By Romans 14:23b. “for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”
We learned from Romans 13 in an earlier post that the whole law can be summed up in the one command “to love.” Love is the fulfilling of the law. Today we see that the whole of sin can be summed up in this one statement which tells us sin is whatever does not proceed from faith.
Babies and infants are in a different category when it comes to this. Deuteronomy 1:39 says, “moreover your little ones and your children, who you say will be victims, who today have no knowledge of good and evil...” And Isaiah 7:15-16 says, “He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good…” These verses teach that the child or infant is unable to know what sin is simply by not being able to perform an act by faith. They have not the knowledge yet to know what they can and can not do by faith. But other than very small children (and possibly those who’s mind has been retarded through one form of sovereign handicap or another), we should be able to know what sin is simply because we could not perform the action by faith.
(Questions for the kids)
- Are there things that you are currently doing which you know you can not do by faith?
- Even though those things may not be specifically prohibited by the Bible, are they indeed sin?
Leading Family Devotions 