Day 4: Destroying Your Own Resurrection

4. When you continue living in sin you are destroying your own resurrection.

Sin is a multifaceted thing. Once I realized that "sin, the noun" was different than "sin, the verb", the Christian salvation made much more sense to me, especially in light of the entire Bible.

"Sin, the verb" can be viewed as the sinful acts that we commit, as defined by the Scriptures, and by the Spirit. In the Scriptures, we are given dozens of examples of what to do and what not to do. Everything from "love your enemy" to "let no filthy communication proceed forth from your mouth." God is intensely interested in our behavior. We are His children; when we exhibit behavior that is not kingly, that is not worthy of His name, we give occasion for the enemies of God to blaspheme.

"Sin, the noun" is the sin that dwells in us. If we are given to outbursts of anger, for example, then there is an aspect of our person/personality that is the source of that behavior. In other words, that anger is resident in our personality, and will cause us to act out in anger under certain circumstances. It dwells in us, as an object, and even if we are not doing anything (as far as an action), that sin is there, tangible, visible to God. It is the sin (noun) that causes us to sin (verb).

Romans 7:15-17 NIV: I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.

Under the old covenant, provision was made to forgive "sin, the verb." A sacrifice was made, and the sin forgiven. But the source of that sin was not dealt with. (Hebrews 10:4: For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.) The act of anger forgiven, the anger itself remained. Obtaining forgiveness was basically a full-time occupation, since the source of the behavior could not be dealt with.

Under the new covenant, the offering of Jesus Christ has been made, once for all, a persistent sacrifice, forever ready to cleanse the sinner of his/her sinful act, thus eliminating the need for animal sacrifices. With that taken care of, the job of eliminating "sin, the noun" can begin. That is the primary difference between the covenants: both covenants had forgiveness of "sin, the verb", but only the new covenant also addresses "sin, the noun".

The goal is to change the sinner into Christ’s image, at a personality level. This cannot be accomplished through forgiveness alone. There must be a process of removal for a lasting change to take place.