Why the Truly Free Believer is Such a Rarity

I had a rich email back-and-forth with a dear friend and member of our community this last week. He had emailed with a great question and observation concerning Romans 5:17. That verse declares:

Death once held us in its grip, and by the blunder of one man, death reigned as king over humanity. But now, how much more^] are we held in the grip of grace and continue reigning as kings in life, enjoying our regal freedom through the gift of perfect righteousness in the one and only Jesus, the Messiah!

The Passion Translation

His question was essentially this: “Given the glorious truth revealed in this extraordinary verse, isn’t it actually counterproductive that so many preachers and pastors constantly exhort their flocks to examine their hearts and lives for sin?” He went on to elaborate that he doesn’t see many believers walking in flagrant sin, but he does see many walking is a “sin consciousness” rather than in the “righteousness consciousness” that Romans 5:17 says is ours. In fact, it says we’ve received the “gift of perfect righteousness!”

 Here’s my response:

My personal observation has been that preachers and pastors are frequently nervous about the prospect of people developing a full righteousness consciousness. I think they believe, with sincere but wrongheaded intentions, that we all need a little fear and shame to keep us in line. That it’s not good for believers to get too comfortable and confident in their standing with God.  

By this way of thinking, it’s actually a good thing to be the brother that stays at home in the parable of the Prodigal. Laboring, striving, and rule-following in order to try to earn something he already possesses. So they preach against sin, and exhort believers to examine themselves so they can “get right with God.” 

As proper as this seems to the religious mind, this is tragically, catastrophically wrong, and produces the opposite of the intended results. The totality of Paul’s argument in Romans chapters 5, 6, and 7 is that being sin conscious empowers sin in my life.

That’s why my personal goal, and one I’ve encouraged in others, is to renew my mind to three New Covenant “consciousnesses” . . . 

• A Righteous Consciousness (as opposed to being Sin Conscious)
• A Me-in-Jesus-and-Jesus-in-Me Consciousness (as opposed to a God-Up-There-Somewhere Consciousness)

With these previous two liberating me to be . . .

• Others Conscious (as opposed to Self Conscious)

I’m convinced this is why the grace message provokes such strong negative reactions in many parts of the evangelical world. They actually believe it’s dangerous to allow people to be unafraid and unashamed. 

Ironically, afraid and ashamed are precisly what Adam and Eve became the moment they became “sin conscious.”

Renewing our minds to the reality that we have received “the gift of perfect righteousness” disarms the power of sin in our lives and causes us to “reign as kings in life” in Jesus Christ.

The believer who has fully absorbed this into his or her identity is truly, fully free.