What should the attitude of the Christian be toward sin?
Romans 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
Jude 1:23 and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
Hebrews 6: 18 that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
In the first two scriptures we are called to have an attitude of hatred or abhorrance( 1.detest something: to disapprove of or reject something very strongly) (bing dictionary). In the third passage we see the attitude of running away from where we were to where we are going. In each of these passages we can easily see that the Christian's attitude should be one of repulsion from sin. When a man gets saved they are to have renounced sin and forsaken sin. Yet they still retain a sin/carnal nature and it is this enemy which is within that desires to sin and gratify fleshly lusts. At the point of sanctification the sin/carnal nature is removed and with it the desire to sin.
How can a sanctified man/woman be tempted to sin if they have no desire to sin? This seems to be a hard question in light of
James 1:14 until two things are noticed
1. the definition of temptation:
1: to entice to do wrong by promise of pleasure or gain
2a obsolete : to make trial of : test b : to try presumptuously : provoke <tempt fate> c : to risk the dangers of
3a : to induce to do something b : to cause to be strongly inclined <was tempted to call it quits>
Webster's Dictionary
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enticeFull Definition of ENTICE : to attract artfully or adroitly or by arousing hope or desire : tempt
To be tempted to sin is nothing more that have sin offered to you. This does not mean that you want to sin or that you desire to sin it just means to have it offered to you.
2. A correct understanding of the word "lust" as it used in the passage.
Strong's Number: 1939
Definition
desire, craving, longing, desire for what is forbidden, lust
King James Word Usage - Total: 38
lust 31, concupiscence 3, desire 3, lust after 1
The word used here can be used in either a good sense or an evil sense. In
Luke 22:15 Jesus uses this word to describe His desire too eat the passover with the disciples. In Phil 1:23 Paul uses the same word to express his desire to be with Christ. In
1Thess 2:17 Paul again uses the same word to show his desire to see the bretheren face to face. Therefore it can be seen that the word lust/desire can be used in conection to things that are not wrong. In the case of the james 1 the word used can be seen to mean a lawful desire that satan attempts to attract (see definiton of entice above). An example of this can be seen in that God gave us the desire to eat but not to be gluttons, God gave us the desire (and command) to reproduce but not to fornicate or to commit adultery, God gave men and women the desire to look nice and presentable but not the desire to vainity, pride or arrogance. God gave mankind the appreciation of fine things such as art but tnot the desire to steal it. The desire that the devil attempts to entice in temptation may very well be perfectly fine and godly in and of itself but when it lends itself to evil it becomes sin.
All temptation is in a saint is simply a good desire being offered the chance to be gratified in a sinful way, but this in no way demands the desire to sin, just the desire for what is God sanctioned and the opportunity to misuse it.
Threaded Mode
