Questions about Christianity?

Question

Please read, consider and answer my questions. My point is not to offend you but rather to understand the logic behind your beliefs.

Christians tell me that everyone is a sinner.

Question:

If you are a christian, why would you CHOOSE to sin if you know it offends your god and you are running the risk of an eternity in hell? (or are you allowed to sin all you want once you become a christian?)

Would you still choose to sin if a crazy man followed you everywhere with a boiling pot of oil and promised to dump it on you if you commit any sins?

Isn't true that deep down inside, a part of you doubts the existence of a god which is why you choose to sin.......because you aren't really afraid?

btw...if you are offended by these questions, you are having internal conflict with your faith and it has nothing to do with me. Think about it, if your faith is "rock solid", nothing could shake you.

David T: so you DON'T have free will? Free will is KEY to christianity....without it the whole thing falls like a house of cards.

iansand 98: but eternity in hell is???? That sounds like a reeeeeallll "loving" god. PLEASE.

John C: Please john, enlighten me. Please tell me what it means. Please answer my questions if you can....

squirrelcatcher: So you aren't worried about sinning because you know you can repent and get out of it? This sounds like a blank check to sin all you want as long as you repent........where is the "tipping point"???

mrdave76: Sorry you didn't get the analogy......boiling oil represents HELL. See the answer posted by "I've got a ruler!" Then please answer my questions.

MrDav76: boiling oil doesn't make sense to you? But Hell does? It is an analogy. Both are punishments for sinning. Why not face the facts. You CAN'T use logic to justify your point. All you have is faith.....which is like having nothing at all.

Answer 1

Of course, the believers either refuse to or will not see the burning oil for what it represents: the threat of hell. I am really begining to think that nobody will ever get through to them. Sad.

Answer 2

Good Q, looks like you offended many, but not me.. In the bible when Jesus forgave a sinner he said before departing 'go forth and sin no more'.. I get tired of all these people saying forgiveness is given freely to the believer.. If one truly believes the bible then once they are saved they would never sin again, or at the very least they would try a lot harder than what they do... The definition of repentance is clear 'to feel sorrow for wrongdoing or sinning'.. A true believer does an about-face to sin and is to totally walk away from it... I don't believe, as most believers do, that you can be forgiven of the same sin over and over again.. Once the change is made it should be made permanently.. Hell is translated from the Greek word Hades,and the Hebrew word Sheol which have one common meaning "the grave".. Peace be with you all of your days...

Answer 3

I am a Christian and yes, everyone is a sinner. Everyone has been a sinner since the fall of Adam and Eve. You are born a sinner and you are only human, even Christians, so therefore, it is natural for you to sin. Becoming a Christian doesn't automatically take your human nature away, human nature is to sin. As a Christian, when you know things are sinful, you should not partake in these things. As a human, you will mess up and do what you shouldn't. That is why Jesus died for our sins, because there is not one single human being capable of not sinning and being pure enough for the presence of God alone, only through Jesus' sacrafice at the cross are we made clean. God knows your true heart, if you sin, say forgive me, and do all over again, he knows you do not mean it from the heart and are not really sorry. If you sin, or as an example, addicts trying to get clean who have been saved, God knows if your in your heart you are truly sorry and just weak at the given point, or if you are a liar.

No, a Christian is not ALLOWED to sin all they want after being saved. The whole purpose of Christianity is to be CHRIST LIKE. We can never be totally sinnless on earth, but we are to strive to be as much like Christ as humanly possible.

No, it is not true deep down inside that we doubt the existence of God so we choose to sin.

Myself as a Christian, I know God is there, and I have felt his presence, something a non-believer could not understand, as they do not feel this same presence. I am not afraid of death, because death is only the beginning of eternity with God for me. God is real!!!!!

Answer 4

Everyone is a sinner other than Christ.

As a Christian I do my best not to sin, but just because I'm a Christian doesn't mean that I'm perfect. I still fall into sin. God trains me and grows me through them. I am not punished for them because the wager of sin is death and Christ died on my behalf. If I intentionally sin then I have never Been in the light.

"The greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with the lips and then walk out the door like nothing ever happened. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." -D.C. Talk

Answer 5

Well, you're not sincere at all, though you pretend to be ...
But for the benefit of others, perhaps,
The first principles of the Gospel are:
Faith and repentance ... but like so many other things in life, "the first shall be last and the last shall be first."
Faith and repentance will be with us til the day we die for almost everyone that has ever lived.

REPENTANCE, that is, genuine, lasting change, is a Lifelong Process, and like all processes, they take time.
We have spent an eternity or at least, all of our lives, acting in a certain manner, and often with multiple Types of sins, no matter how brilliant one may be, he will not be able to break all those lifelong habits and tendencies overnight.

Fortunately, although you have little idea of this, God knoweth ALL things, and He is the most patient and understanding of all in the universe; If He knows we are genuinely trying, He will wait until we completely get ALL of out act finally together - even if some of our weaknesses remain with us until our dying day, we will continue to repent because that will be our newfound converted disposition - even into the Afterlife.

Answer 6

Question 1. We are born sinful. It comes sooo natural to us. Paul talks about doing what he hates and not doing what he knows is right. It takes a lifetime to develop the character God wants us to have. It is a constant stuggle to give our selfish desires to him and accept his grace when we fall.
Question 2. That might be some good motivation to do what is right actually. Sometimes God punishes those he loves because it does turn us back to him. Kinda like a spanking. It hurts and makes the kid cry, but he always wants a hug from the one who just spanked him.
Q.3. Nope. The reason I sin has nothing to do with doubts about with God's existence(I have none). it has everything to do with why I repent.

Edit: My mind has pondered that as well. When will my sin ever be too great for God to forgive. Or Boy I really blew it that time, I pretty much slapped God right in the face by ignoring what I knew was right. I don't think he can forgive me anymore. But the Bible says it time and time again. My grace is sufficent for you. God's graces are new every morning. What it comes down to is a relationship. God does not toss us aside everytime we sin. He values us soo much. I can't promise God that I will never sin again. But I have promised him that I will never be too ashamed to come back to him asking for his forgiveness. That does not give me a blank check to sin, I have a relationship to build. I want the NET EFFECT of that relationship although it may have ups and downs to be an upward trend. And as I focus more on Christ the less I live in the flesh and more according to the Spirit. It is a changing that occurs because of Him. Not me trying hard not to sin. I trust that the One that started a good work in me will complete it. Phil.1:6 I hope this helps. I appreciate your honest inquisition and I am not offended by your questions.

Answer 7

you assume we are single minded and do what we want. If you think that of yourself decide U r not not going to breath and see how long that lasts. The flesh has desires to do things which while sometimes are fine other times are in error. Sin is an achery term meaning any arrow that does not hit the exact center is a sin. We as Christians do not always hit the exact center but not because it is, in my case, my desire. I just confess ask for more strength next time and move on, in a state of forgiveness I know and feel. It's like every failure is a step closer to the bullseye.

No there is no doubt !! those who have doubt do not have Jesus in their heart but that could be remedied.

Answer 8

Once I become a christian I'm not running the risk of eternity in hell. 1 John 5:13 says "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may KNOW that you have eternal life". As a christian I have assurrance about heaven. But while we are on this earth we are all under a curse. It's a cursed earth. The ground, the atmosphere and the animals are under a curse. So are we as humans. We are cursed with a nature that is evil. It always wants to sin. On top of that, there is satan and his angels who are always tempting us to sin. To counter that, when we become believers in Christ the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us and God gives us a new nature that always wants to follow God. So now there is a war going on inside of us, the old nature versus the new nature. No we are not allowed to sin all we want once we become a christian. A true christian will follow the spirits leading and choose not to sin most of the time. But we still have that old nature tempting us as well as satan and his angels and in moments of weakness, sometime we will sin. That's why we have 1John 1:9 which says " If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness".
You said "Would you still choose to sin if a crazy man followed you everywhere with a boiling pot of oil and promised to dump it on you if you commit any sins?" Probably not. But that's like asking a smoker who wants to quit smoking but can't beat the temptation if he would quit if his body changed and everytime he took a smoke his body went into 24 hours of torture. I imagine all of his excuses about not being able to quit would go down the drain the first time he had to experience the 24 hours of torture. After that he would never smoke again. The fact is, there is no crazy man following us with a bioling pot and sometimes we just give into temptation. A true christian does not want to sin. But he's not perfect, YET. A true christian becomes born again in a moment of time. After that he enters a lifelong process called sanctification where the Lord is gradually changing him into the image of Christ. The farther along in that process, the less you will find yourself sinning. But as long as you are in this body you will never be totally free from sin. Once you die and get your resurrection body then we will be perfected and will be free from sin.
No it's not true that we doubt the existence of God. I never doubt the existence of God. Once we totally turn our lives over to Christ, the Lord promises that he will gradually make us Christlike. He doesn't promise perfection. Not in this body. You are asking for perfection. A lot of people think they are perfect and sinless. All they've done is re-define sin so that they come in under the radar. Romans 3:23 says" for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". If you have a lustful thought, that's a sin. If you have anger in your heart toward anyone, that's a sin. If you tell a little white lie, that's a sin. If you're jealous of someone because he has something that you don't have, that's a sin. If sin is properly defined, it is clear that all will sin in this life.

Answer 9

I ask myself that very same question all the time. Everyone sins, and God's word makes no claims that Christian do not or will not sin. If the Bible said that Christians don't sin then the argument you present would makes sense, but it doesn't. Your judging God based on what I do, and not on him or what his Word actually says. I'm not afraid because Jesus died for my sins and bridges the distance between myself and God. I choose to sin because it is in my nature. However, I do have faith in God. I faith that he is who he is. That he is going to do what he says he will do. So, yes doubts arise, and I will have to wait for all of eternity to find out if God will keep his word. Everyday my faith in God grows more and more.

Answer 10

not offended by those questions - i find those kinds of questions interesting. I also think you have a good understanding of the message of christianity so please do keep asking questions whenever you perceive something like this

the thing is we sin because we are sinners - not the other way about

we are born sinners - our actions are tainted with it throughout our lives

however we are given an 'out' through the blood of Jesus - the bible says that to willingly choose to continue sinning is like putting Jesus through his ordeal on the cross a second (and subsequent) times.

If you love Jesus (and as Christians yes you DO love Jesus) then you wouldn't want to do that

some people their love for Jesus goes cold and they run a risk of returning to their old ways hence they continue to sin after backsliding

thankfully judgment day when we are held accountable isn't until the end of our lives which i believe is God's mercy to us but no way is that a license to continue sinning when you know better.

Answer 11

no christian would choose to sin,who told you that? perhaps no one would because we all know it offends your god ,my god ie 'our god'.there is only one god remember?
if at all a crazy man followed me with a boling pot of oil i would be dead by now because i may commit sin every next day.thats because i am not perfect,i am a human and sometimes tend to give in to worldly pleasures.i may commit a sin unknowingly and repent later.
its true deep down within me i feel the presence of god which is why i choose not to sin ,that is why i repent everytime i sin ,that is why i know i have done a mistake and have to put things right,that is why i may tend to follow the wrong path but yet i return back and then take the right path.failures are leading a step towards success!
there's no crazy man folowing me but there is satan who tries to trap us by making siily interpretations about our religon ,our beliefs.