There are certain statements, certain phrases that no one who has been born-again can ever say, these sets of words will never have the right to pass from their lips. They are not “I hate” or “I do not like” or even “I do not want to,” for there are many examples in the Scriptures where these words are not only spoken, but expounded on in detail.
The following words will never be able to come from you in all truthfulness, if you have honestly been studying the Scriptures, hiding them in your heart and applying them in your daily life.
“I did not know that was a sin.”
“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17)
I often ponder that verse about the weaker brother, the one who believes he is, or would be, committing a sin against the Most High, when it was clearly revealed to others who have, perhaps the best words would be, been blessed with more Spiritual discernment, that it would not be a sin in the eyes of the Lord.
For Paul to be led by the Spirit to write, “Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.” 1st Corinthians 8:13 seems rather strange, for, at least in my mind, I cannot see him leaving that brother in the false knowledge of believing that something is a sin before God when it is not, it is incorrectly believed to be a sin by one who has yet to understand that it is not sin, and that against the Almighty.
In that particular context, it is revealed to that weaker brother that eating those foods sacrificed to idols is not a sin, for they are nothing but wood and stone made by the hands of men who deny the Sovereignty of the one true and only God, but even after explaining to this person the fallacy of his thoughts, he still says he will not eat, not because of this person’s misinterpretation of the truth.
If you can say “I did not know it was a sin,” then many questions must be brought to mind. Have you not studied to understand the Scriptures, to show yourself approved? Do you not hear the Holy Spirit when He speaks to you? Does not a feeling, for lack of a better word, arise within you that prompts you to think, this is wrong?
That weaker brother, the one to whom truth is revealed, who has been shown that what he believes is sin is not sin to those who have been set free by the Lord Jesus Christ, if he still believes it to be sin when he has been shown that to the Lord it is not, which is worse? Continuing in his disbelief of the truths revealed, that it is not sin in the eyes of the Lord, or seeing it as not sin, but doing that which is against his better judgment, against his own conscience?
“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:” (Romans 1:20)
Even the unrepentant man knows within himself that some things are wrong to do, yet they deny that truth for the entirety of their lives.
What is sin and what is not sin is up to God to determine, not us, He has clearly spelled it out for us, we have within us the Holy Spirit.
“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” (John 16:13)
If truth has been revealed to you that what you believed to be a sin in the eyes of the Lord is not a sin, but only a belief structure formulated within your mind and you do not do that still, even with the knowledge that God does not call it sin, are you then sinning against Him?
To grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord is to accept His truths above what you consider truth, but for those who will not do so, who will remain weaker brothers and sisters in Christ throughout their lives, applying undue pressure upon them of these truths may not be the most profitable thing for them.
“All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.” (1st Cor. 10:23)
