What does "Practicing Sin" Mean?

[Graph1159]

I hear a lot of commentaries draw a contrast between "practicing sin" verses other forms of sinning. For instance, many have said that when 1 John 5:18 says that those born of God "do not sin" what it really means is that they do not practice sin.

However, I would like to know if you have any insights on the connotation of "practice." For example, a musician practices music in the sense that he or she makes a conscious effort to improve one's performance of music via repetition and studying new techniques. We also talk of a doctor's practice in the sense that the doctor is studying new forms of treatment with the goal of continually becoming a more effective physician.

Following the analogy, if a person is practicing sin, it means that the person is making an effort to become "better" at a particular sin. True believers will not make this their mission.

Getting back to the musical analogy, I don't think that people who casually whistle or hum while going about their business are practicing music. It's just natural to them. They are not trying to become better whistlers or hummers.

Now, suppose that music were to be sinful. In that case, true believers may still whistle on their way to work, but they will not seek to improve their tonality via study and repetition. Of course, as the Holy Spirit works within them, they will whistle less. But total ceasing of whistling would not be expected in order to be a true believer.

Am I on the right track with this?

[guest5685]

Hi Graph,

I got a kick out of reading your question! I mean by that I enjoyed it. I somehow think they are speaking of a person that is intentionally walking after the works of the flesh.

Then again maybe they are practising as practice MAKES PERFECT!  :punish:

[Seth]

In 1 John 5:18 the part "continue to sin" is translated from hamartenai which is a form of the word hamartia, to sin. I have always understood continuance in sin to be a steady committed lifestyle in it, rather than a slip.

[rosered]

 
  Hi   Graph1159   :banana:

  Good short answer   He1MyHeart!! :thumbsup:

This may sound nuts to you    , but  there is no other way to explain it  except   , just keep praying to GOD for your answers , when He quickens it [gives it  life /Spirit ] , you know , no doubts  ever again on a matter ..

I  know reading the scriptures help , seeing and searching  for yourself   ... 
   Romans 7 and 8   are most helpful scriptures  about  sin    and how we can over come it though Jesus Christ      , it takes the mind of Christ , to me there is no other way around that  one ...

I will just say this  much on  it , for me , when did you become sin conscience ?     

  For me that is the first step    in understanding ,  how one would keep practicing   on sinning  , doing the same erroneous

  things over and over again  , KNOWING how much you are grieving the Holy Spirit   desiring  very much  to work in you ...

I will say the Holy one in you , being the   HOLY SEED OF THE SPIRIT does  not sin , error at all

  But can be   quenched  ..  put out    making the last state   worse than the first  , before all  the     cleaning you   up by   God  happened   

      Personally  experiencing      the  coming of Christ in you by the Fathers   choosing  , to give you some  kind of relief      after by the law of sin and death      wakes you up to the great lack    of God  in your life  those things that need to die in you  , taking off the old garment of red / and putting on the new man  /garment in Christ  white , being  the focus on Him only .
   Jesus is the one whom sweeps the  house , your mind and cleans it up ready for the Holy Spirit to dwell in you     

  the Holy Spirit will not  come if   , you continue to  defile the  temple [ house ] basically your body   , for them to dwell in ...

  This is the shortest  and direct   answer I can give    on the  practicing  sin ,  means you have ignored your calling  /visit    ,  to me

Hope this helps  some how and   in some way  :2c:
   Having  the simplicity of Christ    though Love  of God  for everyone's   best intentions   at heart    .

[rosered]

In 1 John 5:18 the part "continue to sin" is translated from hamartenai which is a form of the word hamartia, to sin. I have always understood continuance in sin to be a steady committed lifestyle in it, rather than a slip.

  Amen Seth ,   :thumbsup:

  Though you may stumble  7 times the Lord is able to make you stand ...     

I do believe it is exercising faith in God , them works   will not leave you void of understanding     what God wants for you  though the working of Jesus Christ   to the full measure    , without ceasing     

[eaglesway]

 :iagree: Seth.

[anti_nietzsche]

It's a form of madness. Anything that deluges reason and then peace can really disturb you. It blocks good thoughts and you become really weird.

I think there is a difference between saying, this is a sin or this is an evil. Sin has to do with transgression, and in that there are elements of genuine seduction to the mind. Like, someone says here is the line you may not cross, and then you experience a pull to cross the line in spite of the commandment, like in "do not covet". That is how living after the commandments is a lesson we get in life's school, but it is only ONE lesson and there are many others. We shall not be awful people but then again we shall not see perfect justice in being law-abiding as well. Following mitzvot that is being done as a spiritual path where you can have fun with God is cool, but following Mitzvot or you would be damned becomes a very uncool thing.

[rosered]

It's a form of madness. Anything that deluges reason and then peace can really disturb you. It blocks good thoughts and you become really weird.

I think there is a difference between saying, this is a sin or this is an evil. Sin has to do with transgression, and in that there are elements of genuine seduction to the mind. Like, someone says here is the line you may not cross, and then you experience a pull to cross the line in spite of the commandment, like in "do not covet". That is how living after the commandments is a lesson we get in life's school, but it is only ONE lesson and there are many others. We shall not be awful people but then again we shall not see perfect justice in being law-abiding as well. Following mitzvot that is being done as a spiritual path where you can have fun with God is cool, but following Mitzvot or you would be damned becomes a very uncool thing.

  For me  , All sin produces  evil  and is Lawlessness / death

  Breaking Gods laws  is exposing the man of sin works  by   his doing evil = lawlessness/death  2 Thessalonians 2
   Jesus Christ is the only   way    being the   TRUTH   way and Life 

[eaglesway]

It's a form of madness. Anything that deluges reason and then peace can really disturb you. It blocks good thoughts and you become really weird.

I think there is a difference between saying, this is a sin or this is an evil. Sin has to do with transgression, and in that there are elements of genuine seduction to the mind. Like, someone says here is the line you may not cross, and then you experience a pull to cross the line in spite of the commandment, like in "do not covet". That is how living after the commandments is a lesson we get in life's school, but it is only ONE lesson and there are many others. We shall not be awful people but then again we shall not see perfect justice in being law-abiding as well. Following mitzvot that is being done as a spiritual path where you can have fun with God is cool, but following Mitzvot or you would be damned becomes a very uncool thing.

Following mitzvot that is being done as a spiritual path where you can have fun with God is cool, but following Mitzvot or you would be damned becomes a very uncool thing.

I understand what you are saying. Altho I would characterize it more as doing righteousness for the love of God and the joy of life :o), but I think that is wht you mean by "fun". The fear of damnation does not produce a walk of true righteousness, and certainly not one of true joy. Keeping the laws concerning conduct do have benefit however, in the preservation of ones life- because the consequences of lawless acts and attitudes are detrimental and cumulative. The idea is that as one becomes more and more aware of their inability to walk in love and righteousness in their own strength, they "call upon the name of the Lord" and grace becomes the way to righteoouseness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

When we contend with God, He still loves us and yet will allow us to experience certain consequences- and thats no fun at all :o)


You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;

and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,
            "MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD,
            NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM;

           FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES,
            AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES."

It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

[Rhodes]

I think your answer is what you have been writing about on your Wordpress blog. The last 3 entries I see you have been coming to the same conclusions in each post. No one can stop sinning if they focus on not sinning. We learn to focus on the new life that we have been given, the righteous life that we ARE now that we have passed from death to life in Jesus Christ. As sister Rose said the seed of Christ in us does not sin...and we are in Him. So we do not set aside the grace of God by trying not to sin....that approach is Romans 7 and leads to bondage to sin....but in any case we end up crying out to Father for deliverance....and invariably we go back into bondage again and again until we truly learn(chastening) who we are and what we are.

1Jn 3:2  Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
1Jn 3:3  And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
1Jn 3:4  Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.
1Jn 3:5  And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.
1Jn 3:6  Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

If not sinning is a matter of will power then there is no hope for most of us. Who will deliver me? My will power? Nope. I thank God through my Lord Jesus Christ!

We are in Him who is true...and who is able to keep us from falling and to present us blameless.
Thanks for the Blood Father! We are blood washed and clean before you, for your mercy is new every morning....fresh blood, fresh grace...fresh bread....new wine...ahhhh!
:cloud9:

[Graph1159]

Hi everyone,
Thank you all for your replies!

As Rhodes observed, my view as expressed on my other writings is that, to experience freedom from sin we need to focus on being free from sin. And, as rosered said, the problem is that many people are sin-conscious.

Where my analogy of practicing music in the original post comes into play is that, I am looking for a new framework in which we can think about ourselves as free from sin and sin-consciousness.

So, the idea that I recently hypothesized was that, when the Bible condemns people who talk the talk but don't walk the walk, it's talking about people who practice sin the same way that a musician practices music, as opposed to someone who hums a little ditty on the way to work.

The idea is that, this analogy could keep us from an unhealthy sense of self-scrutiny that leads to sin-consciousness and doubts about whether God is working with us.

But, do you think this analogy is valid in the first place?

Thank you!

[rosered]

Hi everyone,
Thank you all for your replies!

As Rhodes observed, my view as expressed on my other writings is that, to experience freedom from sin we need to focus on being free from sin. And, as rosered said, the problem is that many people are sin-conscious.

Where my analogy of practicing music in the original post comes into play is that, I am looking for a new framework in which we can think about ourselves as free from sin and sin-consciousness.

So, the idea that I recently hypothesized was that, when the Bible condemns people who talk the talk but don't walk the walk, it's talking about people who practice sin the same way that a musician practices music, as opposed to someone who hums a little ditty on the way to work.

The idea is that, this analogy could keep us from an unhealthy sense of self-scrutiny that leads to sin-consciousness and doubts about whether God is working with us.

But, do you think this analogy is valid in the first place?

Thank you!

Thank you !!! :HeartThrob:

I believe walking in the  Spirit  of Light and life is a beautiful thing ,  The truth sets you free in JESUS CHRIST ...He is our grace  and gift of God ...


  !https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=hebrews+12+&version=NASB
  Paul tried so hard to express this when He   said ,
    LET GO OF     sin /death    that besets us    , what we fear     most in being sinful  nature  in everyone ...  and LOOK  FOR JESUS   in them , the  very grace of God  and LIFE  in the Spirit & Truth !!
  to worship the Father  in Spirit &truth    , not sin and  death

  beset   be·set
bəˈset/
verb
1.
(of a problem or difficulty) trouble or threaten persistently.
"the social problems that beset the inner city"
synonyms:   plague, bedevil, assail, beleaguer, afflict, torment, rack, oppress, trouble, worry, harass, dog, harry
"he is beset by fears"
2.
archaic
be covered or studded with.

  John 4 23"But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth;


for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.


24"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."


25The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us."...

   Do we believe Jesus Christ is come  and went to sit on His throne with the Father   and will return  to us   again by the Spirit & truth  and dwell with us  on earth as it is in Heaven   
I DO !!    THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN/AMONG  YOU .....   http://biblehub.com/luke/17-21.htm

We all must learn to discern the Lords Body of believers     , past , present and future ,     this is The work  of the  Holy Spirit  Father   and Word / Truth, made flesh among us all     THE FATHER & SON

John 14 5Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?"


6Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. 7"If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him."... :HeartThrob:

No more doubting Thomases   ,  HE NOW KNOWS  AND SEES  GOD  GOD THE FATHER THOUGH THE SON ...

[anti_nietzsche]

I would still go by what I said. When I grew up I got an education in morals by various instances, my parents, school, other children, TV, books, other people. It was enough for me to learn to avoid things that seemed evil to me. But if you would introduce to people various laws, then you become seduced by the sin power in man to transgress these laws. Don't jump over the black line - I want to jump over the black line. The real deal in Christ is to learn about the law of freedom, which is the same as the law of faith. There is no transgression in faith. There is no transgression in freedom. But our conscience bears witness to us that our freedom has in it the potential for many good things. We are judged by a law of freedom, and in that law of freedom we are also sovereign about our lives. God has given us back the life that we had wasted. That is part of God's salvation.

[sheila]

To me it has more to do with His cleansing by His blood and His priesthood.....Hebrews 9;27,28  speaks of Christ appearing

again 'separate' from sin......to me..this is the why,wherefore of why those born of God do not continue 'practicing' sin.

  for when He appears..our life appears too..that is hidden in Him...and we find it..separate from sin.  a totally new creature......

   delivered from the bearing of sin in the flesh.

   Matthew 13;41

[rosered]

   :iagree:  Shelia  ,
  I know that   the law is written in their hearts   and they hear  what the Spirit is saying as the WORD   becomes   Living in my flesh ..
and begin to  practice  denying   those fleshly desires ......

A big one  , loving my enemies   and praying for them    ,my own selfish nature struggled  against   the Truth

Luke  6  26-30 Luke 6:26-30New Living Translation (NLT)

What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds,


    for their ancestors also praised false prophets.


"But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you.


Bless those who curse you.

Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also.

If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also.

Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don't try to get them back.

Letting go of earthly things   and trying to  obtain heavenly things   .

Obedience is better than sacrifice     , in other words    it is better to  do  what Jesus asks of us, than to be so sorry for blowing it  , when given  the chance

Stumbling     beats you up pretty badly   and the inner man and outer man both suffer  for sin / error .

[Dandelion]

Romans 8: 2 - 4

...2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit....

The law condemns us; the Gospel saves us.

We need both, but as the Lutherans say.....law and Gospel.......heavy on the Gospel.

D.    :2c:

[Ross]

" So, the idea that I recently hypothesized was that, when the Bible condemns people who talk the talk but don't walk the walk, it's talking about people who practice sin the same way that a musician practices music, as opposed to someone who hums a little ditty on the way to work."

I.M.O this is where Christ says many know about Me, but I never knew them.
Many read and study with sincere dedication. Used to do that.
True equality is our position "In Christ". This seems to be at His revelation and leading, not man's.
Paul says, "It is no longer I who lives.."  yet he is obviously still alive. He seems to be recognising Christ in me is the hope of all glory.
The many who talk the talk seem to be just like the Pharisees and scribes; they knew all the prophecies, laws etc, yet did not know Christ. Not their time to know, otherwise they would not have crucified Him. then He would not have been able to pay for the sins of all mankind.
Being aware of Christ's complete work removes, for me, the failure to have my errors paid for. Inspires correction, but increases the need for Him to guide me beyond mans' limitation. The spirit being greater than the flesh removes that fear and doubt.
So practising sin is gradually diminishing; will never be erased from the flesh, but the spirit cannot sin.
1 John 3;5,6 " And you know that He appeared to take away our sins, and that there is no sin in Him. No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning; no one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him."
1 John 3;9 " No one born of God makes a practise of sinning, because God's seed lives in him. HE CANNOT KEEP ON SINNING BECAUSE HE HAS BEEN BORN OF GOD."
I.M.O there is no sin in the spiritual being we become when born again BY GOD.
Paul talks about this whole scenario in Romans 7 ; Then says in Romans 8 the freedom from that struggle.

[Ross]

" [4] so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit....


Indeed the very point I was trying to make. Amazing how ALL things work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose.

[rosered]

SOOOOOOOOOOOOO   True Dandelion   and Ross ,!!! :banana: :banana: :banana:
  but  what comes first is      Romans 7    to me   BEFORE  Romans  8    :laughing7:   Before He  makes us ALIVE  by His own life giving Spirit


https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=++Romans+7&version=NLT