Webster dictionary says that “sin is an offense against religious or moral law. It is a diminished state of human nature in which the self is estranged from God. It is a voluntary departure of a moral agent from a known rule of morality or duty, prescribed by God; any voluntary transgression of the divine law, or violation of a divine command; a wicked act; iniquity. sin is either a positive act in which a known divine law is violated, or it is the voluntary neglect to obey a positive divine command, or a rule of duty clearly implied in such command. Sin comprehends not action only, but neglect of known duty”.
There are 3 Categories of Offense Against God
Iniquity: When a person denies God, and knowingly disobeys Him (a person who denies that he is commanded by God over a certain matter).
Transgression: When a person rebels against God. A person recognizes God, but deliberately disobeys God’s commandments.
Sin: When a desire forces a person to a point to where they feel compelled by their evil inclination and desire to go against the will of God thus giving in to fleshly desires.
There Are 3 Levels of Sin
Intentional sin: You know a commandment of God, you understand it is forbidden to do, but you do it anyway.
Unintentional sin: You sin because of your lack of paying attention to details, you were carless to learn, or you were just too lazy in trying to understand a commandment. You were not thinking!
Accidental sin: When you go against a commandment of God completely by accident.
Each has a greater level of judgment (Luke 12:47-48). Some sins have a death penalty, while others do not. God in His kindness, mercy, and grace allows us to feel guilt and sorrow which leads us to repent so we will not be judged at a greater level (Romans 2:5-11).
In the time of the temple, if a person had an unintentional sin, they could bring a sacrifice to atone for their sin (Numbers 15:22-31). Hebrews 10:26 says, “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries”. Romans 2:6-11 says, God will repay each one of us according to what we did, both good and bad. People who use excuses not to deal with their sin do not accept the commandments of God. God is hidden to those who do not deal with their sin (Deuteronomy 32:20, Isaiah 6:9-10), and He is revealed to those who do and acknowledge them and repent (John 14:26).
How Do We Know What Sin We Are Accountable For?
Understanding sin takes time and a lot of effort through studying God’s word. God has entrusted the Jewish people with the in-depth understanding of God’s instructions (John 4:22-24, Romans 3:2). The commandments are all defined in the Torah as 613 commandments of things to do and not to do. There are specific commandments that are for women, men, Kings, Priests, the Jewish nation, and for the non-Jewish nations. The word ‘Torah’ means instructions but is also known as the ‘law’. The Torah contains the first 5 books in the Bible, as well as the Prophets, and the Writings. In Romans 3:20 it says, “… through the law comes knowledge of sin”.
There are 7 categories of commandments that all humanity is obligated to obey and will be held accountable for, and they are called the Noahide Laws. There were also 4 additional commandments the Apostles instructed non-Jewish disciples of Jesus to follow in Acts 15. In addition, Jesus explained that His disciples should also follow the commandment of loving God and loving their neighbors as themselves (Matthew 22:36-40).
The Torah list 365 negative commandments that are things not to do, and 248 positive commandments of things to do. An easier way to think about it is, God has given us ways to create a positive action in this world that will have an eternal impact. We may not ever do all of them, but if we take the time to learn about them, and which ones apply to us, we will gain a much better understanding of God. On the other hand, there are things that God does not want to be done, and He will hold each one of us accountable if we are responsible to not do them. In the same way, if we take the time to learn about those, and which ones apply to us, we will understand God much better.
Jesus says in Matthew 5:19, there will be great, and there will be least in the Kingdom of Heaven. It will all be based on how well we did here by keeping God’s commandments and teaching others to do the same. How you keep God’s commandments is based on how you overcome sin. By us dealing with our sin in our own life, and overcoming it, and by us working through repentance, we gain an eternal identity.
God said in Genesis 4:7″ sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” The process of ruling over sin will also make us a better person. Repentance is the remedy that counteracts the consequence of sin, and we can repent because of Jesus.
Read Sin is a Challenge God Has Given Each One of Us to Overcome to learn how to conquer sin.
God has given each one of us the tools necessary to overcome sin. Go to HowDoIRepent.org and start a 30-Day journey of repentance. Each day has practical advice on how to overcome sin.