Does it matter if we call ourselves a sinner or a saint?

Does it really matter if we believe we are sinners or saints? Some would say, “We’re kind of both. We still sin, but we’re also saved, so it’s really not that important.”

But it matters more than we realize, because what we believe about ourselves shapes the way we live. “As a person thinks within himself, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7). Our theology affects our psychology…how we think, feel, and act.

The confusion often comes from how we define the word sinner. Biblically, a sinner isn’t simply someone who commits sins. A sinner is someone separated from God, spiritually dead in Adam. But the moment you trusted Christ, that changed completely. You were born again, united with Jesus, forgiven, made righteous, and given a brand-new identity. Yes, believers still sin. But your behavior no longer defines who you are. Your new birth does.

Your behavior may stumble, but your identity in Christ is settled forever.

That’s why the New Testament consistently calls believers saints—holy ones—not because we’ve mastered perfect behavior, but because we’ve been made holy through our union with Christ. God isn’t asking you to pretend to be someone you’re not. He’s inviting you to live out who He’s already made you to be.

If you believe your deepest identity is “sinner,” then sin will always feel like the truest thing about you. But when you know you are a saint, obedience becomes the natural expression of your new heart instead of another attempt to earn God’s approval or blessings.

So yes, it matters what we call ourselves, not because it’s about labels, but because it’s about believing what God says is true. In Christ, you are not a sinner trying to become a saint. You are a saint who is learning to live like the person God has already made you to be.

A Prayer for This Week

Lord Jesus, thank You that You did not merely forgive me, but made me new. Thank You for taking me out of Adam and placing me in Christ. Thank You that I am not defined by Adam, sin, shame, or failure. Teach me to agree with what You say about me, that I may live as Your holy, beloved child, not to earn my identity, but to express the life You have placed within me. In Your Name. Amen.‍

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17