If all sins are forgiven, then what is the motivation not to sin?

Answer 1

there is none, i've been asking questions along you line of thinking.... i totally see where you're coming from!

Answer 2

IF all sins are forgiven, then there is no motivation not to sin... however the problem here is that word IF... the truth is not all sins are forgiven. This doesn't mean that God can't or won't forgive sin, however since a repentant heart is require for forgiveness... and repentance means "to turn away from", a person who keeps committing sin thinking "all I have to do is say forgive me and all will be well" has not turned away from his sin.

Answer 3

Perhaps whether or not certain behavior represents your true nature.

If you know in advance that your whole life is self-creation, and that sins are already forgiven, one motivation not to do wrong is that it does not represent what you truly are.

Thus one would not steal because he/she already knows that robbery/theft is contrary to his/her true nature.

Rather than fearing penalty from God, which is another long story, I've lived a better life by not fearing God at all. Instead I live better knowing that acts of immorality or injustice are just not what I am.

Answer 4

Love.

The synonym of sin is offense. It is that guilty feeling you get when you have wronged someone. God gave the 10 commandments to define sin for us, to be used as an absolute guideline, and as such the laws of our government are based on them. Breaking the law... do not kill, do not steal, etc... brings about justice and consequence. Motivation not to "sin".

The first 4 laws pertain to God. He is a God of justice, and will give to each of us the consequences for our sins. Christians are still required to ask for forgiveness for the sins they commit after they are saved. There are still consequences for sin. Motivation not to "sin".

There is a better way. Love covers a multitude of sins. If we truly caring about and love God and other people, we would not sin against them. Jesus said that all the law was contained in the statement "love God with all your heart, mind, soul , and strength, and love others as we do our self." If you love someone, you willing try not to offend or hurt them. Love is motivation not to sin.

Through Jesus Christ, God has shone His love, mercy and grace toward us. Though we do not deserve it, He forgives us and restores our relationship with Him. If you have hurt and offended someone, your relationship is broken until that person forgives you. You generally have to repent, to say that you are sorry for what you have done. You can only do this if you love and care about them, and they feel the same toward you. Then your relationship can be restored.

Sin destroys relationship, so the wages of sin is death. In our case with God, it is the death of our souls as well. Christ died in our place, taking the consequences of our sin and paying the penalty for us before God. He redeemed us and saved us from our sin. Having been forgiven, at the cost of the life of God's own Son, how could we turn and sin against Him again? Motivation not to "sin".

Those who believe that God sent His Son to save us are restored into a relationship with the living God. We enter into this new covenant by the blood of Christ, and are identified, adopted as children of God, through Him. We are sealed, and know this by the power of His Holy Spirit, which now lives with us... guiding, teaching, keeping His laws written upon our hearts.

No greater love has a man than to lay down his life for a friend. Jesus did that for us. We do that for God. It is the most ultimate expression of love one can experience here on earth. Would anyone want to trash this, not care about it... to continue to sin against God or other people? The ultimate motivation not to sin!

Answer 5

your love and fear(reverance) for God.
Sins are forgiven to those who ask for there sins to be forgiven. All things are gone through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father(God)

Answer 6

your always trying to be christ like, although all sins are forgivin, how can you love your self if you know that you are continually doing wrong? somewhere along the lines your conscience is gonna kick in! not that your not supposed to sin, but your supposed to grow and attempt not to sin anymore, because at any given time you could die, and without asking for the forgiveness your still accountable for sins known and unknown.

Answer 7

For a sin to be forgiven, you must

(1) ask God to forvige you, and

(2) be sincere in your request

most people who sin on a regular basis will fail the second test.

Answer 8

Simple. The motivation NOT to sin is the eternal punishment of Hell. It is a painful, hurtful, ETERNAL separation from God and all things near and dear to you for refusing the path of salvation. The punishment is sever to reflect the discord between light and darkness and to bear witness to the separation of good and evil from one another. They simply cannot exist in the same plane, so the motivation to stay sinless lies in ones' WILL to live for Christ. The Scripture plainly states, "For to live is Christ and to DIE is GAIN!"

Answer 9

Presumably, sins are only forgiven if you're not trying to "game the system" by living it up to your heart's content and then saying "I'm sorry" before heading out to do it again. :)

Answer 10

All sins have been forgiven, but just because they are forgiven does not give us a license to sin...

The Apostle Paul says this in Romans...

CHAPTER 8
Life in the Spirit
1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power* of the life-giving Spirit has freed you* from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature.* So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) 10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life* because you have been made right with God. 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.
12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters,* you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature,* you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children* of God.
15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children.* Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”* 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

Matt

Answer 11

Known as the double bind, its an impossible request