Podcast Summary: Living Influence with Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd
Episode: From Sinner to Saint: Living Dead to Sin
Date: November 20, 2025
Episode Overview
In this episode, Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd explore a transformative theological concept: the journey from seeing oneself as a “sinner” to embracing a new identity as a “saint” – living “dead to sin” and alive in Christ. The discussion centers on how one’s self-view profoundly shapes their capacity to love, influence, and live out their faith. The co-hosts challenge common Christian assumptions, inviting listeners to shift from guilt and sin-management to bold trust in their true identity.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. The Power of Self-View in Christian Influence
- Scott opens by emphasizing the importance of self-view: “We can still think that we're a sinner. And you're not. You are not a sinner. And thinking you are robs you of an opportunity to experience the joy that it's set before us.” [00:22]
- Bill echoes the central point: “If as a Christian, I still see myself as a sinner, then sin is my dominant subject... But if I believe... that I'm really a saint, then you know what happens? I become preoccupied with love.” [01:04]
2. Theological Foundations of Being “Dead to Sin”
- Bill reviews the biblical roots, revisiting Adam’s sin and the genesis of “sin-management.” He points out, “He tried to cover his nakedness. We call that sin management.” [02:27]
- Scott comments on the pitfalls of sin-management: “I gotta work on my sin. I become self-centered. And in my self-centeredness, I quit actually being able to notice others.” [02:51]
3. Identity Shift: From Sinner to Saint
- Bill describes the transformation: “We can actually come to a faith in Jesus Christ… be born into Christ… live into the righteousness that is ours. But today's topic is this… in Christ, we are dead to sin. That's who we are. That's my new identity.” [03:13]
- Addressing doubts, Bill clarifies, “You who are now dead to sin have been made alive into righteousness.” [04:23]
4. Living Out the New Identity
- Measuring the change, Bill explains: “How would I measure that I'm actually dead to sin? By how well I live into the righteousness that I have in Christ, always expressing itself in love.” [04:41]
- He makes it personal: “How would I know that I'm dead to sin? Because I, who am alive, am going to do something I couldn't do when I was dead… think of you [others].” [05:40]
5. The Experience of New Life
- Scott uses a vivid metaphor: “It was as if you got a new pair of glasses and all of a sudden you could see the leaves on the tree… Everything looked different.” [06:18]
- Both hosts lament the dampening of this experience by church culture: “The very churches that you went to immediately reminded you that you were still a sinner.” [07:07]
6. Scriptural Grounding
- Scott brings in Galatians 2: “If I rebuild what I tore down, I'll prove myself to be a transgressor … I tore down the law. The law no longer will define me because Jesus defines me.” [09:09]
- Bill elaborates: “What got torn down was who I used to be. And my dependency on the law … I have a new foundation. I have a new reality. And in that new reality, I am dead to who I was.” [09:23–09:36]
7. Not Behavioral Transformation, But Death and New Life
- Bill distinguishes: “The Christian life is not about changing who I used to be into who I ought to be. The Christian life is not a behavioral transformation. It's a death transformation.” [10:56]
8. Living as Children of God
- Scott: “Children of a parent have their parents DNA… that speaks to this righteousness that God puts in us.” [12:18]
- The hosts use their podcast’s upside-down mountain logo to illustrate: “God starts with, like, changing you fundamentally completely right at the spot right here.” [13:09]
9. Trust and Surrender
- Bill offers a practical challenge: “Did you trust Jesus with your sin? … but have you ever trusted him with your life?” [13:43]
- Scott articulates a common fear: “What if he makes me do something I don't want to do?” [14:35]
- Bill dismantles the fear: “He's asking to be your God… When you have that fear… you're really saying, I'm afraid I won't be God anymore.” [14:43]
10. Living Out Love Instead of Focusing on Sin
- Bill urges, “Can I let [the significance of Christ in me] be my focus? … We transferred the focus from being my sin to being dead to sin because of who God says I am.” [15:56]
- The new reality, as Scott puts it: “My focus begins to be on who I really am, who he has really made me… if I could believe that I am in fact dead to sin… but don't end it there… I am now alive to righteousness.” [17:01]
11. Application in Everyday Life and Business
- Scott relates this truth to business: “When you find somebody that's like started a business from the ground up… they're going to have a story about loving people. And it is the significance of what Christ has done that enables us to do that.” [18:52]
12. Living Into Theology by Faith
- Bill concludes: “How do you … live into that theology? By believing that I, who am dead to sin, am alive because of God's grace by loving.” [20:04]
- Scott adds: “It's that little tip on the mountain… It's called faith, by the way.” [20:17]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- “If as a Christian, I still see myself as a sinner, then sin is my dominant subject I deal with… But if I believe… that I'm really a saint, then… I become preoccupied with love.” – Bill Thrall [01:04]
- “You're a saint who sins, but you're not unrighteous. And guess what? He would like you to learn that you who… are dead to sin, are now alive in Christ to righteousness.” – Bill Thrall [04:43]
- “The Christian life is not about changing who I used to be into who I ought to be. The Christian life is not a behavioral transformation. It's a death transformation.” – Bill Thrall [10:56]
- “Children of a parent have their parents DNA… that speaks to this righteousness that God puts in us.” – Scott Boyd [12:18]
- “Did you trust Jesus with your sin?… but have you ever trusted him with your life?” – Bill Thrall [13:43]
- “It's about loving people. That's what successful business is about.” – Scott Boyd [18:52]
- “How do you… live into that theology? By believing that I, who am dead to sin, am alive because of God's grace by loving.” – Bill Thrall [20:04]
Important Timestamps
- 00:22 – Introduction to the episode’s central question: are we sinners or saints?
- 01:04 – The effect of self-view on Christian experience and influence
- 03:13 – Explanation of the “dead to sin” concept and overcoming identity confusion
- 04:41 – How to measure living “dead to sin”: the evidence of love
- 06:18 – The metaphor of “new glasses” and changing perspective
- 09:09 – Scriptural basis from Galatians 2 for a new identity in Christ
- 10:56 – The Christian life as “death transformation,” not just behavioral change
- 12:18 – Analogy of spiritual DNA and its impact on identity
- 13:43 – The call to trust Christ not just with sin, but with one’s life
- 17:07 – Pivoting focus from ending sin to living out true identity in love
- 18:52 – Application: how love shapes leadership and business
- 20:04 – Living into theology by belief and love; the faith “at the tip of the mountain”
Conclusion
This episode challenges listeners to reconsider their fundamental self-identity as Christians—not as sinners striving and failing, but as saints who, through trust and faith, are dead to sin and alive to love and righteousness. Bill and Scott urge believers to embrace this new reality, allow it to reshape their lives, and let it ripple outwards in love—at home, in business, and in community.