Someone recently taught that the saints do not have to overcome sin. Jesus did all the overcoming, they stated, and we receive perfect righteousness by believing that Jesus overcame sin. Our belief "actualizes" victory in us. Furthermore, they maintained, whenever we are convicted of sin, this is a trick, a lie of Satan. There can be no sin in us because we believe in the victory won by the Lord Jesus.

How does the "Jesus did it all" approach to salvation differ from the concept that righteousness comes by faith in Christ apart from godly behavior, which often is the evangelical position? If Christian grace is salvation by naked belief in the existence and atoning work of Christ, then what place does repentance and gaining victory over sin have in the Christian experience? Of what would one repent if God does not see behavior except through Christ?

If Jesus did all the overcoming and we merely accept the finished work by faith, then attempting to turn away from sin would be a meaningless exercise. In fact it would be an affront to God who already has given us perfect righteousness. Yet many of us realize that the Spirit of God is calling us to repentance in the present hour.

When Paul spoke of works he was referring to the observances of the Law of Moses, including the Ten Commandments, circumcision, the Sabbath day, the dietary regulations, and the sacrifices of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.

Paul is contrasting being saved by the covenant God made with the Jews with being saved by accepting what God has accomplished through Christ Jesus. Paul is maintaining we are saved by faith in the Person and atoning work of Christ Jesus, and that it is not necessary to add to the Divine atonement the statutes of the Law of Moses.

Paul was not contrasting God's salvation in Christ Jesus with righteous, godly behavior when he taught we are saved by grace and not by works. He was comparing the atonement made by Christ with the Law of Moses.

Paul was not saying, "We are not saved by righteous behavior but by God's grace." God's grace when correctly received always leads to righteous behavior. There can be no contrast between God's grace and righteous behavior.

Paul indeed was teaching we are not saved by the Law of Moses but by the atonement made by the Lord Jesus. How could one add circumcision or not eating pork to the perfect work of Christ on the cross?

However, if Paul had been maintaining that because we are under grace we no longer are required to crucify the flesh with its lusts and appetites, that we no longer are required to observe the eternal moral laws, then most of the New Testament writings, including the Sermon on the Mount, would have little relevance to the new covenant.

When thinking about the moral decline of the so-called Christian nations one wonders if Christians ought not to take another look at what the New Testament actually teaches. Is the grace of forgiveness the main emphasis or is the grace of repentance and godly living stressed?

Are we Christians called to overcome sin through the Spirit of God or has Jesus "done it all." How do you feel about this? (from A Study Guide for the Book of Romans)