When You Were Dead

"When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions ..." Colossians 2:13

One of the most difficult things to express to other Christians, without being accused of teaching a license to sin, is telling them that unbelievers don't go to hell because of their sins. In my opinion, because of the ignorance regarding forgiveness and the focus on behavior within the body of Christ, the most that people can do is focus on the sinful behavior of others. When you believe the goal of the Christian life is to stop sinning and that things like "unconfessed" sin can separate you from God, cause Him to "turn His face" from you, or that you can be "out of fellowship" with Him, then you will project onto others that which preoccupies your time. Now, don't get me wrong, sin is terrible, should be condemned, and avoided at all costs. However, it is the fruit of the problem, not the root cause of it. The complete focus on sin is what has damaged the walk with God of so many Christians as well as it being used as an excuse for unbelievers to dismiss Christianity, in general, and, more specifically, Jesus Christ. How often have you heard unbelievers criticize Christians as being hypocrites? They see right through our facade of "sinless" living because we are not overcoming sin. They bask in the failure of well-known Christians who have to step down from their pulpits or positions of influence because of scandals involving their sinful behavior. In fact, it was peace-activist Mahatma Gandhi who is quoted as saying, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” No doubt he must have been exposed to Christians he believed to not be acting in love towards him or others based on his understanding of Jesus Christ. My guess is that he saw them condemning others because of their behavior. Where might this have come from? It comes from Christians who teach that we have to be more "Christlike" in our behavior. This is just another way of saying that we must stop sinning. Yet, when you focus on sin, you get more sin. Why? Because the "sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law (1 Corinthians 15:56)." In order to stop sinning, you have to subject yourself to a form of the law so you can measure your progress at reducing sin. Unfortunately, all you reduce is your ability to stop sinning. The apostle Paul realized that "I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead (Romans 7:7-8)." Not only is sin increased in your life, but your judgment of others attempts at it, or lack thereof, increases as well. The law is of no use if you don't have somebody to compare yourself to.

I admit there are scriptures that people use to justify this focus on sin when it comes to judging others. For example, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, reads "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God." Christians will read this and be like, "See, all those who engage in these sins are going to hell, are not forgiven, and must be condemned." What I see is that this is talking about the identities of people who engage in these sins more than the sins themselves. If "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them (2 Corinthians 5:19)," then how would He then turn around and condemn people to hell for sins He is not taking into account? I believe what we miss as Christians is the reason why people are identifying with their sins and engaging in them on a continual basis. The reason is that they are spiritually dead to God in their sins and in need of having the life of God restored to them. Colossians 2:13 starts out with "When you were dead ..." This a reference to the spiritual condition of a person prior to salvation. The problem between mankind and God is not that we are sinners in need of forgiveness. The problem is that we are dead to God and in need of being made alive to Him. I am convinced that the reason people engage in sin, including Christians, is because they are looking for love, acceptance, meaning, and purpose to life in that sin rather than through a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. Furthermore, Christians who only look on the outside will be preoccupied with the sinful behavior of a person instead of why that person is behaving like they do. And if you believe God is judging you for your sins and that you need to behave properly to be in good standing with Him, you are going to treat others the way you believe God is treating you. The outcome, in most cases, will be to condemn others for their sins rather than loving them in the midst of them. As Colossians 2:13 goes on to remind us; God made us alive having forgiven all our sins. God first had to forgive all our sins before He could offer His life back to us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. When we believe that our sins are no longer an issue between us and God, it allows us to look past the sins of others and address the real issue behind their sinful behavior; their spiritual death. Therefore, you can love others with the love you are receiving from God. This is why a person does not go to hell because of their sins. They go to hell because they are dead.