Removing Iniquity

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How does God do that?

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Zec 3:9

For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone [shall be] seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.

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What is iniquity?

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ן וֹ עָ     (avon)

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1) perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of iniquity

a) iniquity

b) guilt of iniquity, guilt (as great), guilt (of condition)

c) consequence of or punishment for iniquity

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Scripture regarding iniquity:

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Exd 20:5		Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me;
Exd 34:9		And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it [is] a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.
Lev 5:17	¶	And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD; though he wist [it] not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity.

Eze 18:26

When a righteous [man] turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.

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Without absolute, genuine repentance, a person can be cut off from his people and God because of his iniquity.

There is no animal sacrifice that can atone for iniquity.

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3 Kinds of Sin

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reference:

http://www.thechurchesofgod.com/THREE%20KINDS%20OF%20SIN.htm

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Let’s examine Exodus 34:7 closely, to see more clearly the differences between the words iniquity, transgression and sin, which are all used in one place here.

“Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity (5771) and transgression (6586) and sin, (2403) and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” KJV

How exactly do these 3 words differ?

1. Sin is from —-“chatta’ah,” meaning habitual sins of human frailty.  These are what we might even call misdemeanors.  It has to do with "missing the mark." 

 

2. The word Iniquity comes next and it is from “Avon,” meaning capitol sins or capitol crimes of perversity or evil…such as murder or idolatry.  There was a death penalty for these sins.

 

3. Transgression is from—- “Pesha,” This was the worst of all.  It also had a death penalty.  It meant to "break away from authority."  It is the sin of open and knowing revolt….against God and His governmental structure…

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It is the sin of "rebellion against God," which at the end of the day, is really the worst sin of all because it is willful sin, which is never repented of…better known as the unpardonable sin of the New Testament.

This sin is not unpardonable because God refuses to forgive.  It is only unpardonable because it is based upon a deep spirit of willful permanent rebellion.

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Examples of iniquity

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?" He continues to say, "Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 6:8-10 

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Animal Sacrifice for sin offenses, but not iniquity

Anciently, the daily animal sacrifices only covered “chatta’ah” offences which were the "human frailty sins" or missing the mark sins that we all commit sometimes, but no way did they cover “Avon” or "Pesha" offences which were willful capitol crimes.

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Sacrifice of Christ and what Grace covers

Forgiveness is available through the blood of Jesus for repentant sinners.

But scripture says:

“If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, (DELIBERATE SINNING REMOVES CHRIST’S SACRIFICE)  but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.

Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?"                Hebrews 10:26-31

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Grace cannot save the chronic offender…otherwise all these sins Paul was talking about in the scripture above could not keep us out of the kingdom of God! 

We know that Paul is talking about people being kept out of the kingdom of God because of chronic sins. 

They won’t stop murdering, they won’t stop committing adultery, etc… from all this we see that grace does not apply to the chronic unrepentant rebellious sinner.

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Thus we see, that Christ’s sacrifice does not cover these two worst kinds of sins (capitol crimes against God and rebellion) on a daily basis, any more than the daily animal sacrifices covered them in the Old Testament.

In other words, don’t be doing murder on a daily basis and expect forgiveness from God.

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The writer says that willful or deliberate sinning insults the “Spirit of grace.”  How?  

Because it treats Christ’s blood which was spilled to ratify the New Covenant as an unholy thing!  How does it do that? Purposeful rebellion is not covered by Christ’s sacrifice nor can it receive grace…

Willful sin done with a rebellious attitude is tantamount to rebellion or treason against God.

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If willful sinners have full knowledge of God and what He requires of them and yet, they have a rebellious attitude—then they have entered the dangerous area called "the unpardonable sin." 

It is unforgivable or unpardonable because it is unrepented of sin or better put—willful sin.

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So, how does God remove iniquity?

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Jesus removed the iniquity in one day, with His death on the cross.

But there are conditions.

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Grace and forgiveness are not cheap. They come with a price.

Jesus did not die on the cross to pay for our sins, so that we could practice murder, slander, sexual sin, lie, and steal without penalty.

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Forgiveness requires not only grace and the blood of Jesus, but our willingness to abandon sin in return.

Forgiveness is based on repentance, which means a complete turning away from the wrong path, and going back to God.

It is a 180 degree turn in the road.

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So……..to have the iniquity removed, this is needed:

1. Sacrifice of Christ and forgiveness through Him is available to everyone

2. Sincere repentance by sinner

3. Complete hate for and rejection of sinful behavior by sinner

4. Radical change in one’s life and relationship with God

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For anyone trying to get around the requirements for repentance, the message is that this is evidence that there is no repentance or remorse at all.

So, it is not Christ, but the willful and unrepentant sinner who refuses the forgiveness.

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Why reject forgiveness, when it is freely offered?

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Some people have too much pride, and will not admit there is anything wrong with them.

Maybe they have been criticized too much in life, so they cling to what seems to make them happy or secure.

But they are sacrificing eternal life for a temporary pleasure, an ego issue, or behavior.

What good is that?

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The bible says what good is it if a man gains the entire world as his possession, but loses his own soul?

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It is just not worth it, to lose one’s soul because of pride, greed, lust, etc.

All that dies in the ground when the body dies.

Then what will come next, but eternal fire and punishment for unrepentant sins?

Like I said, it is just not worth it to cling to sin for “security and acceptance.”

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To anyone who needs to read this:

Give your life to God, repent of your sins, be sincere, and turn away from behaviors that will kill or damn you forever.

Accept the Love that is there for you.

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Love yourself enough to love the God that gave you life.

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His hand is outstretched right now to help you.

All you have to do is be honest, repent, and take His hand.

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Do this today.

Do not wait.

Today or tomorrow you may die, and not have another chance.!