> In my perspective, we should obey all traffic laws, but if someone > accidentally slips over the speed limit by a couple of miles, I do not > necessarily see God or man being offended by that in any way. In other > words, I do not see that as a sin. If I'm riding in the car and my > teenage daughter slips over the speed limit, I tell her to slow down, > but I don't discipline her for such an infraction. However, if she > madly were to go 100 mph down to street, I might take the car keys away > from her. :-)
Romans 13:14 indicates that we shouldn't give occasion for sin... even if it is something seemingly as harmless as speeding a few miles over some dumb speed limit. When I first started driving, I went the speed limit. After a time, I started speeding. Just a bit at first... only a mile or two. Soon I was speeding 15-25 miles over the speed limit because I never got caught. When I finally DID caught, it was a very expensive proposition. That's how sin works. It creeps into your life when you think that it's not wrong, and by the time you get caught, you're really sunk. Ask anyone about the trap of premarital relationships (the simplicity and innocence of a little kiss or touch at first to the full-blow iniquity that ensues. By the way... I would take the keys from her, too! > You said that accidentally exceeding the speed limit by a few miles was > a sin. If you do not consider speeding the same as murder, then I guess > you must separate venial sin from mortal sins like the Catholics? > Please explain your system of understanding sin and how it compares to > the Catholic system (if you are knowledgeable about that, if not, just > explain how you understand different degrees of sin). I am unfamiliar with venial, mortal, carnal, and whatever sins. I will say that some wrongdoings in the Bible carry a death penalty. Some require banishment. Some require paying back double. Some require the removal of a hand. Some require indentured servitude. All of these are listed in the Torah. In the book of Revelation, one sin carries with it seemingly IRREVOCABLE DAMNATION... taking the mysterious mark of the beast. That's my understanding of sin. I also know that the New Testament says that is we are not to sin. AT ALL. It makes it very clear that if we sin we are not born of Eloah (God). That's a frightening reality that we need to grab onto. I am not perfect by any means, but I certainly am trying. I submit my will (as best I can) to the commandments of YHVH because Revelation tells me TWICE that the perseverance of the saints are those who hold to the testimony of Yeshua/Jesus and keep the commandments of YHVH. What sins are they talking about? Unintentional sins? I don't think so. I think they are talking about the actions we take when we KNOW they are wrong but we do them anyway. I think if we continue to sin like that, we are not born of God. If God put that kind of weight on unintentional sin, Heaven would be empty because we're all ignorant of wrongdoings that we cannot hope to repent of. If that's Catholic... oops. Also, if I'm wrong, rebuke me and teach me some more. > You give very good answers and you make a lot of sense. I don't think > we are that far apart, but I would like to explore more the idea of what > constitutes sin. In your paragraph above, you said "no sin is involved > because no Torah commandment or infraction was committed." What Torah > commandment was violated in accidentally exceeding the speed limit by a > few mph? Deut 16:18 -- You shall appoint for yourself judges and officers in all your towns which the YHVH Eloheinu is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. Heb 13:17 -- Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you. Col 3:22 -- Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. When the Laws of the land contradict the Bible? Acts 5:29 -- But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. > I would like to hear your comments about Paul's behavior in Acts 23. > Act 23:3 Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited > wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to > be smitten contrary to the law? > Act 23:4 And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God's high priest? > Act 23:5 Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high > priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy > people. > In this passage, it appears on the surface that Paul might be saying > that if he had known that the man was the high priest, then he would not > have spoken as he did. I'm not sure this clarifies the situation, > because how could he not have known the man was the high priest or at > least some ruler of the people? In any case, I'd be interested in > hearing your comments about this event, and tell me whether you think > Paul sinned by calling the high priest a name and pronouncing God's > judgment against him. By the way, I'm not sure about the answer to this > question. I've examined it a few times, but I've never really decided > on the matter. Give me some time to study the passage in length and pray about it. This is a very rewarding conversation. Well thought out and prayed over. Thank you, Dave. -- slade ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed.
