When corruption is turned to incorruption.

In his sufferings and death Jesus has made atonement for all sins of ignorance, but there is no provision made for wilful blindness. Those who have hid their eyes from the truth lest they should be convinced, must exercise repentance toward God for the transgression of his law, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, that their sins of ignorance in the transgression of the Sabbath may be forgiven. {RH, April 25, 1893 par. 10}

We shall not be held accountable for the light that has not reached our perception, but for that which we have resisted and refused. {RH, April 25, 1893 par. 12}

When it is in the heart to obey God, when efforts are put forth to this end, Jesus accepts this disposition and effort as man's best service, and He makes up for the deficiency with His own divine merit. {FW 50.1}

But it looks like there are sins of ignorance for which Jesus has made atonement. If all light is revealed at once, it makes no sense to say, "We shall not be held accountable for the light that has not reached our perception."

Even though one ray of God's glory fully reveals sin, perhaps He doesn't shed His light on everything all at once.

Does the light Jesus withhold result in defective traits of character?

Or is she referring to light that has no bearing on character development (i.e. 2300 days, etc).

Are certain cultivated sinful traits of character overlooked to be dealt with later on when the sinner/believer is strong enough to deal with it?

Good point. The various versions of the word "sin" (sins, sinning, sinned, wickedness, unholiness, unrighteousness, etc) can be used as a verb and a noun. Please label which is which in the following passage:

1 John
1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Also, please explain the difference, as it pertains to daily life and the final judgment, between committing sin and having sin.

Is having sin the same thing as knowingly committing sin or ignorantly committing sin?

Did Jesus have to shed His blood to atone for the sin we have?

Thank you for clarifying this point. I wholeheartedly agree with it. The Bible does not, however, describe born-again, baptized believers ignorantly violating God's law or will. Nevertheless, this does not mean people like the ones you named above are lost or unsaved. God does not hold such people accountable for the sins they commit unknowingly. Jesus paid the price to pardon them.


When Jesus chose to withhold light from people in the past did it result in them sinning?

Please name examples of truth that Jesus chooses nowadays to withhold from people.

Does withholding truth and the inevitable sinning result in defective traits of character?


People can and do abide in Jesus in accordance with the truth they have embraced. I am one of them.

Do the sins we commit unknowingly because Jesus is withholding truth from us result in defective traits of character?

For example, does ignorantly breaking the Sabbath result in defective traits of character?

Does withholding truth result in unknowingly committing any of the sins Jesus condemned in the sermon on the mount or the sins Paul named in his epistles? If so, please point them out.

Is that another one? Or can you explain how not choosing to do something is different than not doing it?

It doesn't cause them, but it doesn't necessarily fix them either.


She mentioned the Sabbath. And these are "sins" of ignorance, so they are moral issues, not merely lack of knowledge.


God will fix them when He sees fit. There's no point worrying over what we don't know about. Trust that He who began the good work will complete it.

All are nouns except verse 10.


Having sin is like stepping in a puddle, while committing sin is like being submerged in it. More importantly, unintentional sin is like accidentally stepping on the water, while intentional sin is like diving in.

All sins result in death, no matter what kind. The greatest difference is in the impact on one's soul. Unintentional sin is like Saul of Tarsus, who murdered Christians because he was confused and deceived. When he got accurate information, he asked, "What wilt Thou have me to do?"

Intentional sin is like Saul the son of Kish, who refused to obey God's command. When he got accurate information, he made excuses.


Having sin is not so much about what kind of sin a person commits, but the sinfulness of his nature.


Yes.

Arnold, it is a challenge to agree Jesus withholds truth that results in believers developing sinful traits of character.

It also difficult to agree Jesus shed His blood to atone for sins we resist and refuse to commit.

Then it is fortunate that I said neither of those things.