What is difference between Sin, Transgression And iniquity

[SamMcNear]

What is difference between Sin, Transgression And iniquity.
I read a scriptures that doesn't seem to comput in my head.

Romans 4:15 because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.

My brother quoted rom 4:15 to me saying "where there is no law there is no sin" saying we have no law (the law of moses) becuase we are in Christ therefore we cannot sin.

But what about adam's sin The law given to moses wasn't in place then.

I think I'm confused becuase I don't know the difference between sin, transgression and iniquity. Am I on the right path and if not I still want to know the difference between sin, transgression and iniquity.


Thanks,
Sam

[steve7150]

But what about adam's sin The law given to moses wasn't in place then.

I think I'm confused becuase I don't know the difference between sin, transgression and iniquity. Am I on the right path and if not I still want to know the difference between sin, transgression and iniquity.








Well i'm no expert but i think they mean the same thing. Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil so he knew right from wrong and he knew he sinned. There was always God's moral law even before he codified it with Moses. There is still law with Christ, not the Law of Moses but the principals Christ gave us and that his Apostles gave us. These are known by various names like "the Law of Liberty". "the Law of Christ", " the Law of the Spirit, "the Law of God" and several other names.

[SamMcNear]

I was always taught (but I never investigated) that transgressions was the penalty part of sin. This made sence to me in view of God casting our Transgressions as far as east is from west to remember them no more. God can read the bible so you can read of sin that was forgiven but He could forget about the judgement part of the sin.

I don't know what to think this is why I'm asking

[mattrose]

I don't think the confusion comes from the words (sin vs. transgression) meaning different things, but from the words have flexible meanings.

In Scripture, both involuntary and voluntary transgressions can be labeled as sin... but that doesn't mean Scripture doesn't distinguish between them.

In each passage, we have to use the context to determine exactly what meaning is in mind. The words themselves are somewhat elastic. I say 'somewhat' because they have a limited number of possible meanings.

[backwoodsman]

My brother quoted rom 4:15 to me saying "where there is no law there is no sin" saying we have no law (the law of moses) becuase we are in Christ therefore we cannot sin.

The chapter is about Abraham being justified by faith, and how the promise to him and his descendants is not only to those who obey the law, but also to those who share Abraham's faith. Your brother is twisting the verse pretty far, and ignoring large chunks of the New Testament, to take it out of that context and make it say what he suggests. If he's right, then Paul wasted an awful lot of time and effort warning Christians against doing things they couldn't do anyway.

To rephrase it a little, it's saying simply that it's not possible to violate a law that doesn't exist. It doesn't mean there can't be sin without the law of Moses -- everyone from Adam until Moses had no law of Moses, but they still understood right & wrong, and they still sinned. Likewise, we are not under the law, yet are heirs to God's promise to Abraham through faith, not through following the law.

[Paidion]

You can check here for 8 Greek words for "sin" used in the New Testament, together with their meanings and scriptural passages quoted for each word:

http://www.theos.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=3675

[SamMcNear]

Thanks Paidion
That really helps

It's funny my study started with the difference between sin and transgression then I noticed another word for sin iniguity now 8 different words for sin. Wow I asked God for wisdom on this and He gave me the whole enchilada .

[Homer]

Sam,

When I saw your post I thought of the following which appears with some frequency in the Old Testament:

[all quotes New American Standard Bible (NASB)]

1 Kings 8:47

47. if they take thought in the land where they have been taken captive, and repent and make supplication to You in the land of those who have taken them captive, saying, ‘We have sinned and have committed iniquity, we have acted wickedly’;

Daniel 9:5

5. we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances.

Psalm 106:6

6. We have sinned like our fathers,

We have committed iniquity, we have behaved wickedly.

Solomon, Daniel, and David appear to have in mind three categories of sin:

Sin (#2398, Heb. Chata) being a general category including inadvertent sin, sins of ignorance, or even inability.
Iniquity (#5753, Heb. Avah) would include conscious sin such as adultery and Idolatry.

Wickedly (#7561, Heb. Rasha) is the violent, oppressive, greedy, murderous, the hater of God.

As you can probably see, they depict degrees of sinfulness, from not so bad to totally evil.

Interestingly, the on the Hebrew Avah the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament comments:

"The remarkable ambivalence between the meanings of "sin as an act" and "penalty" shows that in the thought of the OT sin and its penalty are not radically separate notions as we tend to think of them. Rather in the OT the action of man and what happens to him are presupposed to be directly related as one process within the basic divine order."

[SamMcNear]

Thanks Homer
That helps
so are there only 3 words for sin in the O.T.? and 8 words for sin in the N.T. ?

[Homer]

Sam,

so are there only 3 words for sin in the O.T.? and 8 words for sin in the N.T. ?

That isn't my point. What I was reminded of by your initial post was a study I had done probably 25 years ago when I became aware of the scriptures I cited. 2 Chronicles 6:37 also has them. As I recall I had found a similar citation in the NT but I do not know where it was.

"Transgression" is also a word for sin we find in both our OT and NT translations. But the Hebrew and Greek words "transgression" is translated from are not exact synonyms. In your OP you wrote:

Romans 4:15 because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.

My brother quoted rom 4:15 to me saying "where there is no law there is no sin" saying we have no law (the law of moses) becuase we are in Christ therefore we cannot sin.

You brother incorrectly put "sin" in place of "transgression" which puts a very different spin on things. In Romans 4:15 the Greek word is #3847, parabasis which is an overstepping or breech of a stated law or given commandment, so of course you can not transgress a commandment that has never been given. This does not mean you can not sin. The moral law, naturally understood, always existed. Time once was when theologians spoke of "natural law", meaning those laws of conduct that were naturally understood. I think Paul had this in mind in Romans 2:13-16:

Romans 2:13-16
New King James Version (NKJV)

13. (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; 14. for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15. who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) 16. in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.

The Gentiles certainly did not know of the ritual requirements of the Law of Moses nor were they ever accused of not keeping them.