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Post by Pastor Michelle on Oct 16, 2012 18:49:35 GMT -5
In Matthew 18:1-14, Jesus gives far sterner warnings than anything he ever says about the “big” sins like murder, adultery, and theft. What do his strong words say about what God values most?
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Post by csobell on Oct 18, 2012 14:30:59 GMT -5
It reinforces everything Jesus says about God and Heavan being the Mustard tree compared to the mustard seed - while what we do to hurt, covet, steal, or injure each other in this life is sinful it is much less serious than those harms we would do to interfere with each others eternal life whether to a literal child or a "child" on the Christian path.
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Post by kingdomseeker on Oct 31, 2012 8:34:55 GMT -5
I don’t believe in God’s economy there are “little” and “big” sins. Any sin whether it be a little white lie or causing someone to stumble separates us from God. There are sins of commission (those that we do) and sins of omission (not doing what we should). But these are sins of action or inaction. I believe that even if we acted sinless in every area of our lives we still would be lost without Christ because of the original sin that taints each person born through the seed of man. (Adam) We don’t have to actually commit a sin to be sinful. We are born that way. This understanding should greatly increase our relationship with God when we realize that we cannot “do” anything to deserve Heaven. In the same way and possibly a bit more contentious may be the idea that we cannot do anything that would keep us out of heaven either. Does this mean that we can sin at will and expect to gain Heaven? The obvious answer is no due to the fact that the Holy Spirit lives in us and is our strength in these matters. What this does mean is that the act of sin is a result of a sinful heart. God looks upon our heart. Think about Jesus’s admonition about adultery or murder. If we lust after the person in our hearts we have committed adultery already and likewise with murder. It is a matter of our soul (heart). If we try to “be good” in our actions we are only fooling ourselves. It is only when we address the problem of original sin that we begin to get at the heart of the matter.
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