Does Sin, Transgressions, and Iniquity Exist Anymore?

[00:00:12] Hello and welcome to another episode of Worldwide Wonderful Women. I am your host Paula Harris, and this podcast is for women who are all about learning how to live in God's divine power. It is produced on behalf of Transformed Worldwide Ministries. Thank you so much for being here. [00:00:39] Hello, this is Episode #382 and it's entitled, "Does Sin, Transgressions and Iniquity Exist Anymore?" [00:00:52] This is a question I have asked myself in light of how our society is functioning presently. It reminds me of the Book of Judges in Chapter 17, verse 6 and Chapter 21, verse 25, where it states that "Everyone did what was right in their own eyes." [00:01:17] It is a summary of a dark, lawless and disobedient era in Israel's history. It highlights a time where individual desires and personal definitions of what was right replaced God's law, resulting in social chaos, idolatry, spiritual decline, sexual perversion and corruption. [00:01:45] Everyone acted based on their own opinions and desires, rejecting absolute divine standards of righteousness. The result was out of control sin, idolatry, injustice, mistreatment, lack of love for others, moral decay, and a general loss of social structure. It's much like today where an individual holds their truth above God's or anyone else's. [00:02:21] People are doing what is convenient or desirable to themselves rather than what is actually righteous as defined by God. Permeated in our society is a blatant sin that appears to be a normal part of our society. It seems that Satan's scheme to minimize or assimilate sin into every crease of daily living has succeeded. He is even making Christians numb to the obvious presence of sin and its consequences. [00:02:57] It has crept into every aspect of daily living. No one can escape its effects. It has overtaken politics, children's cartoons and programs, movies, television, magazines and other aspects of mental input. [00:03:21] Sin and darkness in all forms has become acceptable, whether it's sexual immorality, demons, vampires, zombies, self centeredness, pride, prejudice, lying, murder, deceitfulness, and so on. There seems to be an acceptance of and even an attraction to what is sinful, evil or dark. It is almost as if our society craves sinfulness or is drawn to darkness. [00:04:00] Don't leave this podcast right now though. Hang in here with me. I just want to briefly encourage us to shine a light to drive out this darkness. [00:04:12] Psalm 51, verses 1 to 2 states, "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your loving kindness, according to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions, wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my Sin." [00:04:37] There are three words included in this psalm that explain what we are overlooking according to God. These three words explain why darkness is prevailing today. The three words are sin, transgressions, and iniquity. [00:04:56] At first glance, you may believe that they are defining the same thing, but each one has a slight distinct meaning. Do you know the difference between them? Let me explain. [00:05:10] First of all, sin. Sin is a broad term for missing the mark falling short of of God's standards or moral wrongdoings. Sin is an action, thought or word that fails to meet God's standard. [00:05:30] We are made for the glory of God, but sin causes us to fall short of that mark. Sin is the general term for anything that fails or falls short of the glory of God. You can look at Romans 3:23. Sin is a path, a lifestyle or act deviating from that which God has marked out. [00:06:00] Mankind was created without sin, morally upright and inclined to do good. Ecclesiastes 7:29 says, "But I did find this, God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path." [00:06:25] Although created virtuous, sin entered into human experience when Adam and Eve violated the direct command of God by eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. You can look at Genesis, Chapter three, verse six. Because Adam was the head and representative of the whole human race, his sin affected all future generations. You can look at Romans Chapter 5, verses 12 to 21. [00:06:59] Associated with this guilt is a corrupted nature passed from Adam to to all his descendants, and that includes everyone, even us. Now, out of this perverted nature arises all the sins that people commit. You can look at Matthew, Chapter 15, verse 19. No person is free from the contamination of sin. The sin nature is present in every human being born since the fall fall of Adam. No one is exempted. The corruption of sin is not developed or expressed to the same degree in every person. Neither is it expressed in the same way in any person at all times. But all of us are prone to sin, no matter who we are. [00:07:58] God is holy and cannot sin. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to earth in human form, is also sinless. [00:08:08] So sin is defined in terms of mankind's relationship to God. Sin is mankind's rebellion against their Creator, causing them to fall short of the mark of glorifying Him. [00:08:25] Now, how is sin different from transgression? [00:08:31] Transgression implies a deliberate rebellion or walking beyond a set limit. It is often described as knowing the rules and breaking them anyway. Transgression specifically refers to intentionally crossing a known boundary, willfully disobeying a law, or violating a trust. It is what Adam and Eve did when God gave them specific instructions not to eat of the fruit of the tree and they did it anyway. [00:09:08] Sin can happen out of ignorance or weakness. Transgression is almost always associated with active intentional disobedience, knowingly ignoring a restriction, or breaking a specific rule after being warned. [00:09:29] Sin is falling short of the moral code; whereas transgression is breaking a specific defined commandment or boundary. [00:09:41] While all transgressions are sins, not all sins are premeditated transgressions. Sin can be unintentional. [00:09:53] Now, how are transgressions different from iniquity? [00:09:59] Transgression emphasizes the act of rebellion, while iniquity refers to the stubbornness or immoral character of a person. [00:10:12] Transgression is an active, willful violation of a known boundary or law or crossing the line. While iniquity refers to a deeper, premeditated or ingrained state of perversion. It's an inner corruption or wretchedness of a person. [00:10:35] Transgression is often seen as an outward act of rebellion, whereas iniquity is a deeper inner root issue. [00:10:46] Transgression is defined as rebellion, revolt, or willfully crossing a known limit. It is a deliberate choice to disobey authority; such as breaking a commandment, running a stop sign, or trespassing a boundary. [00:11:06] Iniquity refers to perversion or internal wickedness. It signifies a deep seated immorality, a premeditated choice to continue in sin, or a perverted heart condition. [00:11:25] Transgression is an act of breaking the law. Iniquity is the character of the heart that breaks the law. [00:11:35] Transgression is doing what is wrong, breaking the law. While iniquity is the inward, perverted state that causes one to do wrong or break the law. [00:11:49] Psalm 51, verses 1 to 2 refer to sin, iniquity and transgressions; highlighting that while they all represent wrongdoing, they carry slightly different meanings. I trust I have explained them in such a way that you can now discern the difference. [00:12:10] Let me summarize the difference again. [00:12:13] Sin is missing the mark. Transgression is crossing the line or rebellion, and iniquity is the inner corruption or wickedness of one's heart or soul. [00:12:30] Now, I stated earlier that these three words explain why darkness is prevailing today. Yet in the midst of the darkness comes the light that has the power to dispel all darkness, no matter how deep. [00:12:46] If you look at Psalm 32:5, it says, "Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and you forgave the guilt of my sin." [00:13:08] Now here in Psalm 32 we see all three words again. But this time the solution or remedy is given for all the darkness that we witness today. Against this dark background of sin, transgressions, and iniquity is the forgiveness and salvation brought by Jesus Christ. [00:13:32] The Gospel comes as the light and good news of the deliverance that God has provided through His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus paid the penalty for all sin, transgressions, and iniquity for all people. You can look at Mark 10:45. And he redeemed us from the curse, power and penalty of sin, regardless of how deprived or wicked a human heart may become. Jesus death on the cross is sufficient to cleanse it from all sin. Look at John 1:29 and Romans 5:18. [00:14:22] In this Psalm, the person did not try to cover up his sin, but acknowledged his sin and confessed it so he may receive the forgiveness only Jesus our Lord can provide. You can do the same right now and be set free from the guilt and penalty of your sins, transgressions, and iniquity. [00:14:46] Confess to Jesus that you believe he died in your place and paid your sin debt. That he arose from the grave and is seated at the right hand of God the Father. Ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and save your soul and become your Savior. If you believe this in your heart and pray asking him to save your soul, he will. He will not turn you away, for he loves you and demonstrated his love for you by his sacrificial death on your part. Now if you need to understand more on this, go to our website given at the end of this podcast and scroll down on our homepage to the section "Receive New Life in Jesus". [00:15:38] I am so thankful that no matter how dark things become around us today, the light of Jesus can shine in and through us to light the way for others. May we not become complacent or accept the sinful dark ways of this world, but combat the darkness within and without through the power of God's Holy Spirit. One by one, would you please join me in lighting a torch of God's love and forgiveness for all to see. If we join together in this, it will conquer all the sinful evil plots of the enemy. [00:16:25] I trust you will. And until we meet next time, smile. Jesus loves you! [00:16:37] Thank you for listening. To make sure you do not miss any future episodes, please subscribe to our podcast. [00:16:46] We want all to be able to live in God's divine power. Also, sign up for our monthly newsletter on our website, twmforjesus.org. [00:16:59] Please do share our podcast with others and Lord willing, we'll be together next month.