There are two kinds of sinners, the righteous and the wicked. Now, you may be thinking, “How can a righteous person be a sinner?” Notice the difference between the two:
Most people think that when the Bible says “righteous,”
Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
1 John 3:7
Here it says that “he that doeth righteousness is righteous”. Now, what is righteousness? Many people have opinions of what righteousness is but we don’t have to give our own opinion, the Bible defines it for us:
Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.
My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.
Psalm 119:142, 172
We see that the Bible tells us that “he that doeth righteousness (the Law or the Ten Commandments of God) is righteous.” We are identified by our obedience to the Law or the Ten Commandments of God.
Does that mean that commandment-keepers are not sinners? Notice what the Bible says…
For a just (righteous) man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
Proverbs 24:16
Just and righteous people (those who keep the Commandments of God) still fall from time to time. But notice the difference between the “righteous” sinner and the “wicked” sinner:
The righteous sinner, when they fall into sin and have realized it, “riseth up again.” This means they have confessed their sins and will keep trying to adhere to the Law of God. Remember, justified means “made
righteous.” It means from your old nature that wants to sin (break God’s Law), you are now given a whole new nature that does not want to sin. Now you do not want to break God’s Law. And, if you don’t want to break it, you will start keeping it.
Whereas the wicked sinner, the verse said, “shall fall into mischief,” because the Bible identifies the “wicked” as those who…
Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law.
Psalm 119:53
The “wicked,” the Bible says, are those “that forsake” God’s “law.” They fall but they do not get up. They don’t want to keep it, and they have turned their backs on it. They think that it’s impossible to keep the law because they can’t keep it. And the reason they can’t keep it is either that they’re relying on their own strength or they simply don’t want to try.
The righteous, you see, do not rely on their own strength to keep the law. The righteous live By faith that “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). That’s faith. When a person says “It’s impossible to keep the law,” where’s the faith in that? None. They don’t think that God is able to help them live a righteous (commandment-keeping) life.
Many people in their own opinion, define faith as just believing in Jesus and accepting Him as their personal Savior and they’re saved. But the Bible does not teach that. Faith is not just accepting and believing in Jesus. The Bible says “faith without works is dead”.
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
James 2:17
It’s like you have this dream house that you want to have but you are not doing anything about it. Are you going to get your dream house that way? No. Never. That dream will remain a dream, and it’s never gonna be a reality.
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
James 2:18
Faith is a living force. It compels one to do something about his faith. In this case, loving God and keeping His Commandments. The Law that is written in his heart is pulsating with grace and fires up his entire being and he cannot but act on it. That’s faith. That’s being justified.
Now, with these scriptures, you can know where you currently are, spiritually. Are you righteous or are you wicked?