Under Christian doctrine, what is the penalty for sin?

Question

Under Christian doctrine:

Are Christians given a free pass and able to sin all they want for their entire lives?

If not, what must be done to atone or repent for sin?

If you have sinned, please explain how you repented.

If you have not sinned, please so state.

Thanks.

Answer 1

no a christian has to repent just as anyone should and I have confessed my sins to God and also a priest this was just to make you truly sorry for sins if you have to confess to another person it is harder and better for the healing also you repent by public acts or prayer or community service in the my church

Answer 2

J T,

The Bible clearly states that the "wages of sin, is death". If you study the scriptures long enough, you will find that it is not the same as breaking a law, and paying the penalty. It is not really a matter of balancing the scales of God's Justice, as so many believe. Not many people understand the true nature of sin. They think there is a heavenly list of do's and don'ts, and if you violate the rules of heaven, you must pay the price. In fact, that is not the case. The more accurate definition of sin, is the rejection of God's will. God is not some omnipotent Policeman in the Sky, waiting to mete out unrelenting justice. He is our Father. When we refuse to live our lives according to His teaching and guidance, the natural result is pain and suffering, and death. If we wish to enter eternal life, we must comply with His will. All of the suffering that takes place on this planet, is the result of rejecting God's leadership in our lives. Because we are not placing ourselves under the Authority of the Spirit of God, we make very poor decisions. The inevitable result, is death. That is why the wages of sin, is death. We are not equipped, to know the future, and see what will happen when we decide to do such and such a thing. God, however, knows the end from the beginning. When we give Him total power over our lives, He guides us into the paths of Life. True repentance, only occurs when you make the decision to be God's child. That means, you always defer to Him in all areas of your life, and make His will, your will. Far from taking our freedom and fun, this gives us peace, and joy, and greatly relieves the burdens of life. As far as atonement is concerned, I believe that our Father, is fully capable of forgiving those who are truly sorry for their errors. If this is not true, then how did Enoch, Elijah, and Moses, enter the Kingdom before Jesus was born?

Answer 3

Sin is an act or choice contrary to God's will, or that seperates us from God- either because He cannot look upon it or because it causes us to act differently towards Him.

If we are allowing ourselves to be led by the spirit of God (or directed by higher standards than our base instincts), then we are chosing consistantly WITH God and will be rewarded directly or indirectly.

If we consistantly choose against God, or follow our base instincts, we demonstrate that we wish to have nothing to do with God and therefore will spend eternity apart from Him, according to what our heart or innermost being demonstrates it wants.

Repentence is simply the act of demonstrating that you are sorry for your sin and will strive to avoid it in the future. Saying you are sorry may be sufficient in many cases, and falling again is often just human nature.

The question will be 'what is in your heart or innermost thoughts'? A true desire to do better, to improve, to serve others, etc. should manifest itself in actions. Giving lip service to changing will manifest itself in a total lack of change.

Can Christians sin freely? Heck no. If they really love God and are trying to follow His plan, WHY would they do things that hurt the relationship between them? Sure, stumbling happens, and is easily forgiven. Any 'christian', however, how thinks that they can sin freely (including hating others as part of some screwed up belief) and pay lip service to worship or following God will be very surprised to discover that God is not fooled- and neither were most of us.

So, the process is:
1. Choose to do or think something that seperates you from God.
2. Recognize you sinned (sometimes the hardest part, but I don't think that unknown sin really counts since it would not be the result of a conscious act or thought.)
3. Ask God (and others as needed) for forgiveness
4. Do what you think is right to fix things
5. Go on with your life.
6. Repeat as needed.

For many 'christians', the process is:
a) do what you want
b) if you get caught or your conscious bugs you, do some public act of contrition- saying you are sorry, contribute money, etc.
c) feel bad for a while, maybe, and maybe even talk about changing something.. for a while
d) repeat freely

Notice that even for those who do not believe in a god that the first process results in positive personal and societal changes, while the second process increases entropy in the universe.

Answer 4

Every one sins. You can't get away from it.
Atone is not the appropriate verb here.
You ask for forgiveness. Simple.
When we stand before the Lord we will have to account for our lives here, good or bad.
This is a simplified answer. It can get pretty complicated but, Jesus said even a child will understand.

God Bless.

Answer 5

I think they are forgiven if they repent. For example, in Catholicism, you can confess your sins and the priest tells you to say a certain number of "Hail Mary"s. At least that's what they show in the movies.

Answer 6

The central tenant of Christianity is that all sin is forgiven the moment a person accepts Jesus as their sacrificial substitute.

According to them: The wages of sin are death.
So Jesus had to die.

Yes..... they have a free pass.

Answer 7

Sin is/was a method of control. Penalty of sin is guilt. Guilt leads to mental problems.

I repent by understanding this.

Sin is an artificial construct of our culture. It is a method of authorities to have control. From here the journey to self-awareness begins...

Answer 8

You have to examine you intentions and actions and pray that Jesus Christ will take away the desire to sin. Sin is violating the ten commandments which includes internalizing any hatreds or lusts and making them your own.

Answer 9

You repent and ask forgiviness otherwise hell is where you be going!

Answer 10

at the end of the day, look back and inventory actions, words, thoughts, and ask for forgiveness..............