I used to be a sinner.

Notice the past tense I used in that sentence. It is no longer an appropriate word to identify me.

I have sat in coffee shops with pastors who have tried to tell me that I am a sinner, that they are a sinner, that everyone (believer or not) is still a sinner.

It broke my heart.

When I pick up my Bible, I learn about what Christ has done for me. The sin that was once so prevalent has been removed as far as the east is from the west. My current relationship with sin is that I am dead to it. God has set me apart as one his own and called me a saint.

That is the identity spoken over me now. Not a sinner but a saint.

If at the end of everything, I am still a sinner then what was accomplished at the cross?

My sin no longer defines me. For sure, there are still struggles and still temptations, but the gospel assures me that when I give in to temptation, the sin I commit doesn’t define me; it is not a label I wear.

I am no longer a sinner.

For more on this, check out this article by Terry Virgo.