“You’re a dirty, rotten sinner.” It was one of the most often repeated statements from the pastor of the church I attended for thirteen years. At first it may sound like the graceless rant of a legalistic preacher. But the church was Gospel City Church in Granger, Indiana and the pastor was me.
I said it so often that people began to believe it. “I’m a dirty, rotten sinner” became part of the vernacular of the church. We heard it in membership classes, small group gatherings, and maybe most importantly, in the testimonies of new converts to Christ just before they were baptized. We even heard it during baby dedications. I know of at least one set of parents who printed “I’m a dirty, rotten sinner” on a onesie worn by their newborn child.
If you are getting uncomfortable reading this, I don’t blame you. The statement is meant to make us uncomfortable. If used outside the context of a gospel saturated culture calling someone a dirty, rotten sinner is spiritually abusive. But in a gospel flooded culture, it’s a wake up call to sleepy sinners who have lost the wonder of God’s grace.
My purpose in saying that phrase over and over was that the people that attended our church were some of the best people I knew. They were kind, compassionate, humble, gracious, and genuinely tried to obey the will of God as devoted followers of Jesus. And they were dirty rotten sinners…just like me. Without the reminder of remaining sin, good people live with an illusion they are good enough.
Having a hard time believing you're all that sinful? Take a little sin assessment in response to just five New Testament commands…
“As he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.” 1 Peter 1:15
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” Philippians 4:4
“Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3
“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48
How did you do? Not great, right? Me either. Say it with me, “We are dirty, rotten sinners.”
My purpose wasn’t to shame them into trying harder to do better. My purpose was to confront the misperception that salvation from sin is an event that lives in our memory in the past rather than an ongoing activity of God’s grace that saves us from the present reality of sin in our lives today.
For the record, I firmly believe that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone. I believe in the eternal security of the believer. I believe in the perseverance of the saints. I’m not even afraid to use the phrase “once saved, always saved.” But once saved, the saving never stops. I need God to save me today from the sin I committed today.
And the sin I committed today qualifies me as a dirty, rotten sinner.
I have had people challenge me over the years to stop calling blood-bought, redeemed, adopted, sin-washed saints “dirty rotten sinners.” Children of God have a new identity.
After all, Titus 3:5 speaks of the “washing of regeneration” 1 John 1:9 says God is faithful and just to “cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Jesus even told the disciples, "Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you." (John 15:3)
I believe those verses. But the bible teaches us that our identity is both saint and sinner. We have both dignity (because we are image bearers of God) and depravity (as sinners). I believe sin-washed sinners need daily encounters with their washed sin because they need a daily encounter with God’s grace. When my sinfulness becomes less than dirty and rotten, why would I be impressed with God’s grace that washes it?
What effect did this regular reminder have on our church? At least three.
It brought a sense of humility. Acknowledging that I’m a dirty rotten sinner keeps the focus on my sin rather than the sinner sitting next to us. If you come to church ready to deal with the sin inside you, you will find very little time and energy to sit in judgment of the sin going on outside of you.
It brought a dependence on Grace. I’m convinced that the reason most people have a shallow view of their sin is because they have a shallow view of God’s grace. Unless you believe that the depth of God’s grace is sufficient for the depth of your sin, you will not dive deep into the rottenness of sin. John Piper helped me with the use of ballast as a metaphor. Like the ballast in the bottom of a sailboat keeps it from tipping over when heavy winds hit the sails, God’s grace keeps me from sinking under the reality that I’m a dirty, rotten sinner. Without the weight of God’s amazing grace deep within my heart, the thought that I’m a dirty rotten sinner would sink me.
It brought a present-tense reality to the gospel. When you repent of real sin in real time, God meets you with real grace. Grace becomes more than just a theological concept to be studied. Because I sin everyday, I need to repent and believe the gospel everyday.
Thank God for welcoming dirty, rotten sinners like me with His all-sufficient, cleansing grace.
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