What is a Sinner, really?

Applying all of our deep thoughts and understandings of
1Peter 3:15 and Ephesians 1 thru 3

One of my favorite lessons is Lecrae's 2016 "We engage culture for Jesus" where Lecrae states followers of Jesus are to live in the world, showing Jesus to the world, and that today's culture isn't a pollution of God's standard needing to be avoided but, we are to capture today's culture and use it to communicate God.

It's sometimes hard to wrap your mind around concepts like this because, as followers of Christ, we focus so much on separating ourselves from today's world and culture, to obey God's commands. And yet, we don't realize that we are trying to separate what God, through Jesus, joined together and, we try to follow the very commandments that do not produce righteousness (meeting God's standards) instead of following the command that Jesus gave us, "love others (one another) as I have loved you," (John 13:34).

In his lesson, Lecrae speaks about what makes a person a sinner by recounting a story about the media asking a popular Christian singer her beliefs on homosexuality and how that singer missed an opportunity to answer the question correctly with a Biblical view. Honestly, when asked questions by the media out of the blue, its very difficult to provide a good, clear and concise answer with the right quotable statement, in a second's time especially with a microphone, camera or recording device thrust in front of you. Therefor, I will not condemn this unnamed Christian singer for her answer because I've been in her shoes.

However, when you formulate your opinion on a topic, in advance, and that opinion is based on facts, and can be stated in a clear and concise sentence ahead of time, then it doesn't matter who approaches you with a potentially socially-charged question, you can answer the question with confidence and, be ready to answer any follow-up questions.

With that in mind and with this Scripture in mind: 1 Peter 3:15 (ESV) 

...but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect...

We should formulate our opinion now on "what makes a sinner a sinner, really?".

Lecrae's answer was, "being gay doesn't make you a sinner; being separated from God makes you a sinner," and added that the state of separation was caused by the fall of mankind. That's a powerful concept and, quite biblically accurate. Having just spent time in Ephesians 1 through 3 listening to Paul's deep theological comments on the plan of God to reconcile mankind to Himself, I will now reason my answer to be ready to give that quotable response that is both based in fact, said accurately with respect and in gentleness. Why? To engage people in conversation that causes them to think about God. The real God. The God that loves them completely and without condition. With the ultimate goal of encouraging someone to know God's true heart towards them so they too can choose to be part of His family.

First, it's always good to start at the beginning and know what the word sin means. A sin (syn) was a missed shot. A shot that missed the mark. If a person had a quiver of arrows - say seven - and six out of seven hit the bullseye of the target - dead center, each arrow splitting the one before it - and the seventh arrow missed the bullseye and hit just outside of that circle, that missed shot is called a sin. It hit the target but, did not find the dead-center bullseye to be a perfect shot. It missed the mark. So a sin is something that doesn't hit the standard perfectly. It's off target.

When God the Father, Son and Spirit initially created mankind (Genesis 1:26-28) in the very image of the triune God, we were created to reflect God perfectly and we were in perfect relationship with God; there was nothing between mankind and God to create a barrier nor prevented us from being together. Instead mankind chose to separate humanity from God by thinking we could be equal to God. The created person thought it could be equal to the superior being that created him. To this very day, the basis for sin is exactly that attitude of our inner being. "We don't need God; we can rule our lives fine on our own, thank you very much." As a result, we do not accurately reflect God; we miss the mark. This is where we reflect the one arrow that misses the target and we become sin.

That decision changed our spiritual genetics, and we no longer are born as a perfect representation of God. When every person is born into humanity, we are born into a state of separation from God. We are born into another family, the family of Not God's because all of humanity now reflects that initial decision to be separated from God as we each have the human mind to think we don't need God to live our lives. We are genetic representations of the human being who chose to be separated from God.

That state of separation is governed by different laws, than the Law of God. God's Law is based in two actions governing how we are to act, as human beings on this planet living our lives. 1) Love God with everything within you and with every part of you. 2) Love others around you, the same way you love and care for yourself; as you want to be treated. (Matthew 22:37-40) Now the state of separation is governed by self; 1) What's good for me, is good for me, no matter its impact on me and others. I can govern myself without anyone else telling me what I can and cannot do. 2) I am not responsible for anyone other than myself; to each his own.

However, you may ask, "Then what about God's 10 Commandments and all of His 600+ do's and don'ts listed in the Bible? Don't those items matter?" Those items are based in "Love God, Love Others" and are measuring sticks so we can see how close or far off we are to meeting God's original intent for humanity - to be a reflection of God Himself. It's about the attitudes of our hearts, our inner beings. As we go about our lives and evaluate ourselves up against God's standard, we should see that we "miss the mark," and we are "off target".

All of this evaluations and realization should cause us to approach God for His assistance to restore us into His original state of creation.To restore us into the true relationship with God, removing the barrier between us and Him and, between us and others. We should accept that restoration with gratitude and humility and, that appreciation for God's restoration of relationship should cause us to be as gracious with others around us. Easier said than done because even though our relationship is restored now according to God, we still reflect our imperfection until the day and time when God fulfills His promise to join both heaven and earth together as one mankind restoring all of us to His perfected intention... without the ability to sin. Without the ability to fall short and think we can live without God.

However, this concept is the very truth that Paul explains in his letter to the group of Christ-followers in Ephesus. God reconciled humanity to Himself, removing the barrier between Him and mankind through the actions of Himself - Jesus who is God in a human body. In addition, He also joined all of humanity together in that action - those who were God's chosen people to reflect Him on earth, Jacob/Israel and Israel's descendants - and those not within the family of Israel; by making the reconciliation of relationship extend to all humanity from Adam & Eve to the last person born on earth. In one selfless act, God gave all of humanity a choice - a choice to believe in Him as He is and as He says He is, and for the consequence of that choice to be life with God as Father forever. We are given the opportunity to be restored into His family. This reconciliation of mankind to God and mankind to one another, is given to us freely and without the condition of being perfect human beings. 

If you really spend time contemplating this free choice and the fact that there are no conditions upon your current state of being, in order to make that choice and accept the marvelous consequence, the only conclusion can be the state of, the quality of, the mind-blowing truth about God's love; His ability to love and how love defines Him. Because while we were still in the act of falling short, while we still live with the ability to miss the mark, while we still run from God and believe we can live without Him, while we blame Him for our misgivings, God as Jesus gave His human life for us, paying the steep price required for restoration to occur. Someone who knew God completely, knew His character, loved Him completely understanding true love, and did not fall short of God's standard for being, thought and life's actions, had to be the one to give his life for all humanity. God loved His humanity so very much that He was not willing to allow us to suffer the consequences of our spiritual DNA causing us to be fall-shorters, mark-missers... synners or sinners.

So what is a sinner, really? Does being a murderer make you a sinner? A thief? A liar? A homosexual or transsexual? An excessive spender? A miss-manager? A sexual addict? A hateful person? A bully? A self-righteous person? A mean-spirited person? An alcoholic, drug addict, self-medicator? White? Black? Asian? Catholic? Agnostic? Jewish? Buddhist? Witch? Handicapped person? Blind? Deaf? Diseased? Etc, etc, etc? No; none of these things make you a sinner! You were already a sinner by being born with the ability to think that you don't need God in your life. (Jesus explained that in many different ways through His entire ministry especially in His beatitude lesson recounted in Matthew 5 through 7.) What you do, how you think, and how those thoughts manifest into actions about God and others, will show you that you are missing the mark, falling short, able to syn and not be as God intended.

As I was reasoning all of this, I listened and re-listened to a lesson by Andy Stanley called "The Unsettling Solution for just about Everything, Part 3: Do you see what I see?" where Andy touches on sinners and says who "the church" truly is and is meant to be. A gathering of humanity in its current state of fall-shorters, mark-missers, synners. Why we expect people to immediately reflect God in perfection and that we all need to have perfected lives before coming into relationship with God, is beyond me. We are all restored. We are all works in progress. We will all not be perfected on this side of eternity but, when God joins together all humanity to Him and those in Heaven and on earth, as He intended, as He initially created, once and for all; at the time He designated before all of creation.

The time is coming. With every day passing, we are closer to that time than we are not. The question then becomes, "What will you now do with your time, your life? Accept God? Accept His gift? Love others out of appreciation for what God did for you? Show grace, mercy and love to others even when they don't deserve it? After all, that's what God showed each of us. 

So, who is a sinner, really? We are. Who is the church? We are. Who is within God's family? We are. Now, let's go live as we haven't lived yet.