Sin carrier vs Righteousness carrier

Believer, Sin is a virus that all mankind inherited from Adam. Romans 5:19 says -

"By one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one obedience many will be made righteous." 

According to Romans 5:19 above, the default mode of everyone descended from Adam is the sin/old nature. Everyone descended from Adam was born a carrier of the sin/old nature - this is akin to how carriers of sickle cell anaemia are born with the disease.

Anyone that is a carrier of this sin/old nature will commit sin in varying degrees of severity. This is the same way carriers of sickle cell anaemia will sometimes experience crises - painful episodes associated with the disease - also in varying degrees of severity.

The crises/painful episodes experienced by carriers of sickle cell disease is not what makes them carriers. The painful episodes are the result of the disease within; likewise, committing acts of sin is not what makes a person a sinner. The sin nature inherited from Adam is the "disease" that made all of Adam's descendants sinners. Committing acts of sin that lead to death is a result of being a carrier of the sin/old nature that Adam passed on to all of his descendants.

This sin/old nature, when activated by the Law that many churchgoers are trying so hard to obey in order to be godly, causes acts of sin that lead to death to proliferate:

"When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death." Romans 7:5.

The one with the old/sin nature is forever a sinner (unrighteous) in the sight of God, no matter how good he tries to be, just as a carrier of the sickle cell disease remains a carrier unless his blood type changes. Just as it impossible for two SS people to bear an AA child, it is impossible for a person with the sin nature to bear an "AA" fruit - the only standard that is acceptable to God. Isaiah 64:6 describes the righteous works done by the the sin nature carrier as a menstrual rag:

"We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in Your sight."

The stain of the sin nature condemns all who have this sin nature and when such face a temptation/crisis that is bigger than what they can bear, acts of sin that lead to death is the result.

Like carriers of sickle cell disease, carriers of Adam's sin nature have no choice but to show symptoms of this old nature when trials and temptations (crisis) arise.

But many church-going carriers of the sin nature think that they are "okay" because they are not sick (committing heinous crimes like the world,) until they have a crisis and then they wonder how they could have done "something like that." Believer, the potential to commit heinous crimes is in everybody. God sees this potential and how favourable circumstances can make some people think that some sins are beneath them or that they have the power to keep the Law and overcome temptation/crises.

We see a picture of this in Peter's three-time denial of Christ. Peter behaved like a carrier of sickle cell disease who is boasting that he is "better than" having a crisis. Like Peter before he denied Christ, many in the church do not yet realise that the reason why we are not committing particular sins is because God did not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 says it well-

12 "So beware if you think it could never happen to you, lest your pride becomes your downfall. 13 We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously."

Before his crisis, Peter knew 100% that he would never deny Jesus but his test/crisis came and carrier that he was, he fell, three times. Because of this sin nature which Adam bequeathed to all of his descendants, we were all destined to die as carriers of sin - experiencing crises (tests and trials) that produce painful symptoms (acts of sin)  that lead to death.

Now this is the Good News:

At the cross where Christ hung for us, there was a righteous exchange. God's Justice and Mercy met in the greatest expression of Love that ever was and ever will be. Our heavenly Father in Christ saw how hopeless our case was and because He loved us so, He made His own beloved Son to be sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him: 2 Corinthians 5:21-

"For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us that might become the righteousness of God in Him."

Our sin nature for Christ's righteousness nature. He suffered our pain and died the death that we should all have died because of our sin. Christ died to rid us of this sin/old nature that all mankind inherited from Adam. Colossians 2:11 says of Him- 

"When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature."

Remember "By one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one man's obedience many will be made righteous." 

The one who believes that Christ's obedience has made him 100% righteous in God's sight no longer has the old/sin nature. But in many places of worship, instead of pointing the sinner to Christ who came to save us from this sin nature that can only produce sins, the focus is on telling the sinner to keep the Law and stop sinning by his own will-power and effort. This is as useless as telling a sickle cell disease carrier to treat his pain and fatigue in order to be free from the disease. It is a useless as a person with HIV or full-blown AIDS thinking that he will be alright if he treats his HIV/AIDS-induced visible tuberculosis and ulcers. He will still die.

Only the GIFT of righteousness that Christ died that we might freely have will suffice for God the Righteous. And it is free for all who believe in Jesus Christ. Only when you take off the old man (sin nature - dependence on human effort/the arm of flesh at attaining godliness) can you live the new creation life in Christ. We do this by discarding all confidence in the flesh (human effort at keeping the Law or attaining godliness) and receiving God's abundance of Grace and His gift of righteousness to us in Christ through whom we get to live in triumph over sin and death -

"For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ." Romans 5:17.

This is the Good News. Believer in Christ, with our new nature of righteousness in Christ, we no longer have the old/sin nature that made us sinners and prisoners of crises and failure. Our DNA has been changed to Christ's. The Bible calls us "earthen vessels." The Good News is the treasure in us.

The one with the sin nature does not believe the Good News of "Righteousness by faith and not by works." He is like an earthen vessel with a dead rat (sin nature) in it. When the earthen vessel is exposed to room temperature or some heat, it produces terrible odours and maggots (acts of sin) that attracts flies and carrion eaters (lack, stress, disease, earthly ills and death.)

The dead rat (sin nature) in a pastor is the same as the one in a prostitute, no matter how good they try to be or how clean the outside of the vessel is. But favourable circumstances make some people think that they are "still okay."

For all who truly believr, Christ has cut out our old nature and made us a new creation in Himself-  righteous by His blood -  but the one with the sin nature does not believe what God's word says about how we are made righteous in God's sight:

"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God." Romans 5:9.

The sinful nature is characterized by trying to be godly aka "be like God" by human effort at keeping the Law. It puts confidence in the flesh (human effort at living a godly life.) The one with the sinful nature might go to church and profess to be a Christian but he does not believe the Truth of the Gospel of Christ- that we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the Law: Romans 3-

23 "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in His grace, freely makes us right in His sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when He held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for He was looking ahead and including them in what He would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate His righteousness, for He himself is fair and just, and He makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus.

27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law."

So much more about our salvation by Grace through faith. But the one with the old nature does not believe God's word concerning our salvation by Grace through faith. He strives to keep the Law in order to get right with God and thus is cut off from Christ and fallen from Grace:

"For if you are trying make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace." Galatians 5:4.

Due to wrong teaching and the twisting of God's word by false preachers - especially the twisting of "Faith without works is dead" and "Shall we continue in sin that Grace may abound?" -  the one with the old nature strives to be godly aka "be like God" using human effort at keeping the Law. This teaching is after the example of Satan when he deceived Eve into believing that she could be like God (be godly) through her own human effort at doing something. No friend. The Law is a picture of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Romans 7:8-12 MSG). The letter kills.

God Himself made the Way for us to be godly (be like God) and it has got nothing to do with human effort- Isaiah prophesied about the suffering of Christ in Isaiah 53. See the result of His suffering for us in Isaiah 53:11-

"After He has suffered, He will see the light of life. And He will be satisfied. My godly servant will make many people godly because of what He will accomplish. He will be punished for their sins."

Believers, beware of false teaching which rejects the righteousness that Christ died that we might have and seeks to attain righteousness and consequently God's blessings through human effort at obeying the law and doing good things to get God to bless. Paul makes reference to this kind of believing in Romans 10:1-4:

"My beloved brothers and sisters, the passionate desire of my heart and constant prayer to God is for my fellow Israelites to experience salvation. 2 For I know that although they are deeply devoted to God, they are unenlightened. 3 And since they’ve ignored the righteousness God gives, wanting instead to be acceptable to God because of their own works, they’ve refused to submit to God’s faith-righteousness. 4 For the Christ is the end of the law. And because of Him, God has transferred His perfect righteousness to all who believe."

This unbelief in Christ's finished work in making the sinner who believes righteous by His obedience (Romans 5:19) is rejecting Christ.

The spirit of the antichrist is not anti-God. It preaches very STRONGLY about keeping the law and living a godly life but it downplays or outrightly rejects the finished work of Christ in making the sinner who believes righteous. It tells you that you need to keep the law that gives the knowledge of good and evil  in order to be godly aka "be like God." Same strategy was used to deceive Eve into believing that she could be like God by human effort at doing something. See the forbidden fruit as a picture of the Law that many are trying so hard to obey in order to be godly in Romans 7:8-12 (MSG) -

"Don’t you remember how it was? I do, perfectly well. The law code started out as an excellent piece of work. What happened, though, was that sin found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of “forbidden fruit” out of it. The law code, instead of being used to guide me, was used to seduce me."

Satan, through his ministers on many pulpits, is still seducing many into depending on their arm of flesh (human effort) in the quest to attain godliness, be accepted by God or to position oneself for His blessings, a direct contradiction of His word in Romans 3:

26"...and He makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus 27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law."

But the spirit of the antichrist teaches that one has to keep the law (aka eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) by human effort in order to be godly (be like God) or to notch points of righteousness that will make God bless. There is NO Christ making the sinner who believes 100% righteous in the sight of God in this equation. According to Romans 7:5, acts of sin flourish and multiply when the old nature that was inherited from Adam is activated by attempting to keep the law-

"When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death."

Trying to keep the law in order to "be like God" or get God's blessings causes sin to multiply! This is a symptom of having the old nature. Believer, by God's grace, enter into Christ's loving embrace and His finished work of making the sinner who believes righteous. The letter kills. Sin has dominion over those who are trying to keep the law in order to be godly (be like God.) Only under grace (undeserved, unmerited, unearned favour) does sin lose its power. Romans 6:14-

"For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under grace."  But many have this backwards.

Satan knows that "the letter kills" and that sin will be an increasing factor in your life as long as you depend on the Law and the "good" things you do to make yourself right with God. See this in Romans 5:20-  "The law was given so that sin would increase. But where sin increased, God’s grace increased even more."

His ministers in the church are actively using the Law to keep people who think that they can be godly by their own effort in bondage to sin, the same thing he did with Eve whom he deceived into eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil towards becoming like God (godly.)

Through his ministers in church, the Accuser points out your "ungodliness" aka sins, curses and shortcomings and tells you: "stop sinning and keep the Law or else you will perish in hell." Such never point you to Christ as the One who came to save you from "every kind of sin" as it is written in Titus 2:14-

"He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

Also Matthew 1:21- "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

The one with the sin nature rejects God's gift of righteousness through Christ and tries to keep the law to get right with God. But no amount of law-keeping and good works can make any righteous before God and thus escape the curse of the Law, "For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the Law commands. The Law simply shows us how sinful we are." Romans 3:20.

Christ came to rid us of this old nature. In Him, we are a new creation. Because we have been made righteous by Christ's obedience (Romans 5:19) and not our puny efforts at keeping the Ten Commandments or paying tithes, God sees us as righteous through and through, even with our multitude of sins and flaws; we are dead to the law and one with Christ. His gift of righteousness is what gives us right-standing with God. And this is the result: Romans 7:4-

"So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the One who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God." 

Because of the sacrifice of our Saviour Jesus Christ, all who believe are righteous in God's sight and will NEVER experience the wrath of God: Romans 5:9-

"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

In Christ, we get to bear fruit to God. We get to live right. The same "True Vine" life that flows in Christ the True Vine flows in us, giving us life. Christ says in John 15:5-

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

Christ cannot lie. But many churchgoers are yet to understand the weight of His words. Christ says by abiding (believing, relying on, trusting, depending wholly) on Him, we get to bear much fruit, but false preachers say that there is more that the branch needs to do by its own power and apart from Christ in order to bear fruit and then, it will be a part of the Vine. Such say:

"Yes we are saved by Grace through faith but you still have to keep the Law as a guiding principle for morality and to be godly."

This horrid mixture that is neither Law nor Grace is the "neither cold nor hot" that Christ speaks of in Revelation 3. The Law is not of Faith. One is either saved by Grace through Faith or not saved at all. No mixture. Grace is the Gospel.

Believer, believe right. Just like a vine's branches that does not begin to bear fruit immediately after it is grafted to the Vine, we might not see the ripened fruits immediately but all the while, Christ the True Vine is nourishing and strengthening us, the branches, so that we are ready and able to bear the weight of the fruit when the season arrives. The same Vine life that is flowing in Him flows in us too. And because we continue to abide in Him (rely on Him and not look to ourselvez for our righteousness and salvation and ability to bear fruit) we get to bear fruit, more fruit and then much fruit.

This is the meaning of "Faith without works is dead": Faith in Christ cannot but be followed by works of faith. This is the "much fruit" that we get to bear in Christ and it has got nothing to do with human striving. Christ does it all. In the words of Paul the apostle of Christ: 1 Corinthians 15:10-

"But because of God’s grace I am what I am. And His grace was not wasted on me. No, I have worked harder than all the other apostles. But I didn’t do the work. God’s grace was with me."

And how is God's Grace (undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour) wasted on a person? See Galatians 2:21-

"I do not get rid of the grace of God. What if a person could become right with God by obeying the law? Then Christ died for nothing!"

Trying to keep the Law in order to be right with God is the definition of throwing God's Grace away. But under Grace, we get to bear "much fruit." Christ says so.

Right believing always produces right living.