What does it mean to sin?

[Guest In Him]

Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 1Jn 3:4

All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. 1Jn 5:17

But he who doubts is condemned if he eats because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin. Rom14:23

Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. James 4:17

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have communion with him in the midst of us, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son cleanses us from all sin. Jn 1:7 Jubilee Bible 2000

Edited January 12, 2019 by In Him

[turtletwo]

9 hours ago, In Him said:

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have communion with him in the midst of us, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son cleanses us from all sin. Jn 1:7 Jubilee Bible 2000

@In Him  I like this unique rendering/description of fellowship. I've never heard of this version. But there are actually many versions that I am unfamiliar with. I will have to have a little look-see.

[JohnD]

To do or be anything other than what God wants = sin.

[ReyRioG]

I was a pilot in the Navy. We used to say, “If regulations don’t say we can’t do xxx, we can!”

We used to joke that our Air Force counterparts used to say, “If regulations don’t say we can do xxx, we can’t!”

These kind of reasonings are what I hear from legalistic Christians. They use the Bible as a rule book and look for loopholes to justify their own behavior or to criticize behaviors of others who don’t share their exact beliefs and to define sin.

The big sins are easy: murder, adultery etc. No one really debates those. It’s when we get down into the weeds that the legalistic Christians start to use scripture to justify or criticize and define sin.

Case in point: On another forum a woman claimed she was being physically and emotionally abused by her husband. One “Christian” told her that unless there was adultery she had to stay married and that sometimes Christians will have to accept death in order to obey God (Sorry, sister). I consider that advice to be practically criminal.

Another young woman said she had been married at 18, divorced at 19, remarried at 24 and now had three kids with her husband. She was told that she is in an unforgivable state of adultery from her first marriage and the only way out is to divorce her current husband, repent from that, and stay celibate the rest of her life because she is still technically married to her first husband.

In both cases scripture was quoted to show the sin.

I don’t disagree that divorce is sin. It’s sin because it falls short of the mark God has set for marriage. But God forgives sins through the blood of our savior. He doesn’t do it through our merit.

Last point. I believe that wasting resources is a sin, like leaving all the lights, tv, computers  on in the house if I’m not home. Someone told me that issue is not in the Bible (surprise, electricity wasn’t understood until 1700 years later) so it is not sin. So even though I believe it to be sin, what should I do? Trip the main breaker every time I leave the house? No, that’s just foolishness. I try to be mindful but even when doing so I fall short of God’s perfection.

Sin is falling short or missing God’s mark of perfection. Some are easy to see, some are only uncovered through thought and prayer.

I am a “saved by faith alone” Christian. It doesn’t give me a license to sin nor does it relieve me of following God’s commands. Though I think I sin less as my walk with Christ developes, I find my imperfections continue to show themselves whether found written in the Bible or not. That’s why it’s all about Jesus. He took it all, he did it all.

I am a sinner because I miss God’s mark of perfection. My list of accomplishments, sins avoided, and commands obeyed will never satisfy what Christ’s blood already did.

 

 

Edited January 21, 2019 by ReyRioG