If I do something illegal, is it a sin?

Question

Jesus did something illegal but supposedly he never sinned.

Answer 1

Good question. The bible says to obey the laws and leaders placed over you. To disobey that would be like sinning, but what if Hitler made a law to turn in all your Jewish friends for extermination? How could it be a sin to break that law? It would seem that legality and morality are two different things. Abortion is legal, but it's still murder. At one time, it was perfectly legal to own another person as a slave, but that didn't make it right. Marijuana is illegal, yet alcohol is not? Man's laws always change to suit public opinion, like Prohibition. God's law is eternal and never changes. I suppose that if you can be illegal, yet don't contradict God's law, then you're not sinning.

Answer 2

no. Sin is breaking god's laws. Obviously god didn't write all the laws of man so some laws can be broken without being sinful. But why do you care? Is sin even a valid concept? what if there is no god? What if when Jesus spoke things like "no one comes to the father but through me" he was referring to something so different from what those people of that time in that part of the world had come to think of as "god" but he just couldn't find a better word for it because none existed? It's still divine, but it's not...that god. With that you can throw pretty much all notions of "a god" having given a set of laws to man out the window (which seems to have been what he was saying, no?)

My two cents.

Answer 3

Don't confuse religious law with secular law. IF you are a religious person then religious law is all that matters and all that you are required to obey. Just becasue something is illegal doesn't make it sinful and vice versa, just becasue something is legal doesn't make it virtuous.

think of it this way...at the time when it was a crime to be a Christian, were those early Christinas commiting sin becasue they were doing something illegal by being Christian?

Just remember if there is nothing in your religious belifs that says something is wrong, then it's legality is irrelivant.

Answer 4

What did Jesus do that was illegal? He never sinned. He followed the will of His Father and He was head over all. Sin is sin, going against the law is also!

Answer 5

Yes if it is illegal then it is a sin. Unless it has to do with your religion. Like if believing in Jesus was illegal, then it would be a sin to follow the law in that instance.

Answer 6

No.
"Sin" is defined as an offense against holy law -- and different religions have different holy laws. You could do something legal (like abortion) and have it considered a "sin," and you could do something illegal (like sacrifice animals) and have it not be a "sin" in your particular religion.

That's why we need to keep the two seperate, law and "sin." Law needs to ignore all of the variations in "sin" from one religion to another, and be the same for everyone.

Peace.

Answer 7

It depends on the law and who wrote it. To disobey some of Hitler's unjust laws was illegal, but not a sin.
If you live in a theocracy every law is enacted by divine inspiration, and to disobey is a sin. If you live in a secular democracy, such as the European Union, disobedience to a secular law is not considered as a sin by the courts.

Answer 8

It depends. Some forms of civil disobedience are illegal, but they can hardly be classified as sin if the cause is moral. For example, Martin Luther King's activities and demonstrations against racial segregation were illegal, but yet no one could possibly argue that they were sinful.

Answer 9

Considering that we should "obey God rather than men", the only illegal thing that I can think of that's not a sin would be any religious activity that the government unfairly outlaws, such as preaching or praying (etc.)

Answer 10

Depends on the law. If the law does not go contrary to God's law, to break it is sin. - Romans 13:1-5 --
"“Let every soul be in subjection to the superior authorities, for there is no authority except by God; the existing authorities stand placed in their relative positions by God. Therefore he who opposes the authority has taken a stand against the arrangement of God; those who have taken a stand against it will receive judgment to themselves. For those ruling are an object of fear, not to the good deed, but to the bad. Do you, then, want to have no fear of the authority? Keep doing good, and you will have praise from it; for it is God’s minister to you for your good. But if you are doing what is bad, be in fear: for it is not without purpose that it bears the sword; for it is God’s minister, an avenger to express wrath upon the one practicing what is bad. There is therefore compelling reason for you people to be in subjection, not only on account of that wrath but also on account of your conscience."

On the other hand, if the human law requires we disobey God's law, then to break the human law is NOT a sin, whereas to obey it would be.

Acts 5:29 - “... We must obey God as ruler rather than men."