I use faith as an example of this principle.

James 2: 17; So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

My good deeds (behaviors) are more than mere expression, but an essential part of what constitutes a full expression of faith. So much so that faith cease to be with out them.

“Justification is an act, a declaration. It is not a process. Through faith in Christ, and only through faith, sinners are declared to be forgiven and to be perfectly right with God. This declaration is whole and complete, totally independent of any inherent goodness in us sinners. In short, because of God's act on the cross received through faith, we sinners are declared to be perfect saints in God's sight. But this does not mean that forgiven sinners, when judged by God's law, do not continue to be sinners. "Forgiveness is needed constantly," says Luther. "Because we are encumbered with our flesh, we are never without sin".”

Both the Hebrew (het) and Greek (hamartia) words for sin mean “to miss the mark.” I think this is one of those cases where close doesn't count. Colossians 3 says “for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” I would conclude that “the mark” is a life totally surrendered to Christ, or, to put it another way, to fully abide in Christ. Anything less than that is to be off the mark. I see the proof in my daily struggle to set aside selfish desire. Going back to the Colossians verse, if I’m fully surrendered to God, it’s like I’m completely hidden behind Christ. I'm invisible. When I lean out (move slightly off the mark), even though you can’t see all of me, I am no longer hidden.

Just my $0.02 :>)

As Christians, we are indeed regenerated. We have been made perfect in our spiritual union with Christ. He has taken up residence by the Holy Spirit within our spirits. However, we are still unregenerated in our minds and in need of progressive sanctification. The flesh is still present and needs to be dealt with mercilessly where we discover its influence.

Simply describing sin as actions and thoughts puts us into the moral wranglings of, "How close can I get to the line without going over?" Understanding sin as the state of a broken relationship with God cuts through all of that mess. It is the only standard by which we can truly judge our thoughts and behaviors. There are no gray areas in our relationship with Jesus.

In this sense, I do not believe that quoting Rom. 14:23 is incorrect. Paul is describing our conduct among other believers and how we may violate each others conscience based upon various practices. Again, these are the externals. The internal bottom-line is can I engage in them by faith? That is to say, can I with a clean conscience profess that what I am doing is a genuine expression of my relationship with Christ. If not…it is sin.

I disagree. When I sin, I am a sinner. When I don't sin, I am not. A "state of sin" is only continuous until the moment I do right. Then, it is no longer continuous. It is important for us, as Christians, to be clear about such things and to use words as they are technically defined so we can be easily understood by Christians and non-Christians alike.

To postulate that we are in a continuous, or even constant state of sin, nullifies the assertion that we are "new creatures."

I don't mean to zero in on what could be viewed as such a small detail. Especially since I agree with the spirit of what you are trying to articulate. But just I cannot get behind it as it is currently worded. It just comes across as confusing to me, and worse, demoralizing.

Also, and I am not speaking authoritatively here so please correct me if I am wrong (as if you wouldn't, hehe), but referring to Rom 14:23 in that way looks like a classic case of taking a quote out of context, or zeroing in on a small fraction of a sentence and applying it in a broad and careless manner. In that section of Romans, Paul is summarizing a conclusion. He is wrapping up an argument. And the argument he is wrapping up is concerned with Christians judging each other, causing disharmony within the church, and making moral "gray-area" choices when they clearly have doubts about whether or not they are sinning. To pick the tail-end of one sentence like that, and make such a significant blanket statement, really gives me pause. But not the good kind.

I think we have plenty of obvious, black and white sin in our life to deal with, without heaping on extra helpings inappropriately. Not to mention that doing so isn't neutral. It's harmful.

Love you man .

peace|dewde