Born Again: Another Look

Yet I Sin

A common Christian saying is that “A Christian is just a sinner who fell down but got back up again.” While this is indeed true, there is implied in this statement a certain feeling that we as Christians will always fall down every now and then. It conveys the idea that we should not worry so much about whether we fall down or not, but instead we should focus on just getting back up once we fall down.

Even though we believe in the power of God, for some of us perfection still feels to be something we can never attain to. It is an understandable feeling; after all, sin is so prevalent around us. It is nearly impossible to go about life without encountering sin and temptation. Even within the church, we sadly observe corruption, backsliding, and hypocrisy. We see members fighting amongst one another and confusion over differing opinions on what is right or wrong. Even some of our pastors fail to practice what they preach, or neglect to preach that which should be practiced.

In a world like this, where people without a knowledge of God are suffering and longing for something better, we may be quick to say that we should focus on spreading the gospel message to the world instead of trying to make ourselves perfect. We may think that perfection is a distraction away from what God wants us to do. After all of the first-hand struggles we have had with sin, we might believe that complete and total victory is impossible while we still have sinful flesh.

When we say that perfection is impossible, what are we really saying? Let's look back to the definition we made earlier of perfection. Perfection is for the old man to be dead continually, and for the new man to be alive and controlled by Christ at all times. If this is the case, what does it imply when we say that it is impossible to stop sinning? It implies either one of two things; one— that even though Christ is in control at all times we may still sin, or two— it is impossible to keep the old man dead continually. It should be easy to see that the first proposition is definitely false, as Christ will not lead us into sin. If we are truly controlled by Christ, if our mind and will is controlled by Him, then He will not lead us into any sin. He will deliver us from all temptation (1 Cor. 10:13.) If a man is controlled by Christ, although the greatest of sinners, he need not feel in the least that he must continue to sin. Whoever puts their trust in Christ, “although a fool, shall not go astray.” Isa. 25:8. So if we feel that it is impossible, even as a Christian, to gain the victory over all sins, what we are saying is that it is impossible to keep the old man dead continually. We must acknowledge that if Christ is truly at the wheel, He will always condemn sin in our flesh. However we may still feel that it is impossible, because of our sinful nature, to refrain from taking control at some point away from Christ. After all, God will not forcefully take control. We must submit the control to Him.

It is true that because of our tendency to be selfish, it can be extremely hard for us to totally submit ourselves to God. To submit ourselves for every remaining second of our lives can seem to be a daunting task. In this world of sin, does God realistically expect us to fully submit ourselves to Him at every single moment? Does God expect us to keep the old man dead continually? The answer to this question is a resounding yes. Although we ourselves are powerless against the law of sin and death, and although we cannot defeat sin in our own strength, we have no such claim against our ability to submit to God. While God does not expect us to defeat sin ourselves, He certainly expects us to submit ourselves to Christ at every single moment so that Christ can defeat sin in us. This is why we are born again. This is the backbone of the second birth. The born-again Christian is to live by faith in God. Faith that not only trusts God to save us in the last day, but also trusts God to save us in our present battle against sin. The very reason that the old man is put to death is to allow Christ to free us from our present enslavement to sin. “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.” Romans 6:6. We are born carnal, sold to sin as a slave, but the very purpose of being born again is to obtain freedom from this slaveship. “For he who has died has been freed from sin.” Romans 6:7.

Yes, it is true that even after we are born again we still have sinful flesh, and we still have no power ourselves over the law of sin and death. Our flesh still lusts to do evil over good. However, there is One who can have ultimate and uncompromising victory, and when we are born again this One comes to live in us. Because we are in Christ, and He is living in us, we are to consider ourselves “dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” If you are really dead to sin then you must not “let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.” Romans 6:11-12.

We must stop focusing on our inability to conquer sin, and start putting our faith in Christ. There is no excuse for any sin whatsoever, because Christ frees us from the dominion of sin when we are in Christ and He is in us. We may feel that surely God does not require us to stop sinning entirely, even down to the very thoughts and desires. But do not be deceived, God declares that we must “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” Romans 13:14. We are to make no provision at all for even the most minute and seemingly insignificant sin that may work its way into our lives. We are to “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” 2 Cor. 7:1.

When Christ walked here on earth, He totally submitted himself to God. He was the ultimate example of humility, and “he who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” 1 John 2:6. We are to “Let this mind be in” us “which was also in Christ Jesus, who... humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death on the cross.” Phil. 2:5-8.

As long as we are in the flesh, we will continue to sin, but if we allow God to have full and complete control we can deny the flesh at every single moment through the Spirit. “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.” Gal. 2:16. Just because we cannot, in our own strength, put to death the sinful deeds of the flesh, it does not mean that God does not require for it to be done. God knows that “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matt. 26:41. This is why He sends His Spirit to come live in us, that the deeds of sin may be fully blotted out by Him right here in this life. “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.” Romans 8:13.

We cannot afford to be deceived by Satan into thinking that after we are born again we still have an excuse for sinful behavior. God expects us to let Him cleanse us from all filthiness. After accepting Christ into our lives, we are to live every second of our remaining time not in the flesh but by the Spirit. “Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in his flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.” 1 Peter. 4:1-2. Your life is no longer yours, “for you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Col. 3:3. Notice Paul does not say that our life is shadowed by Christ, as if parts of us still slip through the cracks. Our life is to be completely hidden in Christ. We must be willing to completely hand control over to Christ. We cannot afford to grab the wheel every now and then. If you find your hand reaching for control, it is better to “cut it off and cast if from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.” Matt. 5:30.

It is especially important now, in the times that we are living in, that we stop making excuses for sin and starting claiming the promises of God. During the last days the Bible especially makes it clear that those who are children of God are those who have given Christ complete control. Those who stand for God will obey the commands of God through faith in Him. “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14:12. Satan has succeeded in convincing many to believe that as long as we have faith in God it does not matter whether we keep the commandments fully or not. This is a lie being pervaded by the legions of hell aimed to entice believers away from the all powerful embrace of Christ. Faith in God and obedience to His commandments are inseparably connected. You cannot have the same faith Christ had and not keep His commandments, and you cannot keep all of His commandments if you do not have the faith of Jesus.

Let us briefly consider the type of faith that Jesus had. Did Christ only have faith that He would be raised to everlasting life after He had died? While this was certainly a part of Christ's faith, that is not the totality of it. Jesus also had faith that God would keep Him from sinning in His present life. Christ knew that if He had committed any sin before His death, the plan of salvation would be ruined. So therefore, a great part of Christ's faith was to trust in God to keep Him from sinning. So it will be for “those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Those in the last days who have the faith of Jesus will not only trust in God to save them from judgment, but just like Christ they will trust in God to save them from sinning in their present lives. Too many Christians today only have faith that God will save them from hell and will give them everlasting life. There needs to be more believers who have the faith of Jesus; people who also trust God to keep them from sinning completely in their present lives. Just as Christ knew that He must wholly depend on God for living a righteous life and resurrection from the dead, so those saints described in Revelation will know they need to depend wholly on God to live righteously and to be raised to life in the final day. I do not mean to imply that the life of a Christian must be exactly perfect in the same way that Christ's life was exactly perfect, for that is impossible as we have all already sinned. Neither am I saying that in order to be saved we must keep the law in full for every second of our lives. The point is that we must have the faith of Jesus; we must have faith that not only affects the life hereafter but also the life we live right now. We must trust in God to deliver us completely from temptation just as Christ depended on God for complete victory. It is only when our faith is identical to Christ's complete and total trust in God that we will be able to obey the Word of God unwaveringly. Faith and obedience go hand in hand. We cannot estrange one from the other; they are joined at the hips.

Christ declared that we must be born again. We must accept the truth of the second birth. God promises to give us a new life if we are willing to completely surrender ourselves to Him. We cannot defeat the law of sin and death in us, but we can have faith in God that He will do it. Our victory is all through the power of Christ. We have nothing to boast about of our own. Christ is our justification, Christ is our sanctification, and Christ is our glorification. The new man is the gift of Christ, and Christian perfection is possible because of Christ. Complete and total victory over sin is the gift God has given to all those who fall down into the watery grave and rise up born again. The second birth is so much more than a change in attitude and lifestyle. We must give control of the wheel over to Christ, and let Him remove all sinful behavior and traits of character from our lives. If we refuse to believe that we can conquer all sin, we are effectively grabbing control from Christ. We are saying, “Thank you Christ for bringing me this far, however I do not think that I need to go any further until your second coming, so we can just stay right here.” This is not the way God intends for His believers to act! Although it may seem like an unscalable mountain, we can do it through Christ. “Assuredly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matt 17:20. Trust in God and believe in His promises. Christian perfection is possible, but only to those who believe. We can keep the old man down at all times, and completely submit our lives to Christ at every moment. Through the principle of the second birth, God has shown us how we can have the complete victory over sin.