Do you suppose things go better for us when we don’t sin? In other words, will things go better for me if I don’t sin?
Perhaps sin is things that I can do that will hurt me.
But why does God disapprove of certain things?
In the time I have come to know you, you often raise many questions even after clear answers have already been given. Scripture certainly encourages honest inquiry and the pursuit of truth, yet it also calls believers to receive sound instruction with readiness and humility (~Proverbs 19:20; ~James 1:19).
For that reason I want to ask you something sincerely. Are you asking these questions because you genuinely want to learn and grow in understanding, as Scripture encourages us to do (~Acts 17:11; ~2 Timothy 2:15), or are your questions simply being raised repeatedly without a real intention to consider the answers that are given?
I ask this because the goal of discussion among believers should be mutual edification and the pursuit of truth, not endless disputes or arguments that lead nowhere (~2 Timothy 2:23–24; ~Titus 3:9).
Agree?
J.
Clear answers? Maybe there are things you aren’t seeing.
Define “better for me”.
Because I’d argue that we’d have to establish what metric we’re using to evaluate. If the question is, will I be more rich and successful, have nicer things, have food on my table, etc–then no, not necessarily. The metric of material success does not correlate with sin; as we discover in this world that quite frequently that it is the wicked who seem to prosper, while good people suffer all the time. Because there is an inherent injustice of this present world.
I would argue, however, that material success is a poor metric to determine ultimate good. I think, on that front, turning to St. Augustine where he speaks of the Summum Bonum (the highest, or ultimate good) is found alone in God; and that the chief good of the human person is living a truly full, and truly human life; which is a life defined by God’s good purpose and will, because human beings were created in God’s image, to reflect God’s own goodness out into creation. Thus the highest and ultimate good is a life lived in God in Christ. To be made perfectly in Christ’s image is what it means to ultimately be fully and truly human. Sin, quite objectively speaking, is the failure to be fully human. Sin is, quite by definition, “missing the mark”; and the mark, the goal, the telos of human life is found in Jesus, in God’s righteous commandments which tell us of true righteousness: to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
So are things better off for you with out sin? Yes of course, without sin you would be living into your full human vocation as an Image Bearer of the Good Creator God. But you don’t, and I don’t, because we’re sinners. As such the fullness we long and look for isn’t found here in this present age, but in the Age to Come, in the resurrection of the body, and in the renewal of all things. But we are called, here and now, as followers of Jesus to live in the hopeful and joyous anticipation of these things–by taking up our cross and following Jesus, by seeking God’s kingdom and living in accord, by the Spirit’s power, to God’s good commandments; and through a life of repentance.
This is the life of faith, hope, and love which we are brought into by God’s grace, through faith, by the power of the Spirit, in Jesus Christ. And it is hard, difficult–it’s a cross. But it is a far better thing to suffer for Christ than to live easy and selfishly for money, wealth, power, and comfort.
So, that brings us all the way back around: We need to define what “better for me” means.
All sin hurts you. In fact, it kills you.
I’m going to treat this as an honest question. “Why does God disapprove of certain things?” First, God did not create sin. As I said before, sin is not a created thing. It is the absence of right. God created sex in a marriage between one man and one woman. Sin is ANYTHING outside of that. God created life; sin is the murder of that life. God created Truth; a lie is the absence of truth.ETC. So why does God disapprove of sin? Just as a parent tells a child not to touch a hot stove, many Biblical prohibitions are framed as protective.
Because God is the Designer of life, the Bible suggests He knows exactly what leads to human flourishing and what leads to “death”.
“And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day.” Deuteronomy 6:24
God disapproves of things that cause harm to the individual or the community.
In the Bible, God’s nature is described as “Holy,” which means set apart and morally perfect. Because He is the standard of goodness, He naturally opposes anything that contradicts that goodness or what we know as sin.
“For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.” Psalm 5:4-5
A perfect light cannot coexist with darkness; God’s disapproval is often a natural reaction of His purity against things like injustice, pride, or cruelty. The Bible focuses heavily on the idea of God’s desire for a Covenant or a committed relationship with each of us. God often expresses disapproval of things that break the relationship with Him sucj as idolatry, or even adultery.
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”” Matthew 22:36-40
If an action destroys love or trust, God stands against it because He values the relationship above all else. Biblically, God’s “No” is usually a means to get to a better “Yes.” The disapproval of certain behaviors is often linked to the idea that humans were made for something higher, as in reflecting His image.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what the will of God is, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”Romans 12:2
Disapproval serves as a course correction to help people reach their full spiritual potential, and as Jesus tells us, a more abundant life.
Peter
Define “better for me”:
Less trouble.
According to St. Maximus the Confessor, human beings possess a natural will that is inherently oriented towards the good, which is God Himself, and after the fall, this natural orientation is clouded by the gnomic will, a deliberative mode of willing that introduces hesitation, self-interest, and the possibility of choosing against our true nature. God;s command not to sin is therefore not an arbitrary prohibition, but an expression of the divine will that humanity should live according to its created logos, its inner principle of being, and move toward its telos of participation in divine life.
In this framework, sin represents a movement away from communion with God, and consequently, a movement toward non-being. The human person was created in the image and likeness of God, with the vocation to become deified by grace. As St. Athanasius, in On the Incarnation, the Word became man so that man might become god by participation. Sin frustates this vocation by turning the person inward upon the self, fragmenting the unity of body, soul and spirit, and subjecting the person to the passions and ultimately to death.
God’s prohibition of sin is thus THERAPUTIC and ontological. The commandemnts serve as a guide for the healing of the spiritual intellect, and the restoration of right relationship with God, neighbour and creation. Obedience to God’s command is not coerced servitude but the path to true freedom, the freedom to become what one was created to be.
Human beings are not static, but dynamic, called to grow into ever-greater likeness to God through synergistic cooperation between divine grace and freedom.
The incarnation reveals the depth of this divine concern. In Christ, God does not simply issue a command from afar, He enters human nature, assumes it fully (without sin) and heals it from within. The divine commandments find their fulfillment in the person of Christ and in the uncreated energies of the Holy Spirit, which makes participation in divine life possible.
I like how you said that. And the moral law reflects divine nature which happens to be Love. So Love and Compassion for all men (& women) will not sin against them. It will love them. We wrestle not against flesh people anyway!
How are we supposed to be? All we have to do is read the OT, those people back then treated Enemies better than most people nowadays treat their friends!
1 Like
Bear in mind brother @Edward429451 that “love all, offend none” is nowhere in Scripture.
J.
1 Like