This is Part 2 of 3 and I highly recommend reading Part 1 as all of these do in fact go together in explaining Sin…..While each can be read on their own…..it will help to understand more by reading them all.
Most people don’t really think about the details of sin and sinfulness…but it is actually important because you start to realize how easy it is to get caught up in sin that can lead many of us on a path to destruction….and yes, even saved Christians can fall into a destructive lifestyle if they continue in a life of sin…
How Sinfulness can permeate our lives….
What people don’t always take into account, is the difference in temptation, iniquity, and depravity..….you see all of these are sinful…and while they all can coincide together I must and need to explain the differences in order to fully understand Sin and how it works in all of our lives.
These are different tiers to sin that I will go over from start to finish. As it goes further and further it gets darker and darker. This is why Hell is going to be a horrible place for so many people….they will know their sins and be tormented continuously with them.
First Tier – Temptation
Definition of Temptation
“the desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise; To try and Lure someone to do something against what they should. An enticement….”
Lure/Entice
“to offer some form or reward to tempt you to do something…..”
We are all tempted, every single person no matter the age is tempted by something….because we all have weaknesses and wants that are of the flesh, are of the mind…(but not of our Spirit if we are saved). No one is exempt from temptations and if anyone tells you they are…they are not of God.
“Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Mark 14:38
This is not to say you cannot overcome temptations, sometimes it is easier than other times…but to say you are never tempted….that is impossible for we are tempted many times thru-out each day.
We also are not tempted by God….so many people want to blame God for the temptations in our lives. It is not God who tempts us; however, He allows the temptations in our lives for His glory and for His purpose. People don’t understand this…..especially some Christians.
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13
People don’t understand that God knows before you even think of something and He already has a plan in place for that thought, for that choice, for that action.
(Those that do not have Christ as Savior even their sin can lead to the glorification of God….we don’t always see it or know it until after the fact or even until we get to Heaven, but ALL things will be to the glorification of God even our sins.)
Our temptations can bring us closer to God…..closer to understanding how Satan and the demons work….closer to knowing ourselves and how our own minds work. This is knowledge Satan does not want you to have…..but God does…..He shows us His grace and mercy thru such things.
“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” James 1:12
Everyone falls into sin at times….EVERYONE. Some people can overcome it easier than others, but everyone can fall into temptations…..
Whether it is to watch a movie we know we shouldn’t watch….cursing at something or someone….gossiping…..and many other things we can get caught up in that we may not even realize is a temptation until after the fact.
We are all human and as a human, we will always fall, for we are not perfect and our nature is desperately wicked. It is why none is good but God and why as I stated in ‘Are you a good person?’ that Jesus is the only good within us and when we don’t have Him as our Savior we can never claim to be good.
Second Tier –The Act of Sin (Sinning)
There are actually 2 ways of sinning; you have willful sin and you have unwittingly sin. Willful ignorance can lead many to commit sin unknowingly because they have purposely chosen to stay ignorant of God’s word….sometimes they even think this will help them because they can say, ‘they didn’t know’ However….this is not true and ignorance is a Sin in itself and no one will have any excuses.
“As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts of your ignorance.” 1 Peter 1:14
Willful sin- is when you purposely choose to act upon your temptation or choose to be enticed by sinful things. You make the choice to turn from God in that moment to commit said sin.
For example – you have the temptation of stealing money in front of you and you purposely choose to steal the money, this is willful sin.
Accidental/unknowing Sin – is when you sin and not realize it at all or not realize until you are in the act or even after the act of sin.
For example – you watch a movie that has a lot of cursing and even some adult scenes in it (since it’s very hard to get away from these movies in today’s Hollywood….it’s why we should be extra careful in what we are watching). You don’t realize even at the time that the cursing is in your head and the more you are around it the more you are prone to say those words when you are angry before you even realize it.
There are many….many saved Christians today who do not realize that watching certain things and listening to certain music is actually a sin….They think it is just a movie or just a song….but you are watching it, you are singing it. You can even read things that are sinful and not really realize it because of the way the world is…we have skewed what is acceptable and not acceptable…what is right and what is wrong….there is a lot of gray area now in most things…..
But; God in the scripture makes it clear what is sin and what is not and there should be no debate. There is no gray area in Sin with God because He knows what it can lead to in our lives. He sees the sin and while He knows the heart and mind and takes that, of course, into consideration…..we as His children should know what we need to be looking out for in order to stay away from it. It was His responsibility to teach us…just as parents teach their children and it is our responsibility to listen and to follow…..out of our love and respect for Him.
Third Tier – Iniquity/Depravity
Definition of Iniquity
“immoral or grossly unfair behavior; wickedness; gross injustice; depravity….”
“I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.” Romans 6:19
As a person continues to turn to sin and away from God….even saved Christians can do this by oppressing the Holy Spirit within…your sins will lead you to more sin and eventually you will start to fall into sinful iniquity….
“Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity, and is polluted with blood. And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness.” Hosea 6:8
You see, when your sins lead you into iniquity…you yourself are becoming a tempter to others….you are not only sinning but leading others to sin. When you get to this point of sinfulness…most (not all) of the time you are aware you are doing something wrong, but because you want it…you allow yourself to do it and proceed to get others involved to get what you want…..
There are many Christians who do not do right by others…some are not truly saved, but there are many saved Christians who have led their own children astray from God by teaching them certain things or allowing certain things in their lives that are clearly against what God commands but they have done it anyway…because their own sins have lead them to believe that it’s okay to allow some wickedness or immoral behavior, because they no longer see the truth but what they want to see….. and in this can lead Children astray to wickedness. (See Luke 17:2)
“If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.” Job 11:14
Take a good look at the world today and at Christians….you see this all over the world…where saved believers have allowed iniquity into their own lives because of what they want to believe….even when they know and use to believe in what scripture said….they have turned away from some of it because they don’t like to hear the complete truth…..
Some people don’t even realize that they are in fact committing sinful iniquity to themselves and to others because they have become blind to the Holy Spirit….they have become blinded by the world and things of the flesh.
“Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!” Habakkuk 2:12 “Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!” Habakkuk 2:15
However, if you are saved the Holy Spirit will only allow you to go so far into iniquity before He Will pull you out…..and sometimes this will lead to your death. (Because of your choices God allows it, and there is always a purpose behind it.)
Examples –
You are saved but struggle with drug addiction and you continue to do them….eventually the drugs will kill your body little by little and eventually they will kill you, and God will allow it because it was your choice….
You are saved but you struggle with continuing fornication with multiple people…..eventually you will get a disease that may cause you to have cancer or other health problems…..this can eventually kill you or debilitate you in certain ways….God Allows it because it was your choice…..
(I need to make this very clear…that people who are sick or have cancer….it doesn’t have to have anything to do with living a sinful life…we all have illnesses that is just a part of human life and even a demonic attack….but there are also examples of sinfulness leading to certain things in your life that can cause harm to you. (See trials and tribulations blog)
The Lord will always give you a way to come away from living that life style….Always….but it is also always our choice.
“He openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity.” Job 36:10
So many people do not realize what we do in our lives affect our Spirits and the Holy Spirit (if we are saved). This in turn affects us physically and mentally and allows demons to attach themselves to us to make it harder and harder to hear God and to adhere to what we should do and what is expected of us from Him.
“For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good. He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.” Psalms 36:2-4
God KNOWS you…..we cannot hide anything from Him….we can hide it from others and hide it even from ourselves….but nothing is hidden from God.
“Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” Matthew 23:28
This world is full of iniquity….the wickedness and lawlessness is abounding more and more every day, don’t allow it to overcome you and your family…..teach others that wickedness will be their downfall. Teach them that Jesus can save them from their own wickedness and iniquity….
“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” Matthew 24:12
We must get back right with God. The saved and the unsaved….for many saved are being blinded by the things of this world as well…..Open your eyes and get back to Christ…..You will see Him sooner than you think.
If you don’t know Christ….open your heart and eyes to Him before it’s too late.
“Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” Psalms 51:2
Fourth Tier – Abominations To God
I need to be Very Clear….I am talking to the unbelievers….the unsaved, for God does not see those that are washed in the blood of the Lamb as wicked….again we are made righteous because of Him. So God can never hate His children….His own.
“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalms 103:12 “Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.” Romans 4:7
Definition of abomination
“something regarded with disgust or hatred; loathing and extreme disgust and hate….; a despicable habit”
As sin turns into iniquity and depravity….this in turn is wickedness….The Lord truly abhors and loathes wickedness…..not all sin is ‘per se’ wicked…..
Definition of Wicked
“Morally corrupt. (disregard for justice, righteousness, truth, honor, virtue; evil in thought, etc.)
Humans sin in thought and deed every day. As an unbeliever this does not make you abominable to the Lord….However….when you go into such sinfulness of depravity, that is when the Lord will have such disgust that He will allow you to be taken over by your wickedness…..this in turn starts turning you into a corruptible person…..
Examples
- You tell someone that they look good with that haircut… (known as a little white lie)
This is a lie….but this does not imbue wickedness for even though it is a lie…it was not with ill intentions…..while we should strive never to lie….I have learned in being human….this is absolutely impossible…we all tell lies big or small…just not to hurt someone….yet we are hurting them and ourselves for not being completely honest.
It is when you continue lying….and it gets more selfish…more ill intended….that it turns into iniquity….
(i.e.-you tell someone you were going to the store only to commit a crime…or adultery…or something even more evil.)
The more we think on certain Sinfulness and commit said Sin…the more we are led by our thoughts into a depraved mind if we do not take them captive.
2. You fornicate outside of marriage…this is a Sinful act….however…when you continue in the said Sin… this can lead to more depraved and wicked things….
Like: watching porn to try with your partner……sleeping with more than one person at a time….giving up the natural ways of a man and a woman to the same sex…..even going into darker and greater perverseness.
(This can even happen to married couples..…that is why it is so important to realize that the lust of the flesh can lead to such evil against God that you try not to start it to begin with.)
You see, when we think sinful thoughts….we have already sinned
We can then act of said thoughts; we are then sinning
However, when you continue in that Sin….this can lead to more depraved thoughts….more depraved action…which leads to wickedness. (While saved Christians can fall into some wickedness….by the grace of God….we still aren’t wicked in His sight because of Jesus.)
When we have the Holy Spirit in us…these things; if we fall into temptation will burden us so much we will turn away even for a while….but if it’s our weakness we will battle it until the Lord either takes it from us, we pass on, or we are raptured.
What are abominations to God? Let’s look at Scripture.…
“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mine, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgement of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” Romans 1:28-32
(Praise God, Praise Him continually for those of us who are saved by His grace, are no longer considered abominations to Him….because we no longer are what we were….we are a new creature in Christ.)
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
How does God view Sin for the saved vs unsaved?
“For what the law could not do, in that is was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:” Romans 8:3
When Jesus was crucified He took the whole world’s Sins on His body and in His death those of us who accept Him as our Savior are all equally saved…..No matter what sins we commit in our flesh….if we have Him in our hearts…..we are all SAVED the same and no one is more saved than any other who also believes in Christ.
Jesus took every person’s sins to that cross……but only those who believe in that….in the price He paid for us….can we be free of our sins.
Those that are Saved by His Grace and accept Him, God sees no sin in us any more….we are covered, we are washed…..We are made righteous…..
“For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” Hebrews 10:14
Those that choose not to accept or believe…..it is their sins that God still sees……in their unbelief….they accept their own sins upon their own shoulders and in doing so….will die in their sins and be sent to Hell and punished for them…..
And those that are in Hell will be tormented by all the sins they have ever committed against God and against others…..they will be tormented day and night….no rest, no peace….(see blog on Understanding Hell)
“I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” John 8:24
(To Be Continued)
Understanding The Word 