Can a Christian sin without knowing?

[JohnB445]

I was wondering if this is possible

 

[Gregory Thompson]

I was wondering if this is possible

Of course. Part of the journey is becoming aware of what sin is, alongside becoming aware of God's work all around us.

 

[AlexB23]

Of course. Part of the journey is becoming aware of what sin is, alongside becoming aware of God's work all around us.

Yep, and remember, God can forgive one of these sins, including ones we do not know of.

 

[Mark Quayle]

I was wondering if this is possible

It is not even a question of whether one 'meant to', but a question of how God looks on the heart.

Consider the question of the ability of an unbeliever to do a 'good deed'. According to Romans 8:5-8, he is unable to please God. His deed may well be good on the surface, but compliance to God's commands is not the same as submission in belief.

In this life, even the believers, none of us, will be completely rid of sin within, though In Christ we are made clean.

Sin is, among other descriptions, rebellion against God. The individual deeds can be sins, and are sinful, but they spring from that sinfulness within us. Thus, only by being 'born again' of the Spirit of God, can any of one's deeds be truly good, since "...it is God who works in you both to will and to do according to his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)

 

[Mark Quayle]

Yep, and remember, God can forgive one of these sins, including ones we do not know of.

Not only can but DOES, "...cleanse us of all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

 

[AlexB23]

Not only can but DOES, "...cleanse us of all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

Amen to that.

 

[BobRyan]

I was wondering if this is possible

yes it is possible.

James 4:17 says one must first know something is wrong for it to be accounted as sin for that person.
Jesus said "if you were blind you would have no sin - but you say 'we see' - so your sin remains"

 

[com7fy8]

I would say there are things we know we are doing, and things we do not know are wrong.

In my case, it seems God has me know clearly how certain things are wrong, like murder.

But there are things I do not realize I am doing, maybe like talking too much instead of being sensitive to others and feeling for them and then doing what I can to encourage and help someone. In order for me to get wise to this, I need to grow in Jesus and in His love so I have sense and genuine compassion and creativity of God's love. And then is when I can see how my own way of relating was wrong and inferior, but have hope of how God is able to have me doing better.

So, there can be basic items that I know are wrong. And as I grow in love, I discover things which have been against how love has me relate.

Paranoia is another thing. I have been so able to fool my own self, in paranoid nonsense. It has built-in deceit and denial. But then I got how paranoia is cursing others with my suspicion . . . not blessing . . . and so it is anti-love. And then, I would say, God had me testing my paranoid stuff by asking people why they did and said certain things; and I was so surprised at how their answers were too unique to just make up and copy from someone else, certainly not what my stupidity of paranoia was able to claim about them!! And at times I have supposed someone hid something of mine, in order to control me; but then I would find it where I then remembered I had left it. So, then I would trust God to make me genuine in love and honest in perception; and whenever the paranoia stuff even starts, now, I can remember how it has been always wrong > wrong in perception and accusation, plus wrong in what it would have me thinking of doing to people instead of loving and blessing them.

So, yes we can be wrong and not know it. But trust God to have us come to our senses . . . especially so we grow and mature in how to love and relate; and yes in everything we should be submitting to God and how He has us doing different things and relating. And what is happening in my imagination, and while I am dreaming . . . I believe all this is accountable to God; so I trust God to change me so always I am with Him and loving the way He has me loving, and I should pray this for all of us.

 

[Maria Billingsley]

I was wondering if this is possible

What exactly would be an example of an unknown sin? If it's unknown then it is not a sin. Blessings.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

I was wondering if this is possible

I have a difficult time believing that in today's modern world there are people who could honestly utilize the following statement pattern:

I didn't realize that doing _________________X_____________________ is a sin. ​

 

[Gregory Thompson]

I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 4:4 and Psalm 19:12

My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.

But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults.

I hope that helps.

 

[Maria Billingsley]

I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 4:4 and Psalm 19:12

My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.

But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults.

I hope that helps.

No not really because we know when we have sinned. We may hide it from others, downplay it or even ignore it. Ultimately, as a Christian we DO know what our Father's will is, it is clearly spelled out for us in his scripture

 

[Gregory Thompson]

When scripture is being refuted, it is no longer Christian advice.

 

[RileyG]

From my perspective, to be actually CULPABLE (guilty) of sin? No.

To commit a sinful act? yes.

 

[RileyG]

I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 4:4 and Psalm 19:12

My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.

But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults.

I hope that helps.

When sin is forgiven, it is GONE, for all eternity. No one, not even the devil himself, can accuse you of forgiven sins.

Blessings

 

[RileyG]

What exactly would be an example of an unknown sin? If it's unknown then it is not a sin. Blessings.

Without rambling on, think of the Sentinelese tribal group off of the shore of India. They've been on that island for thousands of years. They never heard of Christ, speak an unknown language, and are in danger of extinction. They will literally kill any outsiders with bows and arrows that come in contact with them.

No one actually knows how many of them are actually left. By all accounts 35-500 are still alive.

They are the last isolated group that hasn't been, for a lack of a better word, civilized.

Is it still a sin?

 

[Gregory Thompson]

When sin is forgiven, it is GONE, for all eternity. No one, not even the devil himself, can accuse you of forgiven sins.

Blessings

Indeed, this is the new covenant prophesied by Jeremiah where God forgives our sins and remembers them no more.

The sin spoken of in 1 Corinthians 4:4 and Psalm 19:12 is probably the Romans 7 type of sin.

 

[RileyG]

The sin spoken of in 1 Corinthians 4:4 and Psalm 19:12 is probably the Romans 7 type of sin.

If you consider ALL SIN as contradiction of God's will, then yes, I agree.

 

[Gregory Thompson]

If you consider ALL SIN as contradiction of God's will, then yes, I agree.

I guess we're in agreement there. However, also consider the following:

Before we were born, we did not know our parents language. As we become adults, this aspect of our psyche remains "not speaking human languages" .. so before it is translated into comprehension, there is still sin in the sense of the Matthew 5:28 and 1 John 3:15 precedence. This sin that is not translated to comprehensible concepts or words, exists, because translating it takes time.

However, as with all sin, confessing is effective.

 

[Maria Billingsley]

Without rambling on, think of the Sentinelese tribal group off of the shore of India. They've been on that island for thousands of years. They never heard of Christ, speak an unknown language, and are in danger of extinction. They will literally kill any outsiders with bows and arrows that come in contact with them.

No one actually knows how many of them are actually left. By all accounts 35-500 are still alive.

They are the last isolated group that hasn't been, for a lack of a better word, civilized.

Is it still a sin?

Killing invaders is not a sin. Killing one another is a sin and I am certain they have a process on how to deal with those who break their laws. But we are not talking about isolated peoples, we are talking about people like you and me who are Christians.
What I am trying to get at is this ; the Hebrew translation for sin is "missing the mark." Sin is not merely a failure to live up to a moral code, but is a conscious rejection of God's will and a deliberate action against Him. If one is unaware of the mark, they simply can not miss it. So there is no such thing as sinning out of ignorance. So far no one has given me an example of it.
Blessings