What is sin (or evil)?

[dknightx]

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sin just means doing something that goes against God's will for you. So when someone says you are "sinful by nature", that doesn't necessarily mean you are immoral, evil, terrible by nature, but that by nature you are rebellious towards God (mostly because your spirit is dead <-- same dead as referred to by God when warning about eating the fruit)

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What does it mean to be rebellious toward God? Specifically, how would I act differently if I were not rebellious?

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if you were not rebellious you would desire and seek after God's will for you, and then do it. Of course doing this all of the time is not possible for anyone, which is where grace comes into play.

for all of us, we are "sinful by nature" because your spirit is dead, and is only brought back to life when we receive the holy spirit. It is through the Holy Spirit that one is able to discern God's will.

[PLOlover]

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What does it mean to be rebellious toward God? Specifically, how would I act differently if I were not rebellious?

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like earlier replier said, sin=breaking the law.

rebellious toward god would be breaking ten commandments, and other lesser laws.

for example, did you know eating fat is a sin, against the law? so when you get heart disease you know ....

did you know dealing in unjust weights and measures is a sin? so when your dollars get devalued to the ;point of being worthless ...

in the bible it says god says choose between life and death, and he urges us to choose life. but a lot of people eat fat and our modern society is very socialist which is opposoite of biblical so in a lot of ways we are, so to speak, the proximate cause of our own injury.

[Taraz]

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sin just means doing something that goes against God's will for you. So when someone says you are "sinful by nature", that doesn't necessarily mean you are immoral, evil, terrible by nature, but that by nature you are rebellious towards God (mostly because your spirit is dead <-- same dead as referred to by God when warning about eating the fruit)

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What does it mean to be rebellious toward God? Specifically, how would I act differently if I were not rebellious?

[/ QUOTE ]

if you were not rebellious you would desire and seek after God's will for you, and then do it. Of course doing this all of the time is not possible for anyone, which is where grace comes into play.

for all of us, we are "sinful by nature" because your spirit is dead, and is only brought back to life when we receive the holy spirit. It is through the Holy Spirit that one is able to discern God's will.

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Interesting answer. I never heard it put that way before. So being sinful is straying from God's path, but not necessarily doing any 'evil' actions?

[dknightx]

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sin just means doing something that goes against God's will for you. So when someone says you are "sinful by nature", that doesn't necessarily mean you are immoral, evil, terrible by nature, but that by nature you are rebellious towards God (mostly because your spirit is dead <-- same dead as referred to by God when warning about eating the fruit)

[/ QUOTE ]

What does it mean to be rebellious toward God? Specifically, how would I act differently if I were not rebellious?

[/ QUOTE ]

if you were not rebellious you would desire and seek after God's will for you, and then do it. Of course doing this all of the time is not possible for anyone, which is where grace comes into play.

for all of us, we are "sinful by nature" because your spirit is dead, and is only brought back to life when we receive the holy spirit. It is through the Holy Spirit that one is able to discern God's will.

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Interesting answer. I never heard it put that way before. So being sinful is straying from God's path, but not necessarily doing any 'evil' actions?

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i would say the vast majority of the time, staying on God's path involves not doing anything that we currently consider "immoral" (which is why the distinction has become fuzzy and misused over time). Not going to speak for God on this matter, because it is definitely possible, for example, for him to ask you to break the law to fulfill his will (like smuggling bibles in china back in the day).

[NotReady]

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So being sinful is straying from God's path, but not necessarily doing any 'evil' actions?


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The Bible says that whatever is not from faith is sin. It also says the unbeliever can't please God. The reason is that sin permeates the entire person. That doesn't mean that everything an unbeliever does would be considered "evil" by our standard. The people who received the greatest criticism from Jesus were the most "religious" people of the time, those who were leaders of Judaism, the teachers and specialists in the law. They lived lives that were outwardly godly but Jesus said they were hypocrites.

Jesus said "You must be perfect". Anything short of perfection is sin. Of course, none of us can do this. That's why we need a Saviour, that's the purpose of the atonement. That's why justification is by grace (we don't deserve it) through faith (we can't earn it through works). The attempt to please God in the flesh is itself sin.

"All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God".

[Taraz]

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The Bible says that whatever is not from faith is sin. It also says the unbeliever can't please God. The reason is that sin permeates the entire person. That doesn't mean that everything an unbeliever does would be considered "evil" by our standard. The people who received the greatest criticism from Jesus were the most "religious" people of the time, those who were leaders of Judaism, the teachers and specialists in the law. They lived lives that were outwardly godly but Jesus said they were hypocrites.

Jesus said "You must be perfect". Anything short of perfection is sin. Of course, none of us can do this. That's why we need a Saviour, that's the purpose of the atonement. That's why justification is by grace (we don't deserve it) through faith (we can't earn it through works). The attempt to please God in the flesh is itself sin.

"All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God".

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So can we tell the difference between someone who is saved and someone who isn't by their actions? Does having faith change our worldly life or only our afterlife?

Also, by your definition it seems that to be human is by our very nature to be sinful. Basically anything we do, aside from praising God, is sinful?

[Justin A]

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Two perspectives on the idea of evil.

1) Evil is the good done out of time.

2) Evil is the enforcing of one's will upon another.

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Definition #2 would mean that God is evil, right?

[PLOlover]

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Two perspectives on the idea of evil.

1) Evil is the good done out of time.

2) Evil is the enforcing of one's will upon another.



Definition #2 would mean that God is evil, right?

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not at all, god gives you a choice. I mean, it's your choice whether to go to the whorehouse or not, don't blame god when you get vd.

[NotReady]

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So can we tell the difference between someone who is saved and someone who isn't by their actions?


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We aren't supposed to judge the state of someone else's soul, but only our own. Of course, we have to evaluate what they say when it pertains to what we do - politics, education, etc.

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Also, by your definition it seems that to be human is by our very nature to be sinful. Basically anything we do, aside from praising God, is sinful?


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Nothing an unbeliever does can please God except to repent and believe. For a believer, we are to do good works. God is the final judge as to whether anything we do is acceptable.

[carlo]

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Two perspectives on the idea of evil.

1) Evil is the good done out of time.

2) Evil is the enforcing of one's will upon another.



Definition #2 would mean that God is evil, right?


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As PLOver said you have free will which is earned. Humans bring Freedom and through LOve act in the cosmos. Earth is the planet of Freedom and Love. Free will is given through his LOVE. This is why the perspective that you are forced by some higher entity to perform deeds("the devil made me do it") doesn't stand.

Man is given responsibility. This is also why the Christian exegesis states that you must accept Christ(rather harsh in this manner). What it means is that coercion is not the Christ Way and we all move in Freedom through Christ Love.