Sins Of The Spirit

Sin is not always obvious. Some sins are, however, such as murder, adultery, and stealing. But others are more subtle like pride, selfishness, and gossip. Sometimes we will sin in ignorance or presumption. That is why David prayed,

“Who can discern his errors? Forgive me from hidden errors. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then I will be upright I will be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, Lord, my rock, and my redeemer” -Psalm 19:11-14

The Bible talks about sins of the flesh and sins of the spirit. Paul pointed out in 2 Corinthians 7:1,

“Therefore, having these promises, dear beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfection holiness in the fear of God.”

When we sin against the spirit, we knowingly go against what is true. We talk about some sins being worse than others. But it may not be the sins that we think.

My pastor always says, “I’m glad you’re not out there robbing banks and stealing.” But there may be sin in your spirit we may have that needs to be dealt with.

Jesus said to Pontius Pilate,

“You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin” -John 19:11

Jesus was talking about either Caiaphas or Judas. Caiaphas was the high priest who had a hand in putting Jesus up on false charges and then sent Him to the Romans to do his dirty work and crucify Him. Then there was Judas, who betrayed Him.

Either way, it’s the same. Judas was one of the hand-picked disciples of Christ who betrayed Jesus, and Caiaphas, the high priest, should have known better. The point is when you have been schooled in the scriptures like Caiaphas or exposed to the truth and the power of God like Judas, you are without excuse. With knowledge comes responsibility.