It depends on your definition of "sin."

There are those who say that the evil in our hearts and natures do not constitute sin, and therefore do not need atonement. They limit sin to willful violation of a known command.

Then there are those who say that the evil in our hearts and natures are counted as "sin." To such, sin is present while the evil in our hearts and natures exists.

Excellent quotes, GC. "Go and sin no more" is obviously an all inclusive command and promise. Jesus surely has the whole person in mind. "Go and sin no more" clearly takes into account every aspect of life. "If any man be in Christ he is a new creation."

Arnold, I like how Ellen White defines sin. "The only definition we find in the Bible for sin is that "sin is the transgression of the law." {1SM 320.1} Since sinful flesh nature cannot commit a sin we are not, therefore, guilty of sinning simply because our sinful flesh nature tempts us from within to be unlike Jesus. Having a sinful flesh nature is not the same thing as transgressing the law. On the other hand, partaking of the divine nature does not make us divine. The character traits we consciously cultivate determines whether we are sinful or sinless in the sight of God. Abiding in Jesus, walking in the Spirit and mind of the new man, partaking of the divine nature enables us to resist sin, self, and Satan and to reproduce the lovely traits of Jesus' character.

I wasn't talking about flesh. I was talking about evil hearts. Some people say it's OK. I say it's bad, very bad.

What is the difference between sinful flesh and evil heart? Is one inherited and the other cultivated? What happens to them when, in Christ, we cease sinning?

Sure, this could happen. I person could get angry and do something else, like hit someone or curse.



He had in mind the sin being dealt with. She had seven demons to be dealt with. This was the first one.



You'd have to think of sinning before sinning, it seems to me, and that would come by means of a temptation. The temptation could be internal, prompted by a memory, for example, or one's own train of thought.



No. Sinning involves the will.

Clearly in the context of the statement, Jesus was dealing with a specific sin for a specific person. This doesn't mean the concept isn't true (i.e., that we shouldn't sin at all), but to the woman in question, He was telling her not to do a specific sin, the first of her seven demons.

How do you explain Mrs. White's use of the statement? Do you believe she has used it out of context?

Blessings,

Green Cochoa.

Tom, do you think the woman was possessed by seven different demons simultaneously and that Jesus cast them out one at a time over a period of time? If so, are you suggesting Jesus told her each time to go and live without committing the sins associated with the demons that were cast out? If so, are you suggesting a demon possessed person can cooperate with the Holy Spirit and resist sinning in specific areas but not in other ways due to demon possession?

"Mary had been looked upon as a great sinner, but Christ knew the circumstances that had shaped her life. He might have extinguished every spark of hope in her soul, but He did not. It was He who had lifted her from despair and ruin. Seven times she had heard His rebuke of the demons that controlled her heart and mind. She had heard His strong cries to the Father in her behalf. She knew how offensive is sin to His unsullied purity, and in His strength she had overcome. {DA 568.1}