Run a mile from any Christian who says, ‘I no longer sin’

“Some might argue that the Holy Spirit makes us good people who no longer get into conflicts.  The Biblical witness [on the other hand] recognises conflict as an integral part of what God uses to grow us up!”
— Tim Otter

I’m not sure about you, but I can definitely say that I’ve met quite a few Christians who have said, and who believe, that they no longer sin; that they’re ‘healed’ in this way — indeed, the current president of the United States is on record for saying this very thing.  They ascribe far more to the Holy Spirit than is even in God’s interest to do for any of us — hence the second sentence in the above quote (God uses conflict in our lives to grow us up!).  God knows we are hopeless if we can’t admit our frailties, failures and faults; that our only hope is to admit our brokenness; that we get absolutely no practise at exercising humility without reconciling our relationships; and, that the gospel is inherently redemptive and that conflict has a central role in all our lives.

I know there are many people who would prefer that they were beyond getting into conflicts.  It would save them a lot of shame and humiliation, and it would give them a lot more control and make them feel more powerful, because, let’s face it, the ardent desire to want to be beyond conflict is often more about the issue of control and of feeling powerful than it is about blessing others.

People can avoid conflict, have their own way, and save face, all by pretending that there is no conflict, all the while maintaining control, feigning the power they think they have.  But, there is no truth in this, there are no brave conversations had, there is no faith shown, there is no speaking the truth in love, there is no forgiveness given and received, only the manufacture of a set of circumstances that any of us can procure in our own effort.

The paradox in this is, the Holy Spirit has been relegated, the divine effect annulled, even if people who refuse to wrangle with others in conflict claim that their lives, being so free of conflict, are evidence of the Holy Spirit’s power.  There is none of God’s power in such a life.  Again, God is relational and redemptive in nature.

Self-righteous Christians are dangerous Christians, because they believe in a falsehood of power and control, and what often underpins this belief in a falsehood of power and control is that, deeper down, they are better than others.  They therefore avoid conflicts, not out of doing the other person a favour, but out of face-saving, and projecting that they have power and control, which is all rooted in fear.  Their motive is not about the other person at all.  It’s actually very self-serving.  Their motive is to curate their image and manage impressions.

What someone is saying when they tell us, “I no longer sin,” is, “If there are any problems between us, they must be your fault,” and “If you have a problem, that’s your problem; it will never be mine.”  Find yourself in such a situation and you quickly find the other person does not love to the extent that they’re prepared to work through the conflict.  They would as much abandon you than do the hard graft of collaborating with you in getting the relationship genuinely back on track.

You may think this is fanciful, but there are very many Christians that live this way, based in such a belief that they have overcome their sin, and been healed summarily.  (And they may be so deceived as to think, “You may not be healed, but I am,” which projects superiority out of pride and not out of virtue.)  On the contrary, they have fallen for a massive lie.  And to the end of their relationships, they will only be a source of damage, betrayal and pain.

Sometimes we are led to think that these situations don’t actually occur; that there is no such thing as a Christian who thinks they know longer sin.  I think that can be a reflection of who we have come to associate with.  It may actually be a healthy affirmation that our social circle is full of Christians who are living an authentic, repentant faith.  We may quickly forget the Christians who think the sin problem has been addressed.

Think about it.  People who think they don’t have a sin problem create many problems for others and are basically impossible over the long run to relate with.  When the problems we have can only be ‘our’ problems, we can have no sustainable relationship with people, because, let’s face it, it’s only a matter of time before any closely connected relationship faces some crisis of conflict.

I guess the converse of this is a situation where you find yourself in conflict with a Christian and they absolutely cannot see their own contribution — even if it was only 10 percent of the fault.  When they say, “It’s all your fault/none of this was my fault” they are really saying they don’t sin.

Photo by Pablo Heimplatz on Unsplash