I Was Born This Way

“I was born this way.”  How often in the last several years have we as Christians heard this phrase used to defend what the Bible has clearly called sin?  More importantly, how sad is it that such a statement has been used to justify an interpretation of the Bible that justifies sin.  After all, if I really was born this way, how could it possibly be wrong?  If God made me this way, then surely he wants me to live this way.  It can be a tough argument to defend against – until you understand the doctrine of being Crucified with Christ.

It may be true that “I was born this way” but it is most definitely not true that God made you (or me) that way.   Both the doctrine of being Crucified with Christ and the doctrine of being “born again” are premised on the fact that humanity has become something that God never intended.  God did not make us this way; sin made us this way.  God knew in his infinite wisdom that granting man the free will of choice would result in his decision to rebel against God.  He also knew in his infinite wisdom that once sin entered the world, the very flesh and blood of his perfect creation would become corrupted – becoming something that he never intended – having within it a sinful nature – and that as a result mankind would become a slave to that sinful nature.  And yet still he created mankind because he loved us and wanted to have a relationship with us.

Fortunately, God loves us enough not to leave us in such a depraved state, which is why he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us.  This past Sunday our sermon was about being Crucified with Christ (you can download and listen to that sermon at http://pawneeaudio.blogspot.com/2015/07/i-am-crucified-with-christ.html).  The beauty of the doctrine of being Crucified with Christ is that it is God’s answer to problem “I was born this way.”

Being born in sin should never be an excuse to live a lifestyle of sin.  We were all born into sin.  We all have a propensity to be enslaved by sin; and for most of us, there is that one sin that enslaves us more than others.  For some it is drugs.  For others it is alcohol.  It may be your sexual desires or your sexual orientation.  It may be your self-control or it may be your pride.  Whatever it may be for you, we are all essentially born that way. 

Fortunately, when we give our lives in faith to Jesus Christ, we are actually “Born Again.”  As we discussed in the sermon, scripture is clear that our Old Man (our former person or the person we used to be) has died – being crucified with Christ (Romans 6:6).  In its place we have become an entirely new and different person.  1 Corinthians 5:17 says “If any man is in Christ he is a new creation; the old is past away, behold all things have become new.” 

In other words, that person – the one was born “that way” - is gone the moment they receive Christ.   The sin nature that they were born with is dead.  Yes, as long as we are on this earth and until we receive our full inheritance as children of God – that is, our glorified bodies – that sin nature will still be present in our flesh.  However, it was put to death through our faith in Christ and so it no longer has control over us.  It only has life as we choose to give it life.  Therefore, once you are born again as a believer in Jesus Christ, you have the power within you to overcome whatever urges or desires you were born with.   You have been given new desires and new urges.  Sure, for some people it may take time for your new desires and new urges to grow in strength enough so that you overcome the old desires.  For others though, that change is immediate and instantaneous.  Either way, It is shameful and disgraceful when the Christ’s church fails to recognize that our sin nature has been crucified and so begins to justify certain lifestyle sins by saying it must be OK because “they were born that way.”

The problem that the Christian community in America has had over the last several decades when it comes to dealing with lifestyle sins is that we have been trying to judge and force people who are enslaved to a particular lifestyle to restrain their behavior.  You cannot restrain from behaving a particular way when in fact you are enslaved to that behavior.  We have then made it worse by judging them for being enslaved to something that they have no control over.  How wrong is that on our part!  Do we not recall that before we came to Christ we, too, were enslaved to sin?  Perhaps it was not the same sin, but we were no less enslaved and we were no less condemned.  However, as Jesus says in John 3:18, our condemnation was primarily the result of our disbelief – and therein lays the secret to how we really ought to be addressing the issue of lifestyle sins.

Rather than condemning a behavior that lost and sinful people have no control over, we ought to be addressing the issue of unbelief in their life.  It is the gospel that has the power to save and transform lives and so it is the gospel that we should be using as a tool to fight against all forms of sin – not just lifestyle sins.   Regardless of what sin enslaves you, it is the gospel of Jesus Christ that can set you free.  Unfortunately for some people, they are blind to the fact that they are enslaved to sin.  We cannot win these people for Christ by pointing out any one specific sin in their lives.  We can, however, win them (or at least some of them) for Christ by pointing out that “God demonstrated his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  We are all sinners and we all need Jesus.  That is the message for all who are lost and dying in their sinfulness.

I have several “friends” who are enslaved by lifestyle sins.  They know exactly what I stand for.  They know how I feel about their lifestyle.  They also know I will never judge them or condemn them and I have full respect for them as people and as professionals.  However, they also know that I want them to have a faith in Jesus Christ.  So far, they have rejected that, but I have not given up hope for them.  I believe in the power of the gospel.  Perhaps one day they will see their need for a savior and when they do place their faith in Jesus Christ, old things will pass away and all things will become new.  They will see things differently then.  At that time, we will be able to deal with their lifestyle sins.  Until then, I will just keep sharing – and demonstrating - to them the gospel and the love of Christ.  And so it should be how we address all who are lost.  I, too, was born that way - well not “that” way, but I was born enslaved to my own besetting sins.  Now, however, I have been born again.  Old things are gone – behold, all things are new.  Unless I choose to give them life, they have no hold on me.  Glory to God, I have been Crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me (Gal 2:20).