When is it sin?

[Reformationist]

Hey everyone.

Is a sin committed when we physically take an action or is it sin when we willfully decide to take an action, prior to physical action.

For instance, is lusting after someone a sin before we act on that inclination or is it sin even if we don't act on it?

Thanks,
God bless

 

[TCapp]

But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. (Matthew 5:28)

Seems to me that in this case, the sin has occured even though no physical activity has.

 

[Knight]

I think the Sermon on the Mount is pretty clear that it is the desires of the heart that are sinful.


Lust is equated with adultry

Hate is equated with murder.

The list goes on.....

Why the poll, Ref?

 

[servingtheking]

I voted for the second option. SInce the point has already been made, I don't have to make it.

 

[TCapp]

Envy, grudges, covetness, and other stuff are not physical actions. They are thought patterns, attitudes. But that is where actions start. There seem to be a lot of examples in the bible that talk aobut sinful thoughts and attitudes.

 

[Reformationist]

I think the Sermon on the Mount is pretty clear that it is the desires of the heart that are sinful.


Lust is equated with adultry

Hate is equated with murder.

The list goes on.....

I agree.

Why the poll, Ref?

Maybe it will become clearer with this follow up question:

When Adam first sinned in the Garden was it his act of actually eating of the fruit or was it his willful disobedience to God prior to actually eating of the fruit?

God bless

 

[Ioustinos]

I agree.



Maybe it will become clearer with this follow up question:

When Adam first sinned in the Garden was it his act of actually eating of the fruit or was it his willful disobedience to God prior to actually eating of the fruit?

God bless

Hi Ref!

Adam sinned when he chose to disobey God. The eating of the fruit was just the physical result of his choice.


God Bless

Jesaiah

 

[A Brethren IN CHRIST]

what is the difference of tresspass, transgression, and sin

he he he

 

[Andrew]

Anything that is not of faith is sin. so sin includes worry, fear, etc.

Rom 14:23... for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

 

[Luchnia]

The first chapter of James will clear this up for you. Lust must be conceived before sin is brought forth. Take a read of that and you will have your answer.

 

[Sharky]

Man no wonder Jesus died on the cross! Until this point i didn't know how trapped in sin i was.

Now i can totally appreciate Jesus' death.

We are sinners when we sin willfully. When we don't sin willfully, we sin unwillingly. When we don't sin unwillingly, we sin unknowingly.

Go figure

 

[Reformationist]

The first chapter of James will clear this up for you. Lust must be conceived before sin is brought forth. Take a read of that and you will have your answer.

Well, I'm not really confused about this; I just wanted other people's opinions.

As to your post, what do you mean by "lust must be conceived before sin is brought forth?"

Thanks for your input,
God bless

 

[Luchnia]

As to your post, what do you mean by "lust must be conceived before sin is brought forth?"

Here is the Word on the matter as it is written:

James 1:14-15
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

As you can see, this is the process of sin. Lust must be conceived first before sin is brought forth. Many indeed do miss this. Jesus let us know sin isn't in the head, but in the heart.

Word up!

 

[Reformationist]

As to your post, what do you mean by "lust must be conceived before sin is brought forth?"

Here is the Word on the matter as it is written:

James 1:14-15
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

As you can see, this is the process of sin. Lust must be conceived first before sin is brought forth. Many indeed do miss this. Jesus let us know sin isn't in the head, but in the heart.

Word up!

Okay, so we have to have a desire before that desire can be deemed sinful.

I'm not aware that anyone is disputing that. What was your point?

God bless

 

[Konnie]

When you willfully entertain sinful desires.

 

[Luchnia]

What does it mean to wilfully entertain sinful desires, and how does one do that?

 

[Garbru]

I think the real answer to the above question is Both. It is a sin to have sinful desires in your heart but it is also a sin to act upon them.
In fact acting upon them is even worse, because you then sin twice. For example if you lust after somebody in your mind that is 1 sin, but if you act upon it now you have committed fornication and that is a second sin....which has even greater consequences because you violate the temple that is your body as well as you have encouraged another person to sin as well (it takes 2 to tango)

The real fight we have is in our mind and hearts. If we give our heart to the lord and use our mind to fight the good fight then we are on the right track. Everybody is going to have desires that sneak up on us, but we can learn to turn from those desires and ask the Lord for forgiveness and turn our mind to things that are holy and righteous. Its good to stay in the word of God as much as possible and turn to scripture when our minds start to go onto things that are sinful.

I did myself a favor and bought my self a small pocket Bible. It is a complete Bible, just small print and small in size so I can carry it with me everywhere. Its awesome. I take it with me almost everywhere I go and having the Bible along with me is powerful. There is always time in our day to read from a Bible if we have it with us. Even if you just get a few minutes to read from it those few minutes can do a world of Good. Keeping the word of God on mind is how we overcome. I am noticing also that people in my community always see me with a Bible and the power in that is sweet. People get to know you and see you with a Bible all the time and then they start to ask questions about it and you get the opportunity to witness to them. It also helps those who are timid in there faith to come out and talk about it. Some people believe in Jesus, but don't speak openly about it, but if they see you with the Bible it can open them up to start talking about the Lord and you sometimes see them get hungry to talk about the Lord when previously they were timid and silent about thier faith. The word of God is awesome, surely its worth haveing with us at all times. Its my sword and shield that I take with me through out my day. Sweet!

 

[Lotar]

What does it mean to wilfully entertain sinful desires, and how does one do that?

It's like when a skantly clad woman walks by and a sinful thought pops into your head, that isn't sin, it's temptation. But when you dwell on that thought, then it becomes sin.

 

[Luchnia]

Ah, good point, now we must learn at what point this can become sin and eternal death to us.

word up

 

[boughtwithaprice]

Hi Reformationist:

Interesting point about Adam, but I offer this dissenting opinion. God's command was not to eat the fruit. He did not say don't even think about it. I do not believe that Adam sinned until he ate the fruit for the following reasons.

Adam was innocent before the fall; He did not know the difference between good and evil. How can a person that does not know evil commit sin? This would seem to go against the sin willfully scriptures.

Then why is it sin when we think about sin? Was Jesus wrong? No, He wasn't. We are not pre-fall Adam and therefore not innocent. We are born sinners. We know the difference between good and evil thanks to Adam, and now even our thoughts are sinful.

These opinions are how I see things,

Regards and God Bless