Is it truly bad to sin?

[Kees Hogenbirk]

Hello men and women of God! This is my first post here.

I have been thinking a lot lately about the nature of sin, and I would dearly appreciate it if you guys would help me with answering this question. So thank you in advance!

Here is my question. Plain and simply: "Is sinning bad?"
Of course we all assume that sinning is bad, because it is written in the bible, but there are some questions that lead me to doubt that. Namely...

"Why did God create evil and sin in this world?"
You could say that that God did not create us to do evil, but that he gave us free will, so that if we choose evil, we face the consequences and it we choose good, we are rewarded with God's grace.

But then here is my real question: "If God is all-powerful and all-knowing, then why does he create people that he knows will sin? And is sinning then really bad?"
Let's say God creates a person and grants him free will. However, God also created that person with a mental instability / weak will (which, let's assume makes him prone to murderous acts). Subsequently, let's say God then also places that person in an environment with abusive parents at home and frequent bullying at school (which, let's assume, combined with his mental instability causes him to commit murder) And so, he shoots up his class. This is an example, but I'm sure cases like this have actually happened in real life.
In such a case, can the murderer then really be held responsible for his actions? I mean,
-(1) He was born and raised with triggers that would undoubtedly (to God) lead him to commit a murderous act.
-(2) God, while all-powerful and all-knowing knew he would murder, yet did nothing about the sinful act.
If God created the person's will and circumstance, knew the outcome of his sin, and did nohing about it, was is then truly 'bad' for the murderer to commit murder?

"Is sinning bad?" may sound like a strange question, but I am seriously pondering it, and I would appreciate it greatly if you fellow Christians would help me out. So thanks!

Greets, Kees

 

[Kevin Snow]

Why don't you take a sin that you do and let it have free reign in your life. Go ahead. Then let me know what you think about sin after you live a few years doing that.

No no, even though the bible tells us that "the wages of sin is death" I guess you need to go prove that to yourself.

I've already done it however with inappropriate contentography and I can verify to you that indeed, I should be dead right now because of this addiction. On top of that, I made multiple suicide attempts because I had lost my ability to even be sane anymore and was attacked and still am attacked without rest.

So I can tell you that I have seen that the wages of sin is death firsthand and would STRONGLY warn you to fear God NOW before you lose your life to whatever sin you decide to let free in your life.

 

[keyman]

Is sinning bad?" may sound like a strange question, but I am seriously pondering it, and I would appreciate it greatly if you fellow Christians would help me out. So thanks!

Yes, sinning is bad.
God gave us freewill to accept or reject Him.
If God did not give us the ability to reject Him(committing sin) would we actually have accepted/worshipped Him of our own accord?
God told Adam what would happen if he rejected Him by eating of the wrong fruit. He would die.
Adam chose wrongly and condemned all of us to death.
But, if Adam had not chosen wrongly, sooner or later somebody would have chosen wrongly.

Once sin entered the world things began to decay.
It was only the 2nd generation before murder came about. A few generations later Lamech was justifying murder.
A few more generations and God destroyed all mankind except for Noah and family.
Now today we have children committing murder and then killing themselves.
Yes, sinning is bad. Blame the sinner, not God.

 

[Valetic]

Why did he let Satan sin? Why did he let man sin?

He knew what was going to happen when he created everything. So why create it? Free will is a very complicated subject when you realize how much he knew.

Of course I'm sure it was for a good reason but what are we without free will? Was there even a scenario in the infinite possibilities of creating everything here that nobody ever sinned while abiding within that framework of free will for us?

There must have been a good reason for it. Why did the little girl drown in the flood in the late 1900s but nobody could free her body from being pinned and stop her from drowning?

Why did he let Satan tempt us in the garden?

Did God even really consider the possibilities of the future of His creation?

It must have all been for a good reason if He is the good Lord. I am still awaiting these answers myself. But we do have a moral law and a moral law giver.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

op: Just for starters: http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/fleshsalvation.htm

"The purpose of God is never to reform the flesh but to destroy it. It is by God’s life given the believer at regeneration that the self in the flesh is to be destroyed. The life God imparts to man is indeed most powerful, but the regenerated person is still a babe—newly born and very weak. The flesh long has held the reins and its power is tremendous. Furthermore, the regenerated one has not yet learned to apprehend by faith God’s complete salvation. Though he be saved, he is still of the flesh during this period. Being fleshly denotes being governed by the flesh. What is most pitiful is for a believer, hitherto enlightened by heavenly light to know the wickedness of the flesh and to desire with full heart victory over it, to find himself too weak to overcome. This is the moment when he sheds many tears of sorrow. How can he not be angry with himself, for though he harbors a new desire to destroy sin and to please God his will is not steadfast enough to subdue the body of sin. Few are the victories; many, the defeats.

Paul in Romans 7 voices the inner anguish of this conflict:

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate . . . For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members. (vv.15-23)

Many will respond to his cry of nearly final despair: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (v.24) "

 

[Kees Hogenbirk]

Why don't you take a sin that you do and let it have free reign in your life. Go ahead. Then let me know what you think about sin after you live a few years doing that.

No no, even though the bible tells us that "the wages of sin is death" I guess you need to go prove that to yourself.

I've already done it however with inappropriate contentography and I can verify to you that indeed, I should be dead right now because of this addiction. On top of that, I made multiple suicide attempts because I had lost my ability to even be sane anymore and was attacked and still am attacked without rest.

So I can tell you that I have seen that the wages of sin is death firsthand and would STRONGLY warn you to fear God NOW before you lose your life to whatever sin you decide to let free in your life.

Hello Kevin. Thank you for your response.

Right of the bat, I would like you to know that I am not deliberately planning to sin.
Also, I am sorry for the misfortune you had to endure, and are still enduring. I hope you nothing but succes, man.

The only thing I am wondering is if sinning is bad, when God creates the sin-prone minds of (some) people and creates the sin-triggering environments around them while doing nothing about the eventual outcome of sin, even though he is all-knowing and all-powerful.
If the wage of sinning is death, but God is the one that makes people do it, is the sin truly a bad thing to do?

Greets, and all the succes,
Kees

 

[Anguspure]

Hello men and women of God! This is my first post here.

I have been thinking a lot lately about the nature of sin, and I would dearly appreciate it if you guys would help me with answering this question. So thank you in advance!

Here is my question. Plain and simply: "Is sinning bad?"
Of course we all assume that sinning is bad, because it is written in the bible, but there are some questions that lead me to doubt that. Namely...

"Why did God create evil and sin in this world?"
You could say that that God did not create us to do evil, but that he gave us free will, so that if we choose evil, we face the consequences and it we choose good, we are rewarded with God's grace.

But then here is my real question: "If God is all-powerful and all-knowing, then why does he create people that he knows will sin? And is sinning then really bad?"
Let's say God creates a person and grants him free will. However, God also created that person with a mental instability / weak will (which, let's assume makes him prone to murderous acts). Subsequently, let's say God then also places that person in an environment with abusive parents at home and frequent bullying at school (which, let's assume, combined with his mental instability causes him to commit murder) And so, he shoots up his class. This is an example, but I'm sure cases like this have actually happened in real life.
In such a case, can the murderer then really be held responsible for his actions? I mean,
-(1) He was born and raised with triggers that would undoubtedly (to God) lead him to commit a murderous act.
-(2) God, while all-powerful and all-knowing knew he would murder, yet did nothing about the sinful act.
If God created the person's will and circumstance, knew the outcome of his sin, and did nohing about it, was is then truly 'bad' for the murderer to commit murder?

"Is sinning bad?" may sound like a strange question, but I am seriously pondering it, and I would appreciate it greatly if you fellow Christians would help me out. So thanks!

Greets, Kees

Sin breaks our relationship with God. Sin is death in disguise. Sin destroys the creation of God, all of it.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

"Even" what men call "wonderful and great" and hold up in honor,
God calls abhorrent.

Sinful society / men/ are pernicious : death dealing wicked, subject to the prince of the power of the air (slaves of sin and of satan; not free) .

 

[Kevin Snow]

Hello Kevin. Thank you for your response.

Right of the bat, I would like you to know that I am not deliberately planning to sin.
Also, I am sorry for the misfortune you had to endure, and are still enduring. I hope you nothing but succes, man.

The only thing I am wondering is if sinning is bad, when God creates the sin-prone minds of (some) people and creates the sin-triggering environments around them while doing nothing about the eventual outcome of sin, even though he is all-knowing and all-powerful.
If the wage of sinning is death, but God is the one that makes people do it, is the sin truly a bad thing to do?

Greets, and all the succes,
Kees

Again, you ain't living this life if you haven't yet come to understand firsthand that sin is bad. Why are you trying to understand yourself in a different experience? Have you or have you not experienced firsthand that sin is bad?

And if you have, then why are you trying to argue against that experience?

 

[Kees Hogenbirk]

Yes, sinning is bad.
God gave us freewill to accept or reject Him.
If God did not give us the ability to reject Him(committing sin) would we actually have accepted/worshipped Him of our own accord?
God told Adam what would happen if he rejected Him by eating of the wrong fruit. He would die.
Adam chose wrongly and condemned all of us to death.
But, if Adam had not chosen wrongly, sooner or later somebody would have chosen wrongly.

Once sin entered the world things began to decay.
It was only the 2nd generation before murder came about. A few generations later Lamech was justifying murder.
A few more generations and God destroyed all mankind except for Noah and family.
Now today we have children committing murder and then killing themselves.
Yes, sinning is bad. Blame the sinner, not God.

Hello Keyman!
Thank you for your well-written response.

I understand what you say. If people did not have free will, we would not love God voluntarily, which is not true love. So indeed, "Blame the sinner, not God."
But I have a follow-up question: Does the sinner really have 'free will', when God is the one that decided his personality, his brain-chemistry, his upbringing and his environment?
Is it not God then, who is to blame because he created all of the above factors that made the person a sinner, yet did nothing about the sin even though knowing about it?

Thank you in advance for your answer.
Greets, Kees

 

[keyman]

The only thing I am wondering is if sinning is bad, when God creates the sin-prone minds of (some) people and creates the sin-triggering environments around them while doing nothing about the eventual outcome of sin, even though he is all-knowing and all-powerful.
If the wage of sinning is death, but God is the one that makes people do it, is the sin truly a bad thing to do?

But God did do something about the sin problem. He gave His Son. We don't have to be slaves to sin anymore.
We can be the righteousness of Jesus Christ, because of His sacrifice.

 

[Kevin Snow]

Hello Keyman!
Thank you for your well-written response.

I understand what you say. If people did not have free will, we would not love God voluntarily, which is not true love. So indeed, "Blame the sinner, not God."
But I have a follow-up question: Does the sinner really have 'free will', when God is the one that decided his personality, his brain-chemistry, his upbringing and his environment?
Is it not God then, who is to blame because he created all of the above factors that made the person a sinner, yet did nothing about the sin even though knowing about it?

Thank you in advance for your answer.
Greets, Kees

Go ahead and tell that to God when you meet him and see if he will let you into his kingdom. The reason you think that way is because you have no fear in God.

 

[Kees Hogenbirk]

Why did he let Satan sin? Why did he let man sin?

He knew what was going to happen when he created everything. So why create it? Free will is a very complicated subject when you realize how much he knew.

Of course I'm sure it was for a good reason but what are we without free will? Was there even a scenario in the infinite possibilities of creating everything here that nobody ever sinned while abiding within that framework of free will for us?

There must have been a good reason for it. Why did the little girl drown in the flood in the late 1900s but nobody could free her body from being pinned and stop her from drowning?

Why did he let Satan tempt us in the garden?

Did God even really consider the possibilities of the future of His creation?

It must have all been for a good reason if He is the good Lord. I am still awaiting these answers myself. But we do have a moral law and a moral law giver.

Hello Valetic. And thank you for your answer.

I admire your humbleness in admitting not to know all of God's ways.
However, if assuming that everything that God does is for a good reason, doesn't that then mean that all sinning is also for a good reason?
If someone shoots a man dead, is that something that God has allowed for a good reason?

Thank you in advance for your answer.
Greets, Kees

 

[Gell]

Lucifer was a perfect being yet he sinned because he chose to rebel against the living God.
I agree, free will is a complicated subject yet it makes so much sense.

 

[Kees Hogenbirk]

op: Just for starters: http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/fleshsalvation.htm

"The purpose of God is never to reform the flesh but to destroy it. It is by God’s life given the believer at regeneration that the self in the flesh is to be destroyed. The life God imparts to man is indeed most powerful, but the regenerated person is still a babe—newly born and very weak. The flesh long has held the reins and its power is tremendous. Furthermore, the regenerated one has not yet learned to apprehend by faith God’s complete salvation. Though he be saved, he is still of the flesh during this period. Being fleshly denotes being governed by the flesh. What is most pitiful is for a believer, hitherto enlightened by heavenly light to know the wickedness of the flesh and to desire with full heart victory over it, to find himself too weak to overcome. This is the moment when he sheds many tears of sorrow. How can he not be angry with himself, for though he harbors a new desire to destroy sin and to please God his will is not steadfast enough to subdue the body of sin. Few are the victories; many, the defeats.

Paul in Romans 7 voices the inner anguish of this conflict:

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate . . . For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members. (vv.15-23)

Many will respond to his cry of nearly final despair: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (v.24) "

Hello YeshuaslaveJeff. Thank you for your response.
Indeed, we are often unable to control the fleshly desire to sin. So then, is the sinning bad if we can't control it?

 

[Kees Hogenbirk]

Again, you ain't living this life if you haven't yet come to understand firsthand that sin is bad. Why are you trying to understand yourself in a different experience? Have you or have you not experienced firsthand that sin is bad?

And if you have, then why are you trying to argue against that experience?

Yes, I have sinned. I am guilty of a lot of idolatry. And oh man, has it backfired on me with feeling horrible. So yes, from experience I can gather that I don't like the effects of sinning.
However, just because I don't like the effects of the sin, does that make the sin bad?
Again after all, wasn't God the one that created my brain and my environment to trigger me to commit Idolatry and allowed it all to happen?

 

[Kees Hogenbirk]

But God did do something about the sin problem. He gave His Son. We don't have to be slaves to sin anymore.
We can be the righteousness of Jesus Christ, because of His sacrifice.

I am sorry Keyman, but I don't get that. Even though Jesus died for our sins, aren't we still slaves of our sins? After all, I as a person still sin every once in a while. And don't we all?
So our sins are still bad, right?

 

[Kees Hogenbirk]

Go ahead and tell that to God when you meet him and see if he will let you into his kingdom. The reason you think that way is because you have no fear in God.

Oh, I fear God alright. The prospect of eternally suffering in Hell terrifies me.
However, even If I would not fear God, would that be bad if God created my mind, and allowed me not to fear him?
That would be like a creator punishing his creation for doing something that the creator himself programmed into his own creation. That's not really fair, is it?

 

[Gell]

Again after all, wasn't God the one that created my brain and my environment to trigger me to commit Idolatry and allowed it all to happen?

Seems like you are getting yourself into deep waters trying to justify sin.
Please, pray about this to the Lord. Sin is very offensive to Him who gave you life. Yes, true Christians can struggle with sin, but it is different from freely drinking iniquity.

 

[Kees Hogenbirk]

Lucifer was a perfect being yet he sinned because he chose to rebel against the living God.
I agree, free will is a complicated subject yet it makes so much sense.

Ah, indeed, the original sin. The complicatedness of free will I understand. After all, is your will really free if an all-knowing God designed everything you think, feel, want, do and experience in life?
So in what way would you say free will makes sense? What is your definition of it?

Greets,
Kees