The natural man, even at his best, is still a sinner because he is not born again. When someone is a sinner, what he needs is not repentance but a new life in Christ Jesus. A sinner is not someone who has committed a sin. It’s wrong to sin but you’re not a sinner because you sinned! This may sound a little hard for your theology but it’s the truth. Sin is not just an act, it’s a nature! You have to know that.
A man who is not born again is a sinner no matter how morally upright he may be. The nature of the first Adam, which is the nature of the devil, was passed on to every man that’s born into this world. That nature is the nature of sin. God says, “a new heart and a new spirit will I put within you,” meaning the sin nature is completely taken out when you’re born again. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation!” Until you’re born again, you remain a sinner, irrespective of your high level of moral and social decorum.
A sinner does not need forgiveness, because you can only be forgiven your acts of wrong. What a sinner needs is remission of sins. There’s a great difference between the two. It’s only the man who is born again that qualifies to receive forgiveness of sin from God. A sinner cannot repent. To repent is to change your mind or your way of thinking and turnaround from what you used to do. What the sinner needs is a recreation. He’s got to be born again; he needs a new life altogether. That new life is in Christ. It’s pointless to keep reminding a sinner of his sins, he already knows he’s a sinner. What he needs is the cure for sin. Tell him about the saving grace of Jesus and point him to the Light because that’s what he needs!
