Mitspa,
In Romans 7:13, Paul does not say that the law causes sin, but sin produces all manner of evil desire. Sin produces death through what is good, the law(Romans 7:13). If we say we are without sin, then we are liars. You can't tell me you don't sin, because the Bible says clearly that we sin. And if it was possible to live perfectly from now on, we still have the sin in the past that we are guilty of. I do grant you that, as Christians, we are justified by the righteousness of Jesus, by His blood and resurrection, by faith. This means when God looks at us, our sins are not held against us as they are imputed to Jesus. But I would not hold that we are without sin because, I'm still living in this sinful body. This body is still going to die as the holy consequences of God's law takes its course. Depending on your age, I'm sure that if you don't have gray hair yet, you'll be getting it soon. Did you read Romans 7:13 and 7:8? Paul clearly states that sin causes evil desire.
You should be able to agree with this statement:
Romans 7:16
New King James Version (NKJV)
16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that
it is good.
Also:
Romans 7:21-25
New King James Version (NKJV)
21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22
For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
Now we see the importance of walking in the Spirit. Does that mean we don't stumble anymore and we walk perfectly with God. No way. Peter was guilty of sin after coming to faith and being baptized with a supernatural emanation of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and even Paul at the end of his life confessed to being the chief of sinners. Paul's attitude of himself was worse than the beginning; going from the least of the apostles to the chief of sinners. "If we are justified by Christ," then why did Paul carry the label of "chief of sinners?" Are you denying that you sin, now that you have become a Christian? What would you attribute your sin to if you do sin? I would put to you that if you were to stand before God in your present state, you would fall flat to your face and say, as Isaiah said, 'I am a man of unclean lips.' Not until these bodies of death die and we are fully sanctified and given a new body, that is not corrupt and is without sin, will we be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect.
This is better explained from a transcript of a lecture that Dr. R.C. Sproul gave where he talked about Martin Luther's Latin phrase simul justus et peccator. "In and of ourselves, under the analysis of God’s scrutiny, we still have sin; we’re still sinners. But, by imputation and by faith in Jesus Christ, whose righteousness is now transferred to our account, then we are considered just or righteous. This is the very heart of the gospel."
http://www.ligonier.org/blog/simul-justus-et-peccator/
The only difference between you and the unbeliever is that you have the Holy Spirit within you having been born again, having your sins accounted to Jesus, and His righteousness imputed to you. This should work its way out as you grow in sanctification for all the world to see. This is called glorifying God. Often people can't tell the difference between the Christian and the self-righteous atheist, because the atheist may do more good deeds than the Christian, to our shame. But we know the atheist does good deeds because he believes he's a good person not taking into account God's standards, the Ten Commandments. The Christian will acknowledge there is nothing good in and of himself, but thank God for the Holy Spirit who indwells us so that we can walk by the Spirit. Another way of saying this is when we die to the law, we acknowledge there is nothing good in us, but when we come to Christ, we are delivered from the law no longer subject to its consequences, and the Holy Spirit comes in us and enables us to live righteously, fulfilling the law, or loving our neighbor as ourselves, however imperfect we still are. Our bodies of death, though, are subject to the consequences of the law, as they will one day die.
Another lie from Satan is, 'You are not a sinner, or, you're not that bad.'
- Davies
