The statement “your sin does not define you” is a common theme in religious and personal development contexts, suggesting that past mistakes or moral failures do not have to be the sum of one’s identity. Instead, it proposes that true identity is found in one’s relationship with God, their faith, or their capacity for change and repentance, while past actions can be overcome through seeking forgiveness and redemption.
Makes sense, yes?
A couple weeks ago, I went to an event for a gentleman celebrating a big accomplishment. Sixteen of us were invited. As “just a wife,” I was in the unique position of being on the outside looking in.
This man made a mistake, combined with defined heinous sin, some 25 years ago. It landed him in jail for 10 years. Early in his incarceration, he found the Lord. By the end of his time in jail, he was leading the weekly services, baptisms and bible studies.
He came out of jail walking with the Lord, leading others to the Lord and nearly unshakeable in his faith.
He paid his debt to society, made restitution to the people affected by his crime and gave his life over to Jesus.
What more should he have done?
Does his sin define him for the rest of his life?
Should it?
It’s easy as a believer to live under the weight and shame of past sin. The cloak of “not good enough” can influence every interaction, especially in the church.
In your mind it can disqualify you from relationships with certain godly people. You can feel “less than,” and even ashamed.
One of our enemy’s craftiest schemes is that he tries to convince believers that they are defined by their sin, rather than by the holiness of the One Who saved them from that sin.
Some people are haunted by sins they committed before they came to Christ; some are mortified by the things they did when they were supposed to be growing into maturity as a believer.
Things we knowingly participated in, things we felt unable to break free from, and things we did and later regretted… there is hardly a person among us who walks into church on Sunday morning who doesn’t have a “sin” buried away somewhere in the shadowy corners of their heart.
However “big,” however “small,” we all have the potential to be burdened by the weight of sin.
But the truth is that, as believers who are hidden in Christ, who have the Spirit alive and at work in us, we do not have to labor under the weight of that old burden any longer.
We are free of those old ways.
In Christ, there is no condemnation and you are set free from sin.
As believers, these are the banners that should be held over our lives:
Your Sin Does Not Define You
Because if it was dependent on us, we would have no need for the Savior.
But with Him, there is mercy. There is forgiveness. There is an awareness that we are dust. There is HIS righteousness bestowed on us. There is an increasing sanctification that He draws us through, so that we become more like His Son, not through our own graspings but through His Word and Spirit alive in us.
Your Sin Does Not Define You
Your GOD defines you. He is what gives you value and worth and wholeness.
Your identity is not in the magnitude of your sin, but in your magnificent Savior.
So, what got me thinking about this was the conversation at this celebration dinner. Over and over during this two-night event, people talked about this man’s sin and how they still chose to be in his life and allowed him in theirs. Over and over.
I kept thinking:
He paid his debt to society, made restitution to the people affected by his crime, and gave his life over to Jesus.
What more should he have done?
Does his sin define him for the rest of his life?
Isn’t there a point that it’s just behind him? His life now belongs to Jesus, isn’t that what matters? I just found it sad and a bit disturbing that this night of celebration was more about past sin.
We have to remember that sin doesn’t define us. Once our life is with Jesus, we have:
- Identity in Christ: For Christians, this idea is central to the belief that identity is found in Christ, not in sin. When a person repents, they are considered “a new creation” and are defined by God’s love and forgiveness, not by their past sins.
- Forgiveness: According to Christian scripture, confessing sins leads to forgiveness and purification from unrighteousness, meaning that the sins are washed away and no longer define a person.
- Overcoming shame and guilt: Religious teachings often frame sin as a source of guilt and shame that can be overcome through faith. By focusing on God’s love and redemption, individuals can move beyond the shame and be defined by a new identity as a child of God.
People have the capacity to learn, grow, and change. Past actions are not permanent indicators of character. While a past mistake may be a part of your story, it does not have to be the whole story. A person’s identity is a complex mixture of their experiences, choices, and character, and it is possible to move forward from a single, defining event.
The phrase “you are not your sin” is supported by several Bible verses that emphasize a person’s identity is not defined by their actions, but by their relationship with God through Christ. Key verses include Romans 6:11, which says to “consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus,” Romans 7:20, where Paul says “it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells in me,” and 1 Peter 2:9, which states believers are a “chosen people” and “receive mercy”.
Key Bible verses
- Romans 6:11: “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness” (NIV).
- Romans 7:19-20: “For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it” (NIV).
- 1 Peter 2:9-10: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (NIV).
- Romans 8:1: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (NIV).
Quite simply, there is one thing to remember (which I wanted to shout out during this celebration dinner):
You are defined by Christ. Your identity is not in your past mistakes, but in who you are in Christ. He makes you a new person, not a sinner.
For God and you,
Deb Bostwick
Singles Blogger