Unknown sin

[.Mikha'el.]

This may seem silly, but I have become aware of the fact that the Bible cannot possibly anticipate every possible situation that occurs over a person's life. As a result, we human beings will resond inappropriately and commit sins when dealing with these situations, even we think that our responses to be theologically and morally correct.

The sins that we are not aware of will be counted against us on Judgement Day just as much as the sins that we know to exist. As a result, I try to repent for all sins, even those of which I am not aware.

My question is whether I am too concerned about unknown sins. Should I concentrate more on the sins I know of, and when I repent for those sins, to abstain from also repenting for the ones I do not know to exist? And finally, is any one else very concerned about sinning without knowing it?

 

[Katydid]

When I pray, I pray for guidance not to sin, I also pray for forgiveness for sins that I don't know I commited as well as sins of omission. I believe that if we follow G-d's commands and note specifically, "Love the L-rd your G-d" and "Love your neighbor as yourself", it very likely will help us to avoid those unkown sins.

 

[Archangel]

As humans we sin constantly. We sin in our very thoughts, and we cannot possibly keep track of the sins we commit. Sometimes I find that i can be sinning without even knowing it!!!
But when you ask for forgivness in prayer, it is not a shopping list process, we dont come to God and rhyme out the X amount of sins we have commited during the day, but pray for the blood of Jesus to wash away ALL sins.

Now dont get me wrong, sometimes there are specific sins that it is helpful we address personally, for example, if someone is constantly struggling with lust then they should pray for that issue personally because it is an issue that comes up again and again in their lives.

Whatever the result, dont let your sins bog you down. Pray for them all, and know you are forgiven! Dont let them be destractions whether you have addressed all the sins...because God forgives all of your sins, even the ones you dont know about!

 

[Dad Ernie]

My question is whether I am too concerned about unknown sins. Should I concentrate more on the sins I know of, and when I repent for those sins, to abstain from also repenting for the ones I do not know to exist? And finally, is any one else very concerned about sinning without knowing it?

Greetings Seaborgium,

No, you should QUIT concentrating on SIN, and concentrate MORE on Christ. This is the RULE to live by. Sin is a consequence of our mortal flesh, our "natural self". As long as we must exist within it, we will have "sin" in our lives, whether known, unknown, sins of omission or commission, we must always realize that we are NOT what we shall be, but we are working our way to that place through the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

So when you pray, seek the presence of God, realizing you are no-name, no-body that has no-rights to the throneroom except for the GREAT mercies of the King of Righteousness. Read the story of Esther and the times she went before her husband (the King) and the humility with which she went before him. We must keep in mind that we should NEVER think more highly of ourselves than we ought.

If we are guided by the Holy Spirit, and Christ lives in us, WE WILL NOT SIN. And remember "What is NOT of faith is sin."

Blessings,

Dad Ernie

 

[mrnnfaber]

Greetings Seaborgium,

No, you should QUIT concentrating on SIN, and concentrate MORE on Christ. This is the RULE to live by. Sin is a consequence of our mortal flesh, our "natural self". As long as we must exist within it, we will have "sin" in our lives, whether known, unknown, sins of omission or commission, we must always realize that we are NOT what we shall be, but we are working our way to that place through the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

So when you pray, seek the presence of God, realizing you are no-name, no-body that has no-rights to the throneroom except for the GREAT mercies of the King of Righteousness. Read the story of Esther and the times she went before her husband (the King) and the humility with which she went before him. We must keep in mind that we should NEVER think more highly of ourselves than we ought.

If we are guided by the Holy Spirit, and Christ lives in us, WE WILL NOT SIN. And remember "What is NOT of faith is sin."

Blessings,

Dad Ernie

Hi Dad Ernie,

May God bless you for bringing us His love and wisdom,
anne

 

[p4j]

I also have sought God for the past few years regarding getting sin out of my life. I would offer this sin, then that sin, then this sin, then that sin...repenting and then asking for God's grace through the finished work of Christ. Eventually, I got weary, not seeing an end in sight. It seemed that no matter how numerous or how deeply I was dealt with by God, there was always more sin to be dealt with. Even those that I know to be at it for 50 years haven't found an end in sight.

In offering this concern to God in prayer one day, He asked me what it was exactly that I did with the sin I offered up. The answer I gave is that upon recognizing it and repenting, I essentially apply the finished work of Christ to that area. He then pointed out that He doesn't do anything new in heaven or in earth for the sin I offer up to him. What IS new is my awareness, and that is what enables His grace, that has always been there, to begin flowing in that area. He then asked me why it wouldn't be possible for me to gather up all of my sin all at once and apply the finished work of Christ to it and be done with it. My reply to this stems back to the topic of the forum: "But what about the sin I DON'T know about?" How can I offer up the sin that I don't yet know about? The answer: I do know SOMETHING about that unknown sin--I am the source of it. And if I shut down the source, I'll eliminate all of the unknown sins as well. Sounds a lot like what Jesus was saying about trees and fruit!

If we are producing (committing) sin, then we ARE a sinner. We don't just have a sin problem, we ARE sinful. We have wicked sin in our lives because WE are wicked. We have met failure because we've been missing the point. When God shows us sin in our lives, He's trying to get us to realize that we are still sinners. He's NOT trying to pick sin after sin out of our lives. And the answer to our being sinners is to get rid of our wicked selves. And this can only be done by death. Nothing else will do--we are helplessly wicked. We got into this through birth, so our only exit is through death. Don't believe me? Try to stop sinning!

Also, it is well worth noting that just because we don't want to sin doesn't mean our heart is right with God. Who's heart do we think our sin comes from? It comes from nowhere else but our evil, unbelieving heart. For if we DID have faith, we wouldn't be sinning.

Good news though... thanks to God, when Jesus died, we also died in Him. You see, His death was not only to bear our punishment but also to procure our freedom from our wicked selves! And being freed from sin through death, we are able to live unto God through Christ. In other words, we are now truly connected with His love, and thus, we are able to love as well. And if we walk in love, there will be NO occassion of stumbling for us. You see, love is the universal answer to any circumstance we might be faced with.

So I must disagree with previous statements that we are bound to sin because there are so many possible circumstances that could come our way. Likewise, the excuse that "we're only human" also holds no water here. Jesus didn't sin, and so can we, if it be that He dwells in us. Jesus came to set us free from sin. And according to my Bible, He succeeded!

 

[Dad Ernie]

So I must disagree with previous statements that we are bound to sin because there are so many possible circumstances that could come our way. Likewise, the excuse that "we're only human" also holds no water here. Jesus didn't sin, and so can we, if it be that He dwells in us. Jesus came to set us free from sin. And according to my Bible, He succeeded!

Greetings P4J,

I thought your posts was quite good and I agree with most of it. My problem is with your conclusion. You see, in the "Our Father's prayer", we are given a format how to pray, and in it, we are to ask: "forgive us our debts (sins) as we forgive our debtors (those who sin against us). We are also told:

1 John 1:8-10 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

If we were required to live by every jot and tittle of the law, AND we were able to do that, THEN there would be no need for the propitiation of sin Jesus provided us. But since we CAN'T, THEN, we certainly do need Jesus who is every mindful of us and is ALWAYS interceding with the Father on our behalf.

But as I pointed out, we should concentrate on LIVING for Christ, NOT checking out our every thought and deed to see if we broke some law.

Blessings,

Dad Ernie

 

[.Mikha'el.]

I totally agree. The notion that it is possible to live a sinless life is unrealistic. To some degree, I think the fact that there are so many denominations of Christianity gurantees sin without being aware of it. There are bound to be doctrines taught in some denominations that are sinful, even though it will be impossible to know that in this lifetime.

 

[jbarcher]

Since others have contributed a good word...

This may seem silly, but I have become aware of the fact that the Bible cannot possibly anticipate every possible situation that occurs over a person's life.

Right, and asking for every single possible situation is madness. (I am not saying that you did.) It's a good realization though. I don't think you'll ever forget it.

What the Bible does give to us is, principles to live by. It's hard to attack some modern notions of principles (some of these are rightly laughed at) in order to get a proper meaning across, but nevertheless, that's what the "meat" is about, somewhere in Romans, which talks about milk and babes, meat for the mature. Principles like, further the cause of evangelism..."pray without ceasing" (comes from the Jewish idea that all life is sacred, IIRC)...let everything you do glorify God, etc...

 

[Celticflower]

In the Methodist church is a prayer of confession which incldes the line-

"We have done those things which we aught not to have done, and left undone those thing which we aught to have done".

Maybe this helps with those "unknown sins"????

 

[SPALATIN]

I also have sought God for the past few years regarding getting sin out of my life. I would offer this sin, then that sin, then this sin, then that sin...repenting and then asking for God's grace through the finished work of Christ. Eventually, I got weary, not seeing an end in sight. It seemed that no matter how numerous or how deeply I was dealt with by God, there was always more sin to be dealt with. Even those that I know to be at it for 50 years haven't found an end in sight.

In offering this concern to God in prayer one day, He asked me what it was exactly that I did with the sin I offered up. The answer I gave is that upon recognizing it and repenting, I essentially apply the finished work of Christ to that area. He then pointed out that He doesn't do anything new in heaven or in earth for the sin I offer up to him. What IS new is my awareness, and that is what enables His grace, that has always been there, to begin flowing in that area. He then asked me why it wouldn't be possible for me to gather up all of my sin all at once and apply the finished work of Christ to it and be done with it. My reply to this stems back to the topic of the forum: "But what about the sin I DON'T know about?" How can I offer up the sin that I don't yet know about? The answer: I do know SOMETHING about that unknown sin--I am the source of it. And if I shut down the source, I'll eliminate all of the unknown sins as well. Sounds a lot like what Jesus was saying about trees and fruit!

If we are producing (committing) sin, then we ARE a sinner. We don't just have a sin problem, we ARE sinful. We have wicked sin in our lives because WE are wicked. We have met failure because we've been missing the point. When God shows us sin in our lives, He's trying to get us to realize that we are still sinners. He's NOT trying to pick sin after sin out of our lives. And the answer to our being sinners is to get rid of our wicked selves. And this can only be done by death. Nothing else will do--we are helplessly wicked. We got into this through birth, so our only exit is through death. Don't believe me? Try to stop sinning!

Also, it is well worth noting that just because we don't want to sin doesn't mean our heart is right with God. Who's heart do we think our sin comes from? It comes from nowhere else but our evil, unbelieving heart. For if we DID have faith, we wouldn't be sinning.

Good news though... thanks to God, when Jesus died, we also died in Him. You see, His death was not only to bear our punishment but also to procure our freedom from our wicked selves! And being freed from sin through death, we are able to live unto God through Christ. In other words, we are now truly connected with His love, and thus, we are able to love as well. And if we walk in love, there will be NO occassion of stumbling for us. You see, love is the universal answer to any circumstance we might be faced with.

So I must disagree with previous statements that we are bound to sin because there are so many possible circumstances that could come our way. Likewise, the excuse that "we're only human" also holds no water here. Jesus didn't sin, and so can we, if it be that He dwells in us. Jesus came to set us free from sin. And according to my Bible, He succeeded!

Please let me know when you have eliminated all sin from your life. Of course you will have to have died and gone to heaven to do that so I guess I will have to scour the papers for your obituary. As long as we live we are sinners regardless of our faith in Christ. What Christ offers is the forgiveness of those sins and when we confess them in church we say:

I, a poor miserable sinner, confess unto thee all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended thee and justly deserved thy temporal and eternal punishment. but I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them and I pray thee of thy bountiful mercy to the end that by thy Grace I may come to everlasting life throught Jesus Christ my Lord, AMEN.


By confessing all my sins and iniquities I am saying that here are the sins I know about and there may also be some I am not aware of that need to be confessed as well. Plain and simple "I am a sinner God and I don't deserve your love or Grace. Whether I know the sins or not I am a sinner. Please forgive me, renew me and give me peace through your son Jesus Christ, my Lord."

I then listen to the Pastor as he tell that as a called and ordained servant of the word he announces the Grace of God to us and in the stead and by the command of Jesus Christ he forgives us all of our sins. This confession brings us back to our Baptism when we were first brought into the kingdom.

So please let me know when you have rid your life of sin because that is an impossibility.

 

[kel32]

So please let me know when you have rid your life of sin because that is an impossibility.

Impossible? Nope. Improbable? Perhaps.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Phil 4:13

Perhaps I missed the footnote in my Bible that says *"all things except freedom from continuing in sin"?

"...Everything is possible to one who has faith." Mark 9:23

~peace~

 

[visionary]

Don't forget all those verses about the perfect in Christ.

1 John 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

1 Kings 8:61 Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

Psalm 18:30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

Psalm 18:32 It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.

Psalm 37:37 Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.

Psalm 50:2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.

Psalm 101:2 I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.

Psalm 119:96 I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad.

Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

Proverbs 11:5 The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.

You see all the Lord is looking for in the final harvest are those who by faith are walking in truth in the last days.

Isaiah 18:5 For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches.

Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.


It is in the last days of earth’s history that the concept that the Lord has wanted perfected in the minds of men, is that it is possible to obey His laws perfectly, through the power of the Holy Spirit, in the example of our Lord Yeshua.

Jeremiah 23:20 The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.

Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

It will be the 144,000 in whom is no guile, those who have become perfect in the last days when the world will become so wicked, they will shine in contrast.

John 17:23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

This can only be done with the constant dwelling on the Holy Spirit, which has to be invited in to stay.

1 Corinthians 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Just as when Messiah came to take away the priest ministry from the earth, to perform the final works of salvation, so must we also become the part that fulfills the prophesy of perfection in Messiah that He is waiting for.

1 Corinthians 13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

2 Corinthians 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Ephesians 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Messiah:

Ephesians 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Messiah:

In your individuals daily walks with the Lord, may your prayer be unceasing, and your hearts filled with gladness, and may you look for the working of the Lord in your life.

Philippians 3:15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

Colossians 1:28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Jesus Christ:

Colossians 3:14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

2 Timothy That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Hebrews 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

So let me challenge you to move on leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ and into the deeper matter for which is the body of Messiah.

Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

Hebrews 13:21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

James 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

James 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

James 2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

James 3:2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.

1 Peter 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Jesus Christ, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you.

1 John 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

Many have been taught that it is impossible to be perfect as God is but Jesus is our example that it is within all of our reaches.

Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.

2 Samuel 22:31 Ps 18:30 "As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

2 Samuel 22:33 Ps 18:32 It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.

Job 36:4 Be assured that my words are not false; one perfect in knowledge is with you.

So what will help you understand how to be perfect. What do you need to focus in on that will help you understand the will of God?

Psalm 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.

Matthew 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 19:21 Yeshua answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Many do not understand the changes that go on in the life of a believer, some changes are small and undetected by the world, others are influencing and effecting those around the believers, but the change brought on by the working of the Holy Spirit are changes that have an everlasting effect.

1 Corinthians 13:10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,…..