The other day, the question regarding our being sinners came up. I’ve heard so much about our being sinners saved by grace, but not much clarification on the subject. Are we saints, sinners, or saints who sin? or what?
The answer to your question depends on your point of view. It doesn’t take a whole lot of introspection to confirm that we’re sinners. But because we’ve accepted the Lord’s death as payment for our sins God has forgiven us and made us holy (Colossians 1:22). The Greek word from which we get “saint” is “hagios” which means “holy”.
When we sin after being saved, God is able to separate the sin from the sinners, so from His perspective it’s not the believers who sin but the sin nature that dwells within us (Romans 7:20). When He looks at us He sees a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) as righteous as He is (2 cor. 5:21). So from God’s point of view we’re now saints even though from ours, we’re still sinners. Aren’t you glad His point of view is the only one that matters?