What is sin according to the Bible?

[Douglas Summers]

I know God did not create sin nor did I post that He did.



When God created man He created them with perfect bodies. Remember man was created before sin came into this world. On top of that Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Life. That is why they lived for hundreds of years. Genesis 3:22-24 says, "Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life." Adam and Eve were evicted from the garden of Eden which was their home, and they could no longer eat from the Tree of Life because they had disobeyed God. Evidently, there was something in that tree that perpetuated life. And when man no longer had access to that tree, he began to die. The generations after Adam and Eve also lived long but the years kept getting shorter and shorter the farther away we got from the Tree of Life. During Adam and Eve's time people lived fro about 900 years give or take a few years from that across the board. Then it went down to down 600 years, 400 years, 300 years, 200 years. And now for most people its less that 100 years. We are lucky if we make to 80 or 90 years old. Also our height decreased.

God told Adam that he was going to have to work. The whole creation was altered because of sin. They could not eat from the Tree of Life any more. Now they were going to work hard for their bread and sweat from their brow and they would return to the dust they were created from. Man began to die. Our bodies deteriorated because of sin, but thankfully Jesus will give the righteous new bodies when He returns for His people. I want to be among those people. The Bible tells us we will have access to the tree of life again. God will recreate this planet to its original state of perfection before sin and the tree of Life will be back on earth.

Revelation 2:7, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’

Revelation 22:14, "Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city."

Read the Scriptures I gave you, they say exactly what I said.

 

[Douglas Summers]

I know God did not create sin nor did I post that He did.

You asked the question, "Did God create sin? I answered your question.

 

[phipps]

You asked the question, "Did God create sin? I answered your question.

Okay, but the question was answered in the same post.

Read the Scriptures I gave you, they say exactly what I said.

The scripture you posted were about the fall of Lucifer and the glorious body. They do not take away from the explanation I gave you using scripture about our bodies. God did not make man in a body that could feel the results of sin. God gave us the bodies that He wanted us to have but because of sin, they deteriorated. When Jesus comes back the righteous will get new bodies as they would have been had sin not entered this planet.

 

[phipps]

Why reply to me then?

The Bible has all kinds of polemics against the Mesopotamian/Babylonian religions. The Israelites came out of a neighboring area, the connection between the name of one of the moon-deities ("Sin") and the word for wrong-doing/evil being the same ("Sin") is just an interesting thing which is independent of opinion or worldview, it just is, that they both use the same word.



"The Word" is "Logos" in Greek. Logos itself is a Neoplatonic concept taught by Philo of Alexander prior to the writing of the New Testament. The concept of Logos in Neoplatonism is near-identical to in the Christian Trinity.

The Father = The One

The Son = The Logos

The Holy Spirit = The Nous​

I don't know why you arbitrarily quoted John 1 there but it's a good segway, I guess.

John 1 debunks the idea that you can call the Bible itself the "word of God" because in Christian theology Jesus himself is "The word of God" not books written about him.

Why reply to me then?

I thought you were responding to my post about the origin of sin.

The Bible has all kinds of polemics against the Mesopotamian/Babylonian religions. The Israelites came out of a neighboring area, the connection between the name of one of the moon-deities ("Sin") and the word for wrong-doing/evil being the same ("Sin") is just an interesting thing which is independent of opinion or worldview, it just is, that they both use the same word.

Moon god, sun god is paganism and has got nothing to do with the God of the Bible. Paganism and all its rituals are an abomination to the Lord. The definition of sin in the Bible goes much deeper than paganism too. In my opinion they aren't comparable.

"The Word" is "Logos" in Greek. Logos itself is a Neoplatonic concept taught by Philo of Alexander prior to the writing of the New Testament. The concept of Logos in Neoplatonism is near-identical to in the Christian Trinity.

The Father = The One
The Son = The Logos
The Holy Spirit = The Nous​

I don't care what Neoplatonism is or how near identical it is to the Christian Trinity, all I care about is what the Bible says the Godhead is. In the Bible the God head is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. They are three persons that work in complete harmony and unity. That makes them one. This is the truth not anything that is near identical to it. The Greek Words don't change that truth.​

1 John 5:7, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”

I don't know why you arbitrarily quoted John 1 there but it's a good segway, I guess.

John 1 debunks the idea that you can call the Bible itself the "word of God" because in Christian theology Jesus himself is "The word of God" not books written about him.

I did not arbitrarily quote John 1. And you are so wrong about John 1 debunking that the Bible is the Word of God. You don't don't know what the rest of the Bible says about the word of God.

God is the author of the Bible. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3:16). So without out God we would not have the Bible which is the Word of God. Also the Bible does not merely contain the words of God, it is the Word of God. The Bible is the information and operations manual for human life. Ignore it and you will experience unnecessary difficulties.

“The Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35).

“The word of the Lord endures forever” (1 Peter 1:25).

Jesus demonstrated His confidence and belief in Scripture.

Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone’ … It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ … For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve’ ” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10).

“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17).

Jesus quoted from Scripture when He was tempted by Satan. He also said the Bible is truth. Jesus quoted Scripture as the authority for everything He was teaching.

Jesus the Word was with God, and is God. He is equal to God. John 1:3 says, "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” Jesus is the creator of this world. He used divine words to create this world. Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, "Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so." Psalm 33:6 says, “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.” So God's Word is very powerful.

John 1:14 explains that the Word became flesh and dwelled amongst us. He was fully man while continuing to be fully God.

Do you see? Its all by and through Jesus.

 

[Infinityloop]

I thought you were responding to my post about the origin of sin.

No, I didn't quote you, did I?

Moon god, sun god is paganism and has got nothing to do with the God of the Bible. Paganism and all its rituals are an abomination to the Lord. The definition of sin in the Bible goes much deeper than paganism too. In my opinion they aren't comparable.

I don't think you get it. What you're stating is the reason why the name of a Mesopotamian deity became the word used to describe wrong-doing/evil. This is the point of it and in part to discredit Mesopotamian polytheism. This has no baring on the overall truth claims of either the Bible or Mesopotamian paganism but is simply just an etymological fact.

I don't care what Neoplatonism is or how near identical it is to the Christian Trinity, all I care about is what the Bible says the Godhead is. In the Bible the God head is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. They are three persons that work in complete harmony and unity. That makes them one. This is the truth not anything that is near identical to it. The Greek Words don't change that truth.

1 John 5:7, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”

This is anachronistic. Anyway, the use of "Logos" in John 1:1 tells a lot about the sources that the New Testament authors were drawing from and therefore helps to better understand what the New Testament authors are trying to say.

I did not arbitrarily quote John 1. And you are so wrong about John 1 debunking that the Bible is the Word of God.

Well unless you're making the claim that Jesus is the Bible itself, literally and physically.

God is the author of the Bible. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3:16). So without out God we would not have the Bible which is the Word of God. Also the Bible does not merely contain the words of God, it is the Word of God. The Bible is the information and operations manual for human life. Ignore it and you will experience unnecessary difficulties.

“The Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35).

“The word of the Lord endures forever” (1 Peter 1:25).

Jesus demonstrated His confidence and belief in Scripture.

Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone’ … It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ … For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve’ ” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10).

“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17).

There is no connection between those quotes and the conclusion that "God is the author of the Bible", it is entirely senseless and self-refuting.

As for the verses that use the phrase "The Scripture", it is historically objective that they are referring to the book of Deuteronomy which is seen as "The Scroll of Moses" by the early Israelites, Samaritans, Jews etc later extending to the Pentateuch and even much later extending to the Tanakh (Old Testament, not as a whole though).
That aside, the entire Old Testament (well the Nevi'im and Ketuvim) can be directly seen as commentaries on the book of Deuteronomy, in many ways, seriously. Not quite Midrash though.

Even in your quote above you have Jesus himself quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, just solidifying my point.

That aside, the book of Isaiah was held in high regard by early Jews (and still Jews today) as a prophecy of the Moshiach. So it's very unsurprising that the New Testament authors quote that book as well. This does not, however, take from the fact that Jews themselves took a long time to organize a canon. For a long long long time they were more experimental with the religious texts they used. There were also a lot of other Jewish texts (or "scriptures") written that didn't make it into the usual Jewish and Christian canons, btw.

However we have to come back to the fact here that there was no Jewish or Christian canon in the 1st century, it took a long time for both to decide their canons and there were a lot of canons experimented with.
There is nothing inherent that makes Marcion's canon any more legitimate than the Valentinian's canon, or the Samaritan's canon, or the 73 book canon, or the 66 book canon. And alongside that, the only book in history that actually claims to be the "Word of God" literally, is actually the Qur'an. This is also factual, whether or not the Qur'an itself is or isn't, it's the only book that makes such a claim. The Bible doesn't claim to be anything other than a collection of books with varying authenticity, collected often out of their popularity among both early Jewish and early Christian communities.
The crucial point of divergence being the book of Deuteronomy which is said by itself to be the scroll Moses himself constructed late in his lifetime and gave to the Israelites to continue his teaching, as well the references to this being the case within the other books in the Old Testament However not even Deuteronomy itself (as notable as it is) claims to be the "word of God", but merely Moses' late recording of the revelations he received earlier spoken within his own point of view.
Alongside that, the book of Deuteronomy itself is further interjected with an opening 5 verses and a closing few chapters which are added well after Moses' death which we have to take into consideration.
Nothing else in the Jewish and Christian Bible is remotely comparable, which that in itself raises a lot of eyebrows to how the texts of the Bible could even be considered "scripture". I will never understand that however, it doesn't stand to reason.

Jesus quoted from Scripture when He was tempted by Satan. He also said the Bible is truth. Jesus quoted Scripture as the authority for everything He was teaching.

And as I said above, he was quoting from Deuteronomy which was a separate scroll of it's own predating the Pentateuch hand-written by Moses in the ancient times of the Israelites. Your quotes have no other relevance and certainly nothing to do with the idea of canonization (which of course you have to rely on the Catholic Church for authority there as they passed it down to you nonetheless).

Jesus the Word was with God, and is God. He is equal to God. John 1:3 says, "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” Jesus is the creator of this world. He used divine words to create this world. Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, "Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so." Psalm 33:6 says, “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.” So God's Word is very powerful.

And if this is true, then the phrases "God's Word" and "word of God" cannot be applied to a book whatsoever, else this would be deifying the book via the Bible's own propositions of what that phrase means.

 

[phipps]

No, I didn't quote you, did I?



I don't think you get it. What you're stating is the reason why the name of a Mesopotamian deity became the word used to describe wrong-doing/evil. This is the point of it and in part to discredit Mesopotamian polytheism. This has no baring on the overall truth claims of either the Bible or Mesopotamian paganism but is simply just an etymological fact.



This is anachronistic. Anyway, the use of "Logos" in John 1:1 tells a lot about the sources that the New Testament authors were drawing from and therefore helps to better understand what the New Testament authors are trying to say.



Well unless you're making the claim that Jesus is the Bible itself, literally and physically.



There is no connection between those quotes and the conclusion that "God is the author of the Bible", it is entirely senseless and self-refuting.

As for the verses that use the phrase "The Scripture", it is historically objective that they are referring to the book of Deuteronomy which is seen as "The Scroll of Moses" by the early Israelites, Samaritans, Jews etc later extending to the Pentateuch and even much later extending to the Tanakh (Old Testament, not as a whole though).
That aside, the entire Old Testament (well the Nevi'im and Ketuvim) can be directly seen as commentaries on the book of Deuteronomy, in many ways, seriously. Not quite Midrash though.

Even in your quote above you have Jesus himself quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, just solidifying my point.

That aside, the book of Isaiah was held in high regard by early Jews (and still Jews today) as a prophecy of the Moshiach. So it's very unsurprising that the New Testament authors quote that book as well. This does not, however, take from the fact that Jews themselves took a long time to organize a canon. For a long long long time they were more experimental with the religious texts they used. There were also a lot of other Jewish texts (or "scriptures") written that didn't make it into the usual Jewish and Christian canons, btw.

However we have to come back to the fact here that there was no Jewish or Christian canon in the 1st century, it took a long time for both to decide their canons and there were a lot of canons experimented with.
There is nothing inherent that makes Marcion's canon any more legitimate than the Valentinian's canon, or the Samaritan's canon, or the 73 book canon, or the 66 book canon. And alongside that, the only book in history that actually claims to be the "Word of God" literally, is actually the Qur'an. This is also factual, whether or not the Qur'an itself is or isn't, it's the only book that makes such a claim. The Bible doesn't claim to be anything other than a collection of books with varying authenticity, collected often out of their popularity among both early Jewish and early Christian communities.
The crucial point of divergence being the book of Deuteronomy which is said by itself to be the scroll Moses himself constructed late in his lifetime and gave to the Israelites to continue his teaching, as well the references to this being the case within the other books in the Old Testament However not even Deuteronomy itself (as notable as it is) claims to be the "word of God", but merely Moses' late recording of the revelations he received earlier spoken within his own point of view.
Alongside that, the book of Deuteronomy itself is further interjected with an opening 5 verses and a closing few chapters which are added well after Moses' death which we have to take into consideration.
Nothing else in the Jewish and Christian Bible is remotely comparable, which that in itself raises a lot of eyebrows to how the texts of the Bible could even be considered "scripture". I will never understand that however, it doesn't stand to reason.



And as I said above, he was quoting from Deuteronomy which was a separate scroll of it's own predating the Pentateuch hand-written by Moses in the ancient times of the Israelites. Your quotes have no other relevance and certainly nothing to do with the idea of canonization (which of course you have to rely on the Catholic Church for authority there as they passed it down to you nonetheless).



And if this is true, then the phrases "God's Word" and "word of God" cannot be applied to a book whatsoever, else this would be deifying the book via the Bible's own propositions of what that phrase means.

No, I didn't quote you, did I?

But your post was on the subject matter I had just posted about.

I don't think you get it. What you're stating is the reason why the name of a Mesopotamian deity became the word used to describe wrong-doing/evil. This is the point of it and in part to discredit Mesopotamian polytheism. This has no baring on the overall truth claims of either the Bible or Mesopotamian paganism but is simply just an etymological fact.

It has no baring on the truth of the Bible so its not important.

This is anachronistic. Anyway, the use of "Logos" in John 1:1 tells a lot about the sources that the New Testament authors were drawing from and therefore helps to better understand what the New Testament authors are trying to say.

Okay. Thanks, but even though people don't know what "Logos" means they can still understand the Word of God as long as they have the Holy Spirit guiding them into all truth. That is why even uneducated people like me can understand the Word of God without knowing much theology or the background of why certain words were used.

Well unless you're making the claim that Jesus is the Bible itself, literally and physically.

That's not what I'm claiming and you know that. Jesus is the Word because through him all things are made, He is the truth, He inspired scripture, He quoted the very scripture He inspired while He was on earth, scripture that testified of Him. He said, "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me" (John 5:39). He created and healed by His Word. His Word is powerful and is vitality to us if we accept Him. God's Word renews and transforms our minds. If we study the Word, we will find Jesus. The Word will be hidden in our hearts and we will apply its principles to our everyday life and get closer to Jesus, the Word. Jesus' power will keep us from sin and turn us into loveable followers of Christ.

There is no connection between those quotes and the conclusion that "God is the author of the Bible", it is entirely senseless and self-refuting.

Only an unbeliever would not see a connection. You don't know what you're talking about. Its all about Jesus and its nothing without Him. I hope and pray that you find and know the truth of Jesus Christ. God bless.

 

[Douglas Summers]

Okay, but the question was answered in the same post.



The scripture you posted were about the fall of Lucifer and the glorious body. They do not take away from the explanation I gave you using scripture about our bodies. God did not make man in a body that could feel the results of sin. God gave us the bodies that He wanted us to have but because of sin, they deteriorated. When Jesus comes back the righteous will get new bodies as they would have been had sin not entered this planet.

The Scriptures I gave you in 1 Corinthians 15 says otherwise.

 

[phipps]

The Scriptures I gave you in 1 Corinthians 15 says otherwise.

No they don't, you misunderstood 1 Corinthians 15. It does not say God made man's body that could feel the results of sin. Here is an explanation of 1 Corinthians 15.

 

[phipps]

Why does the Bible give such awful, graphic descriptions of people’s sin?

Sin is horrifying to God, and He wants us to be revolted by it as much as He is. The inclusion of such stories, both the good and the bad, also gives credibility to the Bible. Telling it like it is gives people confidence that the Bible can be trusted; it doesn’t cover up anything. Satan’s strategy is to convince people they are such terrible sinners that God cannot or will not save them. What joy sweeps over them when they are shown Bible cases of people like themselves whom God delivered from sin! (Romans 15:4).

 

[Douglas Summers]

No they don't, you misunderstood 1 Corinthians 15. It does not say God made man's body that could feel the results of sin. Here is an explanation of 1 Corinthians 15.

Matthew Henry is not the author of the Scriptures......The Holy Spirit is!! It is clear in Hebrews that God made man a little lower than the Angels (but for a little while) that through Christ He might bring them above the angels with Him. God says He called out the Church BEFORE the creation of the world, knowing full well that we would not reach heaven in this temporary body. You must be born again....Really. Flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of God.

 

[A Freeman]

1 John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also The Law: for sin is the transgression of The Law.

The Law is found in the first five books of the Bible, namely Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

For any who may be under the mistaken impression that Christ came to destroy The Law, or that is no longer in effect, please see for yourself that simply isn't the case.

Matthew 5:17-20
5:17 Think NOT that I am come to destroy The Law, or the Prophets: I am NOT come to destroy, but to fulfill.
5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no way pass from The Law, till ALL be fulfilled.
5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least COMMANDments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach [them], the same shall be called great in the Kingdom of heaven.
5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall EXCEED [the righteousness] of the lawyers and politicians, ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of heaven.

Sin = breaking The Law (God's Commandments, Statutes, and Judgments) = doing evil to one another.

Therefore, the ONLY Way to eliminate sin/evil forever is to return to keeping The Law.

 

[Douglas Summers]

1 John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also The Law: for sin is the transgression of The Law.

The Law is found in the first five books of the Bible, namely Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

For any who may be under the mistaken impression that Christ came to destroy The Law, or that is no longer in effect, please see for yourself that simply isn't the case.

5:17 Think NOT that I am come to destroy The Law, or the Prophets: I am NOT come to destroy, but to fulfill.
5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no way pass from The Law, till ALL be fulfilled.
5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least COMMANDments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach [them], the same shall be called great in the Kingdom of heaven.
5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall EXCEED [the righteousness] of the lawyers and politicians, ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of heaven.

Sin = breaking The Law (God's Commandments, Statutes, and Judgments) = doing evil to one another.

Therefore, the ONLY Way to eliminate sin/evil forever is to return to keeping The Law.

You do not understand the Law. The law never made anyone righteous and no man can keep the Law perfectly. He never did away with the law, but we are not under the Law of Moses, but we are to uphold the law. So how do you uphold the law if we are not under the law? We let the Law do what it was intended to do, and that is to condemn sin in sinful man, and in turn, send us to Christ who is our mercy seat before the Father. for forgiveness. We are now under the law of Christ, and not under the Old Covenant, but under the New Covenant of Christ.

 

[Infinityloop]

and no man can keep the Law perfectly. He never did away with the law, but we are not under the Law of Moses, but we are to uphold the law.

Yet God gave you the Law, didn't he not? Why would God give you the Law if he didn't want you to follow it?

Now, remembering what Jesus said in Matthew 5:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly NOT enter the kingdom of heaven.

If these are the words of Jesus, then Jesus is being more than explicit here. This is not even a passage that needs interpretation because of how explicit it is.

 

[Douglas Summers]

Yet God gave you the Law, didn't he not? Why would God give you the Law if he didn't want you to follow it?

Now, remembering what Jesus said in Matthew 5:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly NOT enter the kingdom of heaven.

If these are the words of Jesus, then Jesus is being more than explicit here. This is not even a passage that needs interpretation because of how explicit it is.

So Then live under the Law.

 

[phipps]

1 John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also The Law: for sin is the transgression of The Law.

The Law is found in the first five books of the Bible, namely Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

For any who may be under the mistaken impression that Christ came to destroy The Law, or that is no longer in effect, please see for yourself that simply isn't the case.

5:17 Think NOT that I am come to destroy The Law, or the Prophets: I am NOT come to destroy, but to fulfill.
5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no way pass from The Law, till ALL be fulfilled.
5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least COMMANDments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach [them], the same shall be called great in the Kingdom of heaven.
5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall EXCEED [the righteousness] of the lawyers and politicians, ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of heaven.

Sin = breaking The Law (God's Commandments, Statutes, and Judgments) = doing evil to one another.

Therefore, the ONLY Way to eliminate sin/evil forever is to return to keeping The Law.

I agree but we cannot return to keeping the Law without God. We cannot have victory over sin by ourselves. We have to submit to Christ to be able to keep the law.

 

[A Freeman]

I agree but we cannot return to keeping the Law without God. We cannot have victory over sin by ourselves. We have to submit to Christ to be able to keep the law.

Agreed. As Christ said: "...with God ALL things are possible." - Matt. 19:26

 

[A Freeman]

You do not understand the Law. The law never made anyone righteous and no man can keep the Law perfectly. He never did away with the law, but we are not under the Law of Moses, but we are to uphold the law. So how do you uphold the law if we are not under the law? We let the Law do what it was intended to do, and that is to condemn sin in sinful man, and in turn, send us to Christ who is our mercy seat before the Father. for forgiveness. We are now under the law of Christ, and not under the Old Covenant, but under the New Covenant of Christ.

The term "cognitive dissonance" refers to someone holding two (or more) conflicting views in their mind at the same time (James 1:8).

Do you think our all-knowing, all-powerful God is an idiot, or that He's deranged, giving us a law that we supposedly can't keep?

In your mind, did our changeless God decide to change His mind as to what is right and wrong?

How would it be possible for us not to be subject to The Law if Christ said He did NOT do away with The Law? Do you really think it's possible to explain how to uphold The Law, while at the same time not being under (subject to) the very same Law that you are supposedly upholding?

Uphold = hold something UP (in high regard), i.e. to defend or keep a principle or law.

Being UNDER something means being beneath it; subject to it; subservient to it.

Further, are you claiming that Christ has a law that is different than Father's Law? How could that be if They (Father and His Christ) are AT ONE (John 10:30)?

Are we not supposed to keep BOTH Covenants?

Revelation 15:3 And they sing the "Song of Moses" (Old Covenant - Deut. 31) the servant of God, AND the "Song of the Lamb" (New Covenant), saying, Great and marvellous [are] Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true [are] Thy Ways, Thou King of the holy people.

In fact, isn't it critical to our very survival to do so, as Christ COMMANDED?

Revelation 14:3 And they sung as it were a New Song (Isaiah 42:10) before the Throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that "Song" except the hundred [and] forty [and] four thousand, which were redeemed from the Earth.

 

[Douglas Summers]

In fact, isn't it critical to our very survival to do so, as Christ COMMANDED?

I agree that we should do what Christ commanded...So do it.

 

[Douglas Summers]

Being saved by grace doesn't mean we can and should break the law. We still have to obey the law. Paul asked the same question in Romans 6:1, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" In other words, does grace give us a license to disobey the law of God? His answer in verse 2 is, "Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" And Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments." He also said in Luke 6:46, “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?"

I believe the Scriptures and the saving grace of God which is proven by His indwelling Spirit. (Now we know whatever things the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law, That every mouth may be stopped, and that all the world should be guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in His sight, for by the Law is the knowledge of sin. You mislead a lot of people Phipps. In John 14:15 you left out what His commandment was: (John 15:12 "This is my commandment, That you love one another as I have love you.")

 

[TokiEl]

I believe the Scriptures and the saving grace of God which is proven by His indwelling Spirit. (Now we know whatever things the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law, That every mouth may be stopped, and that all the world should be guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in His sight, for by the Law is the knowledge of sin. You mislead a lot of people Phipps. In John 14:15 you left out what His commandment was: (John 15:12 "This is my commandment, That you love one another as I have love you.")

Jesus easily forgives.

And that's what it's all about.

God forgives.


What sort of persons do Jesus easily forgive ?