Biblically Speaking, Is There A Difference Between Disobedience And Sin?

Discussion in 'Faith & Religion' started by Yvonne Smith, Jun 5, 2019.

  1. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    This is a thought that has been developing in my mind, and I thought that I would start a thread here and see what other Bible believers think about this.
    My belief is that , in the Old Testament, when God was giving all of those instructions (hundreds of them !) that some were for health purposes, or safety reasons, and some were for moral instruction.

    For example, the Bible says not to eat pork because the pig is an unclean animal, this (to me) is a health guideline for primitive people with no knowledge of microbiology or that pigs could transmit trichinosis.
    The Bible also says we are not to steal, or commit murder, and this is something that I see as a moral right/wrong kind of rule.
    We know that murder is supposed to be a sin; but is it also a sin to eat pork (as an example), or just disobedience to a health rule ?

    If I tell my children , “don’t eat those red berries, they are poisonous, and will make you sick”, that is a totally different thing than if I say “don’t eat those cupcakes, they are for supper”.
    If they eat a berry and get sick, I am going to lecture them about never doing that again, but not punish them. However, if they eat the cupcakes (knowing they have been told not to eat them), then they are going to be disciplined and have consequences for that behavior, making it in essence, a “sin”, to eat the cupcakes.

    To me, there is a definite difference between the two, and I don’t think that not following a health guideline is the same as breaking a moral one, where our conscience will tell us that we are doing wrong.
    Opinions , fellow believers in God ?
     
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  2. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I do believe those were health instructions. However, I believe that most of what God commands us to do is for our own good. The health codes set up by God in the Old Testament were treated as commands, all the way up to where they were superseded by the New Covenant introduced in the New Testament. I don't believe that God views every sin as being equal. Some sins He labeled as abominations, yet He readily forgave even the sin of murder.
     
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  3. Rosie Sinclair

    Rosie Sinclair Very Well-Known Member
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    As you say, Yvonne...there are a lot of guidelines on living a healthy lifestyle. We now know that they are based on fact, the eating of pork, consumption of blood, etc. If we disregard this advice, we risk suffering problems with our health. It is therefore in our own interest to obey them.

    The other rules are moral and ethical, needed for humans to live together in a harmonious society. If these rules are disobeyed, the whole community may suffer and so the wrong-doer is rightly punished, or banished.

    So, the first rules are advisory...the second are laws of ethics.

    We all have a natural sense of right and wrong, it seems to be part of human nature. Anything which causes suffering to another living creature, either physically or emotionally, is a sin.

    Disobeying good advice is foolish, but not sinful.
     
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  4. Bess Barber

    Bess Barber Veteran Member
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    I guess I would look at it as a mom telling her child not to lie, as well as telling the child not to play in the road. Both different types of instruction, but the latter one can actually hurt you more than the first one. So, I don't compare my wrong doings one to another as in 'little sin' -vs 'Bathsheba' or whatever. I'm more prone to ask myself if I'm in or out of fellowship with Him and what do I need to do to correct it. I hate when I screw up and then not feel His presence. I'm way too old to be playing the odds.
     
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  5. Hal Pollner

    Hal Pollner Veteran Member
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    I feel that the difference between Disobedience and Sin is chiefly in the spelling.

    Hal
    518.jpg
     
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  6. Bess Barber

    Bess Barber Veteran Member
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    Very well stated.
     
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  7. Ann Leonard

    Ann Leonard Very Well-Known Member
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    Both examples, technically break the Fourth Commandment, Honour your father and your mother. The Old Testament provides us with three types of laws, Civil, Ceremonial, and Moral, the latter being the Ten Commandments. Ceremonial laws, of which there are 613 basically apply only to the Old Testament and the Jewish religion. From my understanding Civil law applies specifically to the people of Israel.
     
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  8. Holly Saunders

    Holly Saunders Supreme Member
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    I totally disagree.!! If my boss ordered me for example, to work through my break, and I didn't...where's the Sin?
     
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  9. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    That would depend on who the disobedience is to, I think. Disobedience to God is sin. Employment, on the other hand, is more of a contract. While an employee should be expected to do the job that s/he was hired to do, the employer is not a form of god for the employee, so it would depend on what it was that the employer asked the employee to do. While there may be a point where an employee who refuses to to the job that s/he was hired to do might be considered a sin, I don't know that it would need to be elevated to the status of a sin. The employer can simply fire someone who is not keeping up his/her part of the contract.

    Using Holly's example, if the contract (whether in written form or not) includes scheduled break periods, then the employee is within his/her rights to demand them. That's the employer's part of the contract. Any such request should be just that, a request, rather than a demand.
     
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  10. Bess Barber

    Bess Barber Veteran Member
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    My understanding is the only sin not paid for by Jesus, is the sin of unbelief. Doesn't imply there isn't room for repentance and making a better next effort. Disobedience falls under the same thought, but disobedience can also be the cause of not receiving the blessing which are available to you as a believer. Blessings are beautiful gifts you can receive long before going to heaven. It falls under the 'abundant' life promises. Without those, I would be broke and possibly dead. I rely on them, so I try to work on any area of disobedience.

    This is my belief. I'm certainly not suggesting anyone else has to agree.
     
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