GOM, my friend Bill (a conservative Pentecostal) and I were in his car one day when he was cut off by a car with a Jesus fish and that bumper sticker. Now, Bill is normally the most mild-mannered man possible, but he can let you know he’s irritated about something in a very quiet way. His comment referenced the self-proclaimed Christian driver who’d cut him off: “Yeah – but did he have to prove it?!?” 
My $0.02–
In LDS theology, when we repent of our sins and are baptized, AT THAT MOMENT we are free from all sin. However, that is not a free pass, a get-out-of-hell-free card that enables us to do whatever we want, and it won’t count. We are required to “endure to the end”, and consciously abstain from sinning in order to get the rewards. There must be a continuing process of repentance, since we keep sinning, even without really meaning to hurt anyone.
I don’t know if that explains anything very well, but what do you expect for 2 cents!!
I don’t think that it’s my place to even presume to guess.
But that isn’t the point.
It has always seemed to me that “being dead to sin” means that with the help of the Spirit, I have the ability to resist temptation. There is no longer any sin that is so strong, that has such a great pull that I can ever say “just couldn’t help myself,” because that wouldn’t be true.
The problem is that I don’t always resist. I do still sin. I am a sinner, and I have even less of an excuse for my sin as I know better and could have resisted. I believe that I have the freedom not to sin, I just don’t always use it.
Yeah, several other people already said it- “freed from sin”, not, “free from sin”. As I understand it once we’ve committed ourselves to Christ we are no longer helplessly chained to our sinful desires, but we still give in- at least I do, all the time.
I have no opinion about the girl, either. No one but God is capable of judging her state of salvation.
You’ve reminded me of a story about an Eastern Orthodox saint, where the saint’s doing an exorcism and the demon challenges him, “Who are the sheep in Scripture, and who are the goats?” And the saint replies, “Only Christ knows who the sheep are, but as for myself, I am one of the goats.” And the demon screams in pain and says, “Because of your great humility I am driven away…”
I am a Catholic.
An Orthodox one.
I sin every fuckin’ day.
Does that answer the question a little?
Only as regards your own particular religion.
Now, I could be remembering incorrectly, but when I attended Nazarine Church in Port Orchard, WA. back when I was a young tyke, I believe it was taught to us youngsters that, once we were “saved”, sin was banished from our lives forever. More recently, I believe I’ved read statements for James Dobson of Focus On The Family that he is saved and thus does not sin. I know I’m gonna get called on that one, so not only did I add the qualifier “I believe”, I’m going to do some research on it.
MHO of Christians sinning
In 1Crinthians 5 it tells of a man in the church of Corinth that had sinned and the Church disfellowshipped him, through this disfellowship the man became repentant of his actions. In 2Corinthians 2 Paul tells the Church at Corinth to forgive and comfort him.
1John 2:1
2:1 - My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
If we do sin we can pray for forgiveness through Jesus.
Take me for instance, my daughter had been engaged to this boy. They had been dating for around 8 months or so. One night he tried to beat her. Well it took me two days to get him. When I did I told him I would blow his ****ing brains out if he ever touched her again.
I knew I had done wrong, and I really felt bad about this. So I prayed for forgiveness, and re-dedicated my life to Christ.
I couldn’t take communion until I had done this. Because it says in 1Corinthians 11:23-32
23For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread: 24and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.
27Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 31For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
I judged myself and was chastened of the Lord, I can only pray for the best on judgment day.
Really? I’d never heard of Falwell commiting adultery. Do you have a cite for this?
I thought he just confused Falwell with Bakker. That’s how I read it, anyway.
Nobody has answered my question.
What is sin?
What is sin?
Look to your heart, and ask that question of the Lord. In your heart, you know why you do the things you do. Don’t just ask for forgiveness for those things you know are sins. Put your whole heart before God. Ask Him to decide what is sin. And ask to be made whole, again, that you might begin again, to walk in the Word. Do it every day.
But do not be proud that you do not sin. Do not be even content that you do not sin. What is it to bring joy to the Lord or to our brothers if I can say only that I have not sinned? Should I serve my Lord this way? Love! Do that which love requires. Do all those things that defy hatred, and confound evil. Sin is insidious. Silence can be sin. Doing nothing can be a sin.
If I have been given the love of God Almighty, freely, and without limit, then isn’t it a shame that I cannot give a bit of love to those who despise me? Isn’t it a shame? What brings shame out of us? Sin.
So, love is no sin. I am not sure about most other things.
However, I repeat what I said before. I am a Christian. I sin. He forgives me. It doesn’t mean that I am free to sin. He forgives me, and He is the Son of God, whom I love dearly. I don’t want to do what brings him sorrow. The often use jibe that something “Makes Baby Jesus Cry” is generally intended as a denigration of the matter of faith and sorrow over sin. Well, it is wrong on two counts. Jesus isn’t a baby, anymore. He grew up. And when He cries, it isn’t over our sins, but over our souls.
Tris
Rejection of love.
Rejection of love is lonliness, not sin. Sin is a religious term refering to the breaking of religious rules.
Why, thank you, Pope Czar I. 
But I’ll just go my own way, if you don’t mind. 
We are not sinners because we sin,
we sin because we are sinners!
At least my way isn’t so vague as to be rendered meaningless. Are you claiming that “sin” isn’t a religious term? Are you saying that when you break a religious law of your particular sect it isn’t called “sin”? Are you saying that people that are lonely are “sinning”? Which specific part of my personal definition do you find fault with?
I’m saying what I said. And I find no fault with you. I don’t begrudge you your private moral journey.
“What is sin?” sounds to me like a whole new Great Debate. Actually, I think we might have tackled it recently, so I’m going to back off on that question in this thread.
Libertarian, love, I could never overlook you. I just hadn’t worked out a good response to your first post, and, since I’m just scanning through and trying to catch up, I’m afraid I still haven’t. I’ll see what I can do about giving it a shot, though.
His4Ever, believe it or not, it sounds like we’re on the same page for a change.
GOM, I saw that same bumper sticker on a minivan once. The problem is, it was parked in a handicapped spot at a local restaurant, and there weren’t any handicapped plates, tags, etc. on it. I was having dinner with a couple of friends who I greatly enjoy talking religion with and who know I spend a certain amount of my time trying to give non-Christians a better impression of Christians and Christianity in general. I think I muttered something about the folks in the minivan not making my job any easier.
Czarcasm, I read the same thing about Dobson in an article in The Door Magazine. I don’t think they keep their archives on-line and this was some years ago, but I think I’ve still got a copy of it around here somewhere. I’ll root through my back issues and see if I can find it. That article was what first introduced me to the idea that some Christians believe they stop sinning once they become Christian, and it’s still something I keep thinking I must have misinterpreted somewhere.
Hermann Cheruscan, I could have sworn Falwell was one of several, but it was over a decade ago. Maybe it was Swaggart? As I recall, what got the Bakkers in trouble was more greed than anything else, but that’s also another topic.
I agree with what several people here about how Christians are supposed to strive to be perfect. Whether or not we can attain that perfection is something else I suspect we’ll get some disagreement on. As a friend of mine reminded me today, part of Paul’s letter to the Galatians was spent telling them that being Christians was no excuse for all sorts of licentious behaviour. If I go out tomorrow and call someone an ignorant twit, I am forgiven, but it doesn’t make my action any less wrong (even if they were an ignorant twit). I’m also not supposed to do that, and, ideally, I should respond with love should someone call me an ignorant twit. Please don’t try that out here, though.
Please do keep posting, and Libertarian, I’ll try to come up with a decent response to your first post and I will look in your thread on love. You do go over my head, sometimes, though.
CJ