As I said before, if you look up the word “sinners” in the NT Greek, it gives us this interpretation:
1) devoted to sin, a sinner
Would you consider yourself a “Forgiven person who is devoted to sin”?
a) not free from sin
Would you consider yourself somebody who is forgiven, but not freed from sin? (Romans 6:18, “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”)
b) pre-eminently sinful, especially wicked
Would you consider yourself somebody who is forgiven but especially wicked?
1) all wicked men
Would you consider yourself a forgiven wicked person?
2a) tax collectors, heathen
Would you consider yourself a forgiven heathen?
Basically, a forgiven sinner is somebody who has been forgiven, but they are not freed from the power of sin.
Jesus didn’t just die to forgive us of our sins, but also to deliver us from the power of sin! If He only came to forgive us, then we could use the term ‘forgiven sinner’.
I don’t know about you, but the old ‘sinner’ in me died (Romans 6:11), and was buried with Christ (Romans 6:2, 4), and I am a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17)!
