What is sin actually?

1 John 3:
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears[a] we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's[b] seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

So what is Law?


Fulfilling the Law Through Love
8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Love is the essence of the spirit of God's law. The commandments are prescribed as rules of life. When we love, we have found the true principle of obedience, the true spirit of the holy law. Paul sums it all up in love. And we, having received the love of Christ, living in His love, see the law not as a stern, condemning taskmaster but as an appealing, bright vision of understanding and blessing.

We see the law embodied in Christ, and our imitation of Christ involves obedience to the law, but we fulfill the law, not simply as a standard outside, but as a living principle within. Acting according to the dictates of the way of love, our lives conform to the image of Christ, as we conform to the law. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.

So why can't we keep the law on our own?

Hebrews 8:10 ESV
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Jeremiah 31:33 ESV
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Ezekiel 36:26 ESV
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 ESV
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

2 Corinthians 3:3 ESV
And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

Psalm 119:11 ESV
I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Psalm 51:10 ESV
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Hebrews 10:16 ESV
“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,”

Let be careful when you heard someone tell you that certain passage, even NT passage is limit in its applicability. Some days, they might even tell you some sin are not sins, it is just human nature / DNA forcing you to do your deeds.

So, what is evil conscience?

Evil Conscience
Hebrews 10:22
Some people can lie and never lose any sleep. They can steal and do other things, and it never seems to upset them. How can some people do evil things and not be disturbed about them? The answer could be that they have an evil conscience.

Read: Hebrews 10:22

The writer of Hebrews used Old Testament symbolism to convey a New Testament truth. When the priest was ministering in the tabernacle, he had to wash his hands and his feet at the laver so he would not defile the tabernacle. You and I, when we fellowship with the Lord, must be sure that we are washed clean also, not outwardly, but inwardly. "Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts." (cf. Ps. 51:6a). This evening, I want us to consider the "evil conscience".

I. What is an Evil Conscience?

A. It is the opposite of a good conscience.

1. This seems like a simple answer, but it is true.

2. A good conscience is one that is effective: it convicts us when we have done wrong, and it encourages us when we have done right.

3. An evil conscience encourages the person too, when he does wrong!

B. Note: Isaiah 5:20

1. "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"

2. That is an excellent description of a person with an evil conscience!

3. So an evil conscience is one that substitutes that which is wrong for that which is right.

4. The standard by which it judges is faulty and the result is a conscience that fails to work in the way God had planned for it to work.

II. Causes of an Evil Conscience.

A. An improper concept of God and of sin.

1. People take lightly the Word of God, especially that part that condemns sinful activity;

2. Which results in them not being serious about sin.

3. As a person begins to think improperly about God and sin...it is a short step to improper and sinful behavior.

B. There are other terms to describe this.

Titus 1:15, "Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled."

1. A conscience is defiled because of a defiled mind.

1 Timothy 4:2, "Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;"

2. As a result of continued sin, a defiled conscience becomes "seared" and insensitive to sin.

3. When your skin in burned, it develops a callused area of scar tissue, and that area loses its sensitivity.

III. Evidences of an Evil Conscience.

A. Playing with sin, and not taking sin seriously.

B. Shallow confession and shallow repentance which is really just excuses for their sin.

C. Measuring sin...someone might say, "Well, I never committed a BIG sin!"

D. Arguing with the Truth.

1. Some even misuse the Bible to support their sin!

2. Sometimes even professing Christians do this.

The only hope for an evil conscience is the blood of Christ. We can always come to the Lord and have ouor hearts cleansed. We must first confess honestly before God and demonstrate an attitude of true repentance.

Hebrews 9:14, "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
http://www.brandonweb.com/sermons/sermonpages/hebrews6.htm

I think it's important to understand why I posted Romans 14:23, it's related to language use in Hebrews 10:26.

Nobody is down playing sin.

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Actually it's more accurate to interpret Hebrews 10:22 in the entirety of Hebrews 10.

The Greek word for evil is "ponéros", The definition = toilsome, bad. It can be used as = evil, bad, wicked, malicious, slothful. Nothing wrong.

But context is important.

Hence when the translation used = Guilty, it would best fit it.

In Hebrews 10:2 (NIV) - Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. <== Context is here.

It wouldn't really fit and make sense to apply as evil conscience (IE seared conscience) because the believer has been removed of her sin. To ask to be cleanse from an evil conscious would imply the person's sin is still there operating.

But because the person's sin has indeed been removed therefore let us come close to God......with clear conscience vs guilty one.



This post has been edited by unknown warrior: Mar 3 2023, 04:43 PM

Oh well

Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?
Hebrews 10:2 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/heb.10.2.ESV


Well, as I said, different is subtle

your comment resonate with me but too tldr..

i like to add something

if u are saved, u will not have any desire to sin

if u hv no desire to do something, will u still do it? same thing applies with sin

like watching porn, if u under grace u lack the desire to watch it anymore

i said that bcoz i was porn addict, but now no more (for years edi still no desire..)

if u under law, u will still desire to watch porn and will fall into sin

so the law become your curse or stumbling block

Thanks for your honesty. Like I said God is not in the business of shaming a person because of their sin. His desire is than man will repent and receive forgiveness and deliverance from sin.
And humans makes distinction between sins as if sexual sins are more terrible than others. We overlook luke16:15 that says every thing highly esteemed among man is an abomination in the sight of God.

Yup,

The purpose of OT Law is to instigate sin.

Sorry I need to correct what I wrote.

1 John 1 was most likely written to Gnostic believers.

Which was a heresy.



This post has been edited by unknown warrior: Mar 4 2023, 12:34 PM

lol, instead of seeing it as something to learn, it's considered as shaming and embarrassing?

What is even funnier, I don't really know the person personally but yet he takes it way too personal.

Here's something to learn, what you accuse to other can easily be pointed back at you.

Giving warning in book of revelations lah. Oh my.

And I agree with you Desmond, the difference is subtle but then again when think about it. even using evil conscience may apply.

The Bible translations has its purpose. The Bible is far reaching to everyone.

"perverse and depraved person"?

Oh my.

I did say Verse 11 is a pilgrimage language talking about, when one has reached the end of his life, thereby attaining to resurrection from the dead. in #234

This post has been edited by unknown warrior: Mar 4 2023, 12:07 PM

So you are saying 1 John as a letter to church, is addressed to different people says chapter 1 for non believer and the rest for believer? That is hell of mental gymnastics

So chapter 5 address to who? This is getting ridiculous

Let go back to bible shall we

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death. We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
1 John 5:1‭-‬21 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/1jn.5.1-21.ESV


This post has been edited by desmond2020: Mar 4 2023, 12:17 PM

This is great. Praise God. True humility (admiting I cannot but He can) is the only way to let God moves in your life and ministry.

Testifying that I have been reminded and restored to this state by the grace of God recently.🙏

This post has been edited by socialforumer: Mar 4 2023, 12:17 PM

Desmond, chapter 5 is for believers.

It's no mental gymnastic.

Wow so much labelling.

Heretic la, perverse and deprave lah, warnings in book of revelation lah.

condemning others in going down lah.

All the while never bother to read properly.