Sin, Transgression, and Iniquity
"Forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty." — Exodus 34:7
Three Words, Not One
"[God keeps] steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation." (Exodus 34:7)
Notice that this verse names three different kinds of wrongdoing. Iniquity. Transgression. Sin.
Most modern readers treat these as synonyms — three words for the same thing, used for emphasis. They are not. They are distinct categories, and the difference determines what you must do to be free.
Take them in reverse order.
Sin
In this context, sin is something done contrary to what God wants, done by accident.
Generally you did not know it was wrong. That is what this passage means when it lists all three categories together — an unintentional sin.
Everyone commits these constantly. They still count, and they still need dealing with. But they are not rebellion.
Transgression
Transgression is when you purposely choose what is wrong over what you know is right. The Hebrew word means rebellion.
You know God's desire. You want something else. You choose the something else.
"I know I really ought to do this, because that is what God wants. But I really want to do that instead."
Here is how the categories can shift. If you did not know that sex before marriage was wrong in God's eyes, it was an unintentional sin. Now that you know it is wrong, continuing in it makes it a transgression. Same act, different category, because knowledge changed.
"Whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." (James 4:17)
Iniquity
Iniquity is a sin of perversion — a twisting of God's holy standards.
From God's perspective these are the most serious, because they are aimed directly at what He has declared holy and sacred.
An illustration of the difference: sleeping with someone outside of marriage is a transgression — you know the right thing and rebel against it. But some acts go further and twist the standard itself rather than merely violating it. That is iniquity.
Other iniquities frequently seen today: adultery — twisting God's holy standard of marriage; addictions; all forms of abuse; all forms of witchcraft.
Anything that twists God's holy standard is an iniquity — an agreement sin — and it is serious enough that God visits the discipline for it across multiple generations.
That is what the rest of Exodus 34:7 describes, and it is the subject of the next lesson.
Point to Ponder
Three different words, three different categories, and only one of them travels down a family line.
Verse to Remember
"Forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty." — Exodus 34:7
Question to Consider
Which of my sins were done in ignorance, which in deliberate rebellion, and which twisted something God calls holy?
Today's Practice
Sort your list into the three categories.
S — I did not know it was wrong. T — I knew and did it anyway. I — this twisted something God declared holy.
Some items will move categories over time — things you did in ignorance became transgressions once you knew.
Pay particular attention to your I column. Those are agreement sins, and they require the additional step of renunciation. They are also the ones that may be affecting your children.
Note as well: when God says "the iniquity of the fathers," He is using an all-encompassing term meaning both fathers and mothers. Both lines.
Do not despair at your I column, however long it is. God's first words in this very verse are that He keeps steadfast love for thousands and forgives all three categories. The forgiveness comes before the warning.
Prayer
Father, I have used one word for everything and never understood that You distinguish between them.
Show me which of my sins were done in ignorance, which in rebellion, and which twisted what You call holy.
Especially show me the last category — because those are the ones that do not stop with me.
Thank You that this same verse says You forgive all three. You keep steadfast love for thousands. I am asking for that today. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
He forgives all three. But only one of them requires renouncing as well as repenting.