose lives are headed in completely the opposite direction.
That should sadden us, but not surprise us. After all, we live in a culture where men and women can claim to be anything they choose. In every walk of life, there are always people who claim to be one thing, but do another. Hypocrisy itself is a sin, but it's a sin that is universal - Christians might commit it, but we aren't the only people who do it.
That, of course, doesn't make it right. I'm not attempting to justify it in any way. It is wrong. It has always been wrong. It will always be wrong. There should be no place for it anywhere, and especially not among Christians.
But there is another meaning to sin. It's something I need to mention, even at the risk of seeming like I'm cheapening it. Sin is not just about being deliberately bad. It's also about not being good enough; not quite measuring up.
And the experience of this is pretty much universal. We all feel it at some point in time. Whole songs have been written about it.
And the Bible writes about it in lurid, colourful detail:
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
Isaiah 64:6 NIVUK
In other words, because of sin, even our very best is far from good enough. God's standard is perfection. We are not perfect. We can never be perfect.
I'm sure all of us at some point in time have come across human beings who are perfectionists: whose standards are set at an insanely high level and do not tolerate anything less. Working with that kind of person can be supremely challenging, and even more so when we don't perceive their intentions for us.
God is different. He doesn't set impossible standards to bully and belittle us, as many perfectionists do. He standards are perfection because this is what's best for us. And although it does sound demanding and hard, a loving God can't allow us to settle for a life that isn't the best for us.
We know from the Word of God that, unlike so many people who take a perverse pleasure in driving us hard, everything God does is for our good (Romans 8:28). So there's no way He could leave us with an impossible standard we could never reach.
And He hasn't. He has provided a solution:
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:6-8 NIVUK
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23 NIVUK
You see, the essence of the Gospel is that human beings are both bad and not good enough. Nothing we ever do is perfect. But God, knowing our failings and failures, sent Jesus Christ to earth to live a life like ours and die the death of a sinner on the cross on our behalf. He then rose from dead so that one day we will rise with Him to heaven.
So at the very heart of the Gospel is the tremendous, equalising truth that no human being is ever perfect and that no human being can ever be good enough to earn their salvation.
I say this is a tremendous truth because this is good news. 'How?' you might ask. 'That sounds like bad news to me.'
Think about it like this. If you have a health situation that's bothering you, the most important thing for you is to receive a correct diagnosis so that you can receive the right treatment and get well.
My wife had this. She had a distressing condition where her throat would close over and prevent her from swallowing - even water. Her doctor had no idea what it was and none of the medicines he was prescribing were working.
And then she hit on an idea. She measured her own symptoms and kept a food diary. Within a few, very difficult, weeks, she tracked it down. She had a dairy intolerance. She cut dairy produce from her diet and now she is fine.
Human beings have a problem. We all know it. We are not perfect. We make mistakes. And sometimes we are deliberately bad; consciously evil. This problem is what the Bible calls 'sin'
What we need is an answer to the sin problem.
Other religions teach that you should try harder, do better, and somehow balance out the bad with good. That sounds fine. But how much good is good enough? Could it be possible that someone could do their utmost day after day and then reach eternity, only to find out that their utmost is not good enough?
God has the answer to that crippling uncertainty. It isn't enough. It can never be enough.
And that is why He sent Jesus to take our punishment, live our life, die our death and rise from the dead as our forerunner into eternal life.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
John 3:16-17 NIVUK
This cure is why Christians ought to be the least boastful and most humble people on earth:
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.’
1 Corinthians 1:30-31 NIVUK
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no-one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9 NIVUK
If you every see a religious person who is pretentious, smug, self-satisfied and self-righteous, there is one thing you can be sure of: they are not a real Christian. Not by a long way.
You see, every Christian is filled simultaneously with sadness and joy: sadness at their own sinful failings, and deep, overwhelming joy at how God has forgiven these by sending His Son Jesus to pay the penalty for their failings.
Christians ought to be among the most humble people on this earth.
Why?
Because at the heart of our faith is the reality that there is only one standard in life that really counts, and every one of us without exception has failed it. But God, in His mercy and grace, has saved us undeserving sinners from a lost eternity.
And that is who we are.
Questions
1) Do you believe you are a sinner? Why?
2) 'Christians ought to be among the most humble people on this earth.' Is this your experience?
3) How will this message help you to determine if someone is a real Christian or not?
Yes I’m a sinner, because Jesus died for me, if I confess that sin He is faithful and will forgive. It’s a daily act. In my experience many fall short of Gods standards. I can discern very quickly if someone is genuine