Question on sin

[Sailormilan2]

First of all, my background is that from a rigid, law based religion.
Recently in a discussion, re sin, a comment was made that the Law defines sin, and sin is the transgression of the Law. Paul says that the Law points out sin.
Someone replied that there are other principles over and above the Law that define sin. So, there are sins that are not in the Bible because they "violate" Biblical principles. Then the person says that what is a sin to one may not be a sin to another.
If that is the case, then how is one judged? Does that mean there is no standard?

[freonr22]

i thought this was the standard?

Ten Commandments:

1. I am the LORD your God. You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
3. Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.
4. Honor your father and your mother.
5. You shall not kill.
6. You shall not commit adultery.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

See above. The Ten Commandments supercede all moral relativism and situational ethics which are so common in our society.

[RAMCLAP]

The Law is the standard. It's just that because of man's sin nature he cannot live perfectly by the Law. As a Christian who is concerned about it goes through life he/she is more and more conformed to the image of Christ. He/she will still never live perfectly by the Law. That's ok. Christ died for the forgiveness of sins to repentant Christians. Now, as to those things that are not forbidden but are still sins. Paul says that even if you are free to do something, if it causes your brother anguish it is a sin.
Romans 14:20New International Version (NIV)
20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.

So , in this case the standard is that which causes your brother to stumble. Say for example, drinking alcohol. There is no prohibition against it. But if you are with others who have a problem with it you should probably refrain even though it is perfectly "legal" for you do. If it bothered them to be around you while you are drinking then that would be a sin. Love your neighbor as yourself and you'll do just fine.

[Bill Carson]

See above. The Ten Commandments supercede all moral relativism and situational ethics which are so common in our society.

This

[WASR10]

I disagree with your friend’s assessment of sin. I believe the Bible teaches we are all held to the same standard. As Christ said in John 12:48,

“He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.”

We are held accountable to the Word of Christ. 1 John has a New Testament definition of sin, which mirrors the Old Testament.

“All unrighteousness is sin.” 1 John 5:17

“Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. ” - 1 John 3:4.

John states that sin is unrighteousness and the transgression of God’s law. God's law is given in the Word, the Bible. As Christians, we are not bound to the Old law and the 10 commandments, but the commandments, in essence, are repeated throughout the NT. While there are many things that the Bible does not talk about, the fact that it doesn't talk about something does not make it right or wrong in and of itself. There are things that are wrong even though the Bible does not explicitly condemn them. It would be impossible to list every conceivable sin, but I believe that once one becomes acquainted with the principles of the Bible, sin becomes very apparent. Consider Paul’s words in Galatians 5:

“Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” - Galatians 5:19-21

Verse 21 says, – “and things like these.” That can cover quite a bit that is not specifically mentioned.

[VAReact]

From the perspective of another faith, there are these guidelines and "sins" to consider:

precepts

the precepts are the code of ethics every Buddhist practitioner should follow. like the overview the precepts are found in every tradition of Buddhism. they are separated out into groups of 5, 8 or the full 10. lay people usually take up 5, lay people who want to practice more strictly can take 8 if they choose or the 3 extra can be taken on special days. people living a monastic life take the full 10. Quote: 1- Refrain from killing living creatures. 2-Refrain from stealing. 3-Refrain from sexual misconduct. 4-Refrain from incorrect speech. 5-Refrain from taking intoxicants. 6-Refrain from taking food at inappropriate times (after noon). 7-Refrain from singing, dancing, playing music or attending entertainment programs. 8-Refrain from wearing perfume, cosmetics and garland (decorative accessories). 9-Refrain from sitting on high chairs and sleeping on luxurious, soft beds. 10-Refrain from accepting money.

the precepts are not like the Christians commandments though. breaking a commandment is a sin against god and punishable by a eternity in hell. breaking a precept leads a person to committing harmful acts that will increase the suffering in ones life or lead the person into headless activities. when a person is in headless he cannot mindfully live the Dharma.

5 grave offences

the 5 grave offences are our "sins". doing any one of these prevents you from progressing in your lifetime and will cause regression on your death. additionally Amitabha's pure land is closed to the offender. the basic entry fee for the lowest level of the pure land is extremely easy as Amitabha wants to help all sentient beings progress, but his doors are closed to anyone who commits the any one of the 5 offences.

Quote: 1-patricide 2-matricide 3-killing an Arhat 4-wounding a buddha 5-creating a schism in the sangha

the five grave offences should be avoided at all costs.

[Reformed]

Sin is more than just an action. We sin by not obeying God's commandments either by committing an offense or even by not doing something that we should.
Sin is more than an outward expression. Jesus said if you look at another woman with lust you have already committed adultery in your heart.
Sin is meant to make you realize that you are wicked and that there is no good in you no matter how hard you try. Therefore requiring you to need a savior (Jesus) for salvation.
We committed sin in the garden of eden when Adam disobeyed God's command. God is a just God, which means actions require consequences. Adams disobedience requires punishment.
There is no way any of us can make it to heaven because we have been tainted by sin. Requirement for heaven is perfect righteousness.
So sin is a constant reminder that we are fallen. God came down from heaven in the form of man to save us from our sins. He took the punishment for us on the cross.
He says believe in me and you shall have eternal life.
The main difference between Christianity and all other religions is that in christianity God does all the work to save helpless man. All others has man doing good works to get to God.

[mossy]

The main difference between Christianity and all other religions is that in christianity God does all the work to save helpless man. All others has man doing good works to get to God.

not true. you assume all other religions have one "god", and all us humans are working towards the main goal of getting to him/it. some religions have multiple gods and others have no gods, all have different end goals, doctrines and history. the difference between Christianity and all other religions is really simple. Christianity is Christianity and other religions are not Christianity. anyway, sorry to get off topic OP.

[RAMCLAP]

What he is saying is that Christianity holds that no one can do anything to get to Heaven. Only God can get men to Heaven. In Christianity no one can do anything to earn their way to Heaven. God must do all the work. This is the basic tenant of Christianity. We understand that other religions have other ways.

[ILLzKzA]

Whats separates Christian faith and all other religions, other religions deny the deity of Jesus Christ which they deny that He is God in the Flesh. What other religions believe about Jesus was that he was just a "good" moral person or just a prophet, but how can he be called good or just a prophet because the very reason Jesus was killed because he claimed to be "equal" with God and and also said that he was the Alpha and the Omega so he would be considered a big fat liar and wouldn't think he was good at all but insane.

What Jesus (God in the Flesh) tells us about how we get to heaven, how to understand and have a personal relationship with God the Father, how to get to paradise is to put their "Faith" in the Truth of who Jesus is and that Jesus is the "only way" to God the Father, other religions believe "the way" to god is through "good" works, being a "moral" person. Last time i checked i haven't lived a perfect life or always made moral choices and there hasn't been 1 day of my life where I haven't sinned.

[ILLzKzA]

Quote: "Someone replied that there are other principles over and above the Law that define sin. So, there are sins that are not in the Bible because they "violate" Biblical principles. Then the person says that what is a sin to one may not be a sin to another."

It's not just biblical principles or standards, but who's standards? Its defined by God the Father, it's His "truth." What God the Father communicates to us and what he wants us to understand that we are born sinner, we are sinful by nature and our sinful acts or when we act out in sin is due to our sinful nature. He does not classify or put a measuring stick to what sin is worse, from lying, steeling, murder, anger, rape in God eyes it's all the same.

As fallen humans we wouldn't see that all sin is equally the same, how can lying be measured equally as murder that doesn't make sense to us?

What sin to you isn't sin to me, that's our human thinking and not seeing it in the truth of what God the Father tells us. Being sinful by nature
we have sin full appetites so why would our sinful nature admit that the very sin it likes to feed on admit it is bad, or sinful? That's also man becoming it's own god and defining it's own truth to what is sin and what is not. If a man rapes or murder a person are we going to accept it and let the person go when he tells the judge, well I don't think rape or murder is bad in my own eyes so I shouldn't be charged with murder or rape? Of course we have to judge that by a standard because those are the laws of the land.



Continue your relationship with the messiah (Jesus), but again I don't know your faith and beliefs you have because you stated that you came from "law based religion" which I'm not sure what that is or what you believe, but I can for sure pray for you that God the Father will direct you through your journey and that you have a rich relationship with Him (which makes things more clear), which involves a lot of up's and downs and trials like any other relationship.

[mossy]

Last time i checked i haven't lived a perfect life or always made moral choices and there hasn't been 1 day of my life where I haven't sinned.

well that's to be expected. you are human and living in a world filled with distractions and evils. its only natural you that you sin every now and then (lol that rhymes ). however, if you sin every day, realize you sin every day then do nothing to correct the behavior and continue to sin the next day there is probably a deeper issue going on.

[JohnnMac]

I actually do not think there is a canopy standard that we can really compare too. What might be considered a sin by someone, say dancing, would not be considered by someone else... does it mean one is right? No. I believe that your convictions are what your standard is and we always end up imposing a standard on others... when in reality its mostly opinion based and turns into an argument on how one's opinion isnt valid.

The standards are the Laws which God gave us... but it doesnt stop there... where we should draw our standards from should be biblically based. The deeper the relationship, the more our ways become aligned with the father and the more black and white things become. There is not one equation for christianity just to say; we shouldnt kill thats one of the ten... but what about soldiers on the ground fighting for our country?

Standards are basically a line... and the deeper we grow closer to God. The clearer that line becomes.

[glockman19]

I agree, the Ten Commandments are the standard, (Word of God).
What I appreciate in Christianity and Judiasm is the confession and forgiveness of sin.
Christians can ask for forgiveness in confession and Jews ask for forgiveness durring the high holy days.
The Lord our God is loving merciful and forgiving.
May we all be blessed by his greatness.