Presumptuous sin is scary! Presumptuous sin incurs a greater guilt - a deeper culpability - than ordinary sin. A person sins presumptuously when he knowingly and constantly rejects truth in order to confidently and willfully commit sin.
Jesus said, "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin" (John 15:22). He is not saying that a person would have been sinless if Jesus had not come. All of us are sinners. Jesus is speaking about the specific sin of conscious unbelief. Jesus came. Jesus spoke the truth. People saw Him. People heard the truth, and people rejected Him and His message. Those people "have sin." The verb "have" (ειχοσαν) means to hold it, grip it or own it! It is conscious sin. They own it without excuse.
Jesus goes on to say, "If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well" (John 15:24). People not only willfully rejected Jesus' message, but they confidently rejected Jesus' works. They "have seen" (εωρακασιν) and "hated" (μεμισηκασιν). The verbs are perfect tense verbs indicating a "seeing" and "hating" that are ongoing into the present moment. Presumptuous sin not only owns the sin but carries the rejection forward without remorse leading to the judgment of God.
The Old Testament Law distinguished between ordinary sin and defiant sin (Numbers 15:30), defining defiant sin as blasphemy! Presumptuous sin is a special category of sin leading to greater culpability for sin. Jesus told the Pharisees that he came to help those who were blind to see and cause those who see to become blind. The Pharisees claimed they were not blind so Jesus retorted, "If you were blind you would have no sin (you wouldn't own it); but since you say, 'we see,' your sin remains" (John 9:41).
When we present the message and the works of Jesus to people, they become culpable for their choice. We become, as Paul says, "the smell of death" or "the smell of life" to them (2 Cor. 2:16). A person who knows all about Jesus and still rejects Jesus has greater guilt than one who never hears or knows. On a broader scale, when I know the truth and willfully choose to reject the truth, I am guilty of presumptuous sin. The Psalmist David wrote: "Keep back your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not rule over me; ... Let the word of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord" (Psalm 19:13-14).
Beware of presumptuous sin. Lord, keep from it!
Jesus goes on to say, "If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well" (John 15:24). People not only willfully rejected Jesus' message, but they confidently rejected Jesus' works. They "have seen" (εωρακασιν) and "hated" (μεμισηκασιν). The verbs are perfect tense verbs indicating a "seeing" and "hating" that are ongoing into the present moment. Presumptuous sin not only owns the sin but carries the rejection forward without remorse leading to the judgment of God.
The Old Testament Law distinguished between ordinary sin and defiant sin (Numbers 15:30), defining defiant sin as blasphemy! Presumptuous sin is a special category of sin leading to greater culpability for sin. Jesus told the Pharisees that he came to help those who were blind to see and cause those who see to become blind. The Pharisees claimed they were not blind so Jesus retorted, "If you were blind you would have no sin (you wouldn't own it); but since you say, 'we see,' your sin remains" (John 9:41).
When we present the message and the works of Jesus to people, they become culpable for their choice. We become, as Paul says, "the smell of death" or "the smell of life" to them (2 Cor. 2:16). A person who knows all about Jesus and still rejects Jesus has greater guilt than one who never hears or knows. On a broader scale, when I know the truth and willfully choose to reject the truth, I am guilty of presumptuous sin. The Psalmist David wrote: "Keep back your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not rule over me; ... Let the word of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord" (Psalm 19:13-14).
Beware of presumptuous sin. Lord, keep from it!
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