Sin Free

I've been struggling with a question in my own mind that was brought to a head Sunday in the church services. What part does the Holy Spirit play in our sanctification?

The statement was made in church on Sunday evening that a believer can be sin free; that because we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, we can simply choose not to sin. I think that is erroneous on several counts, not the least of which is 1 John 1:8 - "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." The scripture makes it pretty clear that as long as we are in the flesh we will deal with sin. Sin is alive and well in the flesh, and none of us who still wear skin will ever be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48).

This leads to a larger issue. Because we as believers are to live life according the grace that God provides, is grace (the unconditional favor of God) negated by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit? Are we magically transformed (even potentially) into sinless beings when the Spirit dwells within us? Paul tells us that we are a new creation - that the old has passed away (2 Cor 5:17). Does that mean that we now possess the ability to always say no to sin? Experience would tell us that that is not the case. Paul tells us as much in Romans chapter 7. No matter how spiritual I am, I will find areas of my life in which "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate." (Romans 7:15 ESV) Paul says that if anyone is “in Christ” he is a new creation. I would maintain that simply imagining ourselves to be in the Spirit and so be ‘beyond’ the need for the gospel is the opposite of being ‘in Christ’. It is, in fact, being saved apart from Christ.

To say that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit empirically allows us to live in perfection is to deny the grace of God in our lives. It is to say that we needed Grace to be saved, but we now live on a higher plane in which we can attain God's favor through something other than the propitiation provided at Calvary. In effect, to teach this is not significantly different than to teach that we can attain favor by keeping the law. It is to say that we can, with the proper help and motivation, redeem ourselves before God outside of the redemption which He provided (this stuff is hard to express properly, and I don’t mean to minimize the work of the Spirit – keep reading).

So what part does the Spirit play? In John 14, Jesus refers to the Spirit as ‘the Helper’. He intimates that the Helper has a specific purpose: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26 ESV) The Spirit does not allow us to attain perfection, but points us back to that which is perfect; Jesus Christ. In 1 John we read, “But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.” (1 John 2:27 ESV) What is the anointing that we received from him? The Holy Spirit, of course. So the work of the anointing of Christ is to teach us to abide in Christ, to trust in the grace he purchased alone. The Holy Spirit was sent that we might not forget who we are; sinners saved by grace. His constant recollection of the gospel truth to our minds is what allows us to live according to that truth. This is in keeping with Paul’s statements that the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (Rom 1:16) and the power of God to us who are being saved (1 Cor 1:18). To walk in the Spirit is to allow the Spirit to continually lead you back to the cross, and more importantly, to Him who died on the cross.

There is still much study that needs to be done here. My heart was burning with this stuff though, so I had to spill it out. Please feel free to leave comments and give me your two cents. I value it!

God Bless