Iniquity is the internal act of stubbornness against God. It involves the attitudes of the heart.
The Greek word for iniquity that is used most frequently in the New Testament is anŏmia, which means “illegality, that is, violation of the law or… Evil. " It is derived from the word anŏmŏs, which refers to not being subject to the law. Based on the teaching of Jesus and other passages of Scripture, iniquity is doing our own will rather than God's will, even if our own will appears to be "doing good."
The definition of iniquity as “doing our own will” is confirmed in Isaiah 53: 6: “ All of us like sheep have gone astray; We have each returned to our own way; And the Lord has laid the iniquity of us all on him.
The Bible uses words such as iniquity, transgression, and infraction to indicate levels of disobedience to God. They are all classified as "sin."
The most frequently used Hebrew word for "iniquity" means " guilt worthy of punishment." Iniquity is sin at its worst. Wickedness is premeditated, ongoing, and intensifies. When we flirt with sin, we fall into the lie that we can control it. But just as a cute baby monkey can turn out to be a wild primate, out of control, sin that seems small and harmless at first can take over before we know it. When we indulge in a sinful lifestyle, we are committing iniquity. Sin has become our god more than our Lord (Romans 6:14).
When we realize that we have sinned, we have a choice. We can see it for how bad it is and repent. When we do, we find God's forgiveness and purification (Jeremiah 33: 8; 1 John 1: 9). Or we can harden our hearts and delve into that sin until it defines us. The partial lists of iniquities are given in Galatians 5: 19-21 and in 1 Corinthians 6: 9-10. These are the sins that become so consumable that a person can be identified by that lifestyle. The psalmists distinguish between sin and iniquity when they ask God to forgive both (Psalm 32: 5; 38:18; 51: 2; 85: 2).
