Sin means breaking a religious or moral law
Iniquity means wickedness, vileness
It is difficult at first glance to understand how the two differ
Iniquity is intentional sin, participating in it, justifying it
It almost means adopting sin and accepting it
I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid.
I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord;
and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. Psalm 32:5
If we hide iniquity in our hearts, if we cover our sin and justify it,
we will be held guilty by the Lord
Keep it uncovered before the Lord
Let Him cleanse it
We are not able to cleanse it ourselves,
our job is to bring it to Him for the washing and purifying
This scripture is a warning to ourselves
and to those the Lord compels us to warn:
When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die;
and thou givest him not warning,
nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life;
the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity;
but his blood will I require at thine hand. Ezekiel 3:18
We are unable to cleanse our own sin, no matter how hard we try,
how much effort we put into it,
no matter how many righteous deeds we do before the Lord,
He must cleanse us
There is no other way
Jesus is the door and the gate and we won’t be free from our iniquity
without Jesus and His cleansing blood
Peter saith unto Him, Thou shalt never wash my feet.
Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me. John 13:8
Jesus was not just washing off the dirt of Peter’s feet,
This was not a fleshly act
Jesus was cleansing his soul, the only One who could
Similarly to that same night when Jesus told them to take the cup
and the bread of communion, to declare His death until He comes
The act of communion is a proclamation
and acceptance of the sacrifice Jesus made for us
The Holy Spirit may teach you more about the importance of communion
It is not a simple act
And He took bread, and gave thanks,
and brake it, and gave unto them, saying,
This is My body which is given for you:
this do in remembrance of Me.
Likewise also the cup after supper, saying,
This cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you.
Luke 22:19-20
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: Psalm 66:18
The Lord will not hear me, King David said.
He is making it clear to us that we must not cherish any kind of wickedness,
just like sin, iniquity separates us from God.
By regarding it, we are loving the world in a sense or worse, loving something evil, something other than God.
God’s word echoes this truth in the New Testament.
Now we know that God heareth not sinners:
but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth His will, him He heareth.
John 9:31
Take heed and give the Lord any iniquity.
Cherish nothing that offends God.
He will then hear you loud and clear and draw you yet closer to His heart.