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There has long been the observation regarding Paul and his Epistles that encompass the majority of the New Testament.Paul said this curious statement, "Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I serve the law of God, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin."
The only thing about the conscience is that while it seems more or less standardized across the board for people, it can vary from person to person, be changed, or be taken advantage of by manipulators. It would seem that even those who were already in the faith can be drawn away or mislead and develop a conscious so desensitized it may as well have been seared with a hot iron.
Perhaps God judges differently based on what people are aware. Jesus said, after all, “If you were blind you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” Also, "For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
Sin would be acts of selfishness. The Bible clarifies this for us. There are two great commandments to follow (Mattew 22:34-40). The Ten Commandments help define the two great ones. The rest of the Bible helps define the Ten.This question is simple and I am interested in what people have to say, but first let me just define sin based on how John put it.
1 John 34Everyone who practices sin practices lawlessness as well. Indeed, sin is lawlessness.
So sin is basically a transgression of a law. There are numerous references to laws in the Bible. There is the law of Moses, the law of God, the law of Christ, the law of freedom, etc.
In the New Testament, there are laws still given to people that were continued to be taught, such as the 10 Commandments. They can be found here and there throughout the New Testament, and Jesus even listed some in Matthew 19, saying they are necessary to keep in order to enter eternal life.
So we know that sin is a violation of something that has been codified into law, i.e., God's law.
With all of this in mind, why would someone not enter the kingdom of God or be cast into the lake of fire for doing something that wasn't codified as a law and, arguably, isn't actually a sin?
Revelation 21:8 says cowards and sorcerers, get cast into the lake of fire. Is there is a law against being a sorcerer or coward?
Galatians 5:19-21 mentions that those who are impure, practice debauchery, sorcery, hatred, discord, jealousy, rage, drunkenness, etc will not enter the kingdom of God. While I fully know and agree that these things are unsavory and bad, where were they codified as sin?
Is the conclusion here that people can miss out on eternal life without actually being guilty of sin, but rather something that is immoral, distasteful, or otherwise frowned upon?
Remember that he did run into Jesus on the road and was later converted. Much the same as the rest of us, We never saw Jesus but all reached a point of conversion.It's an interesting proposition. A man who identified still as a Pharisee, never heard the man Jesus speak,nor laid eyes on him, is granted the majority of space in the New testament that purportedly exists by Jesus' will.
He encountered a light that asked, why dost thou persecuteth me?Remember that he did run into Jesus on the road and was later converted. Much the same as the rest of us, We never saw Jesus but all reached a point of conversion.