How do I know if something is a sin or not?

[tonychanyt]

An operational definition of sin for born-again Christians

There is a regular definition of sin. This OP focuses on an operational definition of sin for born-again Christians. It touches on sin, personal conscience, and the indwelling Spirit.

The conscience is a faculty of the soul/spirit. It can distinguish between good and evil. It makes us morally culpable.

Genesis 2:

7 Then the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

In the beginning, Adam and Eve's consciences were dependent on God. The Spirit of God was directly connected to their spirits, which are directly connected with their consciences.

Genesis 2:

17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.

After they ate the fruit, they didn't die physically right away. They acquired the ability to decide what was good or not from their intellect and emotions, independently of God. Right away, their consciences told them that it wasn't good to be naked.

Genesis 3:

7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Fast-forward to after the Cross, Jesus sent the Indwelling Holy Spirit to repair our conscience, English Standard Version, Romans 9:

1 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit

The believer's conscience is tentacularly connected with the Holy Spirit, specifically the Paraclete. I see this not as a spiritual metaphor but as an objective spiritual reality. I practice this every day all the time.

Now, my conscience is clear before God, Hebrews 9:

14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

The Paraclete in my conscience teaches me what is sinful or not. We are led by the Spirit.

See also

• Sin, conscience, and the Holy Spirit

 

[Qubit]

Consciousness *IS* Spirit. They are not two separate things.

Scripture teaches that we are Tripartite:

• Spirit
• Soul
• Body

Spirit is the Electromagnetism that flows in all Life. It is consciousness that exists after death.
Soul is a living organism's Genome. It is the DNA Code that the Spirit 'quickens'. It is the 'names' in the Book of Life.
Body is what the above two components form.

Spirit, i.e. Electromagnetism, is far more profound than a bunch of Electrons moving around.

The Spirit has Eyes, remember? It is alive!

The Spirit (Electromagnetism) was in the Wheels (Electron Orbitals). The Bible literally teaches you the Scientific meaning...

 

[Qubit]

In the beginning, Adam and Eve's consciences were dependent on God. The Spirit of God was directly connected to their spirits, which are directly connected with their consciences.

The Consciences of Adam and the Woman already pre-existed because their Spirits pre-existed.

God breathed Adam's Spirit, i.e., Adam's conscience, into a Genome (the Soul). He became a Living Genome. A Living Soul.

The same as with all of us.

Our Consciousnesses (i.e., our Spirits) were placed into the Zygote during conception.

We were the Morning Stars that sang together. We were conscious Spirits that sang long ago before the universe was created.

 

[KevinT]

I wanted to write a post about this, but @tonychanyt beat me to it! So I'll add to this thread.

My few thoughts:

• Two commonly confused words: Conscience and Conscious. The first is that little voice in our head and the second is the functioning of our brain when we are not unconscious.
  
  
• Here is an interesting discussion about the conscience from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: link. ( I only reviewed part of the article)
  
  
• I disagree that human conscience is directly the actual Holy Spirit. Why? Because someone that was raised in some pagan environment might have their conscience bother them if they didn't go attend some pagan festival. And it seems that the Holy Spirit would not do that. The conscience seems to be a part of our God-given brains that encourages us to do the things that we know to be right. The true Holy Spirit certainly should encourage and support this part of our brain -- even in the case of the pagan, while also working to teach the actual right path. Paul touches on this point in Romans:

  • 12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; 13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. 14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another 16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. Romans 2:12–16

• I like how the Message paraphrase Bible puts it:

  • 14-16 When outsiders who have never heard of God’s law follow it more or less by instinct, they confirm its truth by their obedience. They show that God’s law is not something alien, imposed on us from without, but woven into the very fabric of our creation. There is something deep within them that echoes God’s yes and no, right and wrong. Their response to God’s yes and no will become public knowledge on the day God makes his final decision about every man and woman. The Message from God that I proclaim through Jesus Christ takes into account all these differences. (Message version -- paraphrase)

• It seems that the conscience only prompts us to act in a way consistent with what we have already been taught. "I should not steal." "It would be best for me to be more loving." Establishing a moral framework is normal part of psychological development of children.
  • From the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: "In the Christian tradition, starting from Paul, the inward looking character of conscience is emphasized by the metaphor of the witness (Romans 2: 14–15). Conscience does not allow us to acquire the knowledge of the moral law directly from an external source (God in this case), but only to witness the presence of God’s laws within us. Conscience cannot directly contemplate God. The idea of a faculty that gives us indirect, and therefore imperfect knowledge of some external moral authority suits religious traditions very well."
• In contrast to that, my understanding is that Holy Spirit would also prompt us with NEW insight and guidance. In my pagan example above, the Holy Spirit might prompt a person to listen to a religious radio broadcast that brings them into contact with new truth. I have no way to prove this one way or another, so perhaps it is a pointless distinction.
  
  
• So how do I tell the difference between a conscience driven by my past moral training, and the prompting of the Holy Spirit? Well, perhaps I don't need to know the difference. Instead, I should listen closely to my conscience and all the while be open to learning. Most of the time, following what we know to be right will lead us in a correct path. But when it doesn't, we should be ready and willing to use our logical minds to pick a new, better direction.

What do you think?


Kevin

 

[tonychanyt]

What do you think?

In addition, anyone, Christians, and non-Christians, through stubborn unrepentance, can damage their consciences. Check out Can a believer sear his conscience?

 

[tonychanyt]

You are proposing that a Spirit-informed conscience provides an operational definition of sin.

Yes, to some extent.

It says that to know right from wrong, we need only to look at our consciences.

Can you quote the words I asserted above? Note the bold.

 

[NewLifeInChristJesus]

Yes, to some extent.
Can you quote the words I asserted above? Note the bold.

The believer's conscience is tentacularly connected with the Holy Spirit, specifically the Paraclete.

The Paraclete in my conscience teaches me what is sinful or not. We are led by the Spirit.

Almost everything you have said about the conscience in this article is conjecture. The two quotes above are particularly faulty.

Concerning the first, the Spirit of God does not have a tentacle or tentacles that attach Him to our consciences. He, in fact, often acts as a foil against our consciences.

Concerning the second, the Spirit of God is not "in" our consciences. He is in our hearts, we are in Him, and we are one spirit with Him. He does not speak to or teach us through our consciences, but He bears witness with our spirits (as in Romans 8:16). He informs us directly of His will and He directly convicts us of our sins when through lack of faith we dissobey. Therefore a good operational definition of sin is... "whatever is not from faith is sin" (Ro 14:23)

 

[tonychanyt]

Almost everything you have said about the conscience in this article is conjecture.

Right.

It says that to know right from wrong, we need only to look at our consciences.

Can you quote the words I asserted above? Note the bold.

 

[NewLifeInChristJesus]

Right.

 

[tonychanyt]

It says that to know right from wrong, we need only to look at our consciences.

Can you quote the words I asserted above? Note the bold. This is the last time I have asked.