How do you distance yourself from sin in your life? When you became a Christian, did you find it easier?
367436
Being Christian unfortunately does not stop you from being sinful.  I think just tryint to live the life you want to have, but also being a good example to others is enough.\n\nEveryone is sinful, Christian or not, that is why Jesus died on the cross!
108620
There are many who go to church who CLAIM to be a Christian but in reality they have no true relationship with God.  They go because they think they are supposed to, because it looks good, because they are trying to score points, for approval ... etc.\n\nBut as I stated in another post... there will be many who will say "Lord, Lord" and the Lord will say "I know you not".\n\nThat all said, we should be striving to remove sin from our lives.  No one is perfect, true.  But when we are doing something wrong, we need to try and remove that from our life.  Some will successfully, some will fail and try again, and some will never be able to do it.  The point is that God sees the desire of your heart.  So if you are true to your intentions and desires, God will know.\n\nNow if you go to church and you know you shouldn't be sinning, you know that you are sinning by doing {insert action here} and you knowingly disregard any attempt to remove that sin from you life, then you have a problem.\n\nGenerally speaking those who are being hypocritical are either not truly a Christian OR they are blinded by sin in their life and we as brothers and sisters in Christ need to call them on their hypocrisy.
615494
No. You destroy yourself....as we all do or have done at some point or another in our lives. We consciously sin or chose not to sin.If you don't like the word sin...you make either good or bad choices in life....cause and effect/for every action there is a reaction.... In the Christian faith, when we sin, we alienate(separate) ourselves from God...a spiritual death of sorts...total separation from God; which is Hell in every sense of the word. It is only through Christ's innoccent blood shed on the cross for all of mankind, through His DEATH, that we have LIFE.  Why would a loving God want to destroy any of His creation?...We destroy ourselves through our rejection of God and our acceptance of sin.
788800
That's a hard situation to be in but its also a common one.  One thing I beleive that we as Christians  should always do is seperate the person from the person's sin.  And this is especially true for our loved ones.  But truthfully this should be easiest with ones kids.\n\nOne thing I've been trying to do is try to look at things the way God does.  In this case before we submitted unto him and Christ came into our lives we have committed horrible sins (and continue to) yet he loved us and continues to love us.  He certainly does not approve in our action yet his love doesn't change.  Its a little more difficult for us to do this.  But we can always love and pray that they be ok.
838077
I finally left 'sin' behind because I just grew weary of it. To me 'sin'=unwise and imprudent acts.
440999
I have felt this way in the past.  Like I am going through motions.  \n\nI think sometimes we build up so many walls to protect ourselves from the pain in the world that we start to distance ourselves from even Him.  \n\nChange your perspective, your vision.  See those who you  into your life as a gift from God.  Try also to and show God's love through yourself.  \n\nYou may even see God through some sort of gesture from someone else.  I did this good deed for a stranger, and what she said to me, made me feel Him.  It was overwhelming.\n\nLike Socrates (the one above not the philosopher) says.  Read the Bible and pray.  God does talk back but we have to learn how to listen.  It's not easy and sometimes the messages aren't exactly clear, but that is not Him its us.  \n\nGod does love you and He is there.
529965
I think it all comes down to an attitude of heart.\n\nIf you have the attitude that you can sin all you want and your covered, I think you're in big trouble.\n\nIf you think one sin will separate you from God for all eternity then life becomes a gamble.  Who can guarantee that their last act won't be a sin of some sort?  We all sin and fall (present tense) of the glory of God.\n\nSo, what do we do?  I think the book of I John paints a good picture when he talks about walking in the light.  Walking in the light is walking a lit path.  It's a determined walk.  Trying to stay the course.  You can misstep and come back to the path.  \n\nThere is a difference between stumbling along in your journey and abandoning your walk.\n\nSome of us came from homes of abuse, addiction, and neglect.  Some people have more to overcome in gaining maturity than others do.  That's why God is the one Who judges us.  I can't tell by my experiences how far you should have come on your journey.\n\nBut there is a difference is stumbling or not walking gracefully and abandoning the course.  Some people wear the Christian t-shirt while jogging another road.  That's walking outside the light and in the darkness.\n\nIt's something that you have to be vigilant about and pray about.  Some people may use Christianity to excuse doing what they want to do, but that's not the purpose of Christianity.  It's mishandling it in the same way using a vase to murder someone is not the correct usage of a vase.\n\nNobody seeks to do away with vases just because they have been used as murder weapons.  People are creative and can use just about anything to accomplish goals or justify their actions.
156653
Good question. \nLet me see if I can explain.\n\nOkay sin is all sin, but there are 2 "kinds" of sin. There is sin and then there are sins (plural).\n\nAll sin seperates us from God becasue God is perfect and he can't be with sin. So sin always blocks us from him.\n\nWhen we are born, we are born in sin, therefore sin is in our hearts. (To put it another way, we have a root of sin in us) That is why we need to be saved. When we accept Christ, he forgives us and that root (sin) is gone. We are completely forgiven, and we recieve access to God. That is what salvation is.\n\nHowever, even though we are forgiven and saved, we still mess up sometimes because we are human and we're not perfect. In other words, we commit sins. The sins we commit will not keep us out of heaven (becasue we have been saved)but they will keep us from God (because all sin does that). They get in the way of our faith and hinder our prayers. (For example have you ever messed up and felt guilty, then you were hesitant to pray because of the guilt?) Those sins will always get in our way, but as soon as we confess them to God, he forgives them and takes them away. Then the block is gone and he is free to continue moving in our lives. \n\nSo think of it this way, we are saved when we accept Christ, so we no longer have to worry about going to hell. But confession helps us to maintain a good relationship with our father.\n\nLook at it this way. If you have a child, you will love your child no matter what. Hopefully you would discipline your child, but you would never seriously harm them, and you would always protect them to the best of your ability. But if the child decided to rebel, run away from home, and "live a life of sin," it would be harder for you to protect the child, and the child would get hurt along the way. On the other hand, if the child was obediant and respectful to you, it would be easier and the child would be better off (safer, better taken care of becuase you would have the ability to provide better in that case). But you would still love the child either way right. In the same way, God loves us no matter what we do, but as we confess our sins and obey him, we give him more ability to care for us better. If we run away and rebel, he still loves us, but we are on our own to sufer the consequenses that go with the sin we commit. So obviously the best thing for us is to confess and stay close to our father, so that we may recieve the full protection and benefits. (Plus from the parent perspective that's what He wants us to do becasue he wants to care for us closely.)\n\nOf course how you confess is between you and God. Ultimately God is the only one you have to answer to. However confessing to others (whom you trust) often does help becasue it helps us to "walk in the light" and avoid sin. I personally have never been to a formal confession, but I have benefited alot from accountibility partners and groups. In other words I have turned to trusted friends and confessed to them when I needed to. They in turn prayed for me and encouraged me, helping me get through things I needed to get through in life. I would definately suggest hooking up with a person or small group where you can do this.
1136851
There is only one sin that will send you to hell and that is rejecting JESUS CHRIST as your personal savior. John 3:18-19\nIf someone truly excepts Christ as their savior they do not want to continue to live a life of sinfulness. 1 John 3:9-10 explains this quite adequately. Rather than wondering how much sin you can commit you should be wondering how to become more like CHRIST... you can not have a relationship with the world and with CHRIST  James 4:4 . Just simply acknowledging that GOD exists is not becoming a Christian. Even the devil believes in GOD in this manner and I assure you that he is not going to \nheaven. Look up Romans 10:9-10 for a study on how to be saved. I hope and pray that you truly submit to the LORD SHIP OF CHRIST in your life through a relationship with HIM.\n~GOD BLESS YOU AND LEAD YOU INTO ALL TRUTH~
1108760
Oh My!! You confess to the whole church???  Do the people judge you for what sins you have made?? How could I look at the members in the church eye to eye, who have commited serious sins?  I don't think it is meant for us to judge.  How can we not when we hear about members airing their dirty laundry?  I think your sin should be left to God to handle.
640945
Sin is unavoidable as soon your born you sin so whats the matter if you do a sin you consuse of? I don't know either lol am lost!
1047082
You turn your life back over to God.Make a contious effert no to sin again.Ask HIM for forgiveness for your sin,and mean it.Get in a bible believeing bible teaching church.I once turned away from God because i had all of the questions that you have.Like you i already know what i was doing was wrong,but i kept doing them because i thouhgt it was fun,i didn't think i had to look at my life as it was.I thought i was free to do any and every thing i wanted to do.I was wrong,just as you are wrong.Everything that the word of GOD tells us to do,sociaty tells us it's alright to do.Drinking,drugs,pornography,lying and cheating in any form.there are a host of things i could mention but i think you get the point.If you have not found out already you will see that those thing and some can only lead to a distructive life style.If you want to turn your life over to GOD here's your chance.Get on your knees,humble yourself before the LORD.As HIM for forgiveness for your sins and mean it.Speak your sin to HIM out loud in a private place so that it will be you and HIM.Tell HIM everything you can think of,and especially the things you want no one else to hear.Turn your heart,your mind and your soul over to GOD,you will see a big differents in how you think,how you talk,how youact.You do have to be awear that your so called friend are going to think you are strange,but if you really want ro do this you will accept what in front of you,not your past.
658859
You can't really.  You can ignore the sin around you, but that means you're turning your back on your faith.  Tolerance has somehow become the 11th commandment, and tries to do away with the other 10 entirely. . .and kills truth.  There is right, there is wrong, and there is absolute truth.
780769
Every human being (except Jesus) has a Sin Nature, and with that in place, it is impossible for you (and I) to love Him and follow Him 100% of the time: distractions! He told Adam after the Fall that he would have to work by the sweat of his brow: that is man's lot in life. Consider: He gave you a job to do, you may not like it, but as a Christian, you say thank you and perform it to the best of your ability, and do it to honor and glorify Him.
997651
I am a Christian and I'm also a human.  There are some people I'm still struggling to love.  It takes a total surrender to God for that.  For example, there is a man who molested me as a child and it took YEARS to come to the place where I can say I've forgiven him for what he's done.  I fervently pray that he accepts Christ as his savior.  I believe he hasn't thus far because he's afraid he'll have to confess to what he did to me and others.  He was even convicted (plead guilty) and was sent to prison for 2 years, but he maintains his innocence and said his attorney told him to plead guilty because it was a he said/she said case he couldn't win.  I still see this man at a lot of family gatherings.  The balance I've come to is that I am kind to this man, but I'll NEVER let him even pick up my child.  Luckily, I've never had to say that out loud because he's got the good sense not to try.  Sorry to be so long-winded, but I wanted you to see that there are some Christians who are really TRYING to live out the example that God set for us to follow.  It truly is a narrow path and it's difficult to stay on sometimes.
445973
It comes with the territory.  \n\nA long time ago, I was attending a huge church in a metropolitan area of the city and after I had been there for almost 10 years a friend asked me a question about theology.  \n\nI answered his question with many references and a very detailled explanation to which he replied, "You have a very acute understanding of what the pastor of this church teaches every Sunday morning".  And then it hit me...\n\nI had allowed myself to be swept into a fundamental mindset which didn't allow me to really express myself as Father had created me to do.  Instead of caring for individuals around me, I had grown into this person who had to be right all the time because of personal insecurities.\n\nI think Christians need to start really thinking about what they individually believe and rely less on what is sold to them on Sunday mornings...
1021639
Ten Ways to Break the Stronghold of Pornography\n\nBefore you go through these... have you looked at yourself under the penetrating light of God's Law? Have you come to a place of genuine repentance? Do you know that your heart is desperately wicked; that it's an enemy of God? Do you see your Adamic nature as a Judas living within you, raising his hands and crying "Master, Master," but at the same time betraying the Son of Man with a kiss? Then put that traitor to death. Never trust your own heart again. It cares for nothing but self. The instant gratification of thirty pieces of silver is better than Heaven's approval. It is self-serving, self-gratifying, and self-deceiving. It is "earthly, sensual, devilish" (James 3:15). Look at what Philippians 2:12 says about the "self" nature: \n\n"...work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ)" (The Amplified Bible). \n\n1. Would you ever take pornography to church and look at it during worship? You may as well, because God is just as present in your bedroom as He is in the church building.\n\n2. Face the fact that you may not be saved. Examine yourself to ensure that Christ is living in you (2 Corinthians 13:5). See Romans 6:11–22; 8:1–14; Ephesians 5:3–8.)\n\n3. Realize that when you give yourself to pornography, you are committing adultery (Matthew 5:27,28).\n\n4. Grasp the serious nature of your sin. Jesus said that it would be better for you to be blind and go to heaven, than for your eye to cause you to sin and end up in hell (Matthew 5:29).\n\n5. Those who profess to be Christians yet give themselves to pornographic material evidently lack the fear of God (Proverbs 16:6). Cultivate the fear of God by reading Proverbs 2:1–5.\n\n6. Read Psalm 51 and make it your own prayer.\n\n7. Memorize James 1:14,15 and 1 Corinthians 10:13. Follow Jesus’ example (Matthew 4:3–11) and quote the Word of God when you are tempted (see Ephesians 6:12–20).\n\n8. Make no provision for your flesh (Romans 13:14; 1 Peter 2:11). Get rid of every access to pornographic material—the Internet, printed literature, TV, videos, and movies. But don't just stop there... you also need to begin to think about how high God's standard of holiness and purity really is. What the general public would have called "pornographic" just 60 to 70 years ago is plastered through your Sunday morning newspaper, the billboards you see on your way to work, and the magazines that line the counters at the grocery checkout. Even television commercials are filled with images that if you printed them off and stood in front of an elementary school showing them to children... you would be arrested. The fire is being fed from all different directions... not just those that the world lables as "pornographic." You must stop feeding the fire.\n\n9. Guard your heart with all diligence (Proverbs 4:23). Don’t let the demonic realm have access to your thought-life. The Bible commands you to get control of your thoughts; read what Romans 13:14 says, "But clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and make no provision for [indulging] the flesh [put a stop to thinking about the evil cravings of your physical nature] to [gratify its] desires (lusts)" (The Amplified Bible - bold added for emphasis). If you give yourself to it, you will become its slave (Romans 6:16). Read the Bible daily, without fail. As you submit to God, the devil will flee (James 4:7,8).\n\n10. The next time temptation comes, do fifty push-ups, then fifty sit-ups. If you are still burning, repeat the process (see 1 Corinthians 9:27, and 1 Corinthians 7:9). This is not just a random "get your mind off it&q