Pointless to Focus on Sin

[CleanSoul]

Not that she was without sin,

She was without sin. It is called the Immaculate Conception, which refers to the conception of Mary. She was conceived in the normal way, except without inheriting original sin. That is why it is called the Immaculate Conception.

Christ's conception in Mary, without the use of man, is called the Virgin Birth.

I could go on, but that is another thread.

 

[Hazelelponi]

So many churches spend all their time focusing on sin and believers shouldn't sin. It's a pointless focus.

Jesus didn't focus on sin and what sins not to commit. Why do we focus on it?

Our ministry should have one focus: love. Let the world know we are Christians by our love, not our rulebooks. If we love God and love one another, we will detest sin and be a lot happier.

Jesus didn't condemn the world and neither should we. Stop focusing on sin, and start loving like Jesus.

So what was all that "repent" and "go and sin no more" sayings Jesus said all about then?

Jesus demanded repentance, and after we are saved repentance needs to be a way of life... eschewing the things of this world in favor of the world to come. (walk in accordance with the Spirit and not the flesh)

While avoiding sin or the appearance of it won't save us, we do these things to the best of our ability in love and obedience to God..

Hebrews 10:16-17 is quoting the New Covenant promise found in Jeremiah 31: “‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,’ then he adds, ‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’”

Now, the point here is that Christ has purchased the new covenant promise, and it includes the forgiveness of our sins and the replacement of an old, unbelieving, rebellious heart with a new heart of faith and obedience.

So yes, sin should be spoken of in our churches, and Christ still speaks to us of sin today, when he changes our rebellious nature to one where we seek to follow God's will in our lives.

 

[Thomas White]

If we have not received forgiveness of a mortal sin, (any sin that breaks one of the Ten Commandments, and is done with full knowledge, and consent) in our lives, we are not walking in friendship with Jesus.

We use the grace God gives us, and the love we have for Jesus, and others, to help us avoid sin, which deepens our walk with Christ.


We have to respond to what the Holy Spirit is telling us to do. There has to be a cooperation.

I agree, but God does the forgiving. Not us. We can do what we should in our lives, but we can't do it for someone else.

 

[Thomas White]

Assuming all your congregants are saved and have the Holy Spirit guilding them,
are you not the sheppard who leads the flock if they stray ? Sin is straying. There really is no getting around it as we are in the flesh. Be blessed.

For believers, it's different. We have an obligation to hold each other accountable. For the nonbeliever, we should be focusing on one thing: the love of Christ.

 

[Jaxxi]

She was without sin. It is called the Immaculate Conception, which refers to the conception of Mary. She was conceived in the normal way, except without inheriting original sin. That is why it is called the Immaculate Conception.

Christ's conception in Mary, without the use of man, is called the Virgin Birth.

I could go on, but that is another thread.

Where in the bible is "Immaculate Conception? I did not know the Bible called it that. "

 

[Thomas White]

She was without sin. It is called the Immaculate Conception, which refers to the conception of Mary. She was conceived in the normal way, except without inheriting original sin. That is why it is called the Immaculate Conception.

Christ's conception in Mary, without the use of man, is called the Virgin Birth.

I could go on, but that is another thread.

Just to clarify, there's no Biblical source that claims Mary was without sin. It is solely a dogma of the Church and has no scriptural basis. It was not even claimed until three centuries after Christ ascended.

 

[Hazelelponi]

For believers, it's different. We have an obligation to hold each other accountable. For the nonbeliever, we should be focusing on one thing: the love of Christ.

And church services cannot ignore the needs of believers seeking to grow in Christ.

If all a church did was preach to the unsaved, what's the point of the saved even attending?

 

[Thomas White]

So what was all that "repent" and "go and sin no more" sayings Jesus said all about then?

Jesus demanded repentance, and after we are saved repentance needs to be a way of life... eschewing the things of this world in favor of the world to come. (walk in accordance with the Spirit and not the flesh)

While avoiding sin or the appearance of it won't save us, we do these things to the best of our ability in love and obedience to God..

Hebrews 10:16-17 is quoting the New Covenant promise found in Jeremiah 31: “‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,’ then he adds, ‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’”

Now, the point here is that Christ has purchased the new covenant promise, and it includes the forgiveness of our sins and the replacement of an old, unbelieving, rebellious heart with a new heart of faith and obedience.

So yes, sin should be spoken of in our churches, and Christ still speaks to us of sin today, when he changes our rebellious nature to one where we seek to follow God's will in our lives.

I did not say that sin should not be spoken about in churches. I said that it should not be the focus.

 

[CleanSoul]

Just to clarify, there's no Biblical source that claims Mary was without sin.

The reason you require there to be is because you do not belong to the church Jesus created. All you have is an incomplete bible which you have no choice to self-interpret.

 

[Thomas White]

The reason you require there to be is because you do not belong to the church Jesus created. All you have is an incomplete bible which you have no choice to self-interpret.

Really? What church is that?

 

[Hazelelponi]

I did not say that sin should not be spoken about in churches. I said that it should not be the focus.

Is it the prime focus in yours? While it is spoken of in mine, it is usually when learning Scripture rolls around to Scripture speaking of it... And that's not a constant lesson, just one among many.

 

[Jay Sea]

I have to disagree... right and wrong is not always obvious when we act and think through love. There are many couples out there who love each other and think it's okay to have premartial sex. I know many people who think Jesus loves them and they feel they love their neighbor, yet they are constantly sinning against God. And there are many unbelievers who love their neighbor and are great people, yet don't love the Lord and continue in their sin.

Just my two cents.

There are many couples who do not get married in the legal sense but live together in a faithful union throughout their lives and would only seek a blessing from their Church if this were possible, after all registration of marriages only took place to track bigamy.
In LOve
Jay Sea

 

[Thomas White]

Is it the prime focus in yours? While it is spoken of in mine, it is usually when learning Scripture rolls around to Scripture speaking of it... And that's not a constant lesson, just one among many.

Unfortunately, most churches I've attended over the years would prefer to focus only on what one should not do, rarely mentioning what one should do. I'm considering starting my own.

 

[Hazelelponi]

Unfortunately, most churches I've attended over the years would prefer to focus only on what one should not do, rarely mentioning what one should do. I'm considering starting my own.

Why not try a different type of church instead?

Certainly sin is spoken of, but theres something wrong if a church is focused on sin every Sunday of the year. Usually Pastors preach through the Bible in some way throughout the year. Some may get stuck in a chapter that's lengthy and needs more focus for a month or two, but then they move on usually in a teaching scripture path...

Easter season is a big sin time of year... true that. But there should be different focuses throughout any given year..

 

[Thomas White]

Why not try a different type of church instead?

Certainly sin is spoken of, but theres something wrong if a church is focused on sin every Sunday of the year. Usually Pastors preach through the Bible in some way throughout the year. Some may get stuck in a chapter that's lengthy and needs more focus for a month or two, but then they move on usually in a teaching scripture path...

Easter season is a big sin time of year... true that. But there should be different focuses throughout any given year..

It is fairly constant among the churches I have attended. Our focus should be on spreading the Gospel, not telling people how terrible they are.

 

[Hazelelponi]

It is fairly constant among the churches I have attended. Our focus should be on spreading the Gospel, not telling people how terrible they are.

Generally most people in church already know the Gospel, at least that of salvation. What we need is to grow in our understanding of Scripture - good expository preaching - which helps us to grow in our knowledge of the triune God, so that we grow in our Christian walk, and are able in the end to have a solid Christian witness to others, in both word and deed.

 

[Swan7]

The reason you require there to be is because you do not belong to the church Jesus created. All you have is an incomplete bible which you have no choice to self-interpret.

I really hope you read God's Word for what it is... God's Word. Don' t be fed by what mankind feeds you, feast on the Word of God.

 

[Swan7]

Generally most people in church already know the Gospel, at least that of salvation. What we need is to grow in our understanding of Scripture - good expository preaching - which helps us to grow in our knowledge of the triune God, so that we grow in our Christian walk, and are able in the end to have a solid Christian witness to others, in both word and deed.

Goodness, I couldn't agree more!

 

[Thomas White]

Generally most people in church already know the Gospel, at least that of salvation. What we need is to grow in our understanding of Scripture - good expository preaching - which helps us to grow in our knowledge of the triune God, so that we grow in our Christian walk, and are able in the end to have a solid Christian witness to others, in both word and deed.

That view creates another thought. What is the purpose of the Church?

A.) Evangelize
B.) Tell people what they are doing wrong
C.) Teach each other how to love and spread that love
D.) All of the above

 

[Hazelelponi]

That view creates another thought. What is the purpose of the Chruch?

A.) Evangelize
B.) Tell people what they are doing wrong
C.) Teach each other how to love and spread that love
D.) All of the above

This depends on what church your talking about.

Is it the meeting-place for Christians to meet and encourage one another in the faith, and fellowship with one another and participate in things like baptisms and the Lord's Supper?

Or is it individuals who belong to Christ and in word and deed take their faith with them to the lost?

Both are the called the church... I think having the meeting place be for the unsaved is a mistake, because that's a place for believers to encourage one another in the faith.

The church as a group can certainly reach out to their local community, go door to door to share Christ with the lost, feed the poor, help those in need...

But to neglect one another is neglect, the assembly is for believers...while the unsaved can visit to learn more about our faith, that's not the primary purpose of assembly.

Being Christian in this world isn't easy, and we need one another.