I came across this in another forum and the simplicity intrigued me. If we know what is sin, and the cause and end result, why do we sin?

I'd say it may have something to do with the fact that we are infected with it. Kinda like why does a smoker who is suffering from lung problems continue to smoke. A far more difficult question would be why did Adam & Eve or Lucifer and a third of the angels give in to sin? Then there is the most difficult question of all: how did Christ take on the nature of fallen man without falling into a sinful state?

I would say that because, apart from God, we don't have the will and/or the power to avoid sin. So, when we, consciously or unconsciously, separate ourselves from Him, we fall into sin.

Why do born-again believers backslide? Why do they commit known sins? The answer is really quite simple: They neglect to consciously choose to continue abiding in Jesus. The instant they neglect to abide in Jesus they resurrect, as it were, the mind of the old man and resume sinning under the dominion and control of Satan and sinful flesh. Ellen explains it in no uncertain terms:

When the soul surrenders itself to Christ, a new power takes possession of the new heart. A change is wrought which man can never accomplish for himself. It is a supernatural work, bringing a supernatural element into human nature. The soul that is yielded to Christ becomes His own fortress, which He holds in a revolted world, and He intends that no authority shall be known in it but His own. A soul thus kept in possession by the heavenly agencies is impregnable to the assaults of Satan. But unless we do yield ourselves to the control of Christ, we shall be dominated by the wicked one. We must inevitably be under the control of the one or the other of the two great powers that are contending for the supremacy of the world. It is not necessary for us deliberately to choose the service of the kingdom of darkness in order to come under its dominion. We have only to neglect to ally ourselves with the kingdom of light. If we do not co-operate with the heavenly agencies, Satan will take possession of the heart, and will make it his abiding place. The only defense against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His righteousness. Unless we become vitally connected with God, we can never resist the unhallowed effects of self-love, self-indulgence, and temptation to sin. We may leave off many bad habits, for the time we may part company with Satan; but without a vital connection with God, through the surrender of ourselves to Him moment by moment, we shall be overcome. Without a personal acquaintance with Christ, and a continual communion, we are at the mercy of the enemy, and shall do his bidding in the end. {DA 324.1}

Why do they neglect to consciously choose to continue to abide in Jesus?

Because they neglect to consciously choose, moment by moment, to abide in Jesus. Maybe they were distracted like Peter on the water. Again, in the same way it was impossible for Jesus to sin while abiding in the Father, so too, it is impossible for born-again believers to sin while abiding in Jesus.

Didn't Paul ask the same thing?

I'm glad you didn't stop here. Why do they do X? "Because they do X" isn't very insightful.



I think you've got some holes in your logic.

First of all, you have to define not abiding in Jesus in such a way as to not being a sin, or else your statement that you can't sin if you're abiding in Jesus is false right off the bat. I caught you with the already, but now you're changed your mind to say that not abiding in Jesus is no longer a sin. But I think you were right the first time; choosing not to abide in Jesus is a sin.

The first great commandment is to love God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength. If you choose not to abide by Jesus, you're breaking that commandment. Similarly, in terms of the 10 C's, this would be breaking at least the first two.

Another problem I see with this idea is that it seems to be completely behavior based. The idea is if you can just do a certain thing, which is to abide in Jesus, then you'll be safe; then you won't sin. But the causes for sin are more deeply rooted than simply behavior. Our paradigms can cause us to sin without even realizing it. This was the problem with the Pharisees. Their behavior was fine, at least as far as they or others could discern, but their paradigms were messed up (they didn't really care for the true God, or His principles.



This gets at the danger of a behaviorally based religion. It is SO easy to deceive oneself, thinking that all is fine, when it's not.

Consciously making a choice not to abide in Jesus means they are already not abiding in Him, which means they were already sinning under the control and dominion of Satan and sinful flesh.

Unconsciously neglecting to abide in Jesus is an altogether different dynamic.

So Adam and Eve were already not abiding in Jesus when they counsciously chose not to abide in Him?