Written Criticism – Why do people still sin despite the coming of Christ?

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III answered a common question: If Christ came to save humanity from sin, why do people still sin?

He explained that Christ saved mankind from the punishment of sin, having paid the full price on the Cross. Yet He also gave humans the ability to overcome sin, without removing their free will. Salvation offers help, not compulsion.

The new graces given by Christ—such as the Holy Spirit, new birth, and renewed nature—do not cancel the grace of freedom. God created humans free, and He respects that freedom. Therefore, each person chooses whether to accept or reject the divine grace. As Jesus said: “How often I wanted, but you would not.”

Christ did not come to force sin out of the world, but to empower people to resist it. In the parable of the wheat and tares, both good and evil grow together until the day of harvest—the final judgment.

Full deliverance from sin and evil will come only at Christ’s Second Coming, when believers enter the heavenly Jerusalem, where “there will be no more death, nor sin.” Then Christ will hand over the kingdom to the Father, and God will reign over all forever.