September 6, 2016 (Tuesday)
A few days ago I heard a sportscaster speak of a “former Aggie,” then quickly she corrected herself by saying, “There’s no such thing as a former Aggie. ‘Once an Aggie, always an Aggie.'”
The same is true of the Marines. I’ve heard it said many times, “Once a Marine, always a Marine.”
There’s a dark side to this saying. How about, “Once a cheater, always a cheater?”
Jesus referred to this dark side when he said to the religious people who refused to believe in Him, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires” (John 8:44). This is a slightly altered way of saying, “You are a sinner–it’s in your nature.”
So, “Once a sinner always a sinner?” Not on your life. The sinner can be saved from his sin. He can receive a new nature. He can become a new creature.
Paul wrote, “All have sinned.” But when he wrote to the people in churches, he addressed them as “saints.” This is a paradox of gigantic proportions. Yes, we are sinners, but when we accept Christ as Savior, we are “born again” (John 3). We are sinners saved by grace.
Our old nature is still with us, but we are to “crucify the old man with his sinful desires” (Romans 6:6). We nurture the new nature through prayer, Bible study, and submission to the Holy Spirit who lives within us and produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5). Here’s how it works:
“..it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:8-10).
Christians are sinners saved by grace. They repent daily from all their sins, love the Lord, seek to please Him, want to live for Him, and bow before Him as Lord of their mind, will and emotions. They constantly thank the Lord for the forgiveness of all their sins, and have a deep desire to see others come to Christ.
