💾 Archived View for nolanmcmahon.net › blog › bible_bins › sin.gmi captured on 2023-12-28 at 15:21:15. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
It is not acceptable to just sin even if God has forgiven all sin already. We can make so much more of our lives.
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? - Romans 6:1-2
Man is not basically good. Man is basically evil. All have sinned. There is no one righteous, not even one. No one can be perfectly good on their own.
As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, - Romans 3:10-18,23
Sinfulness cannot be justified by saying it makes God look good or by saying that since Jesus died for our sins we have the right to sin as much as we like. Sin is not necessary for good to exist and there is no truth to the idea of balance between good and evil in the world. Sin is a disease that must be fought and destroyed.
But if our unrighteousness brings out God's righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God's truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?” Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is just! - Romans 3:5-8
Here Paul cast out a demon with God's power however he did it simply becuase he was annoyed, not becuase it was necessarily the right thing to do. Later it seems he would go through trails becuase of this descision. Sinning is often more about the intention of a person's heart rather than just the disobediance of a written rule.
She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her. - Acts 16:18
Since humanity is fallen we are doomed to toil away without meaning unless we find God. Solomon was the wisest man to have ever lived and he came to this conclusion from watching the world.
I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind! I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. - Ecclesiastes 1:13-14
If you even just lustfully look at another person you run the risk of causing destruction in your life as temptation often follows these sort of envious situations. It also is unhealthy to reduce love to lust and poisons your mind.
But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. - Matthew 5:28
Jesus instructs Christians about how to handle sin in the church. It is a three step process. First, talk to the sinning party one-on-one. If that does not work, talk with them with a few more witnesses. If that doesn't work, approach them as a church body. If that doesn't work, treat them as you would a non-Christian.
If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. - Matthew 18:15-17
Sin comes from within every person. You can't say that you are a sinner just because of the environment you live in.
What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” - Matthew 15:11
For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. - Mark 7:21-22