Perplexed on an Issue

CGL1023 · Jul 28, 2015

We see huge negative reaction by Christians to the rise of in-your-face promotion of the LGBT lifestyle. On the other hand we see many Christians who don't have enough faith to actually go ahead and do what God says in His Word.

We know from Romans 1 how God views the first situation and we as Christians know to avoid these ungodly practices. In the second situation people know to do as God says but very often don't do it; and I don't think people see themselves as being in an ongoing state of unbelief for not following what God says. I have come to label this as 'not having the faith required to follow the Word of God'. Lack of faith is doubt which is the same a unbelief; unbelief is unacceptable to God. See Heb 3:19 (an evil heart of unbelief), Heb 11:6 (without faith-impossible to please God).

In each of the two cases, I see sin though the first I would call high impact in the emotion it evokes. The second situation is low impact to where sin may be easily dismissed or brushed aside and forgotten.

My question at last: are these sins the same or are there gradations of seriousness of sin? I understand that unforgiven sin is what a person really wants to avoid.

MWood · Jul 29, 2015

CGL1023 said:
We see huge negative reaction by Christians to the rise of in-your-face promotion of the LGBT lifestyle. On the other hand we see many Christians who don't have enough faith to actually go ahead and do what God says in His Word.

We know from Romans 1 how God views the first situation and we as Christians know to avoid these ungodly practices. In the second situation people know to do as God says but very often don't do it; and I don't think people see themselves as being in an ongoing state of unbelief for not following what God says. I have come to label this as 'not having the faith required to follow the Word of God'. Lack of faith is doubt which is the same a unbelief; unbelief is unacceptable to God. See Heb 3:19 (an evil heart of unbelief), Heb 11:6 (without faith-impossible to please God).

In each of the two cases, I see sin though the first I would call high impact in the emotion it evokes. The second situation is low impact to where sin may be easily dismissed or brushed aside and forgotten.

My question at last: are these sins the same or are there gradations of seriousness of sin? I understand that unforgiven sin is what a person really wants to avoid.

All sin was forgiven by the shedding of Christ's blood on the Cross.
There is no forgiving of sin without the shedding of blood.
There will be no more shedding of blood.
Christ will die no more.

ken777 · Jul 30, 2015

CGL1023 said:
My question at last: are these sins the same or are there gradations of seriousness of sin? I understand that unforgiven sin is what a person really wants to avoid.

There are certainly gradations in the seriousness of the consequences of sins. However, sin as a condition, is what separates us from God, and we are all sinners. "
Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood" [Rev 1:5, RSV]

CGL1023 · Jul 31, 2015

Thank you to both MWood and ken777 for your thoughtful replies.

RevTellez · Aug 17, 2015

CGL1023 said:
We see huge negative reaction by Christians to the rise of in-your-face promotion of the LGBT lifestyle. On the other hand we see many Christians who don't have enough faith to actually go ahead and do what God says in His Word.

We know from Romans 1 how God views the first situation and we as Christians know to avoid these ungodly practices. In the second situation people know to do as God says but very often don't do it; and I don't think people see themselves as being in an ongoing state of unbelief for not following what God says. I have come to label this as 'not having the faith required to follow the Word of God'. Lack of faith is doubt which is the same a unbelief; unbelief is unacceptable to God. See Heb 3:19 (an evil heart of unbelief), Heb 11:6 (without faith-impossible to please God).

In each of the two cases, I see sin though the first I would call high impact in the emotion it evokes. The second situation is low impact to where sin may be easily dismissed or brushed aside and forgotten.

My question at last: are these sins the same or are there gradations of seriousness of sin? I understand that unforgiven sin is what a person really wants to avoid.

ScottA · Aug 17, 2015

CGL1023 said:
My question at last: are these sins the same or are there gradations of seriousness of sin? I understand that unforgiven sin is what a person really wants to avoid.

There is no gradation of different sins, any and all are considered as falling short of the glory of God, sin. We all have fallen short, and the wages of sin according to God is death, we all die in our flesh bodies. The good news of the coming of Jesus Christ, is that he has paid for our sin and [if] we believe that he is the Christ, the Son and Savior, he is faithful to give to us the gift of salvation, by which we are born again of the spirit of God. God has sent his Son, and none enter into the eternal life of the kingdom of God, except through belief in Him. Not all who call him Lord, will enter in, only those who do the will of God.

Talldog · Sep 8, 2015

CGL1023 said:
We see huge negative reaction by Christians to the rise of in-your-face promotion of the LGBT lifestyle. On the other hand we see many Christians who don't have enough faith to actually go ahead and do what God says in His Word.

We know from Romans 1 how God views the first situation and we as Christians know to avoid these ungodly practices. In the second situation people know to do as God says but very often don't do it; and I don't think people see themselves as being in an ongoing state of unbelief for not following what God says. I have come to label this as 'not having the faith required to follow the Word of God'. Lack of faith is doubt which is the same a unbelief; unbelief is unacceptable to God. See Heb 3:19 (an evil heart of unbelief), Heb 11:6 (without faith-impossible to please God).

In each of the two cases, I see sin though the first I would call high impact in the emotion it evokes. The second situation is low impact to where sin may be easily dismissed or brushed aside and forgotten.

My question at last: are these sins the same or are there gradations of seriousness of sin? I understand that unforgiven sin is what a person really wants to avoid.

Sin is what separates us from God and since all of us are born sinners and have committed many sins, we are all worthy of separation from God. So we're all in the same boat. While there may be gradations of sin, I don't think it really matters as far as we're concerned. If we have Christ in us and live by the Spirit, all sin should be repulsive to us. No sin should be easily dismissed. It should be repented of and moved on. We should confess our sins readily and ask the Holy Spirit to convict us of sins that we're not even aware of.

Whether God considers one sin worse or not is for Him alone to judge. I don't think we should sit and point fingers at the world around us, but we should seek to live holy lives and lead others to Christ. As far as the unpardonable sin, I believe that refers to the Pharisees who accused Jesus of being possessed by Beelzebub even though they knew in their hearts he was from God (John 3). That is not possible for somebody who is committed to Christ to commit, so you don't have to worry about it.

Troy Rambo · Sep 9, 2015

CGL1023 said:
We see huge negative reaction by Christians to the rise of in-your-face promotion of the LGBT lifestyle. On the other hand we see many Christians who don't have enough faith to actually go ahead and do what God says in His Word.

We know from Romans 1 how God views the first situation and we as Christians know to avoid these ungodly practices. In the second situation people know to do as God says but very often don't do it; and I don't think people see themselves as being in an ongoing state of unbelief for not following what God says. I have come to label this as 'not having the faith required to follow the Word of God'. Lack of faith is doubt which is the same a unbelief; unbelief is unacceptable to God. See Heb 3:19 (an evil heart of unbelief), Heb 11:6 (without faith-impossible to please God).

In each of the two cases, I see sin though the first I would call high impact in the emotion it evokes. The second situation is low impact to where sin may be easily dismissed or brushed aside and forgotten.

My question at last: are these sins the same or are there gradations of seriousness of sin? I understand that unforgiven sin is what a person really wants to avoid.

I dont know if Im understanding your question exactly but in attempt to answer it , I think you should always try your hardest to not sin, yet understand that we always fall short.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23.

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:8-9.

Its not easy to always be on the lookout for falling into sinful traps, but Im sure thats exactly what Gods wants us to do.

Theodore A. Jones · Sep 22, 2015

MWood said:
All sin was forgiven by the shedding of Christ's blood on the Cross.
There is no forgiving of sin without the shedding of blood.
There will be no more shedding of blood.
Christ will die no more.

"When he , the Holy Spirit, comes he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin" Jn. 16:8. I do not see that "All sin was forgiven by the shedding of Christ's blood on the cross." is other than a direct objection against His statement of fact that He made prior to his murder by crucifixion.

pdudgeon · Sep 22, 2015

CGL1023 said:
We see huge negative reaction by Christians to the rise of in-your-face promotion of the LGBT lifestyle. On the other hand we see many Christians who don't have enough faith to actually go ahead and do what God says in His Word.

We know from Romans 1 how God views the first situation and we as Christians know to avoid these ungodly practices. In the second situation people know to do as God says but very often don't do it; and I don't think people see themselves as being in an ongoing state of unbelief for not following what God says. I have come to label this as 'not having the faith required to follow the Word of God'. Lack of faith is doubt which is the same a unbelief; unbelief is unacceptable to God. See Heb 3:19 (an evil heart of unbelief), Heb 11:6 (without faith-impossible to please God).

In each of the two cases, I see sin though the first I would call high impact in the emotion it evokes. The second situation is low impact to where sin may be easily dismissed or brushed aside and forgotten.

My question at last: are these sins the same or are there gradations of seriousness of sin? I understand that unforgiven sin is what a person really wants to avoid.

in answer to your first paragraph, many people these days don't recognize that what is actually the driving force behind the LGBT lifestyle is the promotion of self,
spured on by a sense of entitlement. Neither of those things are inspired by God.

knowing what is good or right and then hesitating to do it is regrettable but also repentable.
Asking God for a second chance to do the right thing is always a good choice.

knowing what is good, hesitating, and then responding is also good because it shows that
the person in that situation recognizes God's leading and acts on that faith,
putting both his faith and his future in God's hands.

The good news is that it only takes enough faith for that first step,
and then the next, and then the next. A body once in motion tends to stay in motion.

As for your last question, yes, entertaining and/or acting on these wrong impulses is a sin,
while the temptation to act upon them is not.
Temptation is something that comes to all of us because we live in a fallen world, and our human nature is bent on sin.
As such it is resistable.

When things get to the "entertaining thoughts" stage that is a sin.
Sin is also denying an action that is considered to be sinful as though it were not sinful.(calling something OK
if it's not), and the reverse is also sinful--calling something not Ok as though it is.)

and lastly, doing something we know to be sinful is a sin.

jenny1972 · Sep 22, 2015

it amazes me how some christians pick through the Bible focusing in on the things the Bible says that supports their own opinion about things and an excuse to hate certain groups of people and then ignore the rest of the chapter that when read completely puts the whole thing in perspective actually sorry to disappoint you but Romans 1 doesnt focus exclusively on this one group of people that you personally dislike ....

Romans 1:28
And even as they refused to have God in [their] knowledge, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 backbiters, hateful to God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, unmerciful

and what do you mean by " actually go ahead and do what God says in His Word " Romans tells about what God did regarding such humans not what God instructed humans to do regarding such humans we are not God . we are instructed however to be like Jesus you know like how he welcomed and treated with kindness the groups of people that society had chosen to shun. and let he who has not sinned cast the first stone ? if it has anything to do with not being judgemental (or ruin their sense of self righteousness) certain "christians" would simply rather ignore .... even if they are Jesus' teachings and instructions about how we should be towards other humans.

Dechen · Oct 30, 2015

MWood said:
All sin was forgiven by the shedding of Christ's blood on the Cross.
There is no forgiving of sin without the shedding of blood.
There will be no more shedding of blood.
Christ will die no more.

I was thinking the same thing when I read the post !

hrmsy · Oct 30, 2015

ken777 said:
There are certainly gradations in the seriousness of the consequences of sins. However, sin as a condition, is what separates us from God, and we are all sinners. "
Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood" [Rev 1:5, RSV][/QUOT

CGL1023 said:

We see huge negative reaction by Christians to the rise of in-your-face promotion of the LGBT lifestyle. On the other hand we see many Christians who don't have enough faith to actually go ahead and do what God says in His Word.

We know from Romans 1 how God views the first situation and we as Christians know to avoid these ungodly practices. In the second situation people know to do as God says but very often don't do it; and I don't think people see themselves as being in an ongoing state of unbelief for not following what God says. I have come to label this as 'not having the faith required to follow the Word of God'. Lack of faith is doubt which is the same a unbelief; unbelief is unacceptable to God. See Heb 3:19 (an evil heart of unbelief), Heb 11:6 (without faith-impossible to please God).

In each of the two cases, I see sin though the first I would call high impact in the emotion it evokes. The second situation is low impact to where sin may be easily dismissed or brushed aside and forgotten.

My question at last: are these sins the same or are there gradations of seriousness of sin? I understand that unforgiven sin is what a person really wants to avoid.

Click to expand...

In first John it is recorded by the Apostle that there is a sin unto death, but it is not expounded upon as to what that sin is it is presumed by John we , or rather, the reader understands. He also says in his letters, " you know the truth", and you "know the love" two statements I have heard much waffling about what they are...I believe this is because we do not know the truth nor love. We are to pray for one another, as Abraham interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah, and in the end only Lot and his daughters were spared as a result. The truth comes by revelation of the Holy Spirit, and many I speak with who are Christians would rather argue than pray to receive any revelation from God. It is in the word of God that I have heard the revelations from God bare witness to the Truth. I believe the answer to your question is a Christian is free from sin because of Jesus and the provision he made on the cross. He raised from the dead and he had his blood appropriated on an alter in heaven made for this purpose. It is not wise to attempt to qualify sin, but to accept the provision for it. You must do this, you cannot do it for me I must do it for myself that is accept the provision. All sin is taken care of there on that alter nothing is to be added to this provision, and no sin is not covered....sin is deceitful a leading question is deceitful.

Mikhaela · Oct 30, 2015

So are we to just let the LGBT community in positions of leadership in the Church if they continue to live in sexual sin? Or marry these couples? I am not saying they are unwelcome. What I am saying though is if they are serious about coming to Christ then the LGBT folks who come are instructed to do what every other sinner are told to do. Yeshua(Jesus) said this before the sermon on the mount: "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matthew 4:17. They must do like every one of us human sinner to do! God is not partial to anyone. I am aware these sins are deep rooted, which is what happens with sin going on and on and on it gets ingrained.Sin hardens the heart so much. We repent,change our mind and turn away from the sins that so easily beset us. Is a thief suppose to remain a thief? Is an adulterer suppose to remain in adultery? If we are born again then the answer is a clear no.The same applies to everyone else the LGBT community, I.E those who come to the church, out of sincere search for the truth of God, would repent and change. Not perform a drag version of the gospel! There are many other thing's to say on this matter. The truth is when one believes Gods words they act on Gods words. And when they don't it is unbeleif.

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