What is Sin? What makes us Sinners?

[XChristian]

The title of the thread says it all. Can someone educate me on this?

 

[salida]

I hope I can help. Sin is rebellion against God. We are all born into sin and its our nature before we are reconciled with God. The first question I would ask myself is, Are you a good person? http://www.livingwaters.com/good. Can you keep all the 10 Commandments 100% of the time? This is why mankind needs a savior. Mankind is in a fallen spiritual condition. All other religions, except christianity try to earn their salvation by works alone. Try to do more good things than bad; thus if they do more good things they will hopefully get saved. With christianity - one is saved through grace - its a gift from God. The good works is a byproduct of our saving faith. All have sinned and have fallen short from the glory of God, Romans 3:23.

 

[XChristian]

Can you define - rebelling against God?

 

[tapero]

The title of the thread says it all. Can someone educate me on this?

Bible says all wrong doing is sin.

If one thinks about the wrong they've done, they may or may not realize it is sin.

Until I came to Jesus, had no clue as to sin, what it was, etc. Nor did I concern myself about it, as had no idea about God, sin, etc.

That's why i said, may or may not realize about sin. All depends on where a person's understanding of things are.

If you can have a look at things (in bible) which Jesus gave us to do as well as about Jesus' life, as well as what He gave us not to do; you will see more clearly the difference between God (Jesus) who is without sin, and us, who sin.

I give Jesus as an example as when read of Jesus often times it is then that we see the stark contrast of no sin (in Jesus) as compares to us who sin.

So what makes us sinners, is that we do things and have in our hearts things which are sin.

take care,
tapero

 

[BobW188]

Essentially, what makes us sinners is that we are the only species which can not only tell the difference between right and wrong but can, having done so, intentionally choose to to wrong.

 

[XChristian]

So I get that God hates sin. But isn't he the one who gave us free will and temptation in the first place? Why did he create something to hate and punish (us)? Maybe that should be a new thread.

 

[Emmy]

Dear XChristian. Think of Adam and Eve, our prototypes. God made them good. Until temptation, in the guise of a Serpent, came. They succombed, instead of loving God above all else, they ignored His Love for them, and chose to believe a liar, they were disobedient. God had warned them, if the ate of the forbidden Tree, they would die. Which they did to life in the garden of Eden. They were banned to Earth. In time to moved farther and farther away from God, they became selfish and wilful, they followed their own desires, which had become more selfish and without love for others. And where there is no love, sin takes over, we became more sinful and easy victims of temptations, day and night. Sin is every thing we do, or not do, from selfish motives, every time we do not act with love towards our fellow - brothers, or fellow sisters, we are committing sins against them, we are gradually becoming worse and worse sinners. In time Jesus came, and He showed us how to love God and love each other, God with all our being, and each other, as we love ourselves: selflessly and with no strings attached. God is Love, God wants us back again again, and to live with a loving Heavenly Father, we must exchange our selfish character into a loving one. Jesus will lead and guide us all the way, He is the Way. The Bible will tell you more in detail, XCristian. I say this humbly and with love. Greetings from Emmy, sister in Christ.

 

[PastorJim]

The title of the thread says it all. Can someone educate me on this?

Sin is the transgression of God's law.

We are sinners because we have a sinful nature. Romans 5-7 explains this in great detail.

 

[ebia]

The title of the thread says it all. Can someone educate me on this?

We are created to be the image of God in and for creation - reflecting his love, mercy, and justice out into the world.

When we take our eye off God - start putting other things (other gods, money, our own desires, whatever) where God should be that's idolatory. When we start doing that we stop properly reflecting God into creation. We begin to fall short in all sorts of ways of our full humanity. And that has dreadful consequences for creation, creating knock-on effects so that we each fall further and further short in a vicious cycle.

That falling short of God's intention for us is 'sin'. Missing the Mark.

 

[BobW188]

God creates us with free will so that we can choose to love and obey him or, if it comes to that (as it has with every human but One), can choose to seek forgiveness.
Take away choice and we might do no wrong; but in any real sense we could do no right. Neither sin nor virtue are possible to a puppet.

 

[XChristian]

Hmmm. I guess the thing that confuses me about sin is that the Bible says God created all things for him and his greatness. Yet he created beings that could rebel against him and put them in an enviroment that would guarantee they rebeled against him. Even though God hates sin, he created sin. I just don't get it.

 

[BobW188]

"Sin" is not a thing; but an action. We cause sin; and have the option of seeking forgiveness.

 

[ebia]

Hmmm. I guess the thing that confuses me about sin is that the Bible says God created all things for him and his greatness. Yet he created beings that could rebel against him and put them in an enviroment that would guarantee they rebeled against him.

The environment didn't guarantee they would rebel. It included the possibility that they would - but that's the other side of the same coin that allows them to be his image.

Even though God hates sin, he created sin. I just don't get it.

God didn't create sin - at least not in any meaningful sense. We do. But - and this is the key thing - God has dealt with it, in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Sin is a big problem, but not an insoluble one.

 

[Tissue]

As I understand sin, it is not simply an act or mistake or slip, but rather, a lifestyle that is not parallel to what God has for us. It is not so much the lie that is the sin, but the lifestyle that the lie springs from. It is not the act of adultery that is the sin, but the lifestyle that it springs from.

True sinlessness, which begins from conversion, is when our lifestyle is perfectly synchronized with Godly living. It is very much a process and one that emphasizes the nature of our heart, and not the nature of our deeds. To this end, God empowers us through the Spirit to change from our original ("natural") state toward what we should be.