For the believer, I think both concepts, sinner and saint, stand in tension. I would answer which we are based on the context of the question. However, I ascribe to the adage that prior to conversion Satan spends his time convincing us we are saints (i.e., we are ok and have no need for God's plan of salvation) and after conversion he spends his time convincing us we are sinners (i.e., not worthy of God's plan of salvation).
About a year ago I was in church and the speaker asked how many of us were righteous. Of the 400+ in attendance, I was one of only two people that raised their hand.
Overall, the Scriptural bent is to proclaim that we are saints redeemed from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light. The church at large tends toward the opposite. If I had to pick a title based on Scripture, Saint is it. Sinner is the name given to my old, dead nature. That guy is dead and I'm focusing on putting him off each day. The effective way to do that is to focus on the truth of my redeemed nature.
Technorati Tags: sanctification, soteriology
2 comments:
Amen and Amen!
I thought you'd like that.
:-)
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