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Is there any Verse in the New Testament which definitively says, ‘This is a sin?’ Seems that the Verses that may imply or infer a sin tend to beat around the bush, as if to directly say that something is a sin is akin to actually seeing God, and the consequences to mortals who see Him. Or, arguably, that is not the intent of the New Testament. Perhaps the New Testament presumes that the reader knows the things that are associated with and synonymous with sin. Take Colossians 3:5-6 which says, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.” It doesn’t actually come out and say that the things mentioned here are sins. The closest it comes to identifying them as sins is in saying that they are earthly. Well, those who know the Bible are aware that the earth is Satan’s dominion, so an inference can be made that anything which originates from the earth and which Satan approves of is sinful because it is evil, inasmuch as anything that is evil is that which goes against God.
But how many people actually have the time to read the Bible for understanding? A person who asks if the Bible identifies anything along the lines of ‘This is a sin,’ has not read the Whole Bible, including the Old and New Testaments. The Old testament comes closer to identifying the things which are sinful, and perhaps the New Testament doesn’t go that far since the Old Testament already mentions them.
But to consult the Old Testament as to what is sinful is to check with what the Law says that God gave to Moses. There are Christians that believe that the Old Testament amounts to being the elementary doctrine of Christ, and that if we succeed in going beyond that doctrine we no longer have need of the Law; we have reached the level of nirvana in which our faith and love in God automatically steers us from what is sinful, to the point where our mindfulness of sin is no more significant than our mindfulness for breathing to stay alive.
But let’s presume for the moment that the New Testament allows us to check what is in the Old Testament. And it seems the New Testament may encourage this, since every Christian Bible I have seen includes the Old Testament.
Submitted for your approval, among the specific sins that at least come closer to being identified as such than what you might find in the New Testament, are the following from Leviticus 5 and Leviticus 6:
Leviticus 5:1 “If anyone sins in that he hears a public adjuration to testify, and though he is a witness, whether he has seen or come to know the matter, yet does not speak, he shall bear his iniquity;” That is, if someone knows something about, say, a lawless act and doesn’t come forward when a call goes out to anyone who has information about it that would lead to the arrest of the perpetrator to come forward, it is a sin.
Leviticus 5:4...6 “or if anyone utters with his lips a rash oath to do evil or to do good...he shall bring to the LORD as his compensation for the sin that he has committed...” So, it is a sin to speak of doing something evil; it is also a sin to say you will do something good when you don’t intend to do any such thing.
Leviticus 6:2-3...7 says the following: “If anyone sins and commits a breach of faith against the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in a matter of deposit or security, or through robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor or has found something lost and lied about it, swearing falsely—in any of all the things that people do and sin thereby...the priest shall make atonement.
Leviticus 11 deals with the sin of eating certain animals like camels, pigs, vultures, and the implied sin of eating shrimp and lobsters since they neither have fins or scales, nor do they swim in the water that they’re in. This is more complicated, since God explains that these animals are unclean.
Since Isaiah 1:18 invites us to reason with God, we may be at liberty to raise questions on the matter. One question that arises is, Why are these animals unclean compared to others? Commentators say that they are unclean because of the way they digest food. That is, their digestive systems don’t break down and dispose of the germs and toxins that are eaten along with the things they eat, but the animals we’re permitted to eat have digestive systems that do just that. So, another question that may be asked is, Suppose we can clean them so they are acceptable to God? In this context, suppose we can rid these animals of the germs and toxins that are in their bodies before we eat them, thereby rendering them clean? Would it still be a sin to eat them?
One may assert that God just doesn’t want us to eat animals that aren’t unclean, and He gives an example of some of them. If God merely commanded us not to eat certain animals without explaining why not to do so, then it would undoubtably be a sin to eat them no matter how much reasoning we may use. But it seems that Leviticus 11 leaves an opening. Perhaps Lord Jesus may have had this in mind when he says in Matthew 15:11, “...it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” Perhaps by the time Jesus comes along, a way was found to clean the animals that God says is unclean, notwithstanding that Jesus and his disciples ate fish instead of shrimp and lobsters.
If we have the faith in God, and the love for God and our neighbors that the New Testament implies we should have, it would not be necessary to be mindful of specific sins, since our faith and love would trample on those sins, whether we know them or not.
But how many people actually have the time to read the Bible for understanding? A person who asks if the Bible identifies anything along the lines of ‘This is a sin,’ has not read the Whole Bible, including the Old and New Testaments. The Old testament comes closer to identifying the things which are sinful, and perhaps the New Testament doesn’t go that far since the Old Testament already mentions them.
But to consult the Old Testament as to what is sinful is to check with what the Law says that God gave to Moses. There are Christians that believe that the Old Testament amounts to being the elementary doctrine of Christ, and that if we succeed in going beyond that doctrine we no longer have need of the Law; we have reached the level of nirvana in which our faith and love in God automatically steers us from what is sinful, to the point where our mindfulness of sin is no more significant than our mindfulness for breathing to stay alive.
But let’s presume for the moment that the New Testament allows us to check what is in the Old Testament. And it seems the New Testament may encourage this, since every Christian Bible I have seen includes the Old Testament.
Submitted for your approval, among the specific sins that at least come closer to being identified as such than what you might find in the New Testament, are the following from Leviticus 5 and Leviticus 6:
Leviticus 5:1 “If anyone sins in that he hears a public adjuration to testify, and though he is a witness, whether he has seen or come to know the matter, yet does not speak, he shall bear his iniquity;” That is, if someone knows something about, say, a lawless act and doesn’t come forward when a call goes out to anyone who has information about it that would lead to the arrest of the perpetrator to come forward, it is a sin.
Leviticus 5:4...6 “or if anyone utters with his lips a rash oath to do evil or to do good...he shall bring to the LORD as his compensation for the sin that he has committed...” So, it is a sin to speak of doing something evil; it is also a sin to say you will do something good when you don’t intend to do any such thing.
Leviticus 6:2-3...7 says the following: “If anyone sins and commits a breach of faith against the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in a matter of deposit or security, or through robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor or has found something lost and lied about it, swearing falsely—in any of all the things that people do and sin thereby...the priest shall make atonement.
Leviticus 11 deals with the sin of eating certain animals like camels, pigs, vultures, and the implied sin of eating shrimp and lobsters since they neither have fins or scales, nor do they swim in the water that they’re in. This is more complicated, since God explains that these animals are unclean.
Since Isaiah 1:18 invites us to reason with God, we may be at liberty to raise questions on the matter. One question that arises is, Why are these animals unclean compared to others? Commentators say that they are unclean because of the way they digest food. That is, their digestive systems don’t break down and dispose of the germs and toxins that are eaten along with the things they eat, but the animals we’re permitted to eat have digestive systems that do just that. So, another question that may be asked is, Suppose we can clean them so they are acceptable to God? In this context, suppose we can rid these animals of the germs and toxins that are in their bodies before we eat them, thereby rendering them clean? Would it still be a sin to eat them?
One may assert that God just doesn’t want us to eat animals that aren’t unclean, and He gives an example of some of them. If God merely commanded us not to eat certain animals without explaining why not to do so, then it would undoubtably be a sin to eat them no matter how much reasoning we may use. But it seems that Leviticus 11 leaves an opening. Perhaps Lord Jesus may have had this in mind when he says in Matthew 15:11, “...it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” Perhaps by the time Jesus comes along, a way was found to clean the animals that God says is unclean, notwithstanding that Jesus and his disciples ate fish instead of shrimp and lobsters.
If we have the faith in God, and the love for God and our neighbors that the New Testament implies we should have, it would not be necessary to be mindful of specific sins, since our faith and love would trample on those sins, whether we know them or not.
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