SIN IS THE VIOLATION OF MORAL PRINCIPLES. Moral Principles Are What Enable Use To Live Together. When we violate principles of relationship, we commit sin and need to be forgiven.

Why do I need to be forgiven for my sins if Jesus already died for them?

Harry Riches Answers

Jesus paid the price for the sin of Adam. In so doing, Jesus took upon himself the sin of the world. The sin of Adam alienated him and his progeny from God; but this is not all the story. Adam and Eve still resided in the presence of God even though they were deported from the Garden of Eden (cf. Genesis 4:16).

When it comes to forgiveness and salvation, repentance is the first step, and conversion is a process that continues through the believer's lifetime until the person has ceased to sin unwittingly.  However, what needs to be understood is the distinction between Jesus paying the ransom price and leaving an inheritance.

The ransom price is what Jesus paid on the Cross when redeeming the right to reign on Earth that Adam had lost. The inheritance is what has been left for us as a result of the death of Jesus on the Cross.

Essentially, everyone who has been born since Adam has been born into captivity because the human race was taken ransom by Lucifer/Satan/Devil. Although, as far as we know, the Devil did not take Adam ransom and demand that he be reinstated as the highest form of Creation God had created. He may have, but we are not told that this is the case. Instead, we are told that Adam fell and the Devil gained authority over the Earth. Jesus sacrificed His life and thereby demonstrated the righteousness of God by redeeming what Adam had lost. Not only what Adam had lost, but also the fact that all his descendants were born into captivity, because the Devil reigned over the Earth. He is the Prince of the Power of the Air who influences people towards disobedience of God's laws and self-destruction. Jesus' death meant that His life was offered to the Devil to take. In permitting this to happen, a righteous life could then be used as the ransom for the world.

In the book of Second Timothy, the idea of people having been taken captive by the Devil is made clear when we read:

• God may perhaps grant that they will repent and come to know the truth,and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:25-26)

The Devil captures children growing up and ensnares them in sin. Not all people are ensnared in the same sin in the same way, but the sins by which they are ensnared are covetousness, dishonoring parents, bearing false witness, stealing, hatred, adultery and rebellion towards God. Not all sins take root equally, but they take root in some form or the other.

Now the ransom price has been paid, the world has been redeemed, and the Devil has been judged by Jesus' resurrection from the dead, after He took the life of an innocent man, making Him become sin on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:17). For each one to receive his or her inheritance, each one has to comply with the conditions required to claim that inheritance. The conditions are repentance from dead works and faith towards God. For it impossible to claim the inheritance without exercising faith.

One of the conditions required for exercising faith is expressed in the Lord's prayer, when we are told to ask our Heavenly Father to forgive us as we forgive those who have trespassed against us. At the end of the Lord's prayer Jesus said:

• For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you;  but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matthew 6:14-15)

While repentance means to turn away from committing sin, faith towards God requires us to believe that God will forgive us if we are prepared to forgive those who have wronged us. This is especially the case, once we have been enlightened and come to the realization that we are born only to die, and our only hope for meaning in life is if God loves us and has a purpose for our existence. Of course, we all come from different backgrounds, but the sins are essentially the same and they are expressed in the Ten Commandments when we violate them. However, the psalmist understood that the commandments are not narrow in their application and they cover many aspects of our life on Earth.

• I have seen a limit to all perfection, but thy commandment is exceedingly broad. Psalm 119:96

There are many things for which we will need to ask forgiveness and for which we will need to forgive others who have sinned against us,if we are to escape the snare of the Devil. When, a person understands the only words written by God Himself and their implications, that person will be educated and have more authority over the Devil than realized before. Yet the Ten Commandments are the milk of the word, the plumb line by which we measure morality and interpret the Bible. Unfortunately, few Christians understand the first commandment, while most throw them out. This is why they are weak in their faith.

Therefore, unless you learn what repentance requires, and learn to forgive others, you cannot receive the fullness of the inheritance that is rightfully yours. Indeed "the reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life." (Proverbs 22:4) This is why you need to receive forgiveness for your sins. Its your inheritance that is at stake.

The Ten Commandments: riches and honor and life