In this age of perfectionism and the desire for excellence, some Christians feel very disheartened to accept being termed as a sinner (like swallowing a distress pill), especially since God says He deeply loves us.

1 John 1:8, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Though this article does not address the sacrament of confession, it comes as no surprise, that for the above reason, some Catholics who receive sacraments, may attend prayer meetings or teach Catechism, but infrequent the Confessional. Equally worse are other denominations offering their discourses, saying there is no need to confess to a priest who is also sinful; that if we believe Jesus died for our sins, we need only confess directly to God. They try to nullify the truth and mislead weak Catholics out of the church. 

Sadly scores of Christians have so misunderstood this point, such that they are ready to turn agnostic, possessing such a hatred and anger towards a religion that can speak about them being sinners. They thwart the message of God and His offer of salvation. Many practicing Christians and Catholics may also find it challenging, for it seems hard to admit a fault, let alone being termed sinner.

To several, it seems enough that, the world of high demands at work, bring extreme stress to an already wounded tired out people, given that slip-ups are barely tolerated. The last thing they have the energy for or want to hear, is about spiritual erring, that it results in being sinners of not only venial but mortal sins, that too deserving eternal death. Yes they know that (among other things) the Gospels recount God’s love, but their contention is that salvation story is based on, Jesus saving us from our sinfulness. 

1 John 1:10 – If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

While hard for them to swallow, in truth, they have not understood the context of the message in its entirety, or else they would have highly appreciated it. Hearing only part of it caused them to take leave; it is like one misjudging an invasive medical instrument as life threatening, until they realize it is meant to be life-saving. 

Though for most part, it is important that the message of God should be encouraging, boosting and affirmative, Catholics need to be realistic that God looks at things holistically and we should have the courage to do so. Many sufferings are caused because of sins and addressing our conscience, is also part of bringing joyful healing and end to the suffering.  

But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. – James 1:14-15

While the Bible does tell us to be kind in the way we reproach men, it does not try to hide from its reader the fact that we are all sinners. 

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. – Galatians 6:1

Remember, till their end, saints more than anyone, in all sincerity (not superficially), believed they were sinners but did not get phased out by this. They confessed regularly, while still trying to be perfect like their Heavenly Father.   

Therefore how does one humbly accept they are sinners, in spite of the true self-knowledge of how good they are, possessing good intentions, talented, diligent or wealthy? And how do we accept this without feeling our self-worth injured? 

In short, it is by looking through the Father’s all-encompassing perspective; in relation to the body of Christ and not as an individual alone.

Several people have found it strange that with one mistake (that too by deception), Adam and Eve merited eternal death, wondering how God could be so severe.

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. – 1 Corinthians 12:27

God’s very nature is unity, meaning three persons in one or Trinitarian, and we are also a part of Him. For God breathed His breath of life into us and though we are not begotten, we come from His own breath.

Sin can never be in God, neither accepted as part of His nature, because it is ignorance of the mysteries of love. Consider now the analogy of human cells and organs and connecting this to being His children and parts of His body, in oneness with Him. 

We know that when cancer cells start multiplying in one area, our final aim is to get rid of it and stop the spread, as it will hurt the rest of the body. Therefore when Adam and Even sinned (who were parts of His breath and so dear to God, only separated by their own physical body), they were to be like damaged cells in the Trinitarian body of God, if God let them retain their son-ship. Like heaven (God’s home), cannot have sinners, they too were immediately stripped of their power to be His very children (which symbolizes being close to Him, like a physical connection/extension). True, this could never physically hurt God, because firstly He is spirit and then, omnipotent, but they who were once sinless beings turned sinful, could not stay as children of God. 

Unlike cancer though that can kill healthy cells, they who rejected Him, could not harm Him but His own holiness would now be unbearable for them (refer below Exodus 33:18-20). Therefore they were separated from Him, since their very act of sin (ignorance), was against love, which comprised of their Father’s entire nature. 

When they decided to bite the fruit, it was so that they could be apart from Him, an equal with Him as gods. Very similar to cancer cells, fighting with healthy cells in the body, trying to dominate and bring war internally, in a body that should have harmony. With such a “loveless, competitive, independent of their Father” attitude, God had to separate them from Him, as it also implicates that they themselves did not want to be His children. 

Cancer cells have to be destroyed by chemotherapy or surgery to remove the cells or the affected tissue. Similarly, when we become comfortable with a cancerous nature, meaning opposed to the nature of God, He cannot remain in union with us, although He loves us. If we understand the logic that excess cancer cells need to be destroyed, then we get the logic that ideally, this one wrong was enough of a reason for God to allow Adam and Eve to be permanently separated from Him. Remember, all that is devoid of God, is hell. So if God took away His complete presence from a place or person, that entity would be in painful darkness or eternal destruction (like the cancerous cells).

Though we merited eternal death, Jesus chose to pour out His sacrificial blood over our cancerous nature that contaminated our soul, like radiation therapy, cleansing us by the sacrifice of His love. To destroy cancer cells, humans willingly undergo painful therapy; we too have to accept God’s disciplinary correction, to remove our cancerous nature and save ourselves. This starts by accepting we are sinners in His eyes and thereafter work to be rid of sin. Therefore hard as it is, we have to fight and be brave enough to be realistic because…

If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. – Matthew 5:29 

In fact, in the following verse, we see that because God is so holy, Moses being a dear, close and holy man, longed to see God. However because of his slightly fallen nature, to protect him, God could not allow Moses to see His face.

Then Moses said, “Now, please show me your glory [his manifest presence].” The Lord answered, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will announce my name, the Lord, so you can hear it.… But you cannot see my face, because no one can see me and live. – Exodus 33:18-20

We ourselves cannot fully live with God or bear to be with Him, when we are in sin, and heaven being firstly God’s, has to be devoid of sin. For one to instead say, they do not want God, is to ask for His presence to depart and the result is hell. 

This is how we are to understand that we are sinners from His perspective. That we were once healthy cells (part of the Father), who later accepted some of our nature turning against Him or His body and therefore, we are termed sinful (unhealthy cells). 

However by of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Father accepts and sees us as His children, unlike Adam after his sin. This does not take away the fact that many Christians try to rectify their life, but some nature of sin still remains. Through every mass, offered each hour, across the world celebrating His sacrifice, our advocate Jesus, the wounded Lamb, stands before us and the Father, defending all His children, irrespective of those who try to change or not. This life, is the time of mercy granted to souls to make the most of it and work with Jesus to remove sin. 

1 John 1:10 – If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

So, we would be lying if we said that we are not sinners and would make a mockery out of Christ. It is true that at times, maybe when growing up as children, certain people may have confused us or may have misused or abused the gospel to admonish us in such a cruel way, unlike the quote above, about correcting people in love. 

Unlike our dear Father, these people may have made our sinfulness seem like a permanent problem, a handicap for life and the reason to merit lifelong rejection. They, who may have misused the gospel message to bully, destroy or crush our spirit, were themselves misled in understanding why God dislikes sinfulness. God does not reject us because we are sinners and He never will. All the same, raising us to be responsible like Him, He expects us to accept our consequence and correct ourselves. 

This is only because He loves us, wanting to graft us more deeply into His body, keeping us forever with Him. We cannot dictate our terms to God to accept our sinfulness, because heaven has no place for sinners, but all our sins will be expiated before we reach there. Never again should we walk in shame, fear and rejection, thinking we are sinners.

If God admonishes us when we sin, correcting or expecting us to bear the consequence, truly as the Bible says He is treating us as His beloved son.

My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. Proverbs 3:11

Similarly this is what Jesus said about His preaching which was also challenging: And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” Matthew 11:6