Sins v. Sin

Romans 6:11, "Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus."

I don't like to repeat what someone else has obtained by revelation, but this lesson in the difference between sins and sin is really too crucial to pass up.

I first came across the topic reading T Austin-Sparks, but the reading was a little lengthy and very heavy so I didn't spend a lot of time meditating on it. But then I picked up Watchman Nee's book "The Normal Christian Life." Nee wrote this after spending 8 months with Austin-Sparks.

Using Romans Nee and Austin-Sparks show this different between Sins - the acts or omissions of being disobedient to God v. Sin - the character trait within us that causes us to sin. The DNA of the soul that makes us all of the species Sinner. The sins, and the sin, create a dual problem for us that is solved by Christ on the cross.

Nee says, "...He only has one answer for every human need; His Son, Jesus Christ. In all His dealings with us, He works by taking us out of the way and substituting Christ in our place. The Son of God died instead of us for our forgiveness; He lives instead of us for our deliverance. So we speak of two substitutions: a substitution on the cross who secures our forgiveness and a Substitute WITHIN who secures our victory." To summarize Christ died so we would be forgiven by the blood. He lives so that we can be delivered by the cross.

When talking about the cross, it is not there for crucifixion. We are not crucified again to make reparations for ourselves. That was done. We were crucified, rather "our" cross is that place of utter weakness where we depend on no one other than God and His Son Jesus. It is here "sin" is defeated. It is here the DNA of our soul is changed from SIN to Christ. Nee says, "If we are preoccupied with the power of sin and with our inability to meet it, then we naturally conclude that to gain the victory over sin we must have more power. 'If only I were stronger,' we say, 'I could overcome my violent outbursts of temper.' and so we plead with the Lord to strengthen us that we may exercise more self-control... But this is altogether fallacy; it is not Christianity. God's means of delivering us from sin is not by making us stronger and stronger, but by making us weaker and weaker... God sets us free from the dominion of sin, not by strengthening our old man, but by crucifying him; not by helping him do anything, buy by removing him from the scene of the action."

The explanation of dying to self, of ego crucifixion, can be articulate no clearer. Or at least the necessity of it. In dying to self, we are delivered from Sin (Noun), we look more like Christ, and we become effective for the gospel. It is the place where we can truthfully say, it is no longer I that lives, but Christ. Perhaps most importantly, it is the place of being poor in spirit, it is the place where the kingdom of God becomes visible, it is the place where love becomes unconditional.