sin sin sin. it feels like it's EVERYWHERE!

[Hello There]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I get very worried and paranoid about sin, pretty much everything I do, I worry if it's a sin. Before I go to do something I need to rethink over and over again to see if what I'm about to do is a sin or not. I'm afraid that if I go ahead ,do it anyway and ignore it then I will be sinning wilfully which is even worse.

The Bible says:

Romans 3:23 [edit: Romans 14:23]

But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because it isn't of faith; and whatever is not of faith is sin.

The verse implies here that, what they were doing is sin because they weren't 100% certain that what they were doing wasn't sin. This really worries me when I'm in a difficult situation.

It's a real struggle, because the things that I worry about are things that I enjoy doing or they are everyday things that people wouldn't think is a sin.

Sometimes, I might be real excited about going somewhere eg. to a family members birthday party, but leading up the party just about everything I do, I worry if it is sin and of course I believe that if I ignore my head and do it anyway then I cannot go to the party because it'd be a sin against God and it would mean I'm not really sorry for sinning against God.

I know this is crazy and weird but I really wanted to get this out. Thanks for reading ;-)






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[mbrob]

God Bless you Carl, for your struggle to please Him and do His will.

Remember, although thoughts of sin make you uncomfortable (probably due to your scrupulosity), sin has been defeated through Christ's death and resurrection. And you, my friend, are victorious over sin because you are in Christ. This is a fact we must hold onto, despite how we feel. I am learning that my emotions and anxiety are not accurate at times, because I can feel so beyond grace. However, these feelings are not facts. God affirms this - If your heart condemns you, God is greater than your heart and knows all things - 1 John 3:20.

May God bless you with Peace of Mind. Marc

 

[AmandaLynn1288]

Carl... I'm so sorry for what you are going through. I know that the hardest OCD symptoms tend to be the ones that revolve around our faith. I'm praying for you. Anyways, here is a verse that kind of helps me sometimes. It just reminds me that God understands my mind and my OCD, and that He knows our heart and how you really feel towards Him. Take care & God bless!!
~Amanda~

1 Chronicles 28:9

As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts.

 

[HeatherG]

Hi Carl,

The verse you refer to is actually Romans 14:23. If you read it in context the passage is about not being a stumbling block to one's brother by eating something that they would regard as unclean. It seems to me that the main point is that eating anything is fine, but don't do it in front of your fellow Christian if it would harm their relationship with God because they believed it to be wrong. I don't think the point of these verses is to tie us up in knots worrying about what is a sin, but rather the opposite, by emphasizing that there is more to faith than worrying about petty regulations (v. 20 "Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble"). Verse 22 says, "So whatever you believe about these things keep betwen yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves." My Bible has a note about the word "condemned" in these verses which says it means "A conviction of the heart for specific sin - not a sentence of exclusion from heaven. Convicted by conscience and God's Spirit, we may confess our sin and find forgiveness from God." I just thought I'd mention that in case you were worried it meant eternal condemnation. So take the advice of v.22 and be blessed, and don't condemn or blame yourself unnecessarily. "For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (v.17). It's important to keep our focus on what's important.

I feel like I'm rambling on and not making any sense but I just felt when I read Romans 14 that there was an emphasis on freedom there that you might have been missing if you just read v.23 in isolation.

I am also probably completely wrong to go into this in detail because it might make you start contemplating the whole thing all over again when you should be forgetting about it. Anyway, the bottom line is, you and I will both inevitably sin many times every day, and sometimes we will make wrong judgements and we may even be sinning when we thought we were doing the right thing, but thanks be to God, our sin is paid for and we should live in the freedom that Christ has won for us. That's why He came. I know you know that already and it's just the OCD making you feel otherwise.

And here ends the sermon.

Heather

 

[Hello There]

Thanks for your posts much appreciated ;-)

Carl... I'm so sorry for what you are going through. I know that the hardest OCD symptoms tend to be the ones that revolve around our faith. I'm praying for you. Anyways, here is a verse that kind of helps me sometimes. It just reminds me that God understands my mind and my OCD, and that He knows our heart and how you really feel towards Him. Take care & God bless!!
~Amanda~

1 Chronicles 28:9
Quote:
As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts.

Yes, indeed you're right religious ones are probably the worst of them, unfortunetly most of my OCD symptoms are based around my faith. Thanks for your prayer and thanks for the wonderful verse you've given me, it's a verse I should store in my head, it's great to know specifically through the word of God that he knows the intent behind our thoughts. Thank you very much.

I feel like I'm rambling on and not making any sense

not at all

Anyway, the bottom line is, you and I will both inevitably sin many times every day, and sometimes we will make wrong judgements and we may even be sinning when we thought we were doing the right thing, but thanks be to God, our sin is paid for and we should live in the freedom that Christ has won for us. That's why He came. I know you know that already and it's just the OCD making you feel otherwise.

Remember, although thoughts of sin make you uncomfortable (probably due to your scrupulosity), sin has been defeated through Christ's death and resurrection. And you, my friend, are victorious over sin because you are in Christ. This is a fact we must hold onto, despite how we feel. I am learning that my emotions and anxiety are not accurate at times, because I can feel so beyond grace. However, these feelings are not facts. God affirms this - If your heart condemns you, God is greater than your heart and knows all things - 1 John 3:20.

True. The problem now is keeping this in my head.
Not very easy.

 

[mbrob]

Thanks for your posts much appreciated ;-)


Yes, indeed you're right religious ones are probably the worst of them, unfortunetly most of my OCD symptoms are based around my faith. Thanks for your prayer and thanks for the wonderful verse you've given me, it's a verse I should store in my head, it's great to know specifically through the word of God that he knows the intent behind our thoughts. Thank you very much.


Thank you so so much for clearing that verse up for me, extremely appreciative, this will probably save me hours of OCD anxiety.


not at all


Remember, although thoughts of sin make you uncomfortable (probably due to your scrupulosity), sin has been defeated through Christ's death and resurrection. And you, my friend, are victorious over sin because you are in Christ. This is a fact we must hold onto, despite how we feel. I am learning that my emotions and anxiety are not accurate at times, because I can feel so beyond grace. However, these feelings are not facts. God affirms this - If your heart condemns you, God is greater than your heart and knows all things - 1 John 3:20.

True. The problem now is keeping this in my head.
Not very easy.[/QUOTE]
It would be helpful if we could keep these positive truths in our head. However, they are still truths regarding God's love and our salvation, whether they are "in our heads" or not... Do you constantly think of your parents? I don't. Nevertheless, they are my parents unconditionally. I think it's the same with our Heavenly Father.

 

[Hello There]

The verse you refer to is actually Romans 14:23. If you read it in context the passage is about not being a stumbling block to one's brother by eating something that they would regard as unclean. It seems to me that the main point is that eating anything is fine, but don't do it in front of your fellow Christian if it would harm their relationship with God because they believed it to be wrong. I don't think the point of these verses is to tie us up in knots worrying about what is a sin, but rather the opposite, by emphasizing that there is more to faith than worrying about petty regulations (v. 20 "Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble"). Verse 22 says, "So whatever you believe about these things keep betwen yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves." My Bible has a note about the word "condemned" in these verses which says it means "A conviction of the heart for specific sin - not a sentence of exclusion from heaven. Convicted by conscience and God's Spirit, we may confess our sin and find forgiveness from God." I just thought I'd mention that in case you were worried it meant eternal condemnation. So take the advice of v.22 and be blessed, and don't condemn or blame yourself unnecessarily. "For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (v.17). It's important to keep our focus on what's important.

but isn't it still more likely that it's a sin if you doubt if something is a sin and do it anyway? Doubting and doing it anyway is something I struggle with.

Thank you.

 

[HeatherG]

but isn't it still more likely that it's a sin if you doubt if something is a sin and do it anyway? Doubting and doing it anyway is something I struggle with.

Thank you.

Maybe another quote from Romans can help:

Romans 7:21-25a "So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

Does this sound like you? Then be encouraged that Paul also went through the same struggle, realizing that in the end Jesus is the only one who can - and does - save us from this struggle.

I do know what you mean and I can remember struggling with this "Am I sinning deliberately?" thing once before. I think it's important to realize that if you are spending vast amounts of time deliberating on whether something fairly normal is a sin, it is probably more about OCD than sin and it's time to let it go. Of course going round flagrantly and unrepentantly sinning is not good, but somehow I don't think you are in that category or you wouldn't worry about it. Relax and try and think about what you would like to do to please God instead of always focusing on the possibility of displeasing Him. By the way, when I looked back at your OP, what jumped out at me was that these doubts would intensify just before a special occasion like a party. I would definitely see that as a sign of OCD. You can look at some other threads on this forum and see that it is quite common for the obsessive thoughts to increase when you are looking forward to something, and I can testify to this in my own experience.

Hang in there.
Heather

 

[seajoy]

but isn't it still more likely that it's a sin if you doubt if something is a sin and do it anyway? Doubting and doing it anyway is something I struggle with.

Thank you.

But Christ died for all our sins...even the ones we don't know we commited.

By the way...when you get the thought that everything you are about to do is a sin, just say "Oh well, Christ died for all sins." Let the anxiety happen, and go on with what you were doing. I know it seems crazy, but it works.

Do you have a psychiatrist that is helping you with some therapy? It would be so helpful to you if you did.

I've been where you are at, and I understand.
May God Bless your Christmas Season with His Peace.
seajoy

 

[seajoy]

Of course going round flagrantly and unrepentantly sinning is not good, but somehow I don't think you are in that category

Like you, I'm positive he's not in that category . It's all ocd, not a problem with God.

God doesn't want us working this hard on our salvation. He already took care of everything for us, in our beautiful Savior, Jesus .