"I am a Sinner Saved by Grace." No You are NOT!

I cringe when I hear people exclaim, "Well, I'm just a sinner saved by grace." I can never let it go anymore. I am compelled to speak up. That statement is devilishly WRONG. And by devilishly I mean it has a look, or hint of truth but the application is deadly.  That statement is declaring your B.C. (Before Christ) identity not your NOW status before Christ. You WERE a sinner but by the grace of God, the finished work of Christ on the cross, and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, you are NOW a saint! 

Your identity, when you say, "I am..." is not what the world says, or what you feel, it's who God says you are. Whenever the Apostle Paul addressed his audience, he repeatedly said "To the saints in Corinth... To the saints in Ephesus...To the saints that are in Rome." He never said to the sinning servants! Or to the sinners saved by grace. He addressed them by who they had become and were, not by their past identity before Christ. You were a sinner BUT NOW you have been justified, declared righteous, and your present position and identity in Christ now is as a saint living by faith! His grace empowers you to live as a saint through faith.

Read what Paul had to say about this in his letter to the saints in Rome. 

Romans 6:6-8,11 knowing this, that our old self WAS crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died IS freed from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,...11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus!

But wait!  Doesn't Paul call himself chief of sinners in 1 Timothy 1:15?   "It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all."

If you just quote that one verse you're aborting it from the womb it came from.  That verse is in the middle of a paragraph, a complete thought, Paul is making.  More false doctrines and cults have been formed when people take a word or phrase out of context.  If you back up to verse 12, Paul is sharing his salvation testimony all the way through verse 16.  So let's read about Paul's testimony in context.  


1 Timothy 1:12-16  I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service,  13  even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief;  14  and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.  15  It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.  16  Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

When he says he is the "foremost" of sinners he is referring to vs 13 ...."I was formerly a blasphemer, persecutor and violent aggressor". His point was that he was such a bad sinner before he met Jesus, that if Jesus can save him, He can save anybody! He goes on to complete that thought in verse 16, he is "an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life." Before Christ, he was a murderer, a violent aggressor who forced Christ-followers to blaspheme Christ (Acts 26:11). For those actions, Paul refers to himself as chief of sinners (KJV). He left all that behind when Jesus saved him. He didn't forget it, or excuse it, but his identity was not grounded in his past. Now we should not forget how great a salvation we all experienced--how sinful and wretched we were, and only by the grace of God do we live.  It is also true we still fall into temptations and sin because we fail to submit to God (James 4:7), crucify the flesh (Galatians 5:24), resist the devil (James 4:7), and flee from evil desires (2 Tim 2:22), but we should no longer live in that identity or mindset even if our actions don't line up with God's word.  

Instead of declaring that you are a sinner, declare who and what God says you are.  Here are just a few to get you started:

• You are God's child (Eph 1:3-8)
• You are a friend of Christ (John 15:15)
• You are a member of Christ's church (1 Cor 12:27)
• You are a citizen of Heaven (Phil 3:20)
• You are God's workmanship (Eph 2:10)
• You are a new creation (2 Cor 5:17)
• You are a minister of God (2 Cor 5:18-21)
• You are justified and righteous (Rom 5:1)
• You are secure in His hand (John 10:28)
• You are free from condemnation (Rom 8:1)

You were sinner saved by grace BUT NOW you are a saint living by faith! So think and live up to your new identity in Christ NOW and not down in your past and old identity as a sinner.