What should a believer set their mind on—Sin or Righteousness … and why? What does the bible teach about both of these and what are the consequences of setting our minds on either? This post will address all of these questions. Let us begin with some definitions.
Definitions
What is sin? Many define it as immorality, impurity, indecency, Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger etc. But is this sin? I wager not. These things are what Gal 5:19 calls the doings (practices) of the flesh. This is not sin. Sin is much deeper than that. It is a spiritual condition. Its fruit from the contaminated human spirit is what manifests in the human flesh as immorality, impurity, indecency, Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies),Envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. What then is sin? I will answer that soon.
In like manner righteousness is not love, love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Nope these are simply the acts or fruit of righteousness that manifest in our mind and flesh as a result of righteousness taking over our spirits—hence we call these the fruit (singular) of the spirit (Gal 5:22).
Sin is what the dragon or serpent introduced into the human race when Eve took in his words. It was the contaminant and symbolized the brazen serpent that Moses lifted up. It is the very nature of evil. It is the nature of the dragon much like righteousness is the nature of GOD. Out of GOD’s nature, we love and are patient but these acts by themselves do not make us righteous. Neither does anger make one a sinner.
Let us allow scripture to define sin:
Rom 14:23 But the man who has doubts (misgivings, an uneasy conscience) about eating, and then eats [perhaps because of you], stands condemned [before God], because he is not true to his convictions and he does not act from faith. For whatever does not originate and proceed from faith is sin [whatever is done without a conviction of its approval by God is sinful].
So what is sinful according to Apostle Paul? Galatians 5:6 tells us faith works by love. This means in the New Testament (NT), an action is considered sinful if it does not originate and proceed from faith that workd by love. Put differently, whatever a person does without a conviction of its approval by God is sinful. How does Apostle John define it?
1Jn 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Question: Where Gentiles ever under the law? The simple answer is no. That is why they cannot be redeemed from the curse of the law. You cannot be redeemed from something you were never under. Gentiles were simply condemned by default. They never had the law. They were only subject to what Eve introduced into the human race i.e. the law of sin and death and not the law of Moses. What is this law of sin and death and what is its status today? The law of sin and death can be encapsulated in this statement, “Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Many believers are still stuck in sin and its wages not being conscious or aware of the gift of GOD i.e. Zōē, the very life of GOD.
What is the status of the law of sin and death after the resurrection of Jesus? The answer is also captured by the same Apostle Paul:
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Question: DO we believe this? Do we believe that we have been set free from the law of sin and death by the Spirit of Zōē in Christ Jesus? Or do we believe we are still subject to this law? Paul says if we believed it, our lives would look different. He says:
Rom 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Do we truly believe we have been made free from sin? If yes, why would we spend our days being conscious of our former master or prison guard? Why not rather put our focus on Zōē and righteousness?
What you are conscious or aware of determines your fruit
Rom 8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Rom 8:5-6 Amplified Bible
(5) For those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and seek those things which gratify the [Holy] Spirit.
(6) Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever].
Two groups are mentioned here:
-
Those who are after the flesh
-
Those who are after the spirit
The fomer set their minds on fleshly things. They are aware or conscious of sin, what they will eat, what they will wear etc. For this reason, they bear fruit that is fleshly. If you meditate on murder long enough, you’ll be drawn by this lust of your heart to commit it (James 1:14). What we think on, we eventually reproduce.
This is the same with folks born of the Spirit of life i.e. Zōē. These set their minds on (or are conscious of) the Spirit of Life who has set them free from the law of sin and death. If believers are aware and conscious of the things of the Spirit, their lives would manifest or produce the fruit of the Spirit.
Pay attention to verse 6 which summarises this beautifully. The mind of the flesh that is conscious of sin is without the Holy Spirit of Life and it produces death i.e. the works of the flesh. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever]. It’s a now reality.
This is why we must be careful what we put our attention on. Meditating on GOD’s word and the things of the spirit like righteousness, life etc will produce the fruit of the spirit. Meditating on the fleshly stuff will produce works of the flesh.
What if after being born again, I still commit sin?
This is where our study gets interesting? Apostle John after explaining that sin is lawlessness or disobeying the law explains the believer’s position as pertains to sin. Simply try to accept what is written and then let’s discuss it. Try not to justify or unjustify it.
1Jn 3:9 AMP No one born (begotten) of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, for God’s nature abides in him [His principle of life, the divine sperm, remains permanently within him]; and he cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten) of God.
Let’s take a look from other versions of the bible:
1Jn 3:9 KJV Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
1Jn 3:9 BBE Anyone who is a child of God does no sin, because he still has God’s seed in him; he is not able to be a sinner, because God is his Father.
WOW! Can this be true? Well …
-
if the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death (Rom 8:2) and
-
if Rom 6:22 which reads “being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life”, is true…
Then YES it can be true. Christians can sometimes be schizophrenic. One day, they claim Jesus has set them free from sin and they are new creatures. The next day they believe they are sinners. Which is it? Either the bloodshed on Calvary was strong enough to set us free once and for all or it wasn’t. Noticed I highlighted the word FREE. What does it mean?
The Apostle used a Greek Word and many bible dictionaries have defined it. I will paste the exact definition from one such Dictionary. Here it is:
G1659
ἐλευθερόω
eleutheroō
Thayer Definition:
1) to make free
2) set at liberty: from the dominion of sin
There you have it. Free means Free specifically from the dominion or rule of sin. Answer this. How can we be afraid and mindful of that from which GOD has made us free?
But how come I still have urges to do the ‘bad’ stuff I used to do before I was born again? Its simple. Sin is a spiritual phenomenon. That means it has to do with the human spirit. GOD came to earth, took our sins upon himself. In fact he became sin and killed it on the cross. Sin has expired for all those that believe. Why then do I still have those old urges after being born again?
First understand that sin is not an action but rather a principle or the reason for an action. Using the analogy of a tree, actions are the leaves and sin is the root.
GOD took away the root from your spirit and replace it with life. He gave you a new Zōē. Where? In your spirit! This means your mind is still stuck in the old. That is why you still get the old urges and on occasion yield to those urges. Does that make you a sinner? Emphatically NO…just like doing ‘good’ things do not make one righteous! Righteousness is a Gift GOD gives to His Children (Romans 5:17). It makes you a person who has not been taught to renew your mind—thus purging it of the old habits. This is why the battle is in your mind.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
What you think on informs your actions. Repeated actions form habits and sustained habits form our character. It all begins with your thoughts. Watch what you think on.
In the verse quoted above, the word transformed (metamorphoō) is the word we get metamorphosis from. This refers to the process of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. It is defined by Thayer’s Greek dictionary as being transfigured. The verse teaches us that the way we are transformed or transfigured i.e. taking advantage of the Zōē in our spirits is to renew our minds because as a man thinketh, so he is. You are what you think. When we focus on renewing our minds by thinking right things, we’ll automatically do what is good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
The easiest way I know to do this is to read GOD’s word and allow it to be the food that you feed your mind. Doing this renews your mind and actualizes the freedom that you have received in your spirit in your mind and body. It is the truth of GOD’s word that brings true freedom and transformation (John 8:32) to spirit, soul and body. This is where a believers focus and consciousness is to be—not on sin.
A new creation [new species]
2Co 5:17-21 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new… (21) For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
First thing this verse clearly teaches is:
-
The believer is a NEW CREATURE (ktisis). What does this mean? This refers to something that had not existed before. It DOES NOT refer to a refurbishing or a restoration but rather a NEW BIRTH or NEW species. For this new creature, old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. For many believers, they cannot behold i.e. or set the eyes of their minds on this truth so they are not able to receive the NEWness of ALL things.
-
In building upon his argument that believers are a new ktisis, Paul adds that the way this happened was that GOD performed a divine EXCHANGE. What was this exchange? It is simply our sin for his righteousness. He made him
to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we (humanity that accepts his work) might be made the righteousness of God in him. This is difficult for many to receive. But it’s plain English.
This second part is part of the secret of reigning in life. Jesus came to bring us a Kingdom. In this Kingdom we are Kings and Priests but we cannot reign in this Kingdom here on earth if we cannot believe in the exchange. Read the following carefully:
Rom 5:17-21
(17) For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive
abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
(18) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
(19) For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
(20) Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
(21) That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Verse 17 tells us there are two prerequisites for reigning in life or in zōē. What is zōē? It is “the absolute fulness of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God, and through him both to the hypostatic “logos” and to Christ in whom the “logos” put on human nature.” It is also defined as, “life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last forever”.
What are the 2 prerequisites for reigning in zōē according to Rom 5:17? They are the reception or receiving of two things. If a person cannot receive them, they cannot truly reign in zōē. To reign in zōē, a believer must RECEIVE and make their own:
-
The abundance of GRACE (Charis)
-
The Gift of Righteousness
A gift cannot be worked for. It’s simply is a GIFT. The acceptance and reception of these two causes the believer to reign in life by one Christ Jesus. Now here a brilliant truth from Apostle Paul if you can receive the GIFT of righteousness:
Rom 5:16 KJV And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
Rom 5:15-16 AMP But God’s free gift is not at all to be compared to the trespass [His grace is out of all proportion to the fall of man]. For if many died through one man’s falling away (his lapse, his offense), much more profusely did God’s grace and the free gift [that comes] through the undeserved favor of the one Man Jesus Christ abound and overflow to and for [the benefit of] many. (16) Nor is the free gift at all to be compared to the effect of that one [man’s] sin. For the sentence [following the trespass] of one [man] brought condemnation, whereas the free gift [following] many transgressions brings justification (an act of righteousness).
He says as by the sin of Adam, condemnation or sin ravaged all humanity up until Moses, much more profusely has the GRACE and GIFT via Jesus brought ZOE. Sin brought condemnation. GRACE and the GIFT of righteousness has brought justification. This is why Paul says,
Rom 8:1 THEREFORE, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. [John 3:18.]
This is a direct quote. The believer in Christ who walks after the spirit of life cannot be condemned—no more—not when they have received GRACE and the GIFT through Jesus Christ.
Realize this, the believers is a NEW creature i.e. Part of a new creation. They cannot practice sin because Apostle John says the GOD’s seed remains in them (1John 3:9). The seed (sperm) that gave birth to them contains the very DNA or nature of its source which is GOD, just like the seed of a bird contains the nature of a bird. Inside the seed of a bird is the ability to fly and migrate during seasons. A seed of a bird (a symbol of the Holy Ghost) can never produce a serpent (a symbol of the devil). This is why Apostle John said the believer truly does not practice sin because the nature of the seed that gave birth to that believer is not that of a serpent but of GOD. And whatsmore, GOD’s seed can never be corrupted.
Life and Death is in the power of the tongue
1Pe 1:23 You have been regenerated (born again), not from a mortal origin (seed, sperm), but from one that is immortal by the ever living and lasting Word of God.
1Pe 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
Wait the minute. If I am born of immortal origin, why do believers still die? Are they not supposed to live forever? For a comprehensive answer to that, please read The reign of LIFE (ZOE).
Conclusion
To be quarrelling over sin is to not recognize what transpired on the cross. When Moses shadowed the cross, how did he do it. Let’s listen to Jesus: “And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness,so the Son of Man must be lifted up” (John 3:14). When I first read this many years ago, I was offended because I did not understand why Jesus was likened to a serpent by Moses. But after seeking the Lord he explained that he created man to live forever but man allowed himself to be stung by the serpent introducing the venom of sin that produced death. 1Cor 15:56 teaches clearly “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law“. Once man was infected by the venom of the serpent which is sin, he lost eternal life and started to die. From never dying, man started to die at 900 years and it progressed till men are now even dying before they reach puberty. The by-product of being infected by this venom is not swelling up like when you are bitten by a cobra. NO! The wages of sin is death. That is the by-product of being infected. How does this death manifest. It manifests through carnal actions such as adultery, murder and all the bad stud of Gal 5. Sin is what makes humanity do evil stuff. The evil stuff is just the smoke coming from the fire. God’s solution was to make his son that serpent and put it to death on a cross of stick.
To heal humanity of this venom (sin), God commanded Moses to make a brazen serpent statue and hang it upon a pole. Whosoever had previously been bitten by a serpent who looked to the brazen serpent got healed. This is the same in the NT.
The serpent had bitten humanity through the first Adam and humanity was dying from Adam till Moses. So he performed one of the most majestic, glorious and yet humbly powerful acts ever. Remember Jesus was born of Mary through the Holy Spirit. So Jesus from birth had in Him the nature of God i.e. righteousness. Humanity had the nature of the dragon/serpent i.e. sin. On the cross, he performed a divine exchange where he took our sin upon himself
and gave us the righteousness of God. In fact, He did not just take our sin which is the venom. HE BECAME SIN. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2Corinthians 5:21) Born again saints do not have righteousness. They are Righteousness. He became the very symbol of what had been man’s weakness and inability to follow God—sin. Hence spiritually he became the serpent that Moses lifted up. And if only humanity which had been bitten by the serpent would look at Him on the cross, we would be healed.
Someone may argue that then why do people still kill and do bad stuff if sin is done away with? The answer is answered by the scriptures… “…my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children” (Hosea 4:6). Ignorance (lack of knowledge) keeps us from the knowledge of the truth and it’s only the knowledge of the truth that can set us free (John 8:32).
If you put a dog chained up for many years, it becomes used to that state of being becoming mentally bound. It becomes accustomed only to move within the circle of its bondage. The day you remove the chain (sin) from its neck, it will not run outside its comfort zone or the zone of its former captivity. Though it is physically free, it is mentally still bound. This is the sad story of much of Christianity to this day. The battle is in the region of the mind. This is where we must allow the Word of liberty to take root and be established and to displace lies.
A lie is anything that is in disagreement with the truth of God’s Word no matter how real it might appear. We must allow the word of GOD to reshape our minds and become our new reality. I will end with a scripture. Please meditate on its import.
Rom 6:4-7 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life (Zoe)…. Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
If we have not already, lets choose to be dead to sin and alive and conscious of GOD, his righteousness, his zoe etc. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things (Php 4:8). Why because what you think on, you become.
Worth reading constantly for mind refreshing