What if we don't know we are committing sin?

[Mainliner]

This has been puzzling me the past few days. We can confess our sins to God, but what if we don't account for all of them? What if we confess to everything that we think is/was sinful that we have done in our past and present, to the exclusion of other sinful activities that we mistakenly think are not sinful. And then we keep on doing what we are doing.

This has me a bit disturbed. What if I don't get it right, and I only repent for the sins I know I have and presently am committing? Will God understand?

You'll have to excuse me with all of the questions. I'm a new Christian (at the age of 34 years old) and as exciting as I am finding my newfound faith and relationship with Jesus Christ, I continue to come up with new questions.

 

[chilehed]

God doesn't hold us culpable for things we cannot know. He knows our hearts perfectly well, so confess as best you can with a contrite heart and trust in his mercy. If you go about your relationship with the attitude that you want him to make you aware of your unknown sins so that you can stop doing them, then he'll certainly do it.

I usually end by saying something like "and I accuse myself of all my sins, both venial and mortal."

 

[SoldierOfSoul]

Your are only to confess the sin that you know of, if the Holy Spirit has revealed to you that something in your life is sin then you are to confess it. Actually if you feel it may be a sin, you should confess it, but you also do not want to be overly sin conscious, this can be a bad thing because you could end up like Martin Luther and spend hours a day confessing sin, God does not want us to live like that. We are to be free, not free to sin, but free from sin. Confess if you feel led to, but do not let this control you and become a scruple, remember that all sin that you have committed or ever will commit is already under the blood of Jesus.

 

[seashale76]

In Orthodox Christianity- we ask forgiveness for our transgressions- both voluntary and involuntary, of word and of deed, of knowledge and of ignorance- and we believe that we are forgiven for them even if we don't know what they are. However, in my experience, if it is a repeated sin that I didn't know I was committing- I've always found that I'm eventually enlightened as to what it is so I have the opportunity to confess it and turn from it.

 

[Aibrean]

In Orthodox Christianity- we ask forgiveness for our transgressions- both voluntary and involuntary, of word and of deed, of knowledge and of ignorance- and we believe that we are forgiven for them even if we don't know what they are. However, in my experience, if it is a repeated sin that I didn't know I was committing- I've always found that I'm eventually enlightened as to what it is so I have the opportunity to confess it and turn from it.

We do the same.

Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of your Holy Name. Amen

 

[insurchoftruth]

We are responsible towards God, for the sins we are aware of, and not the one which we are not aware of. Jesus paid the price for all our sins, the ones we are aware of, and the ones we are not.

The Holy Spirit will convince us of our sins, and he will make sure that we are aware of our sins. That is one of his roles in our lives. Now it remains up to us, if we want to repent and change or not.

How the Holy Spirit will convince us of sin? It is not up to us but up to Him. He knows what he is doing and how to do it best, to make sure that we are aware of our sins.

 

[heymikey80]

This has been puzzling me the past few days. We can confess our sins to God, but what if we don't account for all of them? What if we confess to everything that we think is/was sinful that we have done in our past and present, to the exclusion of other sinful activities that we mistakenly think are not sinful. And then we keep on doing what we are doing.

Well, a self-rationalization that something isn't sin, that is a sin of neglect of the truth that it is sin.

BTW, nobody's immune here. We all have sins we aren't aware of.

This has me a bit disturbed. What if I don't get it right, and I only repent for the sins I know I have and presently am committing? Will God understand?

Of course God will understand. But He won't grade on a curve if that's the conclusion.

He's accounted for all your sins, by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for your sins. He's gonna make it right. He's God.

He's also your Father -- He's got your back. Even in this.

Confession for sin is not some kind of "paybacks" or "this for that" exchange of forgiveness for confession. It's gonna take more than crying saline tears to make things right. God isn't doing this on a "work for wages" system. Confession isn't really even what we normally think it is. God is doing this another way: a way of unmerited favor. You don't deserve it: but God forgives out of His sacrificial love for you.

Relying on God to take care of it all is critically important. Is confession important? Well, yeah. But confession is part of "being in the process" of putting away sin. if you're in the process, God is faithful to forgive you for all sin.

You'll have to excuse me with all of the questions. I'm a new Christian (at the age of 34 years old) and as exciting as I am finding my newfound faith and relationship with Jesus Christ, I continue to come up with new questions.

It's a great question.

 

[Goodbook]

DGA gives the simplest explanation, and that is true in my experience, especially as a new believer. When I was in danger of falling into sin that what I wasn't aware of, the Holy Spirit convicted me.

Another way we can be sure we remain free of sin is to know the truth in the Bible, by reading it! Jesus said we are not to live on bread alone, but every word of God.
So God's word in the Bible becomes our daily bread, we are nourished by it, sustained by it, we digest it, and we live by it.

Also if you are worried about something..God tells us to go to Him about it. Cast all your fears and anxieties on Him. Talk to him not only about getting free from sin and trust him to keep you from it. Remember Jesus paid for all your sins.

When you get to know him more and more it will be natural.
God loves you and knows you are a babe in Christ. Jesus won't let you go he's the good shepherd. He tells us in the parables that even if a sheep goes wandering away from the flock he'll go and look for it, and he'll lay down his life for you. So no more 'what ifs', rest assured you are safe. Just keep abiding in him and you won't go wrong.

 

[Sketcher]

I believe it's a foregone conclusion that we're not going to get it all. Which makes God's grace for us that much more of a lifesaver.

 

[Harry3142]

Mainliner-

The Lord's Prayer has that question covered:

"and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us"

The question you raised is an excellent one. In the Old Testament God did hold men accountable for sins that they did not know they had committed. In Leviticus chapters 4,5, and 6 we find the sacrifices necessary for them to make once they realized that they had fallen short of the mark.

What we Christians need to understand is that our salvation is not as a result of our own righteousness; it's the direct result of God's own righteousness. We are all sinners, both before and after our acceptance of salvation. But unlike before, when we were sinners lost for eternity, we are now sinners saved by the grace of God:

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished - he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:19-26,NIV)

The righteousness which God accepts as true righteousness is his own righteousness. Through his actions, and with the full cooperation of his Son Jesus Christ, he has enabled us to have this righteousness. But we must remember that the righteousness is his, given as a gift to us, not ours, earned through our own work.

We do what we can in the furtherance of God's kingdom. But we do it out of gratitude for what we have already received, namely, salvation, rather than doing it in an attempt to augment the righteousness received from God in order to attain that salvation. All we can do is say, "Thank you," through our own work for that gift, both unearned and unrepayable.

 

[paul1149]

Mainliner,

God honors the heart that sincerely wants to please Him. We're never going to get it perfect; that's why we need a Savior. God knows that, and the Holy Spirit is sent to, among other things, convict the world of sin. It's actually not primarily our job.

Sanctification is a process, and what we might not get flagged on at one point might become a central issue later on. Our role is to keep a clear conscience and to seek God's face with all diligence. If we do that, we're going to hear from the Holy Spirit as we need to, for correction, support and guidance.

Specifically, staying in the Word and in fellowship are two major ways to make sure we're covering our blind spots. "In the multitude of counsel there is safety". "The entrance of the Word brings light", and also check out 1Jn 1.7.

Resolve to cover all these bases, but don't let this disturb you to the point that you're losing trust in God. He who has begun a good work in you will complete it, to the day of Christ Jesus - Philippians 1.6 He calls us to rest in Him.

Blessings,
p.

 

[Hotpepper]

I think that confession is more of a state of the heart. A lowly humbleness of spirit to remain in rather than sporadic allotments of time intellectually dwelling inwardly upon ourselves. Involuntary or ignorant sin is inherited in our carnal bodies from the fall. We know that we can never be righteous (made right with God) in and of ourselves because of this circumstance. However we should trust that these sins (involutary and ignorant) are covered by the precious blood of Christ and think on them no more with conviction, but rather humble thankfulness to our Redeemer.