Bible Study on the Web
| Home | Studies | Books/Audios | Comments | About this Work |
Living Without A Consciousness of Sin
By Linda Bunting
(This is an exchange with Linda Bunting.)
Hi, dear Linda -
It's been quite a while since I've written. Today I received from Fred Pruitt a letter you wrote as your introduction to the 2005 Louisville meeting.
I thought it was very well written. I do, however, have a couple questions that I need to have clarified.
How to have "no consciousness of sin" has always been somewhat troublesome to me.
I believe that in Christ ( He as me), I do not sin but I know that our as yet unredeemed flesh will continue to exhibit sin until our body dies. Right?
I am not to feel guilty because it has been taken care of by the blood of Christ.
I have a friend who says she doesn't sin much anymore (since she's getting older). My pastor (in his 80's) says that he "sins MORE than he wants to" - the key word being WANTS. These statements are opposite. Who is right?
You wrote about us having "the witness of a perfect Christ living in my PERFECT HUMANITY" which was to become a reality in us. If our humanity (meaning our body) is never sinless in this earthly life then how can it be called PERFECT? Do you mean perfect because God made us?
I have always thought that when we have self centered actions such as jealousy, meanness, or anger as a result of not getting "our way", that we are acting flesh centered and SINFUL, even though in Christ we are not. Christ in us would not act in selfishness. Fred and I have emailed about this before.
Fred asked me once how I knew I was sinning when I brought the question of sin up. He added that our lives were to be now used as "slaves of righteousness." Yes, I agree but that can't be 100% of the time, can it?
Isn't the selfishness of the flesh sin? - Any action undertaken with only the self being appeased?
Jesus said in Mat. 5:28 , "whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." I would really appreciate it if you could address my problem areas here.
Thank you so much! In Christ's love,
Reply From Linda Bunting
Dear ___________
It's good to hear from you again and better yet, that you raise the issue of living without the consciousness of sin.
Lets put aside what the friend and the pastor think of themselves. We are not seeking to make anyone right or wrong by their words of doctrine.
What I am bringing to the table is that the body of Christ has been rendered sinless by the perfect work of Jesus Christ at Calvary. To me that means that His shed blood put the whole creation in right standing with the Father. Sin is no longer laid to our charge in God's sight (now or future) because 2 Cor. 5:21 says "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Right there is the exchanged life. He was made sin. ... not just sins .... but the one who is the sin-principal ... i.e.; Satan.
Hebrews 9:28 says this: "So Christ having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time for salvation ... without reference to sin ....
How can that be!
When Jesus spoke in the Matt. 5:28 passage he was speaking to law-keepers who thought they should and ought keep the law. He was uncovering the unchanged hearts..... The ones who thought they could keep the law.
That is not us. We are under the new covenant of Christ. He lives in us now and is the keeper of our temptations and freedom. Living tempted could feel like it is still intrinsically sin. But it is not. Jesus was tempted in all ways, just like us. Did that make him a sinner. Never! Do our temptations make us sinners...........God forbid! How can we who are in Christ sin. Not that there is not the possibility to sin, but the greater good news is that we have the eternal keeper within us and totally depend on Him to not only keep us from sinning but also to cause us to walk in His ways.
I hear in your plea that you still worry about your flesh. Please believe this; There was never anything wrong with your flesh. It was who indwelt you that caused you to participate in sins........ But that old life has been exchanged for the life of another... the very life of the Holy Spirit. He came back in your form to live again as you. To stayed mired in the appearances of how your flesh looks is death. Rom. 8:6 "For the mind set on the flesh is death." To give lip service to the words that we sin everyday and all the time ........ is nothing more than the mindset of someone else's doctrine of unbelief. And I emphasize 'UNBELIEF'......
It is time for us to walk in the right use of our flesh.
We have taken a living person who joined Himself to our spirits. He is living as us.... because "as He is, so are we in this world." How is it that He would sin every day or sit idly by while we run amok in this life. He has far more to accomplish in us than to watch us so wrapped up in ourselves that we never get over looking and assessing ourselves by our behavior.
You don't need to focus on when you're going to sin next. You need to fix your eyes on the living Christ; that's where He wants your eyes. You are His workmanship .......... His business. He has a life to live in your form and is living it, but you'll never get the full joy of participating with him as long as you still worry about yourself.
What you call self-centered actions are really what Paul faced when he began coveting again. Are you familiar with Rom. 7 where he finally came to the end of himself by seeing that 'trying' to get rid of his coveting was the real sin? His way through was to see that he would forever covet, but keeping his eyes on Jesus and taking NO CONDEMNATION. .... And guess what ........... it healed him so well of himself, he would turn around in Rom. 9 and say he could wish himself accursed for his kinsman's sake. Here he is coveting again..............for his people.!
So, think about your own weakness, if its jealousy, be jealous for whom God is going to win through you. My malady is anger; the only difference in me now is who and why I'm angry. But I am His business. And the only reason it isn't sin is because I'm a new creation and what appears to still be old has new reasons for being..
Its a great life. His life. We are just along for the ride because we've been bought with a price and truly are slaves of righteousness.
Bless you and write again when you wish.
All my love in Jesus,
Linda
Back to Miscellaneous Articles on UnionE-Mail Fred at fhpjrrom@gmail.com