Sinning

1 John 5:18 NLT  
We know that God's children do not make a practice of sinning, for God's Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them.

If you ask ten people what sin is you probably will hear ten different answers. And they probably assign levels to each. You know, like to kill someone is a worse sin than to steal a shirt from a retail store. And lying on your income tax does not even count!

Many think that doing something that is against the law is not sin unless you get caught! Like going over the speed limit by a substantial amount. If you do not get stopped you did not do anything wrong. I guess that is like the old question "If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound?"

The worlds definition of sin varies with the changing moral values of society. What was sin fifty years ago may not be considered sin today. Webster defines it as "a breaking of a moral or legal code".

James 4:17 ESV 
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

As Christians we know Jesus died for all our sins; past, present, and future. But that does not give us a license to sin. It means that when Holy Spirit reveals our sin to us, we must repent and not continue in it.

Sin is not a list of do nots. Sin is anything that takes our focus off of God and His plan for us. Anytime we bend to satan and his evil plans, we sin. Man may have levels of sin with some being worse and having higher penalties attached to them. God see sin as sin. He forgives all our sin no matter how great in the eyes of man. All we have to do is recognize it ask for His forgiveness.

Are we sinners? We certainly were before we accepted what Jesus did for us on the cross. Having accepted Him into our heart we no longer have that moniker. Are we capable of sinning? Yes we are, but it is not our lifestyle. And as we grow closer in our relationship with God, the instances of sin in our lives become less and less.