A Biblical Understanding of Sin

As I stated before a sin expression is a path away from Gods will. In other words, to murder is not just the event we call murder, but it is also the hating of a person, thinking how you wish that person was dead, planning to kill that person and the very act of murder. Each one of these is another step away from Gods will.

This was what happened in the garden also. God gave man a choice. God in short order said to Adam, .."Adam do any thing you want but eat from the tree. Now Adam, if you eat from the tree, you went your will over my will."

Adam ate from the tree and took a path away from Gods will...therefore the fall of man. The whole Bible tells of these 2 paths. Walk after the Spirit or walk after the flesh, The new man, or the old man. In the light, or in darkness. In each case the right path is toward God and the sin path is away from Gods will.

The story of Peter walking on the water is in the Bible for this very reason. As look as you keep your eyes on Christ, you will not fall. When you look away...leave the path...you fall into sin.



In Christ..James

 

Sin's Remedy

Rather than spending a great deal of time and energy on the definition of “sin”, why don’t we pursue its remedy?

For any committed Believer, the Spirit of God is always there to convict and offer solutions for sin.

What is the real remedy for sin?

If we start with just Loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and loving our neighbor, (anyone in proximity), as our selves, the Way would be open for us to avoid sin.

If we are conscious of what Peter has said, (2 Pet 1:2-9); That Grace and peace could be ours, in abundance, through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. And to know with certainty that His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. And that through these, God has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them we may participate in His Divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by these evil desires.

Peter goes on to say that, “for this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins”.

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews also give us the most excellent instructions from the Lord when he said, (Heb 5:13-14); For everyone who partakes {only} of the milk of Scripture, is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

In distinguishing “Good” from “evil”, and by the Power of the Spirit of God, we can resist temptation, be clear of mind, (by taking all thoughts captive to the Mind of Christ), we can avoid sin.

 

The logical conclusion from this line of reasoning is that people in ignorance should NOT be taught the gospel, because in so doing, you make them guilty before God.

Take the following verses, "in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. - II Thess 1:8-10

Does ignorance sound like it is acceptable to God? When I read these verses, it sure sounds like if you don't know God or don't obey the gospel, eternal punishment and destruction awaits.

The early christians were "everywhere preaching the word". Did all those who heard the word, accept it? Certainly not. They would have been better off never hearing the gospel in the first place, yet Jesus told them to preach the gospel to all nations and every creature (Matt 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16).

Heb 11:6 says that God is a rewarder of them who dilligently seek Him and that without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please him. Will God reward the ignorant who don't seek Him with those who do seek Him?

As I've stated before, Jesus said that unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins (Jn 8:24). Was this conditional upon hearing?

Saul heard Stephens address and that they had betrayed and murdered the righteous one (Acts 7:52), yet remained unconvinced. Saul/Paul stated that the things concerning Jesus and the "way" were not done in a corner (Acts 26). After his conversion, he was proclaiming what Moses and the prophets said was going to take place.

Saul knew about Jesus. He had rejected him. In fact, he tried to make others blaspheme (Acts 26:11). Why was he was furiously enraged with the Christians? They accepted that Jesus was the Christ, or the Messiah and that made Paul mad.

Saul's actions were considered as direct persecution to Jesus (Acts 9:5).

If all wrongdoing, (or unrighteousness) is sin (I Jn 5:7), then when one does wrong, it is sin.

If ignorance did not make it sin, then the statement would have to be, "some wrongdoing" is sin. However, all wrongdoing is sin.

Was Saul doing right when he persecuting Jesus, endorsing the deaths of Christians, trying to force them to blaspheme? Just because Saul was sincere, did not make him right. He was still doing wrong. All wrongdoing is sin, therefore, Saul was sinning as he was persecuting.

I think you will have a hard time trying to use scripture to show that sins are imputed retroactively upon hearing.

What is the consequence of believing a lie? Is there any? Did Saul believe a lie, that Jesus was not the Son of God? The answer was right before him, written in the law and the prophets, as he had stated. So, does God say it is ok to believe a lie?

II Thess 2:10-14 - and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Spirit of God Under-rated

Thank you for the welcome HP and I fully understand the tendency that your comment suggests, however, I firmly believe that the true "Believer" in communion with the Holy Spirit, in view of the Hebrews passage, will, in fact, know the true nature and extent of sin.

If the conscience is seared in any respect toward the very nature and extent of sin, then the professing Believer, in fact, is already missing the mark.

 

Certainly a possibility HP, but the energy required, in my experience, for bringing a sinner to repentance via the intellect, is very high compared to turning the heart of the children back to their Father.

In the book of John, Jesus, no less than 6 times, in various ways, says, “If anyone loves me, he/she will obey my teaching, who has my Commands and obeys them, he/she is the one who loves me”.

Shouldn’t we rather concentrate on the state of the heart rather than the extent of the intellect?

 

1John 3:4 "sin is the transgression of the law"

there ya have it. that includes all sin. whether it be not doing something when we know we should. etc.

that verse includes it all. "treat your neighbour as you love yourself" is a commandment. break that = sin. etc etc.

1John 3:4 says it all. along with the following verses that say that if we are embracing Christ - "whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him" - speaking of Christ obviously.

that verse leans towards unwillful sin. as described a little more in detail in romans 6-8.

 

really HP? what's the conscience for then? when i speak to someone's conscience... what am i addressing?

the intellect is full of arguments. period. i know this from experience

 

To: GEKKO

I agree GEKKO! He does speak to us through our intellect. :thumbs:

 

i never said God did. never said God didnt. where's the scripture to support the idea that God speaks to us through our intellect?

our intellect is very argumentative.

i believe God speaks to us through our conscience - for our conscience knows what is right and what is wrong. God has put his law on our hearts so that we know the law. if we know the law - we know what sin is. if we know what sin is - we know what is right and what is wrong. - therefore i believe God speaks to us through our conscience by the Holy Spirit

 

OK, I think we agree, that without the gospel, men are lost, therefore, the gospel should be preached to all nations and every person (Matt 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16).

So I guess our differences are surrounding Saul/Paul, and was he an exception? He had heard the gospel (certainly parts of it) and rejected it. He tried to force others to blaspheme, even though he was sincere. Saul classified himself as the chief of sinners.

Here is the passage again that is in question:

I Tim 1:12-16 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

Did God force Saul to believe in Him? Did God force Saul to go preach the gospel? Did Saul have free will?

Saul had his free will. Yet God knew his character. When Saul was confronted, he was not disobedient to God (Acts 26:19). Saul had heard about Jesus and rejected the message. Saul had the writings of Moses and the propehets, yet did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, based on what he knew. Jesus's great mercy and patience judged Saul, a man of character even though he was persecuting Jesus from a sincere heart, faithful for His service. Saul had a choice, but when confronted with the truth, changed his life and started serving the one he formerly persecuted.

The mercy that was given him was not an overlooking of his past sins, but an opportunity for him to be appointed to a very special service.

Had Saul been persecuting Jesus with full knowledge, then he certainly would not have received this mercy or opportunity, since he would have most certainly rejected it.

The last sentence proves that the mercy shown to Saul was not an overlooking of his past sins or sins done in ignorance. No, the mercy shown to Saul was a display for others to see. Here is a man who goes from a persecutor of christians to a persecuted christian, a blasphemer to a believer, an insolent man to an obedient man, from the chief of sinners to saved, someone in whom the patience of Jesus could be seen.

 

no Saul was not an exception.

God made him blind on the road to damascus - Saul had a choice whether to follow Him or not.

he could have stayed blind the rest of his life for that matter if he chose not to follow God.

is it really that hard to understand?

 

Read Romans 1

 

Romans 4 "Where there is no law there is no sin".

John argues that we should NOT sin - Paul points out that the existence of sin PROVES that the Law has not been abolished.

So clearly Gekko is right in that point above.

In Christ,

Bob

 

Jesus also said that "who ever has ears let him hear", meaning that unless the individual was willing to listen, his heart was humble and contrite, he/she will not respond correctly to what is being presented to the intellect.

Everything starts with the attitude of the hart of the professing Believer and the best way to deal with the heart is through the Spirit.

 

which part of romans chapter 1 webdog?