SIN - Unintentional vs Presumptious

Good Articles I Found:

“In regards to forgiveness, is there a difference between willful sin and ignorant sin?” (Article 1)

https://www.gotquestions.org/willful-sin.html

“What are presumptuous sins” (Article 2)

https://www.gotquestions.org/presumptuous-sins.html

1st Article

Some form of the word presumptuous appears eight times in the King James Version (KJV). The word indicates an intentional rebellious or sinful act by a single person (Exodus 21:14; Numbers 15:30; Deuteronomy 17:12; 18:22; Psalm 19:13), multiple people (2 Peter 2:10), or the entire nation of Israel (Deuteronomy 1:43; 17:13).

Exodus 21:14 “But if a man schemes and kills another man deliberately, take him away from my altar and put him to death.”

Numbers 15:30 “ ‘But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or alien, blasphemes the Lord, and that person must be cut off from his people.”

Deut 17:12 “The man who shows contempt for the judge or for the priest who stands ministering there to the Lord your God must be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel.”

Deut 18:22 “If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.”

Ps 19:13 “Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.”

2 Pet 2:10 “This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings;”

Deut 1:43 “So I told you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the Lord’s command and in your arrogance you marched up into the hill country.”

Deut 17:13 “All the people will hear and be afraid, and will not be contemptuous again.”

The phrase presumptuous sins is found only once in the KJV. Most older translations use the word presumptuous, while newer translations instead use deliberate, willful, arrogant, insolent, flagrant, or similar words. Here is the passage in the Revised Standard Version, including the previous verse for context: “Who can discern his errors? Clear thou me from hidden faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression” (Psalm 19:12–13). The author of Psalm 19, King David, presents two types of sin, hidden (unintentional, accidental, secret, unseen by the sinner) and presumptuous (deliberate, intentional). We all know that our intentional sins need God’s forgiveness (Exodus 32:33; Mark 3:29). But God’s perfect law also requires our unintentional sins to be forgiven, whether committed by an ordinary person, a priest, a community leader, or a whole nation (Leviticus 4; 5:17; Numbers 15:22–29). So David humbly prays to God for protection and forgiveness from both kinds of sin, knowing his own human weakness and powerlessness against this enemy, this disease of the soul, this foreign invader in all humans (1 John 1:8). David committed presumptuous sin when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and, when she became pregnant, had her husband killed to cover up his sin (2 Samuel 11). God chose not to protect David from these despicable presumptuous sins—we are not His puppets, and sometimes He lets us see and experience the sin living within us in all its ugliness. Presumptuous sins are a grave offense. In Numbers 15, the law outlined the actions to be taken to atone for sins committed in ignorance. “But the person who does anything presumptuously . . . brings reproach on the Lord, and he shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the Lord, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall be upon him” (verses 30–31, NKJV). There was no sacrifice to atone for the sin of those guilty of willful, defiant sin. As Charles Spurgeon pointed out, “All sins are great sins, but yet some sins are greater than others. . . . While all transgression is a greatly grievous sinful thing, yet there are some transgressions which have a deeper shade of blackness, and a more double scarlet-dyed hue of criminality than others” (from Sermon 135, New Park Street Pulpit, Volume 3). Presumptuous sins are deliberate. They are committed with the full knowledge that they are sins and in full light of what God has said. Presumptuous sins are premeditated. There is intent to sin and a time of deliberation before the act. Presumptuous sins can only be committed in suppression of the conscience and in spite of its appeals. Those who sin presumptuously say, in effect, “I’m going to do this, and nothing is going to stop me. I know what God says about it, and I don’t care if it’s wrong. I’m going to do it anyway.” Presumptuous sin is committed in direct contradiction to what a person knows is true. We can know that something is wrong—we’ve spoken out against it, and we’ve counseled others to avoid it—but, given opportunity, temptation, and a moment of weakness, we can succumb to the very sin we were sure we would never commit. We knew it was wrong, even as we were doing it, but that knowledge did not prevent us from deliberately moving forward in our sin. It’s almost inexplicable, until we remember the nature of the human heart. We are prone to sin, and that’s why David prays, “Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me!” (Psalm 19:13, ESV). John Calvin wrote, “Unless God restrain us, our hearts will violently boil with a proud and insolent contempt of God.” May God be our defender against temptation and the one who grants us wisdom to recognize defiance within us and strength to resist it. May we be preserved from the audacity of presumptuous sins.

2nd Article

Though God makes a distinction between those who sin in ignorance and those who sin willfully (Numbers 15:27-31), repentance is always necessary to receive forgiveness (Mark 1:15; Acts 2:38; Acts 26:18). Repentance is literally a change in one’s attitude about God and accompanies saving faith in Christ (Acts 3:19; 20:21; 26:20). Without it there can be no forgiveness. Jesus said, “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3; cf. 17:3-4; 2 Peter 3:9).

Num 15:27-31 “ ‘But if just one person sins unintentionally, he must bring a year-old female goat for a sin offering. The priest is to make atonement before the Lord for the one who erred by sinning unintentionally, and when atonement has been made for him, he will be forgiven. One and the same law applies to everyone who sins unintentionally, whether he is a native-born Israelite or an alien. “ ‘But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or alien, blasphemes the Lord, and that person must be cut off from his people. Because he has despised the Lord’s word and broken his commands, that person must surely be cut off; his guilt remains on him.’ ””

Mar 1:15 ““The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!””

Acts 2:38 “Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 26:18 “to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’”

Acts 3:19 “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,”

Acts 20:21 “I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.”

Acts 26:20 “First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.”

Luke 13:3 “I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

Luke 17:3-4 “So watch yourselves. “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.””

2 Pet 3:9 “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

To sin willfully is to be proud and presumptuous in one’s defiance of God (Psalm 19:13; Hebrews 10:26). Willful sins bring God’s judgment, sooner or later, but sins of ignorance are not excusable, either: “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed” (Ephesians 4:17-19; see also Acts 3:17-19; Acts 17:30-31). Forgiveness is available to all, but we leave it to God’s sovereign grace to cause the transgressor to truly repent in order to be pardoned (Ephesians 2:4).

Ps 19:13 “Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.”

Heb 10:26 “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left,”

Eph 4:17-19 “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.”

Acts 3:17-19 ““Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,”

Acts 17:30-31 “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.””

Eph 2:4 “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,”

Those who reject Jesus and His gospel in ignorance must accept Him in repentance in order to receive forgiveness of their sins. Jesus made this abundantly clear: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). It doesn’t matter whether someone misses the way because of ignorance or because of willful rebellion—he has still missed the way. People are not as ignorant as they may claim, however. No one can be utterly ignorant of God, and no one has an excuse to live in disobedience. The apostle Paul said, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:18-20). Though we may at times sin in ignorance, we can always be assured of God’s forgiveness. The apostle Paul is a classic example of this truth: “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief” (1 Timothy 1:13). Yet for those who willfully and habitually sin, Peter makes it clear that “if they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them” (2 Peter 2:20-21).

2 Peter 2:20-21 “If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.”

John gives us clarity on the matter of forgiveness: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9).