Discuss Ephesians 2 Page 21

Hello Richard,

You are mistaking what you see as prideful versus what I see as the power of Christ that dwells within me.

This would be similar to Adam & Eve in the garden believing that from the moment their eyes were opened once eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that their belief changed. Prior to eating they were never ashamed of being nude and never believed God saw anything wrong with their being nude. The moment they ate they saw themselves in a while different light and tried to hide from God believing he saw their nudity as evil. In other words they tried to project what they now were seeing as evil onto God and we know that is false.

Same story still going on today. You see me as being prideful for the words that God has me speak, not understanding that via Christ in me God sees no sin. Why on earth would God send His Son to die the way He did unless He had a perfectly good plan for why He did it?

Until you come to a full understanding of the fact that sin was not imputed in Adam's time because there was no Law for sin until the time of Moses and then get a full understanding of how it is that the Covenant Law God gave to Moses to give to the Israelites "defines" sin, you will never be able to fully understand the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Being humble is knowing that God rules ALL His creation at all times. In other words, As a servant of God and Jesus Christ, I know, everything I say and do is exactly what God has me saying and doing. I rarely ever see anyone else with the belief that they are servants of God and Jesus Christ. The vast majority of folks I speak to are serving only themselves and that to me is sad

Thank you for your response. Lynn

I'm gonna testify a little here. However it happened, I grew into adulthood with great knowledge of all manner of occult subjects. I had plans to grow and expand an internet business to sell horoscopes. People that opposed me, I would think of them as...dead. My doctor would ask me how it's going (all cheerful-like); I'd say I kinda feel like killing my spouse, and the kid too sometimes. I'm not kidding: he'd encourage me to take up basket weaving classes, as he wrote out unlimited refills of Valium for me. I'd swap my pills with friends pills and I was a drugged mess. However my craft at making charts was well received. It lasted a long time. I managed to make a Christian angry for doing charts on his kids. He asked an entire church to pray and fast for me, ONE day.

My life began to unravel like an onion. Every shred of security I had was cruelly taken away. I did a big study on karma. I was now divorced. All I had was drugs and alcohol to keep me numb to what was happening to me. NEVER think that fasting and prayer do not accomplish anything.

If you have child-like faith, You can change The direction of people's lives. Hate and anger at them accomplishes nothing. Believing in God to do something, WILL. If you push your plate aside and pray for that somebody; God is going to act on your Faith and behalf. He loves you!!

If you can't pray a Catholic Church into rubble, you CAN ask for Catholics to come in here to find truth they are yearning to hear. Have you got some Bible you can teach them? Railing at people just drives them away.

We are all just a lot of hot air if we don't have some Bible truth on the inside of us. When I see that spirit of superiority rear it's head...it reminds me of me. Full of hatred and hell; but full of great NEED.

Pray, Fast, for 1 day: get ready to see a miracle!! Do I love Jesus? I want to be the rug HE rests His Holy feet upon.

Goodnight.

True. Now if these men would humble themselves & come to the foot of the Cross thereby finding forgiveness & renewal of their minds & spirits, we might just see a peace & reconciliation through that wall broken down by Jesus. If men won't reason with with the Lord ( Isa 1:18), they certainly won't reason with one another.

Your heart is right before the Lord. Let him decide this. May the Holy Spirit surround you with Comfort.

M.

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Lastly, I'm pained to take hold of how a believer, who can no longer commit sin, can justify his/her daily 'errors' before God. I'm not referring to the Laws of the Land or the Old Covenant Law - just focusing on our daily life. Can you in all honesty believe & claim that you cannot sin now because of the new life you have in Christ? Even if it may not be evident in your actions, does it ever give birth in the mind?

I know when I sin: I might harbour a momentary feeling of anger, pride or resentment, a misplaced word to someone, a desire to retaliate when falsely accused, & a host of other sins that prove not only its existence in my life but how carnal I am when measured up to the holiness of the Father & the Son. Why would Paul even suggest that we put on the whole armour of God ( Eph 6:11) if Satan could never touch us with sin (since we're sinless). The only sensible reason for Satan to attack us is if he can get victory over us - there's no point in causing us to trip up, if we're unable to.

I'll just leave all this with you as I fear that what you believe on this matter is actually what you have learned from some other source, since no natural reading of the Word can cause us to conclude that the sin nature in a true believer ceases to exist when both the Bible & our lives clearly show otherwise.

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However, you may add that Jesus' Sacrifice also made the sinner spotless & unable to commit sin again. Again, to state that at the moment of repentance & receiving God's forgiveness based on Calvary, a believer receives God's Spirit to indwell him, to be God's guarantee & to give him a new life/a new nature. So every believer has to have the Holy Spirit in him, but does God then remove the old sinful nature, which is the very reason for committing sin? I do not see that the goal of the Cross was to ever remove that old nature - it was only for the basis of God's pardon, man's spiritual renewal, & power to live a consecrated life in Christ. ( Gal 5:16,17 speaks of the ongoing war between the flesh (our old nature) & the Spirit (our new nature)).

I believe that the New Nature by God's Spirit can never sin ( 1 Jn 3:9) - maybe you are focusing on this aspect - as it's impossible for God to do or provoke us to evil. But please bear in mind that the incoming of His Nature in us does not annihilate or dispose of the Old nature. For that reason, in every letter of the apostles, the message to believers was to crucify the flesh ( Rom 8:13: "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live", is but one example). Paul is not speaking to the unsaved - he's speaking to believers in Christ but some are entertaining sin - yes, SIN, & need teaching & encouragement to turn away from sin & live (be led) by the Spirit of God (v14).

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Hi Lynn, your persistence in keeping up with both Adam's & my comments is commendable & I can see your sincere belief in what you state as the reason for Jesus' coming & crucifixion. Rather than rehashing everything you've written & also noting your other comments to Adam, I hope to take it from there. As well, I don't follow any particular Church teaching or custom; I took some time away from work (soon after I was saved) to just spend it with the Lord & His Word & to develop a deeper understanding on what was written. For that reason, I will never 'fit' into any Church, but then who does, but I value what is taught so that it may be further contemplated & of course the fellowship with other believers is necessary. So the basis of my comments are solely on the Word according to the Light given.

You've stated that the salvation that Jesus has offered has meant that you have not only been cleansed from past sins but that His Life in you now keeps you spotless & indeed unable to sin. I hope I've understood you correctly. I have heard of such a position: it's called a 'sinless perfection' & is based on the understanding of Scriptures as you have given. Of course you know that I will disagree with such a position as that is simply untenable from the correct reading of Scripture & evidence from real life that supports it.

Why did Jesus come to die for sinners? His Coming, in fulfilment of the prophecies that spoke of Him, was simply, in a nutshell, to make payment for sin. It was both a redemptive & a substitutionary Work of Love by the Father through His Son. Nothing more. The Cross provided the means, the only means, by which a sinner could ever hope to receive forgiveness & connecting back to his Creator. What a sinner could never do, Jesus fully accomplished at Calvary: and not by the keeping of a new Law, but only by Faith could the guilty come & receive pardon. I'm sure you know all that, but stated here, to lay the foundation.

Lynn,

It saddens me to read some of your posts. They seem very prideful. So sin is just something one believes is sin to God? Sounds like a lot of people today calling evil good and good evil. You seem to think you have the mind of God in saying you know exactly everything He knows. You seem to be deeming yourself quite equal to God.

Are we not to humble ourselves? To live by producing the fruit of the Spirit? Not by the lusts of the flesh? I have also never seen anyone say that "murder" is not a sin. Much less a person saying to be following Christ.

Christ did die for our sins. But not so that we could just live in chaos and evil and wickedness and say it's not sinning anymore. Follow Jesus Christ. Forgive others that sin, try to teach them, and fight the good fight to stay away from sin and the snares of the devil. To try to be an example to others as Christ is the perfect example for us to follow. He staying away from all sin or wickedness.

Even though we have received Christ does not mean we cannot sin anymore. It means we shouldn't want to and strive to live a sinless life which is not easy especially in the world today. Along with receiving the Holy Ghost which is our helper, who will change us, and teach us what to stay away from. I'm not saying if you sin that they won't be forgiven you. As Christ died for us all. Know sin and if you happen to do something that is bad or wrong, humble yourself and ask for forgiveness. Know what you did was wrong and learn from your mistakes. You will be forgiven. Don't harden your heart and just think you are above and cannot sin anymore.

You are in my prayers sister. God Bless you.

Hello Adam,

I never make assumptions about anyone or the Bible.. I read and hear the words that are spoken and know by the words I hear how that person stands with God.

I would recommend you checking out 1 John 3:4 thru 10. Hopefully I spelled that right.

Then let me know if you still believe it's possible for folks that live their lives alive In Christ to be free from sin or not.

You're wording made no sense at all. When I say I am free from sin that does not give me liberty at all to sin. It simply means that sin no longer applies to me. I don't believe sin applies to anyone unless they believe it does.

Sin means one believes they have done something wrong in the eyes of God and must do something in order to regain God's favor.

I know everything I do at all times is exactly what God wants me to do and has me doing. I know everyone is doing exactly what God wants them to do and has them doing at all times. Most people have no understanding at all of how God rules all His creation.

However, Paul did clue us in when he spoke the words in Ephesians 4:6. I'll just let you look it up in case it doesn't print out for me.

As it stands now it's clear to me that your belief regarding what sin actually is, is not the truth according to how God has defined sin.

The problem I see is, when one has no understanding of what Jesus accomplished at the cross, it shows they are worshiping a false god and that false god is usually their religion.

I already followed Jesus straight to the cross and the old me died there with him. Then the new me was resurrected alive In Christ free from sin.

If you are still "following" Jesus, you haven't quite got to the finishing end of it. I agree it's a serious situation that all hangs on what one believes.

Have a great day. Lynn

Dear Mishael, Thanks for the info on how to use the links. I really appreciate that.

By the way, you should never have to feel guilty for what others do. If you leave their presence because of what they do, it's because it's exactly what God has you do, and that is fine. Far better to leave then to try and condemn them. The day will come when their own conscience will condemn them. Have a great day.

We are living in some pretty strange times at the moment so it's really hard to avoid things that are unpleasant.

Lynn :)

Lynn, beware of making assumptions about me or the Bible.

Romans 6 doesn't say what you've been saying. It's not a hall pass to commit and enjoy unlimited intentional sinning. Have you read the whole chapter? The first 2 verses contradicts the idea of you can't sin. It clearly says do NOT continue in sin in verse 1, and verse 23 is another warning to avoid sin. Freedom from sin doesn't mean unlimited sinning with no consequence, verse 15. V16: obey. V18 "servants of righteousness"

I've have never met anyone who claims they are without sin and that sin doesn't apply and that God is fine with you sinning, because "it's not sin". That's a distortion of the gospel. He didn't die for you so you could take advantage of him and enjoy sin and do evil all you want. That's not Christianity. The definition of a Christian is a Christ-follower and if someone isn't following and trying to emulate Jesus Christ then they aren't a Christian. Jesus called us to a ridiculously high standard that none can achieve. Only Jesus was perfect on earth, not you. You are a sinner just like everyone else and you still do sin, but if you genuinely follow Jesus and are genuinely trying to obey his commands then you're covered by grace for all our sins. It's not a hall pass so you can act wicked in the world and can commit all kinds of evil. Do you understand the difference?

Most people will go to hell. Narrow is the gate that leads to heaven. That means if 2/3 of the world believes in God that only a portion of those who call themselves Christians will go to heaven. Matthew 7:23. It's not about being 'good' or 'earning it', but about genuinely following Jesus. If you genuinely follow Jesus you would be serious about obeying him and avoiding sin. If you don't then you don't love Jesus. John 14:15. If someone doesn't love Jesus, in my opinion they are probably going to hell. This is a serious situation. People who consider themselves Christians will go there and should be afraid. Luke 12:5.

I even feel guilty when I'm in a gathering and people are swearing with zeal. I make up an excuse and leave. Sigh....

You have to use all letters in the SEARCH boxes.

Scriptures will show a link and print, but it has to look like this: John 3:16

Or, 1 John 1:9

Any extra spaces or commas and it will not print a link.

Your right: no links from other websites.

You can mention the name but that's all.

Hope this helps :)

To say Christian is not worthy to have a spot as a Supreme Court Judge is really a test of tolerance. They've already ruled we can't sing inside a church. People have been singing in their cars in the church parking lots. Some cities are stricter. The President went to Church a week ago, and now we have to go through the income tax thing again :/

Everybody's life matters; even Jesus's Life Matters, and His Church. I'm going to sign that Petition! I want to vote for a professing Christian. My grandkid goes to a Christian school. The only power we have is prayer and our vote. I'm gonna use mine.

Come Lord Jesus!

Article today:

"The Left has declared an all-out war on the Constitution, the Supreme Court, life, and the Christian faith.

The President's nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett marks a historic shift on the Supreme Court for generations. She could help determine the fate of abortion, religious liberty, and so many other critical issues.

Judge Barrett is an exceptionally qualified constitutional conservative nominee to the Supreme Court. Her credentials are impeccable. She must be confirmed.

But the Left is targeting her for her Christian faith and for adopting two children from Haiti. It's SICK.

We will see personal attacks unlike ever before. They could be even worse than the Kavanaugh hearings. Multiple radical Left Senators already harassed Judge Barrett for her "religious beliefs" as a Christian, astoundingly condemning, "The dogma lives loudly within you."

Attacking Judge Barrett's faith is not only unacceptable, it's a violation of the Constitution which directly prohibits this: "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office."

The attack on her faith is an attack on YOUR FAITH. This will be the fight of a lifetime." Petition on ACLJ website.

I love psalms because praise is my weapon and when I praise him he set up an ambush for the devil

Hello Adam, I did send a link explaining the entirety of Covenant Law but later discovered this site does accept links from other sites so it was never posted.

I also sent bible scripture in same response from the Romans using the KJV on my site but evidently that is not acceptable either. I am new to this site so still learning how to use it. It appears as if when I want to get a bible verse I need to do it directly from this site.

I agree that all the things you see as evil are sin according to the Old Testament Covenant Law. I'm saying I used to believe that Covenant Law applied to me prior to my understanding of Jesus freeing me from that Covenant Law via his death and resurrection at the cross...

So none of that Covenant Law applies to me any longer or anyone else UNLESS they believe it applies to them via false teaching that caused them to believe it does...

I'm saying I love my life now free from sin, according to the New Covenant Law that God writes in the hearts and minds of those that believe in the cross as a finished work... In other works living life alive in Christ.

This does not mean that I am not subject to the laws of the land in which I live, because I am.. If I were to break the law of the land it simply means I would be a criminal, not a sinner...

If you are choosing to still believe you and all others are sinners, that simply says you are not believing in the cross as a finished work... In other words, up until this point, the cross has been of no benefit to you.. Lynn

JESUS, destroyed the wall of hostility

Why can't men reason with one another.

Galatians 5:14

Hello Chris, Anyone that believes they can still sin after accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior has a skewed vision of that Jesus accomplished at the cross. He either completed the job his Father sent him to do or he didn't There is no sitting on the fence on this one. One either believes they are completely freed from sin or they don't.

I am one that does not put the cross of Jesus to shame by saying and or believing that it's still possible for me to sin. In other words, at one time, I was a sinner because that was what the religion I belonged to taught me to believe and I believed that religion was teaching me the truth.. When God taught me the real Truth of what Jesus did for me it was a whole new ballgame

Always keep in mind that Paul had been raised since his birth under the Covenant Law because he was an Israelite of the tribe of Benjamin so it was far more difficult for Paul to see himself freed from the Covenant Law than it would be for someone that had never been raised under that Law.

Paul knew that Law he was living by since his conversion was the Law that was written in his heart and mind and he wished that for all his brethren, the Jews/Israelites, but he also knew they were not accepting Jesus Christ as their Messiah

When one comes to a complete understanding of exactly where Christ dwells and exactly where God dwells, they will absolutely know in their hearts and minds that sin has and never will have dominion over them

that was the Part 3... Yours In Christ, Lynn

Hello Chris, I agree Jesus was crucified because of false accusations because the Jews flat out wanted him dead. Pilate was put between a rock and a hard place with Jesus being brought before him so he gave the people to choice of what was to be done and it was the people that cried out crucify him

I completely understand what you are saying with the receiving of strong rebuttals IF one does not share the same belief that God has taught you. It is always my belief that IF someone cannot say, Oh, I never heard it that way before, that means to me, they are already set in their minds what they believe so best to avoid them We know we spoke the Word that God gave Us to speak and that is all that counts. The Word of God never comes back void so one day that Word will sink in

I agree the Covenant Law was and still is perfect in every way the difference is knowing whether just one jot or tittle of the Covenant Law applies to me/you or not, and the answer to that since Jesus's death on the cross is NO Not one jot or tittle of it applies to me/you or anyone else, UNLESS they have been taught to believe it does and they believe it IF they do believe it, it means they DO NOT believe in the cross as a finished workThere is a huge difference in the New Covenant Law that God writes in the hearts and minds of those that believe in the finished work versus those that believe the Old Covenant Law applies to them

This was in response to Part 2 of your post Lynn

Hello Chris, I have no idea if you live in America or somewhere else, however, as an American citizen I know the Constitution is set up to separate religious law from gov't law. We have the right to worship under any religion we so choose or not choose when it comes to worshiping God.

Since my complete understanding of the cross and what it did and has done for me, I no longer belong to any religion because I worship God in Spirit and in Truth. That means I know that God dwells within ALL His creation and that Christ dwells in me and me in Christ. Christ is sinless therefore IF I were to believe I could still sin, it would be putting the cross of Jesus to shame..

It appears to me that your religion has taught you to believe that you are still a sinner no matter what Jesus did for you at the cross. Is that correct? If so you would have to have an understanding of that religious doctrine in order to see if it agrees with the doctrine of Christ.

Long story short on Jesus being led up to be crucified. Jesus had never done anything worthy of death under the Jews Covenant Law and neither was he worthy of death under Roman Law He was put to death because they traded him for a murderer and the murderer was set free in his place

This was in answer to your Part 1 Lynn

Hello Chris,

Thank you for your responding... I have a lot of things to do today so will have to get back with you later but I will respond to what you have said when I get a chance... Lynn :)

Hello Adam, Here is the rest of the response I sent that appeared not to completely show up in the other post..

It appears to me that you have not believed with all your heart, mind, and soul that Jesus died for the sin of mankind on the cross. In other words according to what you have written, you believe you are still a sinner. So exactly what did Jesus's death do for you? Lynn

Hello Adam,

I did give scripture references in a separate message but for some reason it was not posting on the site.. It had said, Thank you for the comment, but never evidently never showed up. Here again is what I had sent..

This is a copy of the Covenant Law that defines sin according to God's Covenant Law that He gave to Moses to give to the Israelites. Under this Covenant Law, yes, all the things you mention would be sin if this Law was transgressed by the person that believes this Covenant Law applies to them.

I had to delete the copy of the entire Covenant Law because the discussion site said external links were not allowed.. I was hoping that would be the quickest and easiest way to explain the Covenant Law versus the Law of the land in which one lives



Here one small section of Romans where Paul preached freedom from this Covenant Law for all those that believe it applies to them.

Romans 6:17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

6:19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

6:20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.

6:21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.

6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

It appears to me that you have not believed with all your heart, mind, and soul that Jesus died for the sin of mankind on the cross. In other words according to what you have written, you believe you

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Therefore, I believe we can & do commit crimes against the laws of the Land & we have to pay for it, but I also am certain that believers, whose sins have been nailed to the Cross, are still well able to sin against God unable or not wishing to fully crucify the flesh, which Paul urged us to do. Isn't that why the apostle Paul himself was in spiritual & mental anguish when he exclaimed: "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." And of course he said this as he talked about his sin nature (the flesh), that was ever existent that urged him to sin (all of Romans 7). We can never negate the presence of sin, of its appearance in our lives, & our need to confess them & turn from it. The Word is replete with Scriptures for us under the New Covenant to not let "sin have dominion over us".

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So the above clearly shows that it wasn't crimes against Roman law that saw Jesus in front of Herod & Pilate, but from false accusations from the Sanhedrin. Of course, Pilate was culpable also by giving in to their demands & believing that he could absolve himself from this evil act (v24). On the other hand, should Jesus have conspired against Rome by inciting its citizens against their govt., then of course, Rome had every right to accuse Jesus of a crime & to face its consequences. And that 'crime' would have broken Covenant Law as well (probably the 6th Commandment) as the agitated & frenzied citizens would have reason to slaughter their Roman leaders.

And one more thing, if I may: "Everyone that has been freed (from) the Covenant Law, which is the Law of Sin and Death, has been freed via their belief that they were freed at the cross and that "sin" no longer applies to them...". I heartily agree with your statement that believers are no longer bound to the Covenant Law which only revealed sin & brought resulting death (as I've shared elsewhere on this Site & received strong rebuttals), but has this freedom, through the Cross, meant that "sin no applies to them"? Again, as much as I appreciate a good presentation, I beg to differ. I realize that your statement hinges on Covenant Law being inferior to the Law of the Spirit of Life. And so it is, for that was God's Intention. However, as much as the Cross of Christ has now "made us free from the Law of Sin & Death" ( Rom 8:2), it is freedom from the hopelessness of forgiveness, of any restitution or recovery from that Old Law, that Christ's Sacrifice fully accomplished at the Cross. The Old Law was perfect in every way, as given by the LORD, but in finding full, eternal redemption it could never do, thus the need of a better sacrifice ( Heb 9:23; 7:19,22; 8:6).

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Hi Lynn, I've been following your various comments & they have been very interesting, yet different - and the one you've shared here is no exception.

You said, "Jesus could not be crucified according to the Covenant Law because he had done nothing worthy of sin so the Jews had him crucified under Roman Law". I agree that Covenant Law was kept perfectly by Jesus proving His sinlessness, but wasn't the Sanhedrin's accusations against Jesus based on that Covenant Law, even though they themselves were misguided by not looking 'deeply' into & understanding God's Holy Requirements? All they saw in Jesus & His ministry was a 'breaking' or departure from God's Law so that they could justify their accusations against Him & keep their own positions & power over the people secure.

They accused Him of violating the Sabbath Law (by healing on the Sabbath), threatening to destroy the Jewish Temple, of sorcery, exorcising people by the power of demons, & claiming to be both the Messiah and the Son of God, etc. The Roman govt. thought these charges against Him were of little consequence to them & just violations of Jewish customs: "And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him." Lk 23:13-15.

Hi Lynn,

I noticed you didn't cite any Bible verses to back up your belief, so where does this belief come from? Did a church pastor tell you this or how did you come to such a conclusion that "If a person kills/murders another deliberately, that is a crime, not a sin... "

Is God ok with ALL sin then? Fornication or adultery is not illegal, so if someone wants to commit that tonight, are you saying that God is ok with that and it isn't a sin? If so, where in the Bible does it support this idea?

As you may know, Satan is the father of lies. He deceives people, including Christians to get people to justify sin and turn from Jesus. So, one of us is incorrect, because truth is not relative. There's only 1 truth. So, if Satan deceived one of us, which is more likely, that satan would deceive a Christian into being more obedient to God than he needs to (how awful), or that satan deceives a Christian into believing that sin is ok, and good, and there's nothing wrong with following the world and committing evil, because it's already forgiven. Which of those 2 things is most likely satan's choice to deceive a Christian?

I have prayed about this and 100% disagree with what you said, have a mountain of scripture to back it up, and have prayed and asked God to know the truth and I believe with all my heart that murder is a sin, fornication is sin, adultery is a sin, cursing is sin. The 2 greatest commandments from Jesus you claimed that 'replaced' the moral law did replace it, but added to it and made it even MORE restrictive and HARDER to follow. Example Matthew 5:28.Let me ask this- are you 100% following Jesus's 2 commands? How do you know if you're truly loving God with all your heart, soul and mind? Wouldn't obeying God's law and avoiding sin be a part of loving Him? 1 John 1:8, John 8:34. How about loving your neighbor as yourself. Have you done this 100% perfectly all your life? If you are without sin then are you better than Jesus? 1 John 4:20, Romans 3:23.

Hello Adam, Clearly you misinterpreted what I said.. :) I said, there is a difference between Sin and Crime... The only way one can become a sinner is to be party with God to the Covenant Law that God gave to Moses to give to the Israelites. If one believes that Covenant Law applies to them in any way it means they still need a Savior to be freed from that Covenant Law which is also called the Law of Sin and Death....

Crime has to do with the law of the land in which one lives... If one breaks the law of the land, they become a criminal not a sinner because they would be party to the gov't of that land in which they live.

And no this in no way whatsoever means one can deliberately kill anyone and get away with it... No one will get away with deliberate murder whether they are party with God to the Covenant Law or whether they are party to the gov't's law of the land...

For ex: I was freed from the Covenant Law that I believed applied to me that continually had me believing I was a sinner and that I always must be doing something to please God for everything I thought I had done wrong.

Once freed from the Covenant Law I am still subject to the law of the land in which I live... However, I have no desire whatsoever to break the laws of the land so not worried about becoming a criminal, but IF I ever should break the law of the land I will pay the penalty for whatever I do wrong in the eyes of the law of the land... That still does not make me a sinner because I was freed from being a sinner at the cross... I would simply be a criminal...

When Paul said sin dwelled in him. or something to effect, what Paul was meaning was the "knowledge of sin" dwells within him... It was far more difficult for Paul being as he was an Israelite and had lived under Covenant Law all his life... Lynn :)

Hello Chris, One must have a complete understanding of why ALL crimes are not sin... This is the reason Jesus could not be crucified according to the Covenant Law because he had done nothing worthy of sin so the Jews had him crucified under Roman Law, the law of the land. Paul was an expert in both Covenant Law and Roman Law, two completely different laws... Sin did not apply to Roman Law... Sin applies only to the Covenant Law that God gave to Moses to give to the Israelites... If one believes the Covenant Law that was given to the Israelites that defines sin, applies to them, that means that person has never believed in the finished work of the cross for their self...

In other words, this is the reason one must have a complete understanding of why their was a need for a Savior and why their Savior is the Lord Jesus Christ..

Everyone that has been freed for the Covenant Law, which is the Law of Sin and Death, has been freed via their belief that they were freed at the cross and that "sin" no longer applies to them...

However that does not mean that "crime" does not apply because one is subject to the law of the land in which they live and if they break the law of the land they become a criminal and should pay the penalty that is required by the law of their land for that crime... Lynn :)

All crimes are sin as the Bible determines. However, our governments don't like the word 'Sin' (it would be too religious & has an 'undesirable connotation') so we instead have the word 'crime'. So if someone commits murder, a righteous government would say: "a grievous sin has been committed before God & man" but you'll never hear that said.