During a recent class on "Perfect Redemption," as a teacher standing in proxy for all teachers in the body of Christ, I asked the students to please forgive me and all others for not teaching the topic "Victory Over Iniquity." Actually, according to Hebrews 6:1, this is a basic, fundamental Biblical truth for the curriculum of all believers that will allow them to repent and be freed from the dead works of generational sins. It is sad to realize how deficient in understanding the church has been about this subject, and the consequent, continual torment experienced due to the neglect of this fundamental truth.
When we see that the stain and stench of death follows a believer all the days of his life until this missing understanding is supplied, it is painful indeed. To realize that teachers will receive the greater judgment (James 3:1) is equally sobering.
As I have taught this subject, I have seen many people delivered from situations they had simply accepted and learned to live with, not knowing that the victory over their iniquity had already been purchased. Please forgive me and all others for this negligence and gross oversight.
I know that this lack of understanding pervades Christianity because whenever I ask, "What is iniquity?" I get dumbfounded looks and blank stares. Consistently I have found that 95 percent of American Christians do not even know what it is, much less how to be free from it and to repent of the dead works that it causes. In India, when I surveyed 500 pastors and leaders, only one person knew about it and he did not know how to be free from it. We have a serious problem!
Do you know what iniquity is? If you do not, then you should stop what you are doing and give your undivided attention to this topic. Without this understanding, you are most assuredly carrying around dead baggage that Jesus paid for you to be freed from. The Bible testifies, "He was bruised for our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:5), and the anointing from the Spirit of the Lord is present "to set at liberty them that are bruised" (Luke 4:18). Jesus said that if you know the truth, it will make you free (John 8:32). Axiomatically, if you do not know about this truth, then is freedom possible? We are seeing pastors, business men, parents, teens and young people delivered from debilitating, generational torments at such a rate that it seems we have discovered a new miracle cure, when actually this is obvious from the Word of God.
The Blood of Jesus Atones Three Wrongs
The premise of freedom in Christianity is that Jesus Christ gave his life for us to be reconciled to God, and that His shed blood was the payment for our "sins." Sin, that devastating consequence of Adam’s disobedience, is what separates man from God. Only by the blood of Jesus can sin be cleansed and can man receive atonement (at-one-ment) and reconciliation with God. The blood of Jesus is the only innocent, non- polluted blood that could be offered for the forgiveness of all our sins (Hebrews 10:4-12). It redeems us and brings us back into God’s good graces (Romans 3:23-25). It is powerful, but yet, it will not yield its strength unless it is applied—and as we will see, applied properly.
Romans 3:25 stipulates that the shedding of the blood needs to be accompanied with faith in the blood.
Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; [Romans 3:25 KJV]
This means that in order to receive the full, impacting result of the blood of Jesus, not only was it necessary for it to be shed, but it must be applied as well. What we have been missing is the understanding that it must be applied in faith in order to receive the fullness of what it appropriates. Our faith has been deficient because of lack of proper instruction, and we have not recognized that there are three places, or three wrongs, where the blood needs to be applied.
These three elements are used throughout scripture in a packaged unit to assure "complete deliverance." These three wrongs are: sins, iniquities and transgressions. References to these three used together for complete "coverage of sin" is found in so many places that it is hard to even believe that the Christian church has missed this truth for so long (Exodus 34:7; Leviticus 16:21; Job 13:23; Ezekiel 21:24; Psalm 32:1,2; Isaiah 53:6,7; 59:12; Daniel 9:24).
Leviticus 16:21 documents these three kinds of wrong where the blood must be applied:
And Aaron shall lay both his hands [covered with the blood of the sacrificial goat] upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: [Leviticus 16:21 KJV emphasis added by the author]
We can be sure that Aaron did not leave any of these out on the Day of Atonement. Now the blood of Jesus is obviously the complete fulfillment of any necessity for the blood of goats, and yet we still need to apply the blood to all three aspects of wrong in order to receive the forgiveness and therefore the reconciliation to God, just as in the Old Testament.
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. [Psalms 32:1, 2 KJV emphasis added by the author]
The problem is that although the blood is sometimes applied "generically" to sin, it rarely ever is applied to transgression and almost never applied to iniquity. Regarding iniquity, Proverbs 16:6 says it is by mercy and truth that iniquity is purged. By mercy, the blood was shed, but by knowing the truth of how to deal with iniquity, we can have faith to apply it to be purged from this dreaded and hardly ever discussed curse.
This application of blood to three places is shown in the first Passover when the children of Israel applied the blood in order to be protected from the wrath of God.
And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. [Exodus 12:7 KJV]
The two side posts and lintel correspond to the three places where the blood of Jesus must be applied. Only ignorance or rebellion would have caused the children of Israel not to apply the blood or to apply it to one or maybe just two places that fateful night. The same scenario applies to the church today: applying the blood of Jesus to just one or two places is not the godly way of repealing the consequences of wrongs and having the wrath of God pass over you.
In a more comprehensive understanding, sin is what allows demons access into our lives. The only healing agent is the atoning, forgiving blood of Jesus. When only one or two surfaces of the door are covered with the blood, then the door is still open. Matthew 12:44 and 45 tells us that when an evil spirit is cast out, which often happens when sins and/or transgressions are atoned, the evil spirit will return and bring with him seven more wicked spirits and will re-enter if the initial abode is still open and ready for occupancy—which uncovered iniquity avails. More and more as we press into this fundamental concept of Christian redemption, we are realizing the importance of understanding this matter of iniquity, and the consequences of not dealing with it.
The blood must be applied to each of these three wrongs to receive the full benefit of the atonement. Perhaps due to ignorance the blood has not been applied to all three places before. But now, with this instruction, if it is not applied—it is due to rebellion. Regardless, God does not change the rules to accommodate either situation. Do it His way! God said to Cain, "If you do well (offer sacrifice properly) you will be accepted, but if not, sin lies at the DOOR (Genesis 4:7).
Sin, Iniquity and Transgression
These actual words as they are used in the Old and New Testaments have broad applications, but simple definitions will suffice for our understanding:
Sin = an unintentional wrong
Transgression = an intentional wrong
Iniquity = the inner driving force that causes the wrong
Actually, as these definitions imply, sins and transgressions are committed but iniquity is carried and often, if not usually, is the reason why the others are committed. Correspondingly, if the iniquity is removed, then the major reason why sins and transgressions are committed is removed, too. This alone explains why Christians continue to struggle with committing the same sins and transgressions for years and years—because the iniquity is still pending and is an open and viable force compelling the carrier to sin and transgress.
Iniquity, the inner force compelling the rebellion, is the stubborn stain that reminds us of the sin and transgression. It is also the last remaining vestige of wrong that needs to be atoned for since the obvious sins and transgressions are usually dealt with in a Christian’s life shortly after the new birth.
What is Iniquity?
Iniquity is the Hebrew word ‘avon’ which simply means perverseness or that something is twisted or not straight. Therefore it is an inner force that twists the right way of doing things and actually perverts the way people think and therefore live.
The first indication of iniquity is when it was found in Lucifer. This inner perversion is what twisted his thinking and caused him to sin (Ezekiel 28:15,16). Why iniquity was found in him goes back to the fact that God created him perfect but with a freedom of will. Lucifer was perverted by his own will—his own greed and pride. As informative as this is, the first usage of iniquity is even more revealing.
In Genesis 4:13, ‘avon’ is translated punishment, when Cain said that his iniquity, or punishment, was more than he could bear. This punishment was the consequence of the transgression he had committed by murdering his brother.
Verse 14 shows that the transgression he committed carried a sentence worthy of death, because Cain said every man would try to kill him. God, on the other hand, imputed to him a sentence that would allow him to live—one whereby Cain, along with his lineage, would have to pay for his sin. (This is seen in the case of Lamach who also committed murder six generations later.)
This concept of sins worthy of death reveals the root truth about iniquity. Sins are debts committed to God. He created His beings to be perfect. When they commit acts contrary to His will, He and He alone can forgive the act. There are certain acts that God exacts the punishment to be death because it violates His Sovereignty and/or the rights of others. Acts of worshipping other gods carries this sentence, along with murder and sexual immorality. (God believes in the death penalty.)
When these certain kinds of acts are committed, God requires that they be paid for. In His ineffable mercy, instead of killing someone for these acts of treachery or treason, He allows the person to live and to bring forth future offspring. If He executed them, their lineage would die along with their potential to bring forth any more seed. Their potential children, also God’s children, would be lost. So instead of exacting the death penalty and cutting off the lineage (which He did do to the likes of Jeroboam and Ahab), He allowed the lineage to pay for the sin that the father committed. This permitted the lineage to continue instead of never even being born.
God is legal and just to the point of requiring that all sins be requited, and therefore, His charging of iniquity is really an example of His mercy, of merited judgment being withheld. The usage in Exodus 34:7 shows this requirement.
Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. [Exodus 34:7 KJV]
Specifically stated, there are certain sins that man commits which God requires to be paid in full. Exodus 20:4 and 5 reveal that idolatry and making graven images are among these. Iniquity is sum total of the continual, cumulative generational wrongs that God requires to be paid. The force of iniquity is resident in all of us who show certain innate tendencies that have come down to us from the sins of past generations. These are called generational sins. Perhaps you may have heard them referred to as generational curses.
There are a couple of examples illustrating that Jesus applied this principle of generational iniquity for deliverance and taught it to His disciples. The man born blind in John 9 is one example. When the disciples asked Jesus whether the man or his parents had sinned, causing him to be born blind, it was a legitimate question. This passage documents that Jesus taught his disciples this principle.
In the account of the demonized child in Mark 9, when Jesus asked the man how long the condition had existed and the father said, "Since he was a child," Jesus understood that he was dealing with generational sin. Then he told the man that the ball was in his court and he had to believe—specifically to deal with the generational sin on him and his son. After the cause was removed, Jesus cast out the demon.
There are many scriptures that document the reality of generational iniquity. Lamentations 5:6, Psalm 106:6, and Psalm 109:14 are among the most prominent. These are valid and very real conditions that exist within each and every one of us.
The effect of iniquity is evidenced in the areas where it has been passed down. Usually you will be able to see it in your past heritage, but since iniquity often comes from the third or fourth generation, it may not be apparent. It will, however, manifest itself in areas of continual torment. It will be in areas that you will tend to want to hide, like you would with a bruise. It may be mental or physical. In either case, the condition is manifested by the person thinking, "That’s just the way I am."
In these areas, people are open to the influence of evil spirits, even to the end that they are insensitive in their conscience to God in these areas. This is what the "mystery of iniquity" in 2 Thessalonians 2:7 indicates—that corruption is continually developing individuals that are insensitive to God. Finally, one day, an individual will be so corrupted by generational iniquity that he will be so insensitive to God that he will sit in the temple of God and declare that he is God.
So, there exist within people certain weaknesses or traits that have been passed down generationally to them as iniquity. God requires that these weaknesses be paid for. The fact that the blood of Jesus was shed for these to be forgiven does not preclude the fact that, by the freedom of your will, you must apply the blood. The action of having faith in the blood is simple: you must apply the blood of Jesus to your generational iniquity and close the door to demonic intervention for you and for your future lineage, too. You must know the truth and act upon it to be set free, which is a manifestation of the grace of God.
How to Apply the Blood of Jesus to Cleanse Iniquity
Leviticus 16:21 shows the Old Testament pattern for the New Testament application.
And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: [Leviticus 16:21 KJV]
Jesus as the High Priest offered His blood once and for all for mankind’s sins, transgressions and iniquities to be forgiven. Just as Aaron laid his hands on the head of the goat on the Day of Atonement, Jesus took all our sins, iniquities and transgressions upon himself on Calvary.
Specifically, to actually receive forgiveness, just as Aaron confessed the sins, iniquities and transgressions on the scapegoat, we must also confess them, by putting them on our scapegoat, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is applying the blood, but it is still through confession. You must say it out of your mouth and apply the blood of Jesus to remove the stain of the sin and transgression out of your lineage.
The section of scripture in Leviticus 26:40,41 gives the specifics of what you must do.
40 If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me; 41 And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: [Leviticus 26:40, 41 KJV]
1. Confess your iniquity.
2. Confess the iniquity of your fathers and their transgression—that they walked contrary to God.
3. Confess that God has been legal and just in charging the iniquity to you.
4. Be humble and accept the punishment that He has exacted on you and your lineage.
5. Apply the blood of Jesus to the iniquity to receive the forgiveness and the payment He made in full for you.
There is the simplicity of applying the blood of Jesus. Having faith in the blood is to act upon this reality and do it properly. Remember that God said to Cain, "If you do it well, then you will be accepted." You have done well if you have done it properly. Deliverance will accompany this confession that previously has been unknown. This results from knowing and acting upon the grace of God in truth.
How to Respond to Accusation
Satan is the accuser of the brethren, so you can count on him returning to accuse you of iniquity and to charge you that it has not been covered. The problem that people have in dealing with Satan on such occasions is in knowing how to deal with him. People try to defend themselves. Don’t do it. Let Jesus defend you.
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate [defense attorney] with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: [1 John 2:1 KJV]
Do not defend yourself when Satan comes with charges against you. Tell him that it is not your righteousness that is in question; it is the righteousness of God by the faith of Jesus Christ that defeated him. Tell him that the blood has been applied to your past sins and then tell him to talk to your attorney.
Matthew 5:24 says to agree quickly with your adversary on the way to judgment. If Satan is foolish enough to show up again and accuse you of sins, iniquities or transgressions you have put "under the blood," then admit you have sinned and tell him to talk to your attorney.
Martin Luther once shared his story of "justification by faith." In the spirit, Satan appeared to him at the foot of his bed with a scroll of all of his sins written down. There was no doubt that he had committed each and every one on the scroll. As he was distressed and in panic, the Lord appeared on the other side of the bed. He told Martin Luther, "Make him unroll the whole scroll." Upon demanding that Satan unroll the whole scroll, at the bottom he saw written in blood red ink, "Paid for in full by the blood of Jesus."
Don’t defend yourself. Let the blood do the talking. Let your attorney defend you. Have faith in His blood. Accept the fullness of redemption. You have been forgiven from sins, transgressions and iniquities. You have "Victory Over Iniquity."
©1999 Liberating Ministries for Christ International, Inc.
