You Are Not a Sinner: Embracing Your True Identity in Christ

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As believers in Christ, we must come to terms with a profound truth: we were sinners saved by grace (Ephesians 2:1-5). Notice the emphasis—were sinners. That was our past identity, not our present reality. Does that mean we no longer sin? No. As 1 John 1:8 clearly states, we all stumble. But sin is no longer who we are. It is no longer our nature.

Before Christ, our natural inclination was to sin (Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:3). But now, through faith in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:3-4), we have been given a new nature—one that leans not toward sin, but toward righteousness (1 John 3:9-10; 2 Corinthians 5:17).

Nowhere in the New Testament are believers referred to as sinners after coming to faith. Instead, we are called by new names that reflect our new identity: children of God (John 1:12), beloved (Colossians 3:12), holy (Hebrews 10:10), and saints (Romans 1:7; Ephesians 1:1).

This isn’t a matter of semantics or wishful thinking—it’s the miraculous work of God. We have not rebranded ourselves; we have been transformed (2 Corinthians 5:17). We no longer have deceitfully wicked hearts (Ezekiel 36:26), we no longer live in darkness (Ephesians 5:8), and sin is no longer our master (Romans 6:6). We’ve been given a new spirit, a new heart, and a new life (Ezekiel 11:19-20; Ezekiel 36:26).

And all of this happened not because of anything we did, but solely because of what Jesus has done (Titus 3:5; Ephesians 2:8-9). He forgave us (Colossians 1:14), reconciled us to God (2 Corinthians 5:18-19), and secured our eternal future (1 Peter 1:3-4).

We are now slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:17-18). We belong to God’s family and are accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6). So let’s speak truthfully about who we are. We are not sinners trying to become saints—we are saints who sometimes sin.

This identity matters. When we live from the truth of who we are in Christ, we are empowered to walk away from sin, not toward it. It is God’s grace that saves us (Ephesians 2:8), and that same grace teaches us to say no to ungodliness (Titus 2:11-12).

A sinner has no desire to resist sin—because sin is natural to them (Romans 8:7-8). But for us, saying no to sin is part of our new nature, because the Spirit of God dwells in us (Romans 8:9-11).

So let’s remember who we are: deeply loved children of God (1 John 3:1), dead to sin and alive to God (Romans 6:11), rescued from darkness and now walking in light (Colossians 1:13; Ephesians 5:8-9).

Let this truth shape your life. Live in your true identity. Call yourself what God calls you—beloved, holy, saint, child of God. And walk by the Spirit, who empowers you to live up to who you already are (Galatians 5:16; Romans 8:14).

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Author’s Note:
What you’ll read here comes from my heart. I wrote it, but I also used BibleQuestions.com and ChatGPT to help express it more clearly. These tools helped refine my words, but the message is fully mine.