ON THE VANGUARD

SIN AND INIQUITY
"But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear."
Isaiah 59:2

As a parent, there are times I do not hear my kids. While sometimes that has to do with selective hearing after so many request to buy toys, other times it is honestly that I did not hear. That lack of hearing can be a result of other noises overpowering or other obstacles blocking. For instance, when my children are in the living room and I am in my room with the door closed, that closed door can muffle out sounds. It is no different than being in the office and seeing the traffic but not hearing the noise of the cars driving by. This barrier, whether my door or the office structure, prevents hearing in the same way that our sin and iniquity prevents God from hearing us.
I was listening to a minister's CDs the last few days and he mentioned that there is a difference between our sin and our iniquity. Now I will confess that even though I was a Bible student, it had never been explained to me that there was a difference. So I sought out the answer for myself, as I encourage you to do as well. Armed with my Strong's Concordance, I found:

SIN - Strong's 2403 - the Hebrew word 'chatta'ath'
meaning: sin, guilt
- from the root Chata' (2398) meaning: miss the way, go wrong
INIQUITY - Strong's 5771 - the Hebrew word 'avon'
meaning: depravity, guilt or punishment, condition or curse of punishment

Did you catch it? It is both our sin and iniquity that prevent God from hearing us. It is both the going of the wrong way AND the curse on our life for going the wrong way that separates us. The two words seem to be lumped together in today's culture. However, if we read the Bible in the original language and understand the culture, then we too can understand that there is a difference. Let us take for instance Daniel 9:16, where Daniel is pleading on Jerusalem's behalf. He beseeches God that His fury be turned away for the sin and iniquity of Jerusalem. Here also, Daniel pleads that God would forgive the sin and the curses still left behind because of the sin.
So then, what is the answer? Going back to Isaiah, when Christ was described as the Lamb in Isaiah 53:5, it was prophesied that He would be wounded for our transgressions (rebellions) and bruised (translated as crushed or broken) for our iniquities. Christ not only died for our missed targets, but also for the curses that result from our sin. As a result, we are now able to come boldly before the throne only because Christ was the sacrificial lamb that brought our cleansing and forgiveness, and confess our sins and be cleansed of both sin and iniquity.
The two are not the same. They are related, but not the same. When we come before the Father and ask His forgiveness, we should seek His forgiveness for the areas that we went in the wrong direction. But just as importantly, we should also ask that the curse as a result of our sin be forgiven, broken, and removed. Come out from under the lingering curse of sin and join me ON THE VANGUARD!