The Concept Of Sin And Forgiveness

Sin and Forgiveness What is sin? What is “saved”? What is salvation? What is righteousness? What is forgiveness? When saved which sins are forgiven? All or some past sins All or some present sins All, none or some future sins Who forgives our sins? Why would God save us? How much “good work” does it take to cancel one sin? Why can’t everyone go to Heaven? Why can Satan be in Heaven? Is someone who sins a sinner? How many sins does it take to be a sinner? Do sinners go to Heaven? If after we are forgiven and then sin again are we sinners again? How many times can God forgive the same sin? If a Christian sins and then dies before they can repent are they saved? Can we sin in our dreams? Can God hear our prayers if we have sin in our life? Can God only hear prayers pleading for forgiveness first, and then regular prayers? Does our sin stop God from doing His will? Can God work with sinners? How do we know when we are sinning? Do we have to memorize all the laws so we don’t break them? Can you quote every law?

If we assume something is sinful, but God doesn’t, why is it counted as a sin against us? Why were the pre-mosaic people considered sinful? Do we know God’s Righteousness? If we are not righteous are we saved? What does faith have to do with our salvation? When do we stop sinning? Second birth Comprehension of all sins, and then don’t do them Death Judgment day Entering Heaven Never Other How long of not sinning does it take till we are no longer considered to be a sinner? If a Christian and a non-Christian have similar sin, why does only one go to Heaven? Is a Christian a sinner? Does a Christian sin? Will we sin in Heaven? If not, why not Will we have a sin nature in Heaven? Will people sin in hell? Are there different types of sin? Are we sinners by nature or because we sinned? Can God forgive all sin? When God forgives our sins does He also forgive us of our sinful nature? Does God deal with sin as a unit or is every sin a separate problem? Will God forgive all our sin if we ask Him? If sin separates us from God, how as a faith-er can God tabernacle with us? Will God remember our forgiven sins? If God forgets our sins, would He consider us sinless? Are we righteous because of the sins we don’t commit?

Is sin a state of our soul, or is it the wrong things we do? John 8:34. Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. 35. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. 36. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. Jesus says whoever commits sin is the servant of sin, how can Christians say they are servants of God?

That was the easy part; I just sat here writing random thoughts

The concept of sin I believe is misunderstood. Our salvation is not based on if we sin or not, because all have sinned. It is based on faith and love, ours and Jesus’. The price for sin has been paid. Salvation is ours if we ask for it. We are not battling sin. Though we do sin, sin has been defeated. God’s blood is sufficient to cover all sin. Since I cannot redeem myself I have to rely solely on Jesus. Sin exists because God wants his followers to willingly love and trust Him. Will He do the things He promised He would do? Will God forgive us, save us, prepare a place for us etc? Yes! God could have made us with a desire to love Him, but then we would be robots, not having any free will. Forced love is not an agape love. Jesus intended us to have a choice to love and follow Him, or not. A choice requires more than one option, thus we can love God or not. If we choose to love and trust Jesus, He has prepared a way for us to be with Him. If we trust God, sin has been dealt with. It has been removed and forgotten. If we choose not to follow God, He allows this also, but you will remain in your sin. People have a tendency to think of God as sharing power with Satan, like yin-yang, or “balance to the force”. He is sovereign, the all powerful God without equal. He did not lose control of mankind in Eden. His dream of paradise on earth did not slip through His fingers. God had a plan, and the players were doing their part. Satan lied, Man sinned and God had a Plan of Redemption. Why did God put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden? God did not make Adam sin, but He allowed it to happen. With no choice, mankind would love God only because we would have no other option. I do not believe that God could have created man with any other desire than to love Him. God did not entice man to sin; Satan did that. Adam willfully disobeyed God when he ate from the tree, and because of the nature of the fruit, all his offspring would also be sinful. God spoke to Adam and Eve about a Redeemer. Now they had a choice; trust that God would save them, or death which is the cost of sin. This choice applies to all mankind now. The time from Adam to Jesus, people had to have faith that God would save them. The era after Jesus, people have to have faith that God has forgiven sin. God is not wringing His hands, distraught because the majority of people do not have faith. He has a vast field from which to glean for as many generations as He wants. Does God picking, those He wants, limit our ability to choose? No! Jesus made it clear in the parables He said that God was not interested in everyone entering His Kingdom. Jesus said that some people would never have a desire for Him. Others would lose their first love, but some would produce. God does give us the desires of our heart. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” For those who desire sin, God pushes them further into sin. For Christians, God abides in us, gives us an inheritance, calls us friend and prepared His Kingdom for us. We all get what we want. Unfortunately, non-faith-ers will not be pleased with their choice in the end.

Sin is not the great problem that Christians are taught to believe. Faith-ers, by their nature, believe that sin was conquered, that Jesus paid the price for all sin, that God would forgive us if we asked Him to, and that sin has lost its power over us. Should we continue to sin? Of course not,. But if we do sin, Jesus’ sacrifice means that death no longer rules over us. We have a choice.