If my friend has a cannabis card, which makes it legal in your state, is it a sin?
I feel that it is natural and God gave it to us. Why would God create it if it was not made for this purpose. Hemp and Marijuana are not the same plant either. Also if you use a vaporizer you cause your lungs zero harm. So is it still a sin? My heart feels that it is not?
What are your opinions?
On sin in general: you don't need a teacher. I am often surprised people ask basic questions on morality. Love, mercy, compassion... over sacrifice. Christians have an internal voice guiding them. Situations are dynamic. They should not live in fear, but in love.
There's a lot of lost puppies out there. Somebody has to reach them.
A lot of Christians don't sit around and contemplate on the teachings of Jesus. They talk about Jesus, but they never really think on what He taught. It can get mind bending. How can someone speak up Jesus and obviously never consider His teachings?
Real faith is about faith. It often goes against herd mentality. Real faith brings happiness and peace. You know what you are doing. You have to make tough choices sometimes, and don't always have people's confidence, but you know what is right and what is wrong.
I am constantly hearing from people who don't like "Jesus". Why? Turns out, they never even understood Jesus, never heard His teachings, never even the basics. And they are often raised "Christians", if not always.
Instead, they were raised by people who really 'want to be teachers of the Law'. They create a huge range of black and white, 'do this' and 'do not do this' rules... they have group mentality. It is always 'us and them'. Bad guys and good guys. Never mind 'love your enemy'. The temptation to do this was so strong and is so strong Paul reported in the NT he had to correct some of the Apostles on this.
Then, of course, their lives spin out of control... and they can never figure out what is wrong. All the little things go wrong. Sure, maybe they usually don't end up in jail, but their life becomes a living nightmare. They find that they went for godliness... and rejected the power. So, when they need that power... it is gone.
They sail fine until they actually have to really depend on God. Then, they discover they don't have faith to get the solutions from God. They were relying on Law and what they have "done for God" instead of simple trust.
John well writes 'you do not need teachers', that 'you have the Holy Spirit'... is there a real good reason for someone to smoke pot in a state where it is legal? I do not know. I know some cancer victims have used it. Definitely not the most pressing problem when great masses live in horrible fear and slavery to sin... full of slander, false accusations, against people outside their groups or just about anyone they can aim that cannon at.
Creation is very, very small in God's eyes. Problems most people have, they shouldn't. They blow them up and embroil themselves in them. They stop remembering God exists.
I am constantly seeing people with severe problems God could solve, but there is nothing which can be done for them because they don't try and believe. It is frustrating. "Mental problems", sick relatives, sickness themselves, and so on. They don't look to God, they look to creation.
Not much one can say without making them angry. They've never seen a miracle in their life, usually, or blind themselves to them when they do see them.
Thankfully, in reality, most Christians live pretty happy, normal lives. Or, a great number do. They get along with people. They point people to God where those people are at, gently, with mercy for their unbelief and not asking them to jump through a bunch of hoops to be accepted.