Is a Born Again Christian a "sinner"?

Except in a very general, categorical way, I would not refer to myself as a "saint."
I don't shy away from admitting that I am a sinner, however.

I find 1 Jo 3:9 to be a difficult passage for sure.

Am I a painter because I painted our dining room last fall? Well, yes and no.

I believe 1 Joh 1:8 is referring to 'before I was born again' and spirit saved.

I think Eph 2 is talking about the death sentence upon my body because of transgressions and sins. The more I put on the mind of Christ the less I live in transgression and sin. IOW the more I become a 'one soul' instead of 'double souled' human being.

JAM 1:8 A double minded (di-psuchos) man is unstable in all his ways.

The Greek word for "double minded" is di-psuchos. And psuchos comes from the root word Psuche which is translated as 'soul'.


I call myself a Saint who still commits sin.

Of course. Sin is an inescapable aspect of the fallen human nature. It's precisely why we need Christ. Anybody who thinks they don't sin are lying to themselves(and God for that matter).

There is a difference between a "sinner" and a believer (saint) who commits the occasional sin.

Jonathan Mathews said:

I go to a Church where we regularly kneel and confess our sins and refer to ourselves as "sinners". Since I am Born of God, this bothers me somewhat. I think to myself, "I am not a sinner, I am a saint". But I know that sometimes I still sin.

These verses come to mind on Christians and sinning:

1 John 3:9 "Whoever is born of God does not [continue to] sin"
Ecclesiastes 7:20 "Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins"
1 John 1:8 "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us"
Ephesians 2:1-2 "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient"

In the end, I am ok calling myself a sinner OR a saint. By "Sinner" I mean that I have sin in my flesh and that I don't expect I will do right continually and never sin. But by "Saint" I mean that I no longer make it a practice of sinning and I am led by the Spirit of God and not the Prince of the Power of the Air any longer.

But what do you think? Should we as Born Again Christians call ourselves "Sinners" or "Saints"?

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While we remain "born into sin" as a natural man, we choose not to embrace our sin nature and instead place our faith in God. God gives us this give of faith and our sins are no longer counted against us. Provided that we do not continue to sin by choice and continue to ask for forgiveness for our inequities. Under the New Covenant, or promise, our Faith in God that He alone has the authority and is competent to forgive us, that Faith "saves" us and our sins are wiped clean and no longer counted.


Matthew 6:12
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Romans 4:7
"Blessed are those whose lawless acts are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

Romans 4:8
Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."

Psalm 85:2
You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin. Selah

Psalm 103:3
He who forgives all your iniquities, and heals all your diseases,

All born-again Christians are rightfully called "saints". The main reason for not using the word in everyday speech is that it could lead to pride. Especially since a common use of the word "Saint" is to refer to a special select group who could be considered "super-saints" in some fashion.

Christian pastors and books often distinguish between "sinners" (the unsaved) and "saints" (the saved), which is likely not the best choice of terms, again because of potential pride. Yes, I still sin. I do not usually refer to myself as a "sinner", because that is not my nature. But yes, one of my bad characteristics is that I am indeed, a sinner, as well as being a saint. But thankfully, Jesus is working on it, and He will succeed.

QUOTE="Jonathan Mathews, post: 73847487, member: 382847"]I go to a Church where we regularly kneel and confess our sins and refer to ourselves as "sinners". Since I am Born of God, this bothers me somewhat. I think to myself, "I am not a sinner, I am a saint". But I know that sometimes I still sin.

These verses come to mind on Christians and sinning:

1 John 3:9 "Whoever is born of God does not [continue to] sin"
Ecclesiastes 7:20 "Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins"
1 John 1:8 "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us"
Ephesians 2:1-2 "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient"

In the end, I am ok calling myself a sinner OR a saint. By "Sinner" I mean that I have sin in my flesh and that I don't expect I will do right continually and never sin. But by "Saint" I mean that I no longer make it a practice of sinning and I am led by the Spirit of God and not the Prince of the Power of the Air any longer.

But what do you think? Should we as Born Again Christians call ourselves "Sinners" or "Saints"?[/QUOTE
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what does Scripture (Yahuweh's Word) Say ?

The Ekklesia still sinned at times.
They are called beloved, faithful, blameless, martyrs (for the gospel of Yahushua),
and told "DO NOT CONTINUE TO LIE to one another" ....
etc etc etc .... if/when/for when they sin, they are chastised by ABBA as a good father chastises and scourges his own sons. If they/we today/ are without scourging, we would not be his own sons.

Both are true, as we say simul iustus et peccator.

Saint = "redeemed sinner;" we are sinners, but with a crucial modifier. So, in a sense, we are both, but the "sin nature" has been dealt with and is being dealt with...

After first coming to Christ, you are such a saint as long as you keep pursuing Jesus and His will (with the help of the Holy Spirit) and repent [1 John 1:9] when you fail to do so.

If you abandon that pursuit, resisting His call to repentance long enough --and you can--you will be eternally lost and lose all desire to see Heaven.

We are both. We are regenerate, converted, forgiven sinners. We are incomplete, struggling, humble saints.

Tree of Life said:

We are both. We are regenerate, converted, forgiven sinners. We are incomplete, struggling, humble saints.

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I think there's a tendency to think of holiness as some kind of moral quality, hence the source of much of the confusion.

FireDragon76 said:

I think there's a tendency to think of holiness as some kind of moral quality,...

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If you include repentance, it is a moral quality, but one that was purchased for us.

Without God's Grace, the Law said, "If you broke it, you bought it!"

With Grace, God is willing and able to fix our mistakes (if we bring them to Him). It is the same Law, but with "training wheels."

Sabertooth said:

If you include repentance, it is a moral quality, but one that was purchased for us.

Without God's Grace, the Law said, "If you broke it, you bought it!"

With Grace, God is willing and able to fix our mistakes. It is the same Law, but with "training wheels."

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Repentance is not a human work, at least not in Lutheranism, so it's not in the realm of morality.

FireDragon76 said:

Repentance is not a human work,...

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Conviction is the domain of the Holy Spirit, but repentance is a necessary response.

Jonathan Mathews said:

I go to a Church where we regularly kneel and confess our sins and refer to ourselves as "sinners". Since I am Born of God, this bothers me somewhat. I think to myself, "I am not a sinner, I am a saint". But I know that sometimes I still sin.

These verses come to mind on Christians and sinning:

1 John 3:9 "Whoever is born of God does not [continue to] sin"
Ecclesiastes 7:20 "Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins"
1 John 1:8 "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us"
Ephesians 2:1-2 "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient"

In the end, I am ok calling myself a sinner OR a saint. By "Sinner" I mean that I have sin in my flesh and that I don't expect I will do right continually and never sin. But by "Saint" I mean that I no longer make it a practice of sinning and I am led by the Spirit of God and not the Prince of the Power of the Air any longer.

But what do you think? Should we as Born Again Christians call ourselves "Sinners" or "Saints"?

Click to expand...

Hi Jonathan.
I think you are wise to consider these things. I had to decide this same issue for myself years ago. I was surprised to find that the Word calls us saints and no longer sinners once we have come to believe on Jesus. Around 67 times just in the NT.

I agree with the Scriptures you shared - we are made righteous only through the blood of Christ; that even though we are made righteous, we definitely still struggle with sin (though nothing like when we were still lost).

No Christian should ever think he or she cannot slip. With that said, I think that it can also be unwise to pray with too much self reproach - the JOY of the Lord is our strength!

Hebrews 4:12-13, 15-16
For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. . . . .

This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Jonathan Mathews said:

If you have the Spirit of Christ as a Born-Again believer, you are referred to as one of the "saints (aka holy people) of God" (Philippians 1:1). Do not be afraid to call yourself what God has made you in Christ!

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I'm not afraid. I just answered the question of the OP.

FireDragon76 said:

I think there's a tendency to think of holiness as some kind of moral quality, hence the source of much of the confusion.

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Why shouldn't we think of holiness as a moral quality?

The term "saint" doesn't mean you don't sin, but the term "sinner" in Scripture refers to someone who remains at enmity with God.