Take two people who have been sleeping together and aren't married, and one or both of the persons may conclude afterwards that it was all just a "Mistake".
It's still "Sin", no matter how hard one tries to cover it up! God says: "Thou shalt not!" and man says: "I shall!" - therefore it is a sin against God!
The Spirit; through Paul, says it like this:
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
In the eyes of the world there seems to be nothing at all wrong with shacking up or sleeping together these days. The way the world is going ("iniquity growing worse and worse"), it's only "the norm". It all just goes to show us how far removed this generation is from God! (and it's going to get worse!)
To even dare and oppose what they are doing is to be called "square" and "old fashioned", and why don't "we" understand that it's been approved by society as a whole (like the homosexual thing is) and that everybody does it now days?!
And this is but just ONE Example of sin! God says that to break even the least of the commandments that person is guilty of breaking them all! (Matthew 5:18) Either we KEEP them all or we don't. There is no picking and chosing! No mistakes!
So... in the eyes of the world calling sin a 'mistake' (at best) seems like some form of repentance for ones... "mistake". However, in God's eyes it is and remains a 'sin' and no amount of saying they made a 'mistake' will rectify it, but only assure those who make such rebellious statements of destruction.
Let's say I slept with another woman!? Would this be considered (in God's eyes) a mistake or a sin??? (Well all we need to do is go to our conscience, and if we haven't any then a reading of Scriptures as Exodus 20:17 finds that this is a "sin".)
Or let's suppose that I made an error in judgement on top of the Empire State Building. There; let's suppose, that in my outstretched hand I held a twenty dollar bill way too loosly, and a sudden gust of wind came and blew it out of my hand!? (Have I sinned in my heart here or have I simply made a dumb mistake???)
Once again, let's say that I started a slanderous rumor about my neighbor because I didn't like him. (What have I just done? I have slandered him falsley in order to defame him in the eyes of others! Have I sinned or made a simple mistake??? According to God's word in Exodus 20:16 I "sinned"! Not only have I "sinned" but my sin was against "God" as well as man.)
The difference between committing a 'sin' and calling it a... 'mistake', is simply this...
To repent of (i.e. turn away from) "sin" means that the person comes to hate what they did! Why? Because it opposes God's will! Therefore they hate the "unmarried" act they performed; they hate what they did and they loathe themselves.
However, for them to say that they simply made a "mistake", shows no true remorse nor intentional turning away from their sin nor fear of God.
What they have done against God is similar to the child who got caught with chocolate on their face and their fingers delving deeply into the cookie jar, denying they did it, when their parents told them not to.
They're really not sorry for the delicious goodies they just ate nor what they've done against their parents commands, but are sorry instead that it didn't work out for them and they got caught in the act... pure and simple. (Better luck 'next' time!)
Committing a sin (as we see above) is not making a mistake, but it is a 'sin', and needs to be admitted to as such. A sin is done in direct violation of God's law, therefore it is an intentional, rebellious act against God's will. (and this can be proven as such by a reading of the Bible, in God's own words, like in Genesis 3:6.)
So... A 'mistake' is something that is not opposed to God's will. For instance - when we add 2 + 2 and write the answer down as '5' - that is a mistake or a mental error! We all make 'mistakes' like this.
A 'sin', on the other hand, is something that we do, say or think that is connected to the heart (the inner, unregenerated man), and because it is, and because this inward, unregenerated man is always selfish, self-centered, and/or self-seeking then (until that person becomes 'Born Again') they will always remain at war with and opposed to God and His Blessed will.
In other words, they will keep right on sinning as they call many of their sins mere 'mistakes' and either forgive themselves or seek some kind of forgiveness for them so they can continue on doing them as they find ways to "excuse themselves" for making them. Not knowing who and how God is they have no idea of the seriousness of their sins nor of their sinful nature!!!
God is Truth and in Him is no lie. The Lord; unlike man, will do everything that He says He will, therefore it is imperative that we realize that whenever we "SIN" and make an "excuse" for our sinning, we are in direct violation of His will as proven by no less an authority than 'His own word'. In the end what really matters is whether or not we recognize this, call it like it is and fully submit to His will or remain in and of and under our own.
It is written that: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding." Proverbs 9:10
Instead of our fearing "mistakes" we should be fearing and listening to God, then we would be fearing sin and what it does and flee from it by zeroing in on and heading for Jesus!
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee..." Hosea 4:6
Just as a good education can keep us from making those 2 + 2 = 5 mistakes, so too can the right fear of the Lord and the knowledge of the holy make us and keep us wise and knowledgeable where it really counts.
What this is saying is: "If things would have gone 'the way that I planned' I would have stayed together with the other person, but it didn't work out and I left. This wasn't a "sin", per se, but simply a "Mistake" at best.
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 2 Timothy 3:1-4
A 'mistake' is something that a man or woman are some what sorry for doing (i.e. something they self-pardon and excuse) because (in the above case) their sexual exploits didn't work out quite the way they expected them to, even though such action places him or her right smack in the middle of performing an unlawful, sinful act.
(Perhaps they got caught in the act, or they got a sexually transmitted disease, or she became regretably pregnant as the result of their sinful activity?)
So... just as the child can only go for so long in hiding their disobedient activity from their parents, so too does the sinner think they can go on hiding their sinful activity from God, by calling it something else.
May God bless you in the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ!
Biff
