Unknown Sin?
Ep. 4 – Unknown Sin
OK, I admit to bating you a little with the idea of unknown sin. In reality, I’m not fond of the word sin anyway. This isn’t to say that I have any interest in altering or watering down the Word of God. By no means. I literally have issue with the actual word, as I believe it has been abused and diluted of its full potency over the past century. I find that folks, myself included, have lost a more pure definition of the word sin, and it has thus become weighed with meaning that goes outside of its original intent. I also believe the word has lost any cultural significance outside the church, which makes for awkward usage for unbelievers, seekers, or those who have had a bad church experience in the past.
In his outstanding book Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges addresses this very point. He also presents an outstanding definition of sin that has become extraordinarily relevant to me these days. Sin is, simply put, conduct unbecoming a Christ-follower. Conduct unbecoming. OK, this has meaning to me.
Largely, this rectifies some of the damage I feel that some folks of the “sin is sin is sin” camp have caused. Now, don’t come after me too hard on this, but I have been presented the following theology numerous times over my life, the last of which was a conversation this past fall with an ordained minister. Does this sound familiar:
We on earth put levels and degrees on wrongdoing, but to God, sin is sin. To God, stealing a pencil off someone’s desk is the same as killing someone. It’s only in our finite humanity that we see it otherwise. To God, sin is sin is sin.
Ever heard this before?
Frankly, this waters down the true understanding of ’sin is sin.’ It is a theological error that gives too much power to the meaning of the word sin.
First, let me ask you a question. Fath, hope and love: which is the greatest? According to the Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians:
1Cor 13:13: And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
So, there are degrees of goodness. In addition, in the Mosaic Law, there is precept upon precept outlining various penalties for various sinful actions.
Not all sins are created equal, nor are their judgements, and this is where the error begins. I will actually agree with sin is sin in the sense that conduct unbecoming is conduct unbecoming. Any failure to conduct one’s self in God’s expected manner is, thusly, conduct unbecoming. Sin is sin. So far, so good.
Sin is sin, but sins are NOT sins, however. If this were the case, then we could equate all acts of sin in every way.
SO, SCOTT, WHAT ABOUT UNKNOWN SIN???
Well, a couple of the most powerful scriptural conversations about degree of judgement lie in intent and understanding:
Luke 12:47-48: That servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows.
Matthew 11:20-24: Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”
Apparently committing known sin, especially after hearing the good news of Christ, is a whole lot worse for you than committing an unknown, or inadvertent, sin. So, we have degrees of judgement.
What does God think about unknown sin?
Genesis 20:3-6: God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.” And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.
Here’s what Joey at 360 Degrees of Life had to say about Gen 20:3-6:
What’s interesting to note here is that sin is sin regardless of whether or not we we think it is. Abimelech had no idea that Sarah was Abraham’s wife. He, in the integrity of his heart took her for his own honestly thinking she was available. To make matters worse, both Abraham and Sarah had lied about their relationship. So now, you’ve got lies, deceit leading to potential adultery all rolled into one situation. Even though Abimelech’s conscience was clear, God still holds him accountable to the sin he was about to commit. However, God was merciful because look what happened; God kept Abimelech from following through and consummating the relationship.
So, if sin is conduct unbecoming, then unintentional sin is still conduct unbecoming whether we know it or not. And apparently, we can still be held accountable. Hmmm.
Most folks know it’s a bad idea to engage in conduct unbecoming with the intent of pimping God’s forgiveness. “God’ll forgive me if I do this” is scripturally a bad idea.
Still yet, we don’t get off the hook entirely for ignorance of conduct unbecoming. Apparently, if you’re going to be a Christ-follower then you’re expected to learn the rules.
WELL, WHAT DO WE DO?
Let’s see what scripture says about unintentional sin. In Leviticus, the part of the Old Testament where God hands the Law down to Moses, chapter four begins like this:
Leviticus 4: The LORD said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘When anyone sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD’s commands-
And continues with various instructions for atonement for all sorts of different individuals and groups who may have sinned unintentionally. Notably, they all are considered guilty, and yet all have a path to atonement.
As far as the Christ-follower? Perhaps these words of wisdom can help:
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
If we search our hearts and identify our conduct unbecoming, and confess our acts, then our Father is faithful and will purify us from ALL unrighteousness. This would reasonably include unknown or inadvertent conduct unbecoming. It would seem God has provided us a method to avoid being tormented with unknown failures.
Phil. 3:14-16: I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
Our faith is also an active one. We are called to grow and mature, and God will be faithful to grant us clarity and understanding. The further into the faith we go, I believe the more complex and nuanced we will find the Law of God. We cannot grow, however, if we don’t even maintain the standards of conduct we already know of. Every time we attain a new understanding, it becomes our new baseline standard.
God is infinite. Growing in God’s law is a lifelong experience.
I have more thoughts on all this, but for now I’ll leave you with a couple of interesting documents I encountered along the way.
David Becker: What is the difference between intentional and unintentional sin?
So, what about deliberate sinning?
Jesus and the Sanctuary (very interesting, tangentally relevant)
Be blessed, all.