Are we prisoners of sin

Yes, I'm very familiar with what repentance means and remember we are talking about sin and not salvation. Don't intermingle.

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If you do not confess own up that you have wronged you are not forgiven, because forgiveness has to issue from admitting that you have sinned.

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Exactly! To confess or admit that one has sinned, the person has to know what exactly constitutes a sin. Neither you nor Peg have provided the exact standards by which Christians can determine if they have sinned.

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Note in 1 john 1:9 the requirement for forgiveness is confessing your sins, your wrongdoing. Now what about repentance turning from our evil ways, logically one cannot turn from his/her sinful ways unless he/she first admit that he/she has got sin that he/she needs turning away from. Only after this can the individual start afresh on a clean slate. Good works will not grant any soul forgiveness but it will keep a person from further sin, but what about the sin the individual has accumulated up to that point. In the Old Testament animals were sacrificed to atone for past sins and good works and righteousness only kept individuals from indulging in further sin.

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And logically one has to know specifically what acts are considered sin before one an turn away from those acts.Good works has nothing to do with sin. It is irrelevant to the discussion. As I showed earlier, stopping wrong behavior (repentance) and starting and continuing right behavior (which means not doing wrong behavior not good works). I have addressed this before don't make me quote it again. Please address what is being said. None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him.
Do you understand that.
None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him.
No sacrifice is required!

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The soul has sinned, only blood can atone (Make amends for) for sin, Jesus ‘ blood is enough to atone for present past and future sins, if we confess our sins, he will automatically forgive us of our sins and wash us as white as snow,

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Wrong! For a sin offering the poor could bring tenth of an ephah of fine flour. No blood.
Show me what sacrifice forgives intentional sin.God already had that method in place. All we had to do was repent of our sins and he would automatically forgive us. None of our previous offenses would be remembered.So why persist that Jesus was a blood sacrifice to give us something that we already had. It is the same thing the Jews have now. Remember we are talking about sin, not salvation.So as far as sin goes, the death of Jesus didn't change anything. So we keep saying the prayer because that is how we are forgiven of our sins. Repentance and forgiveness. Nothing else. There is no forgiveness without repentance. Believing in Christ is not repentance.So we are not "prisoners of sin". When the standards are made clear so that people know what is expected, people can refrain from sin or repent is they screw up. God did not set us up to fail.

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"Peshat is what I say and derash is what you say." --Nehama Leibowitz

if you really believe that then you might as well stop right now.
You are wasting your time and energy discussing God because he must also be a fictional character.no more discussion needed.

I think you misunderstand the consequences of imperfection.Adam started life as a perfect man...perfect reasoning ability, perfect in form, perfect in mind. But after he turned away from God, he became imperfect because he chose his own way and his own standard...those standards were not Gods.this is why the Hebrews could not live by the Mosaic law...they too were imperfect and alienated from God and they were only accustomed to living by mans standards. God didnt give them the Mosaic law to punish them, he gave it to them to teach them that His ways were higher then their ways. It also showed them that they were in a state of imperfection and needed to be saved from that condition. This was the purpose of the law...it was a 'tutor leading to the Christ'If you're a parent, im sure you have allowed you child to find out something the hard way... sometimes they dont believe you until they see it for themselves. God showed them that they were imperfect when he gave them the law. This is why they were looking forward to the Messiah's coming. They knew that he would remove the law and reconcile them to God.

The standards are easily identifiable in the greek scriptures. Some are principles to live by, other are direct laws. They are not the Mosaic law because that Law was done away with when Christ died but many of the Christian laws have been taken from the law of Moses and expanded upon.If you read the Ten Commandments then compare them with the following Christian laws and teachings:
"It is Jehovah your God you must worship." (Matt 4:10)
"Guard yourselves from idols." (1John 5:21; 1Corinthians 10:14) "Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified [not treated in a worthless way]."(Matthew 6:9)
"Children, be obedient to your parents." (Ephesians 6:1,2)Its very clear also that murder, committing adultery, fornication, bestiality, homosexuality, lesbianism, taking drugs, drunkenness, greediness, violence, jealously, misusing blood, abusive speech, stealing, lying and coveting are also against the laws for Christians. Infact, its anything that could harm another person, or anything that is unloving.Here is an example of how the 10 commandments have been expanded.Matt 5:21 "YOU heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You must not murder; but whoever commits a murder will be accountable to the court of justice.’ 22However, I say to YOU that everyone who continues wrathful with his brother will be accountable to the court of justice"
23"If, then, you are bringing your gift to the altar and you there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar, and go away; first make your peace with your brother, and then, when you have come back, offer up your gift."The principle is very clear here...christians were not told to simply refrain from murder, they were told to not even hold a grudge against anyone. Thats a christian principle and its what makes christian laws different to mosaic laws.Jesus also expanded on the law about fornication when he said "anyone who keeps looking at a woman so as to have a desire for her as already committed adultery with her in his heart" you are underestimating imperfection and the implication of sin and imperfection.In the garden of Eden, Adam could communicate directly with God. This was because he was a perfect man. But after he had fallen into sin, he became alienated from God and no longer had communication with him. He was sent out into the wilderness on his own. And he had to fend for himself.Jehovahs will has always been to rectify this situation and to bring mankind back to that perfect state of being children of God and in his company again.Sin has to come to an end before that can happen. So if mankind continues in this state of sin and imperfection, then we will always be alienated from God. But if sin and death can be removed from mankind, then we can become children of God again and live free of the effects of sin and death.

You're saying that the one and only God who sent his only Son to die in order to save mankind failed to ensure that all of his teachings were captured in the sole accounts of his ministry?! So Jesus realised later on that were a few things about sin and stuff that weren't written down, slapped his forehead and said "dear God, how did I miss that? Hey Paul matey, come here a minute I've got a favout to ask" ?! Powers and miracles were also given to Simon Magus, Apollonius of Tyana, Joseph Smith and a number of Indian gurus, amongst others. I take it then that you consider all those people to have been working with Gods spirit, just like Paul and the Apostles, right?!

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"We must respect the law, not let it blind us away from the basic principles of fairness, justice and freedom"

But the bible wasn't compiled by God - it was compiled by men. Actually there are many bibles, though probably the one you worship was compiled by the council of Nicea, 4th century AD, about 300 years after Jesus's death. So because something is in the bible doesn't mean it's inspired, it just means some bishops decided it should be there! Not true, they did disagree with Paul, some of them vehemently! Haven't you read James, Jesus's own brother? He explicitly declared that deeds and actions are the mechanism of salvation and NOT faith only, in a deliberate and direct contradiction to Paul's statements. He not only made his point, but went so far as to use the exact same words as Paul, in the exact same sequence and syntax, using the same scriptural references and examples. LOL! Have you ever thought about how many people in the world claim that God talks to them and that unexplained things happen to them? How many people claim that they've seen or performed miracles? Following your reasoning, they're all working for God and we should start following their teachings!This is no evidence, just wishful thinking on your behalf!

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"We must respect the law, not let it blind us away from the basic principles of fairness, justice and freedom"

Jesus didnt write anything down and nothing was written down until after his death. no i wouldnt. Simon Magus was a practicer of magical arts, something the scriptures condemn, Apollonius believed in a multitude of different gods and Smith's church doest teach the bible, they follow Smith's book... so I dont think any of them can be said to be doing what is required of a follower of Jesus and therefore could not be working by Holy spirit.

That doesn't address my point. You claimed that not all that Jesus taught was penned in the gospels. I counter-claimed that this would nullify the whole purpose of Jesus's life. If Jesus came to die in order to redeem us why didn't he say so himself? Why did he wait for years later for another man (who didn't even know Jesus and who is never mentioned by Jesus) to make this, most important teaching of Jesus's ministry? It's just absurd. It's making Jesus/God to be some kind of forgetful, make-it-up-as-we-go-along charlatan. Again, you're not addressing my point. You claimed that:

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But what proved that Paul and the other Apostles wrote under inspiration is that they were given the holy spirit and given powers and miracles

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so I'm saying that there are many other people throughout the ages who were given powers and miracles, therefore by your reasoning they were inspired by God. Whether they believe in your God or not is neither here nor there, if anything it's something that should get you thinking about the validity of your beliefs. If there is only one God and he gives powers and miracles to people who don't even believe in him then maybe you should reconsider your stance. Ofcourse there could be many Gods, each granting power and miracles to their followers.Either way,you must surely concede that performing miracles doesn't qualify one as inspired by the NT God.

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"We must respect the law, not let it blind us away from the basic principles of fairness, justice and freedom"

I haven't said that God is a fictional character. Quite frankly you've contributed more fiction to this discussion that I have. You do realize that George Burns is not God, right? (Oh, God - Movie reference)So now you're telling me that a fictional writing can't mention anything real. I have several books that are Christian fiction. One series I enjoyed mentions John F. Kennedy, a former President of the United States; Hitler; the Berlin Wall going up and coming down; and mentions many real places in Germany and the United States. But the book is fiction. The story being told did not happen. The main characters are not real people.If you truly believe God is love, do you really think he would take a challenge from the Devil you believe exists as an evil being? Even by your own standards you should see the book as fiction.Jesus used parables, which are fiction by the way. Job is considered a wisdom book. It's a poem. The message is that sin is not always the cause of evil and suffering in the world (doctrine of retribution). It was written to counter a doctrine of the time.As I've said before what you present is very inconsistent.

He did say so himself. Matthew, Mark and John wrote accounts about the 'lords evening meal' where jesus handed around bread and wine and said:"Take, eat. This means my body'. Also he took a cup and, having given thanks, he gave it to them, saying: 'Drink out of it, all of you; for this means my '"blood of the covenant"' which is to be poured out in behalf of many for forgiveness of sins..." I see what you're saying and understand why you are reasoning that way. However, there are other supernatural beings (satan & demons) who also possess power. They can give this power to anyone they choose. So while I agree that others may possess a power, it does not mean that God is the source of that power.This is why the bible condemns divination, sorcery and witchery. The power comes not from God, but from an evil source. This is also why the apostle John said ": "Do not believe every inspired expression...Test the inspired expressions to see whether they originate with God." at 1John 4:1

but you have said that the Devil is a fictional character. Yet the bible does not present him as a fictional character. It presents him as the originator of sin, the corruptor of mankind, the enemy of God and his Angels, the accuser, the slanderer etc etc etc.It raises questions such as, Would such an allegorical character be permitted into heaven to argue with God? If satan is merely 'evil' personified, how is it that the 'evil' could ever appear before God?
Also, the evil character of Satan is 'cast down from heaven', so if satan merely represents evil, how is it that it could originate with the God?The accounts about Jesus show that he expelled demons. Do you also believe that this did not really happen? If you believe that Satan is an allegorical figure, then you must also believe that the demons are allegorical figures and therefore the accounts about Jesus expelling demons are wrong or an outright lie.I think your reasoning is very contradictory and it shows that you have very little faith in the bible as the word of God. Edited by Peg, : No reason given.

You just contradicted yourself. If Adam had perfect reasoning ability (which I would disagree with, since not being able to distinguish between right and wrong would be a large damper on the reasoning ability indeed), then his perfect reasoning led him to conclude that what God asked them to do was not worth following. I, in my less than perfect reasoning ability, can do no less than follow his example. This doesn't make any sense. People became imperfect, so God decides to show them they're imperfect by making rules they can't obey. Ok, maybe I can see that, though it sort of makes God into a little Bastard rubbing our faces in his "perfection." But then he goes ahead and punishes people for not living up to the rules he made knowing we couldn't live up to them. It's like telling a person, if you can't run a mile in one minute flat, I'm going to cut off your leg in punishment, now get going. That sounds like what an evil deity would do, to me. I'm not a parent, though I hope to be one someday. I do, though, take care of family members' kids from time to time, and yes, you often have to let kids find things out the hard way, but I don't punish them for doing so, that's just cruel. Not to mention, if they're about to "find out the hard way" that something can lead to death (as the fruit supposedly did) then I don't sit back and let them learn, I physically stop them from whatever act they're about to perform. Anything less would make me the most negligent caretaker I could be. God, with his supposed omniscience, could have stopped people and taught them, rather than giving them an apprently arbitrary law, turning his back, and then punishing them and all their children for ever and ever for failing to live up to laws he knows we can't live up to.

Aside from the fact that it goes against your religion's idea of what's right and wrong, how do the three things listed equate with harm or unloving. Gay people are just as capable of love as heterosexual people. It would seem to me that denying them their right to love is the harmful, unloving act.

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The standards are easily identifiable in the greek scriptures. Some are principles to live by, other are direct laws. They are not the Mosaic law because that Law was done away with when Christ died but many of the Christian laws have been taken from the law of Moses and expanded upon.

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Since Christianity today does not have its own legal system as the Jews did at the time of Moses, Jesus, and Paul. What constitutes a law in Christianity as opposed to a command or principle to live by. This is by today’s meaning, not ancient meaning.Remember the meaning of sin: an offense against religious or moral law. Is it really a sin break a command or principle to live by?
Christian Laws or principle to live by per Peg: The name Jehovah is not used in the Greek. They used the word for Lord. This statement made by Jesus was spoken in the desert with the Devil. Jesus, a Jew, was quoting Deuteronomy. Paul was already dead before this was written. So this isn’t a writing that the very early Christians had access to.Is this a law or principle for Christians? If a law, what makes it so since the Mosaic law was supposedly done away with? The Complete Jewish Bible says from false gods.
These two statements seem to be dealing with the worship of false gods. I assume these refer back to Exodus 20:4-6, which is one of the Mosaic laws that you said was done away with.Is this a law or principle for Christians? If a law, what makes it so since the Mosaic law was supposedly done away with? This is a prayer by Jesus. Your comment refers back to Exodus 20:7, which is part of the Mosaic law that you said was done away with.
Is this a law or principle for Christians? If a law, what makes it so since the Mosaic law was supposedly done away with? This statement is by an unknown author. The second sentence refers back to Exodus 20:12, which is part of the Mosaic law that you said was done away with.Are these a law or principle for Christians? If a law, what makes them so since the Mosaic law was supposedly done away with?

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Its very clear also that murder, committing adultery, fornication, bestiality, homosexuality, lesbianism, taking drugs, drunkenness, greediness, violence, jealously, misusing blood, abusive speech, stealing, lying and coveting are also against the laws for Christians. Infact, its anything that could harm another person, or anything that is unloving.

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These are all from the Mosaic law which you said was done away with. How does quoting a law that is done away with make it a law again?
The others you need to provide support that they are laws. You do realize that if doing anything that could harm another person, or anything unloving can make a lot of common things a sin by your general standard.Football could harm another person.
Cars could harm another person.
Smoking could harm another person.
Airplanes could harm another person.Again, you’re not being specific. You’re being general. I asked for specifics and what makes them laws or principles since you added that word. BTW, principles are not laws and not subject to punishment as a law would be.

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Here is an example of how the 10 commandments have been expanded.

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If the Mosaic Law was done away, which Jesus had passed by the time Matthew was written, how does the expansion supposedly spoken before the death of Jesus become a law after his death.

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The principle is very clear here...christians were not told to simply refrain from murder, they were told to not even hold a grudge against anyone. Thats a christian principle and its what makes christian laws different to mosaic laws.

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Jesus was talking to Jews not Christians. You’re mixing principle and law. Giving counseling people on the best way to behave does not make a law.

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Jesus also expanded on the law about fornication when he said "anyone who keeps looking at a woman so as to have a desire for her as already committed adultery with her in his heart"

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But was anyone arrested for lusting? I don’t disagree that Jesus taught people to manage their emotions or thoughts to help them refrain from committing illegal acts which at that time was governed by the Mosaic law and probably Roman law.

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Sin has to come to an end before that can happen. So if mankind continues in this state of sin and imperfection, then we will always be alienated from God. But if sin and death can be removed from mankind, then we can become children of God again and live free of the effects of sin and death.

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Your obsession with perfection is fascinating since you really don’t have a concrete set of standards to know when perfection is even reached. The need for perfection is a human problem, not a demand from God.We are always in God’s company.Wasn't it Paul who said roughly that to sin there has to be a law. Without a law there is no sin.

Providing scripture helps us know that we are looking at the same place in the Bible that you are. Then we know we are all on the same page. Please provide scripture that leads you to the comments you have made.