What is sin?

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Repentance is to change mind, meta noia. Change it from thinking life is about serving gods made with human hands for perishable gains to serving our creator for imperishable gains. Why would Ananias have been rebuked when he had lied about being half hearted about his abandonment of mammon if it was not wrong to retain part of his earnings? Believers who surrendered everything were full time workers for God. They were supported and when there was a ministry opportunity, they were anointed. Deacons administered the funds for support of widows. Those who had extra funds coming in after becoming workers for God were encouraged to support widows belonging to their own family.


I'm saying that when you ask God to give you signs and wonders to help you bring others out of Egypt, you should have been called out of Egypt yourself. Next time your pastor asks you to share the gospel, ask him why people should believe you and leave Egypt, serving themselves to serving others, which is what God wants, and created man for, to bless the world.


Interesting,nevertheless, God called all these people out of Egypt. Including Jesus.


I'm not surprised people failed. Israel was defeated by her enemies when they went to battle without being called. Moses failed to bring Israel out of Egypt because God was not with him which was what is different because if God had called He would have been with Moses and Moses would not have had to kill the Egyptian. People are saved because they see God is with the person who is calling them to leave Egypt. Rahab switched loyalty to God because Joshua only won when God helped as seen by his dependency on the raised arms of Moses. That is the Way.

The early church was getting into a rut, pretty quickly. That is why God had to create a crisis in the form of protests from the Greek converts. It's amusing that what Peter was doing, preaching, was not getting results, but what Stephen was doing, serving tables, was. Preaching isn't going to get people to come out of Egypt. The presence of God's kingdom being felt amongst the listeners is what is required. And that is what happens when God calls. After you drink from the Rock, Christ. Who did not murmur when he left serving Egypt and was tested when all that Egypt provided was held back from him. But con-fessed, agreed, that bread that perished was not to be worked for. Those who so agree are given the kingdom, and all other things are added on to them as well.

Modern Christianity, as you noticed, is a totally different animal. Time changes things. That's why you need to ask for bread, revelation of the original meaning, every day.

So, just to clarify: Are you a full-time Christian worker, supported by a church or organisation for your income, or are you in employment supporting yourself and your family with a regular weekly wage? Just askin'.

 

[Andy centek]

Blessings:

A very good question! What is sin. My opinion;which may not mean much, is this. Sin entered into THIS WORD by Satan deceiving Eve. However, this is not as straight forward as it seems. I am currently writing a book on Genesis and the creation therein that discusses this and many other items. However, I must keep this answer much shorter here.

Sin came by the disobedience to God command, do not do; and Man did it anyway. This then makes sin, in it's simple form, disobedience to The Creator, Elohim. That there was given a way the sinfulness of mankind is by the turning from sinfulness and following after Jesus Christ teachings; which He received from His Father. "I have given Them Your word."

Again, some chose to follow after the teachings of Jesus and most did not; they preferred the sinful life. Just as the Man and Women found the things rejected by God as desirable, so does man today; that is, for the most part. Even the Denominations of today do not follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and His apostle Paul.

This appears to make sin the rejection of the spiritually good thing and acceptance of the spiritual bad things. The first command in Genesis was: "Let there be light". Not sunlight, rather spiritual light. So sin is the following after the darkness of spiritual evil things and not following the spiritually things called good by God and His Christ. This of course applies only to those seeking to walk in the spiritual light, for those walking in spiritual darkness will continue to do so unless God choses to make a person one of His Elect.
One of the very bad things that occurs today in so-called Christian churches is men who call men for the so-called altar call to be spiritually saved. Is there seen anywhere in the scriptures of one being called to an altar to be saved? No, in no way. This can be called sinfulness in itself. Why? Because man set it up and it denies Christ calling into the body of Christ; thereby becoming one of God's Elect.

Much more could be stated, but I end this here.May the truth seeker seek deeper for themselves.

Andy Centek

 

[Wordkeeper]

So, just to clarify: Are you a full-time Christian worker, supported by a church or organisation for your income, or are you in employment supporting yourself and your family with a regular weekly wage? Just askin'.

Actually i'm a retired businessman looking to make friends with those in eternal dwellings with unrighteous mammon so that when it runs out, they will welcome me into those eternal dwellings. Any idea where they can be located?

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Actually i'm a retired businessman looking to make friends with those in eternal dwellings with unrighteous mammon so that when it runs out, they will welcome me into those eternal dwellings. Any idea where they can be located?

I'm a retired school teacher and Court Victim Advisor, supporting our daughter who thinks I am her bank whenever she needs it. Jesus said that in heaven there are many mansions and He has gone to prepare a place for us. I guess that until then. we are wandering pilgrims seeking a city that is not in this world.

 

[Wordkeeper]

I'm a retired school teacher and Court Victim Advisor, supporting our daughter who thinks I am her bank whenever she needs it. Jesus said that in heaven there are many mansions and He has gone to prepare a place for us. I guess that until then. we are wandering pilgrims seeking a city that is not in this world.

Ha! Ha! Tell me about it!

You can see that it is God's time to call. We just have to be ready. And even the call is not to cut all ties to the world but to act in a loyal way to God. Even asking for terms of peace, extensions of deadlines, is a loyal act.

BTW, the city is Christ.

 

[Marcaunon]

The apostle James said that he who knows to do good and doesn't do it, to him it is sin.
James 4:17

Not only is sin something we do knowing not to do it, it is something we don't do when we know to do it.

That tells me sin is on the level of the individual. What may be sin for me, may not be sin for you.

Whether we sin by doing or sin by not doing, all sin is an offense against God.

Hi

Does this mean when people do morally bad deeds without knowing they are wrong they that is not sin then?
If sin is different for each person how am I supposed to know what is and isn't sin for me? Mostly the answer to this question comes down to looking at scripture, but doesn't that mean it is given by scripture and simply isn't different for every person?
If you say it's what my faith can handle then isn't that like saying that I can do whatever I feel okay with and that isn't sin for me? This surely feel like a slippery slope then.

 

[Marcaunon]

You're welcome.



I should be clear that I think that Christians are required to obey the Torah, but I am not in agreement with mainstream Christianity on this point. In Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus summarized the Law as being about how to love God and our neighbor. All of the 613 commands in the OT and 1,050 commands in the NT can be put into those categories, so the two greatest commands are the greatest because all of the other commands are examples of how to correctly obey them. The command to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength is a lot easier said than done, so thankful we have all of these other commands and Christ's example of obedience to these commands to paint us a picture of what that looks like.



In Romans 5:13, Paul said that sin was in the world before the Law was was not charged to anyone's account where there is no Law. In Romans 2:14-15, Paul said for when Gentiles, who were not given the Law, by nature do what the Law requires, they are showing that the Law is written on their hearts and that their conscience bears witness to this.

Hi, thanks for your answer.

Thank you for standing up for your view point even though you understand it is generally not agreed upon.
I think one possible reason for a differing stance might be Acts 15:10-21
I am however not a good scholar of the 613 laws of the old testament to the point that I can really debate the details here.
However perhaps a simple question is if there is a law (or might be a law) in one of these 613 OT laws that are immoral by our modern understanding of morality in the church, should we still follow it? Or are their some criteria by which we can remove some of these laws?

Regarding your second point around Romans 5:13.
If you believe that the law is written on their hearts and that this law is indeed captured in the 613 OT laws I am struggling to put this together. Surely there are many laws in the OT that nobody would ever naturally come to from a "written on my heart" point of view?

The other question I have about this law written on our hearts is that without being told about God (Yahweh the christian/jewish God) we are unlikely to worship him out of a natural tendency thereby the gentile was guaranteed to be in disagreement with at least one of the ten commandments surely?
So even though they might do some moral/right things... they ultimately still sin and are condemned.
Paul merely shows perhaps that people aren't necessarily totally evil when without God?

 

[Marcaunon]

So, just to clarify: Are you a full-time Christian worker, supported by a church or organisation for your income, or are you in employment supporting yourself and your family with a regular weekly wage? Just askin'.

Hi Oscar

Unfortunately this argument is going close to where it can be interpreted as ad hominem.

I think Wordkeeper has made his/her viewpoint fairly clear by now and if we can't debate/argue that with scripture/logic I think sometimes we just need to let it rest.

I you guys want to discuss the reasons for the success/failures of the modern church vs the ancient church we can do that in a different thread perhaps?

However for @Wordkeeper:
I would still like that you commit to a simpler definition of what sin is as I've asked in a previous post to you if that is possible?
Are you defining sin as being all action that is not "devoted to telling His children what He has revealed and confirmed by raising Jesus from the dead" ?

Also please provide biblical reference why you believe God is obligated (legally compelled?) to provide food and shelter for us and how you reconcile that viewpoint with the reality (at least from my point of view) that there are Christians without food and shelter?

 

[Marcaunon]

Jesus advised what was lawful:

Matthew 19:16 (WEB) Behold, one came to him and said, "Good teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" 17 He said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but one, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments." 18 He said to him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, "'You shall not murder.' 'You shall not commit adultery.' 'You shall not steal.' 'You shall not offer false testimony.' 19 Honor your father and mother.' And, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Jesus also ignored parts of the law that made it illegal to work during the Sabbath:

Matthew 12:1 (WEB) At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grain fields. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, "Behold, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath."

There were interpretations of Levitical laws of what was clean and unclean that Jesus ignored as well:

Mark 7:8 (WEB) "For you set aside the commandment of God, and hold tightly to the tradition of men--the washing of pitchers and cups, and you do many other such things."

A sin is an offense or trespass. The law of Moses was not totally right, nor totally wrong. In Acts, Peter was advised by the Holy Spirit that he should disregard the dietary laws of Moses and go visit the household of a Gentile Centurion (Acts 10:9-16). Jesus was against adultery and lust. Inappropriate touching and lewd speech is lustful. Jesus was against murder and anger (Matthew 5 - Sermon on the Mount). One who was angry threatened violence.

Hi and thank you for your answer.

I think Matt 19:16 is a very good scripture to show Jesus's position on the idea of "good".

And yes there are a whole teaching I believe about the old vs new covenant which I still want to understand a lot better in time
In the end my understanding is pretty much none of the OT laws apply to Christians (after Jesus), not just those that Jesus specifically disregarded.

So I understand from what you are saying that sin is an action taken against the "law"?
If the bible claims that the law of Moses was given by God?... why was it not totally right? Did God get it wrong the first time? Or did he change his mind later about certain things?
So all the people that lived before Jesus was given a wrong law...
One can even go back and ask what about before the law of Moses.. what "law" where those people suppose to live by and by what will they be judged?

 

[Wordkeeper]

Hi @Wordkeeper:
I would still like that you commit to a simpler definition of what sin is as I've asked in a previous post to you if that is possible?
Are you defining sin as being all action that is not "devoted to telling His children what He has revealed and confirmed by raising Jesus from the dead" ?

Notice that Paul asked the Athenians to repent, turn away from idol worship, working for self, to serving God by doing what He created man for, to be like Him, be a blessing to the world. All actions stemming from idol worship, serving impotent gods for perishable gain, inevitably lead to sin:

Jeremiah 7:8-11
8“Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail. 9“Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known, 10then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—that you may do all these abominations? 11“Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” declares the LORD.

Romans 2:17-24
17But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God, 18and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, 19and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, 21you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? 22You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? 24For “THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,” just as it is written.

Also please provide biblical reference why you believe God is obligated (legally compelled?) to provide food and shelter for us and how you reconcile that viewpoint with the reality (at least from my point of view) that there are Christians without food and shelter?

Matthew 6:25-33
25“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27“And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28“And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32“For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Acts 17:25-28
25Neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives everyone life and breath and all things.26and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’

 

[Marcaunon]

God gave us the ten commandments.
He even wrote it in stone.

To be more exact he gave the Isrealites the 10 commandments... and I think 613 other laws.
Unfortunately this is too simple an answer, sin is simply not (just) "disobeying the 10 commandments"

 

[GraceBro]

So the question is quite simply: What is sin?

"...everything that does not come from faith is sin." Romans 14:23

 

[Marcaunon]

.
Many Christians do not understand which sin they are being saved from, ie is it their outer sins/evil-deeds or their inner/inborn Adam's Original Sin(ROMANS.5:12).?

There is a huge difference between the former sin which is voluntary, eg murder, adultery, blasphemy, stealing, lying/cheating, etc, and the latter sin which is involuntary, eg immoral lust, hate, anger, greed, selfishness, jealousy and baseless fears/worries, doubts, etc.
... The Lord Jesus Christ came down to earth to save "sinners" from the latter sin, ie their inherited and inner/inborn Adam's Original Sin, because "sinners" could not be without involuntary evil/sinful/satanic thoughts in their hearts and minds, try as they may = they cannot be saved from hell without Jesus = they need to be born-again of the Spirit = believing "sinners" will not be sent to hell when they die.(REVELATION.21:6-8)

Hi discipler,

This seems like a more complete viewpoint of trying to unify the ideas of moral sin, original sin and even our spiritual condition.
I even like how this explain the idea that we are still "sinners" even after being saved.

Those who voluntarily commit the former outer or outward sins/evil-deeds/law-breaking will be cursed by God with a sad and short life on earth.(DEUT.28:15, 1COR.11:30, 1JOHN.5:16)

Obviously my personal experience does not really matter as an argument but I'm not sure I've seen any evidence of experiential reality of this statement in the world... yet.

 

[Marcaunon]

A proper understanding of the sin condition must focus on the need for Jesus' humanity to learn by trial and error and the sense in which His sinlessness can emerge unscathed from this maturation process.

(1) The 12 Jesus is unquestionably guilty of misconduct during His trip to Jerusalem for Passover (Luke 2:41-52). After Passover, Jesus' family entourage is making the long journey back to Nazareth when young Jesus slips away and goes AWOL without telling His parents! Mary rightly scolds young Jesus for His inconsiderate act:

"His mother said to Him: "why have you treated us in this way? Look, your father and I have been searching for you with great anxiety (2:48)!"

Joseph and Mary have been worried sick as they were forced to embark on a 3-day search to track Him down. They're obviously worried that their son has fallen prey to foul play. Jesus' response to Mary's rebuke seems insolent: "Don't you know I must be in my Father's house?" Jesus should have alerted His parents about where He was going. No doubt, Joseph and Mary, like any parents, had warned the young Jesus to stay with the family group, so that they could know where He was and vouch for His safety. This obvious inference prompts Luke to observe that after this Jesus "was obedient" to His parents and "grew in wisdom...and favor with God (2:51-52)." Luke's observation rightly implies a prior period in which Jesus was less obedient, less wise, and less in favor with God!

(2) Jesus' need to learn by trial and error continues into His adulthood: "Son though He was, He learned obedience through the things He suffered (Hebrews 5:8)." This seems to imply that the adult Jesus had at times been disobedient. No wonder Jesus felt the need for John's baptism of repentance (Mark 1:4). Neither John's protest nor Jesus' insistence that He must be baptized "to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:14-15)" removes the implication that He too felt the need to repent.

(2) How then can Jesus status as our sinless sacrifice be affirmed? By distinguishing the condition of sin from a maturation process of learning by trial and error. This insight helps to explain the claim in Hebrews 4:15 that Jesus "was tested on all points, just as we are, yet without sin." The core meaning of "sin" is to miss the mark and thus be in a condition of separation from God: "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear (Isaiah 59:2)." But nothing that Jesus did in His maturation process separated Him from God: "The Father and I are one (John 10:30)." His maturation process and oneness with God allows Jesus to arrive at the cross in a state of spiritual perfection (Hebrews 5:9)."

Hi

I wanted to reply on this at least still, the thread is getting rather long, but your post put forward some new ideas I have not thought of much previously.

I think you clearly reject the idea that sin is not obeying the law as you seem to say that Jesus clearly did disobey the law yet he in the end is "blameless" thereby being able to be the sacrificial lamb.

What you are suggesting here in the Jesus was born imperfect I don't think is inline with the general teachings of the christian majority as I know it. I would love to see someone else comment. Maybe it's just me that was taught incorrectly, after all Jesus was also man.
btw I wonder if you are aware of the non-canon gospel of Jesus' childhood? (off-topic sorry)

The idea that sin can separate us from God is also an idea I think is not commonly held? Perhaps that scripture must be interpreted more within context? Surely Paul said "nothing can separate us..." ?

I would love to see someone else comment on these ideas about "maturation" in regards to "sin"...

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

"...everything that does not come from faith is sin." Romans 14:23

This links in with the Scripture in John, "This is the will of God that you believe on Him whom God has sent." So not to believe on Christ is contrary to the will of God. And if anything contrary to the will of God is sin, then sin can be reliably defined as a refusal to believe on Christ.

 

[discipler7]

Obviously my personal experience does not really matter as an argument but I'm not sure I've seen any evidence of experiential reality of this statement in the world... yet.

Wasn't Saul of Tarsus(= later apostle Paul) struck blind temporarily by Jesus Christ because of his sins/persecutions against the early Jewish Christians.? And later ...

ACTS.9: =
15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”

 

[GUANO]

Hi

Disclaimer 1: If this is in the wrong sub-forum I ask that it please be moved as appropriate, it was not my intention to cause anyone distress.

Disclaimer 2: Regardless of how you view this question the intent is not to cause duress but rather it's intent is merely for me to find some clearer answers to things I was wondering about (1 Pet 3:15)

Disclaimer 3: English is my second language.

So the question is quite simply: What is sin?

But some clarification perhaps is necessary.
It would be nice if the answer made sense in the biblical context, firstly new testament but hopefully in regards to all.

Let me expand a little bit more on this...

Perhaps you would argue that sin is not doing God's will. If this is so then how does one know what God's will or God's command is? Was this the same for all people in history?

Perhaps sin is simply what we earn upon birth as humans? Then why so much bothering in the bible with regards to what actions we take especially in the old testament prophets? Why give the 10 commandments therefore? Does this then mean we are all sinners regardless of what we did or will do, in effect rendering all actions by man irrelevant accept for this original sin?

Perhaps you would argue that sin in the most general terms is simply being immoral? I would be interested in how you argue this from the bible and not purely with philosophy. Also how can we ever really know what is moral then?

Another option I can think of is that sin is in your heart disbelieving or simply rebelling against God. Firstly does this mean God condemns the human for something as simple as a thought crime? Which in reality one might not even know he is committing?

Perhaps I'm way off base and sin is explained completely differently?

There are many following up ideas on this but I feel is a good place for me to start and try to understand my faith/religion better.

Thank you for your time in trying to answer my mad ravings. (I am not a theologian, just a person trying to understand things with more clarity)

Sin is error, impurity.

It is ingrained in almost all things that we think and do. Only God can see the purity of spirit (intention) which, along with the sacrifice of Christ covers error.

Forgive them, for they know not what they do. That is "sin"... Purposely committing evil deeds are things that require rectification.

 

[Emmy]

Dear Marcaunom. What is sin? In Matthew 22:35-40: Jesus tells us: The first and great Commandment is: Love God with heart, soul and mind, the second is like it: love thy neighbour as thyself." In verse 40 we are told: on these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." God is Love, and Jesus died out of love for us. I have answered this question before, and sin is all we do or say without LOVE. God is Love and God wants loving sons and daughters. Love is very catching, and the Bible tells us:Give up all selfish wishes and wants. Start loving and caring for each other, we are God`s men and women.In Matthew 7: 7-10: we are told: Ask and you shall receive, we ask for love and compassion, the wae thank God and let love and joy and peace take over. God will bless us greatly, and God will bless us and kep blessing us. Satan will run away from all love and his followers will too, let us love and care and be the men and the women which God wants. I keep saying this with love, Marcaunom. Greetings from Emmy.

 

[Marcaunon]

Dear Marcaunom. What is sin? In Matthew 22:35-40: Jesus tells us: The first and great Commandment is: Love God with heart, soul and mind, the second is like it: love thy neighbour as thyself." In verse 40 we are told: on these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." God is Love, and Jesus died out of love for us. I have answered this question before, and sin is all we do or say without LOVE. God is Love and God wants loving sons and daughters. Love is very catching, and the Bible tells us:Give up all selfish wishes and wants. Start loving and caring for each other, we are God`s men and women.In Matthew 7: 7-10: we are told: Ask and you shall receive, we ask for love and compassion, the wae thank God and let love and joy and peace take over. God will bless us greatly, and God will bless us and kep blessing us. Satan will run away from all love and his followers will too, let us love and care and be the men and the women which God wants. I keep saying this with love, Marcaunom. Greetings from Emmy.

Hi Emmy,

Yes I did see your first post in #31, I just can't really respond to every post unfortunately.

Dear Marcaunon. What is sin? God is Love, and Jesus died for us. Everything what can be covered by that,is SIN. God is Love, we all know what is true love, and we can be either loving , or not loving. The Bible tells us: Love God with Heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbour as yourself. Everything NOT out of Love, is SIN. Jesus is our Saviour, and Jesus died that we might live. We must love our neighbour as we love ourselves treat everbody with love and compassion. Jesus our Saviour died that we might live. Now we have to live for God and Jesus and our neighbour. Treat all we know and all we meet, and love to be treated. Satan and his followers will run away from us, and all love. The Bible tells us: give up our selfish and unloving behaviour and start to be loving and caring, filled with forgiveness and compassion.
Sin is everything without love, God is Love, and Jesus died out of Love for us.
We are told in Matthew 7:7-10: Ask and you shall receive. We keep asking God for love and compassion, for joy and peace, then thank God and start loving and caring, be kind and helpful. God will see and notice, God will Bless us greatly, and we shall be doing God`s Will. Why not try it, Marcaunon. I say this with love. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ

Firstly you talk a lot about things that are not really on topic I think.
You've also made some assumptions about me it seems.

Anyways:
So you are basically saying Sin is when we DO things not out of Love.

What you are saying is therefore different from what many other people have mentioned regarding the original sin and that we are essentially born in sin, unless you feel in some way what we do as babies is not out of love and are therefore sinning pretty much constantly for the first couple of years of our lives?
In fact how would a baby do something out of love, they live mostly on some very selfish instincts for food and sleep.

There are basically in philosophy two branches of morality, one says intention matter and the other says outcome matter. Your focus about love clearly points towards a viewpoint of the first that intention matters more than outcome.
If I hit my child out of a feeling of love because I think it is the right way of parenting then is that good or is that perhaps just child abuse?

What I trying to get at is that in general saying "we must love each other" is good, but from a theological perspective the answer is simply not that simple and I want to understand more.

I am glad you live by love, and I think that is a great way to approach daily living and something I would recommend for everyone everywhere even regardless of religion. And in my own way I'm trying to do this.

 

[lastofall]

the voluntary departure from the morality prescribed by God.