Postby Kaligraphic » Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:34 pm
Yes. No.
Everything that is not of faith is sin, right? If you are doing anything from a position other than one of faith toward God, that is sin. If I help an old lady across the street, and believe that doing or not doing it affects my own righteousness, then that's sin. Sin is coming short of the glory of God, failure to live up to his measure. The only way not to sin is to either be Jesus, or to see Jesus' righteousness as replacing your own.
All the "good" you see in yourself only keeps you from seeing your real inability to be righteous in your own ability, and thus that perception of good keeps you from the righteousness that God offers freely.
All the "bad" you see in yourself only keeps you from seeing yourself as having the righteousness that Jesus died on a cross to give you.
You see a pattern? The key is not to look at yourself. Righteousness can only come from Jesus' blood, not from anything you do or don't do.
Thus, the answer is yes and the answer is no simultaneously, depending on your faith.
Now, whether or not it's sinful and whether or not it's smart are completely different questions. It is recommended that you avoid anything that you cannot do with a clear conscience unless God specifically tells you to do it, because it may take your eyes off of Jesus' righteousness. But don't think that it's the doing or the not doing that makes you righteous.
The cake used to be a lie like you, but then it took a portal to the deception core.