Saint or Sinner?

Only a sinner, saved by grace!
Only a sinner, saved by grace!
This is my story, to God be the glory—
I’m only a sinner, saved by grace!
(Only a sinner, saved by grace: James M. Gray)

or are you…..?

If you have trusted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour you are so much more than that. Yes, you were a sinner, but when grace came you became a saint (See Romans 1:7).

Your old sinful nature is now dead and in its place you have been given a new life in Christ. You are free from sin, you no longer have a sin nature. You are now (not becoming) – you really are right now a saint with the tendency toward good and holiness.

¹ What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? ² Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? ³ Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
⁵ For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, ⁶ knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. ⁷ For he who has died has been freed from sin. ⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, ⁹ knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. ¹⁰ For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. ¹¹ Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:1-11, New King James Version)

Here are some more wonderful things that the Bible says about you now that you are a saint.

• A new creation (not just a forgiven and cleaned up old creation). See II Corinthians 5:17
• You are accepted (just as you are, right now) in Christ. See Ephesians 1:6
• You are seated in heavenly places. See Ephesians 2:6
• You are reconciled to God, and God does not count your sins against you. See II Corinthians 5:18-19
• You are (right now) the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. See II Corinthians 5:21
• You are one spirit with Him. See I Corinthians 6:17
• You have the mind of Christ. See I Corinthians 2:16

Image by mamnaimie at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mamnaimie/