I fully agree with your post. Observing a day to rest in our Savior is commendable. What is not commendable is trying to convince people that it is an obligation and those who do not observe a day are sinning as written in the following statement:
Sin is defined in God's Word as breaking anyone of God's 10 commandments as shown in JAMES 2:10-11; ROMANS 7:7; 1 JOHN 3:4 or not believing and following God's Word *ROMANS 14:23. Furthermore, in the case of SDA's one has to agree to a set of 28 fundamental doctrines some of which have nothing to do with salvation.
Well that has no truth in it Bob. According to God's Word (not my words) SIN is indeed defined as breaking anyone of Gods' 10 commandments. All your doing here is denying God's Word with your words that are not God's but yours. I prefer to believe what God says and it is God not me that says SIN is defined as breaking anyone of Gods' 10 commandments *JAMES 2:10-11; ROMANS 7:7 and not believing and following His Word *ROMANS 14:23
NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES
JAMES 2:8-12
[8], If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF YE DO WELL (see MATTHEW 22:36-40; LUKE 10:25-28; MATTHEW 19:16-21; ROMANS 13:8-10 and compare to DETUERONOMY 6:5 and LEVITICUS 19:18 love summing up God's 10 commandments):
[9], But if ye have respect to persons, YOU COMMIT SIN, AND ARE CONVINCED OF THE LAW AS TRANSGRESSORS.
[10], For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
[11] For he that said,
DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, said also,
DO NOT KILL. Now if thou commit
NO ADULTERY,
YET IF THOU KILL, YOU ARE BECOME A TRANSGRESSOR OF GOD'S LAW
Yep, James is pretty clear if we brake ANY of God's Law (10 commandments) then we are a TRANSGRESSOR of God's LAW and commit SIN. James quotes two of the 10 Commandments saying that if we break them we commit sin v9 that are summed up in the 2nd great commandments of LOVE to God and LOVE to our neighbour in v11. Maybe you missed that one?
ROMANS 7:7 [7], What shall we say then? is the law sin? God forbid. Nay,
I HAD NOT KNOWN SIN, BUT BY THE LAW: for I had not known lust, EXCEPT THE LAW HAD SAID THOU SHALL NOT COVET.
Well here we have Paul in agreement with James also telling us that he did not know what sin was without God's 10 Commandments. SIN is breaking God's commandments and Paul uses the 10th commandment as an example of breaking any of God's LAW (10 commandments) = SIN (
Exodus 20:17)
links to...
1 JOHN 3:4 [4] Whosoever commits SIN transgresses also the law: for SIN is the transgression of the law.
John is saying the same thing as James and Paul and states that if we TRANSGRESS God's LAW then we commit SIN because SIN IS THE TRANSGRESSION OF GOD'S LAW. So it is very clear that SIN is breaking ANY of God's LAW (10 commandments). We will look at the chapter context John uses v15 of MURDER as an example of sin which is God's 6th Command of the 10.
Sin is indeed defined in God's WORD as breaking any of the 10 Commandments in both the OLD and NEW TESTAMENT scriptures or not believing and following Gods Word.
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SIN IN THE OLD TESTAMENT BREAKING THE 10 COMMANDMENTS (Summarized)
When Potiphar’s wife came to Joseph with the aim of committing adultery, Joseph knew it was sin and protested saying how then can I do this great wickedness,
AND SIN AGAINST GOD? (
GENESIS 39:9).
God said that if Israel was not to make a covenant with the other nations and
serve their god's it WOULD BE SIN (
EXODUS 23:33). When Moses was delayed on the Mount with God the children of ISRAEL made an Idol and worshipped it breaking God's 1st and 2nd commandment (
EXODUS 20:3-5). Moses said to them after he returned, you have
SINNED A GREAT SIN: and now I will go up unto the LORD; perhaps I shall make an atonement
FOR YOUR SIN (
EXODUS 32:30;
DEUTERONOMY 9:16-18). Moses said to Aaron that by making an idol for the people to worship that it was a
GREAT SIN (
EXODUS 32:21; 30). God would punish the children of Israel for their
SIN OF IDOL WORSHIP (
EXODUS 32:34).
God said to Moses in reference to breaking the 10 Commandments; Whosoever has
SINNED AGAINST ME, him will I blot out of my book (
EXODUS 32:33).
Joshua says stealing is sin (
JOSHUA 7:11). Achan knew when he was caught stealing that
HE SINNED (
JOSHUA 7:20).
When God's people forsake God to worship other God's, they also confess that
THEY HAD SINNED in breaking God's commandments (
JUDGES 10:10;15). Samuel made atonement for God's people when they wanted to return to God confessing that they had
SINNED after they worshipped other Gods breaking God's 1st and 2nd commandments (
1 SAMUEL 7:5; 12:10;
EXODUS 20:2-5).
King Saul wanted to kill David, but Jonathon spoke good of David saying to him
no to sin against David by killing him (
1 SAMUEL 19:4). David cut the skirt of King Saul in the cave and said to him that he could have killed him if he wanted to but
DID NOT SIN against him by sparing his life (
1 SAMUEL 24:11). King Saul replied that in wanting to kill David he
HAD SINNED (
1 SAMUEL 26:21).
When David became king he desired Bathsheba who was another man’s wife and organized for her husband Uriah the Hitite to be sent to the front line of battle to be killed. God sent Nathan to David and David confessed in doing this that
HE HAD SINNED in breaking God's 6th and 7th Commandment (
EXODUS 20:13:14). David confessed that
HE HAD SINNED to breaking God's LAW (
1 SAMUEL 12:13).
Now we can also go through all the evil Kings of Israel that
SINNED AGAINST GOD by following and
WORSHIPPING OTHER GODS WHICH IS ALSO DEFINED AS SIN in God's WORD but there would be too many scriptures (
2 KINGS 17:7). God testified that they served other Gods and idols sending them prophets to warn them of
THEIR SINS (
2 KINGS 17:12-13; 16-17). We are also told that King Manasseh also broke God's 6th commandment and killed more innocent people then most others testifying that by doing this
HE HAD SINNED (
2 KINGS 16:17). God continued to send prophets to warn his people of the
CONSEQUENCES OF SIN (
NEHEMIAH 9:30). God's people
CONTINUED IN THEIR SINS forsaking God's LAW (10 commandments) and in doing so God left them and Israel were overthrown and led into captivity to the other nations because they departed from God serving other God's and idols. Nehemiah knew this and prayed to God confessing
THEIR SINS (
NEHEMIAH 1:6-9). God's people
CONTINUED TO SIN against God by worshipping other Gods despite the warning of Jeremiah (
JEREMIAH 44:18-23). In despite of God's Word teaching that God's people had forsaken the 10 commandments and
SINNED AGAINST GOD, going into captivity, God promised he would bring them back when they returned to him and heal them
FROM THEIR SINS of breaking his commandments (
EZEKIEL 37:22-23).
Hosea testified by the Word of the Lord that God's people by making idols and worshipping other god's, lying, stealing, killing, committing adultery would receive the judgments of God because
THEY HAD SINNED by departing from the 10 Commandments (
HOSEA 4:1-19).
The word of the Lord came to Zephaniah saying that all those who continue in sin by worshipping other God's and breaking his commandments will be destroyed off the land because they
HAVE SINNED AGAINST GOD (
ZEPHANIAH 1:2-17).
...............
Yep God’s WORD is very clear that
SIN IS DEFINED AS BREAKING ANY OF THE 10 COMMANDMENTS just as James, Paul and John all teach in the NEW TESTAMENT (
JAMES 2:10-11;
ROMANS 7:7;
1 JOHN 3:4;
ROMANS 3:20). All the above scriptures show by example, quoting individual commandments from the 10 Commandments that SIN is indeed also defined as breaking any of God's 10 Commandments. The same as if we break God's 4th commandment it is sin. According to the scriptures sin will keep all those who knowingly practice it out of God's kingdom *
HEBREWS 10:26-31
Sorry Bob, you should be able to see that God's Word disagrees with you. Sin according to the scriptures in both the old and new testament is breaking anyone of God's 10 commandments and not believing God's Word.
Hope this helps.