What is SIN?

[Godsdrummer]

Originally Posted by KeptByTheWord

That's a large commandment, isn't it!

So, we know that we are not to speed, and yet I imagine we have all done that at some point... is that sin? How serious does God consider the sin of speeding (breaking the law of the land)?

Not trying to make excuses, but when this passage was first brought to my attention when in high school, the implication was made just the way you seem to think in your reply.

Not the passage does not say, he that knows to do right to him it is sin. It says "good". I feel this goes to the greatest commandment, love God and your neighbor as yourself.

It is my personal feeling that we make too many things out to be sin, based on an implication. Paul deals with this issue I believe very well in Romans 14. Take for instance driving over the speed limit. We know we all do it at times, just because law dictates a speed limit does not make it a sin just because your driving down the road and happen to cross above the posted speed limit. But driving deliberately unsafely would in fact be wrong and it could be argued to be sin. Because now you are putting yourself and other in danger, thus NOT loving your neighbor as yourself.

Again in my opinion, those things we should be more concerned with are those things that fall under the command to love God and love your neighbor as yourself. Thus one would not commit adultery because that is against your neighbor, basically all the things Paul list as works of the flesh are counted as things that are against your neighbor.

Bottom line Jesus said when we fulfill "loving God and our neighbor as our self we fulfill the whole Law". Paul give a good balance of this in Romans 14, if we can grasp the elements of his teaching in this passage, we can lay to rest what is sin and what is not. Many things that are sin to one person are not to the next, and this is a principle we seem to forget.