Thanks to all of you who have read the previous two articles and especially those of you who have encouraged me in writing the follow up. I am grateful to hear when readers find my publications useful.
I want to start off by clarifying my previous use of Dr. Lambert's article (1). I do believe that Dr. Lambert makes a helpful observation in stating the two extremes when thinking about our identity in Christ. The two extremes are
Downplaying the Newness of the Christian.
The Extreme of Glorification Now.
However, I am not persuaded that the Puritans are guilty of downplaying the newness of the Christian, as Dr. Lambert suggests.
Let us consider a sample of Puritan writing. When John Owen writes in The Mortification of Sin, he expounds upon Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." Focus on the words "you will live," he writes that the life that is promised to believers is not only eternal life in the future sense, but also the spiritual life in Christ they now have (2). Owen's shows from this verse that man has a responsibility to constantly mortify (kill) the deeds of the body. "Always be killing sin or it will be killing you. Your position in Christ, and the new life that you now have in Him, does not excuse you from this work," (John Owen). Though they have the responsibility Christians are not alone in their battle! Paul writes "you put to death..." showing that it is the believers responsibility, but Paul also writes "by the Spirit you put to death..." showing that we are dependent upon the Holy Spirit. Owen's goes so far as to say that when this responsibility to mortify sin is taken up apart from the Holy Spirit, such attempts are the root of all false religion.
I believe from this sample of Owen you can begin to see that the Puritan's are far more balanced in their view of Christian identity than they are given credit for. We learn from them, that the newness of the Christian is thanks to God's ongoing work in the believer, while at the same time the old man still seeks to assert itself.
I also believe that in our assessment of the Puritan prayers, we should consider them in light of this ongoing work of the Holy Spirit. Where else are believers to turn when they are confronted with their flesh or the deeds of the body? The best place to turn is to God in prayer. Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Far from minimizing the truth of the newness of the Christian, the Puritans are showing us the way to that glorious newness.
So, are Christians then considered sinners? We can conclude then that Christians may be considered sinners, when we mean by it that Christians have indwelling sin, the corrupted flesh or, as Owen puts it, "the fountain and principle of all sinful action," within them. However, as our verse indicates Christians are those who by the power of the Holy Spirit "put to death the deeds of the body." Christians are not those who consistently and constantly live by the flesh. Christians don't love their sin. Christians are sinners saved by grace and maybe we should say according to Romans 8:13 sinners being saved by grace. As John Owen says: "This whole work (mortification of sin by the Holy Spirit) is done by degrees, and it is to be carried on towards perfection all of our days."
We must be trained in putting to death the deeds of the body. When Paul tells us we must do this by the power of the Sprit, we must realize that newness in Christ does not mean we have now been infused with Christian impulses. No, newness in Christ is more like communion with God where he shapes us and trains us in His ways. When we are sensitive to the purifying work of the Spirit in our lives, we will avoid the extremes.
In Christ
Pastor Hennie
Hennie van Niekerk, Christians and Sin (Part 2): Are Christians Considered Sinners?, https://www.emmausbc.org/post/christians-and-sin-part-2-are-christians-considered-sinners
John Owen, The Mortification of Sin,
https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/owen/Mortification%20of%20Sin%20-%20John%20Owen.pdf (page 15.)
Dr. Heath Lambert, Out with the Old and in with the New!,
https://www.biblicalcounselingcoalition.org/2013/05/02/out-with-the-old-and-in-with-the-new/
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