I had an interesting conversation with my 6-year-old daughter the other day. She told me; “Daddy, do you know that if Adam had not sinned, people would not have been sinners today? It is the sin of Adam that made all men sin. Even my brother, Daniel (6 months old), is a sinner without giving his life to Jesus.” That simple conversation brought to light the power of redemption.
Friend, redemption is powerful. Without redemption, we would all be condemned sinners (Colossians 1:14). Anytime you think of the cross of Jesus, always think of the grace of redemption. I could not but pause and think about why my 6-month-old baby is already a sinner by birth. Of course, I am not disputing the privilege he has of being born by Christian parents. But I just thought of how hopeless humans are without our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (Romans 3:23).
I tell church folks, “Stop telling a sinner to stop sinning in order to be saved.” He needs to be saved, not because he is sinning but because he is a sinner due to Adam’s sin (Romans 5:14-21). Morality is not the same as righteousness. A moral person who has not given his or her life to Christ is still a sinner. He may be perfect in acts but not perfect at heart.
It is the blood of Jesus that is able to cleanse the heart and produce righteousness (1 John 1:7-9). No righteous or moral act can make a moralist clean. A believer who is not morally perfect is still a saint, whereas a moralist who is perfect in behaviour is still a sinner. It is the cross that made the difference. The cross has changed and empowered us to live in victory over sin (Colossians 2:13-15).
Stop calling believers sinners just because they fall into sin (1 Corinthians 1:2, Ephesians 4:12). A saint is not someone who does not commit sin. It is someone who has been bought over by the precious blood of Jesus. It’s high time you started calling yourself who you are before God. For example, I am Saint Demola. That is how God sees me, and there is nothing the devil can do about that.
We need to go out there and tell the unsaved the futility of trying to live right by their efforts and encourage them to embrace the cross of Jesus (Romans 10:1-10). We also need to tell saints in Church to walk in the consciousness of their redemptive rights and privileges, chiefest of which is the forgiveness of sin (Ephesians 1:7, 1 John 2:12). You need to be righteousness-conscious, not sin-conscious, if you would live in daily victory.
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria