Re: Hi #4964

The message that sin is wrong, bad, ungodly and unholy is correct, but the message that you should avoid sin because of fear, shame or guilt is wrong. The fact is that sin would exist regardless of the DETERRENT of the curses mentioned on the website. The whole human race has been under a curse since the Garden of Eden, and HUMAN NATURE (God says human nature is human folly) means that we will not be able to keep the law PERFECTLY (the TEN COMMANDMENTS) because of the limitations of the flesh. The thought that a Christian should be motivated by fear, shame or guilt is SERIOUSLY misguided. It is not MAN (the flesh) who should be the cause of a Christian stopping sinful behavior, it is the love for (and respect of) your fellow human being made in the image of God (or do you not have a genuine concern for the welfare of your fellow man as the Good Samaritan did?). Of course, sexual sin, if it involves another person (if it doesn't, it's still also a sin against your body, the temple of the Holy Spirit), is a sin AGAINST GOD, but what is really (inherently, aside from God's word) harmful about it is that it fosters a sloppy, disrespectful attitude towards your fellow human being (dishonorable passion leads to a base mind, Romans 1:26 and 28) and life itself which leads to mistreatment of your fellow human being. Do you think God makes rules (laws) simply as obstacles for us to navigate? No, Christianity is not an obstacle course. The motivation to lead a Christian lifestyle should not be fear, shame or guilt. It is only the BEGINNING of wisdom that is the FEAR of God, but now He wants us to call Him friend and love Him with ALL our heart, mind, soul and strength. Everyone must accept RESPONSIBILITY for their own actions, but I would not impose GUILT on them because guilt is not edifying and leads to low spirits. It is possible to be disappointed in someone when they fail at something when they knew better, or embarassed because of their behavior, but SHAME is not something I would ever dare associate with what God has made (especially the creation in His own image). Satan is tricky and subtle, he knows that the words we use are very important, we don't just SAY them, we LIVE them. Those 3 words,...FEAR, SHAME, GUILT are not what a Christian should live by (which is why I so often speak of CONSCIENCE). Tweet