How is sin relative?

Question

Can something be a sin to me that's not a sin to you? Can something be a sin now that wasn't a sin 100 years ago?

Answer 1

If I'm a diabetic, eating a lot of sugar then getting into a car to drive would be a sin for me. Not necessarily for you. I would never go around saying that eating 3 Hersey bars in a row is a sin for all people, but it might be a sin for a diabetic person.

At one point in the Church's history, reading books that weren't on "The Index" was a sin, but that is no longer true.

If something I do affects me or my behavior in such a way that I harm myself or other people, that is a sin for me. I can't say if it's a sin or not for you. Only you can decide.

Also, it works the other way. At the time the Old Testament was written, eating pork or shellfish was a sin, but it isn't today.

Answer 2

Here's what the Apostle Paul wrote about this subject when it came to matters like dietary restrictions as in food that came from a pagan sacrifice.

Romans 14:21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

In other words, if someone thinks that something is a sin, even though God has not called it a sin, if they practice it then they are in fact sinning because they are doing something that they believe that God told them not to do. So one person who knew that meat sacrificed to an idol was nothing could eat it while another person who thought it was a sin to eat it could not. Today there are some people who think that smoking cigarettes or drinking coffee or alcohol in moderation is a sin even though the Bible doesn't mention coffee or tobacco and moderate drinking is not condemned.

As to anything being a sin now that wasn't 100 years ago, the answer is that there are only new ways of committing old sins. For instance, a person couldn't turn on their computer and look at women to lust after them in their heart 100 years ago.

Answer 3

Sin is a Christian invention, but according to the bible yes it can be. There are sins that are sins for everyone but the bible also says that if a person knows to do good and does not do it to him it is sin, so in certain cases sin is relative. Also the bible teaches to observe the customs of your area and if something is not a sin according to the bible but is considered a sin by those around you it is sin for you since you live in a culture where it is sin.

100 years ago a woman wearing short skirts or even wearing pants was a sin so yes to that.

BB