Saints Not Sinners: Understanding Your True Identity in Christ

In this foundational episode, Liam and Dean from the Sanctuary Church tackle one of the most misunderstood doctrines in Christianity: the believer's true identity. Through careful examination of Romans 6:1-11, they reveal how Scripture declares believers to be saints, not sinners, challenging the common teaching that Christians remain "sinners saved by grace." This theological exploration demonstrates how Christ's death and resurrection completely transforms the believer's nature, providing genuine freedom from sin's dominion and establishing a new identity rooted in righteousness rather than ongoing struggle.

The episode reveals that identity theft represents the greatest spiritual crisis of our time, with believers often living below their true calling due to misunderstanding their nature in Christ. Scripture declares that through union with Christ in His death and resurrection, believers have died to sin as a ruling nature and been made alive to God. This transformation occurs completely at salvation, not progressively over time through human effort.

The distinction between sin as a nature versus sin as an action provides crucial understanding for Christian living. Believers no longer possess a sin nature but may still commit sinful actions through habit or deception. The gospel message proclaims complete freedom from sin's dominion, not partial relief requiring ongoing struggle until death.

True sanctification involves recognising and living from the reality of one's new nature rather than working to achieve holiness through religious activities. Believers possess the same righteous nature as Christ and are viewed by the Father with identical love and acceptance as His perfect Son.

Digging Deep: Biblical Foundation

Primary Scriptures Referenced:

• Romans 6:1-11 - Death to sin and alive to God through union with Christ

• Romans 5 - Sin's entrance through Adam and righteousness through Christ

• Genesis 4 - Sin crouching at the door, initially external to humanity

• John 1:29 - "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world"

• Galatians 5:24 - "Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires"

Supporting Biblical Connections:

• 2 Corinthians 5:17 - New creation in Christ

• 2 Corinthians 5:21 - Christ became sin that we might become God's righteousness

• Jeremiah 31:31-34 - New covenant promises of transformed hearts

• Ezekiel 36:26 - New heart of flesh replacing heart of stone

• 1 John 4:17 - "As he is, so are we in this world"

• Hebrews 9:28 - Christ's complete work eliminating need for further sin sacrifice

Key Quotes

Liam: "The number one theft in the world is identity theft, and there's an identity crisis in our world. The gospel says that Jesus came to take away sin - behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We're actually saints, not sinners."

Dean: "We are those who have died to sin. How can we live in it any longer? The old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin."

Liam: "If we believe that we'll only be free from sin when we die, then death's our saviour, not Jesus. Jesus fully redeemed - it wasn't partial, it was full."

Dean: "The way that God sees Jesus is the way that God sees you. When the Father looks at me and sees me, He has the exact same love for me, the exact same passion, hunger and desire for me as He does for Jesus, His son."

Discussion Questions from the Episode

The hosts posed several direct questions for listener consideration:

• When Adam sinned, what happened spiritually?

• How do we respond to people who claim to be "just sinners"?

• What is the difference between sin as a nature versus sin as an action?

• How much victory over sin did Jesus achieve on the cross - partial or complete?

• Why do believers protect and guard the heart if it remains deceitfully wicked?

Extended Reflection Questions

How does understanding your identity as a saint rather than a sinner change your approach to daily spiritual challenges? In what ways might viewing yourself as "just a sinner" actually hinder spiritual growth and victory over temptation?

What practical differences would emerge in your prayer life, relationships, and decision-making if you fully embraced your righteous nature in Christ? How does the truth of your complete transformation at salvation impact your understanding of God's love and acceptance?

Consider

areas where you've struggled with guilt or shame - how does recognising your new heart and nature provide freedom in these situations? What would bold confidence before God's throne look like in your personal relationship with Him?

Implementation Steps

Begin each day by declaring your true identity as a saint and righteous one in Christ. When tempted to sin or facing moral challenges, remember that such behaviour contradicts your new nature rather than expressing your true self. Practice approaching God with boldness and confidence, knowing He sees you with the same love He has for Jesus. Replace self-condemning thoughts with Scripture-based declarations of your righteousness and new nature. When sin occurs, respond quickly with repentance understood as changing your mind to align with truth, rather than grovelling in guilt and shame.

Weekly Challenge

Actively reject any internal or external voices that label you as "just a sinner." Instead, declare your identity as a saint, holy one, and righteous person in Christ. Notice how this shift in self-perception impacts your choices, confidence, and relationship with God.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the complete work of Christ that has made me dead to sin and alive to You.

Trinity Help me to count myself as You count me: righteous, holy, and beloved. Lord, Give me revelation of my new nature and the confidence to live from this truth rather than from past identity or ongoing struggles. Lord, may I have dreams and visions of How you see me! May I experience the complete freedom that comes from knowing I am fully accepted and loved as Your child - May I come into healing and complete healing in Jesus Name.

Amen.

Episode Timestamps

Continue growing in your understanding of biblical identity by reading Romans 5-8 personally and studying the scriptures mentioned in this episode.

Please share this content with others who may be struggling with identity confusion or performance-based spirituality. Join the conversation by engaging with the teaching and applying these truths practically in your daily Christian walk. Subscribe for upcoming episodes exploring deeper practical applications and additional theological foundations for spiritual freedom.

Opening Vision and Identity Crisis

Liam and Dean introduce their long-anticipated podcast, expressing their passion for exploring deep theological topics that Jesus was passionate about and that have brought freedom to their personal lives. They establish their commitment to examining what Scripture actually teaches rather than relying on tradition or assumption.

The conversation begins with a striking observation: identity theft represents the world's most prevalent crime, reflecting a broader spiritual identity crisis affecting humanity. This crisis has infiltrated the church through doctrinal confusion about the believer's true nature and standing before God.

The Traditional Doctrine Challenge

The hosts address a widespread teaching in Christianity that believers remain "sinners saved by grace" who are progressively sanctified through religious activities and moral effort. This doctrine suggests that while believers are saved, they remain internally corrupt, with God viewing them through Christ as a kind of spiritual filter while their actual nature remains unchanged.

They contrast this with the gospel declaration that Jesus came not merely to manage sin but to "take away the sin of the world," as announced by John the Baptist. This foundational distinction sets the stage for examining what Scripture actually teaches about transformation in Christ.

Romans 6: Death to Sin and New Life

Dean provides detailed exposition of Romans 6:1-11, highlighting Paul's rhetorical question about continuing in sin so grace might increase. Paul's emphatic response - "by no means" - establishes that believers have died to sin and cannot logically continue living in it.

The passage reveals that through union with Christ in His death and resurrection, believers have been buried with Him and raised to new life. This transformation involves the crucifixion of the "old self" so that "the body ruled by sin might be done away with," resulting in freedom from slavery to sin.

The theological significance emerges clearly: just as Christ died to sin once for all and now lives to God, believers must count themselves "dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." This represents completed transformation, not ongoing process.

Nature Versus Action: Understanding Sin

The conversation explores the crucial distinction between sin as a ruling nature versus sin as specific actions. Before salvation, humanity possessed a sin nature inherited from Adam's spiritual death, making sinful behaviour an expression of internal reality rather than external choice alone.

Through Christ's work, believers receive a new nature that is righteous and holy, while sin becomes external temptation rather than internal compulsion. The hosts use the phrase "you don't have a sin nature, but you can still have a sin habit" to illustrate that sinful actions contradict rather than express the believer's true nature.

This understanding prevents the excuse-making that can occur when believers view ongoing sin as inevitable due to their supposedly unchanged nature. Instead, it provides the foundation for genuine victory and freedom.

Heart Transformation and New Covenant Realities

Liam addresses the common misunderstanding of Jeremiah's statement that "the heart is deceitfully wicked above all things," demonstrating how this Old Testament reality has been transformed through New Covenant promises. God's pledge to give believers new hearts of flesh rather than stone represents fundamental nature change, not merely positional adjustment.

The conversation examines why believers are instructed to guard their hearts if they remain deceitfully wicked, and why they wear spiritual armour to protect supposedly corrupt inner lives. These logical inconsistencies point toward the reality of genuine heart transformation through regeneration.

Scripture's instruction to guard the heart makes sense only when understanding that the new heart contains "wellsprings of life" worth protecting, with threats now coming from external spiritual opposition rather than internal corruption.

Complete Work Versus Progressive Process

The hosts challenge the notion that sanctification involves gradually becoming more holy through religious performance, contrasting this with Scripture's declaration that holiness represents the believer's present nature rather than future aspiration. They emphasise that religious activities like Bible reading, prayer, and church attendance flow from relationship and identity rather than creating spiritual standing.

Galatians 5:24 declares that "those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" in past tense, indicating completed transformation at salvation rather than ongoing struggle. This understanding provides the foundation for genuine spiritual freedom and practical victory.

The gospel's scandalous nature emerges in its complete effectiveness - Jesus' work was thorough enough to fully transform human nature, not merely provide covering for ongoing corruption.

Union with Christ and Divine Love

Dean explores the profound reality that believers share identical standing with Christ before the Father, receiving the same love, acceptance, and favour shown to Jesus Himself. This union surpasses mere positional adjustment to represent genuine nature sharing and complete compatibility with divine character.

The conversation addresses the common misunderstanding that God looks at believers "through Jesus-coloured glasses" while they remain internally unchanged. Instead, Scripture teaches that believers are genuinely transformed and united with Christ so completely that separation becomes impossible.

This truth eliminates the performance-based anxiety that characterises much Christian living, replacing it with confidence rooted in Christ's finished work and the believer's genuine transformation.

Saints, Not Sinners: Living from Truth

The episode concludes by establishing that Paul consistently addressed believers as "saints" - literally "holy ones" or "set apart ones" - rather than sinners. This terminology reflects reality rather than mere courtesy, indicating that sainthood represents the believer's actual nature rather than aspirational goal.

Using marriage as an analogy, Liam explains that believers are not progressively becoming more "married" to Christ through cutting away flesh, but rather learning to live well within an already established relationship. The transformation has occurred; the learning involves practical application of existing reality.

This understanding prevents the positional versus practical distinction that can justify ongoing sin by suggesting believers can temporarily step out of their saintly position. Instead, it establishes that holy character represents who believers actually are, making sin a contradiction of identity rather than an expression of nature.