The following scripture shows the process of sin the best.  It shows that when a person is draw toward a evil desire by his own lusts (which is iniquity), and acts upon the lust (the action itself being sin), it brings forth death (which is separation from God). 

James 1:14-15
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

Iniquity

If we continue the analogy of the archer, we can see that iniquity is a flaw in character (that is, a crooked arrow), that will always go astray. 

Isa 59:2
But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

Evil lusts or desires are the same as iniquity, in that, the character flaw that allows a person, or draws a person, to do evil is iniquity. 

Rom 6:12
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

Iniquity will always lie to you that it is not wrong ("how could something that fells this good be wrong?"), or that it is right (self-righteous).

Prov 30:20
Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

Iniquity - (Hebrew "avon") perverseness and/or crookedness of character, it conveys the idea of an arrow shaft that is crooked and will never hit the true target because it will always go astray due to its nature and character.  This also could be see as immoral lusts.           

Ps 119:133
Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.

Ps 18:23
I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.

Ps 66:18
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

You see iniquity (or your desire) is a choice.  You can take authority over your fleshy desires in the name of Jesus.  Tell your flesh in the name of Jesus it will not desire that ungodly thing (binding / not permitting), and then tell it what to desire in Jesus' name (loosing / permitting). (e.g., You will not desire that greasy cheeseburger in the name of Jesus.  You will desire a salad in Jesus' name.)  We talk about doing spiritual experiments.  What that means is take the Word of God you have heard, and go try it! 

Part of the problem can be where you have set your passion (or strong desire).  Some have a passion for sports, or dancing, or whatever it is.  You can take authority over your passion in the name of Jesus, but you have to redirect it into a godly passion or pursuit.  But you have to exercise your passion to godliness... That is how you develop spiritual hunger.  If you keep force feeding yourself in that area, your capacity for it and hunger for it will grow.

The way to fix this iniquity that is in the heart, is to recognize it, repent of it, and learn the true way that your character should be in that area from the Word of God, and command your flesh / your desires to line up with the Word of God.

Prov 16:6
By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.

Sin

Sin is iniquity acted upon.  Sin is the action itself.

Sin brings a person out from under the protection and blessings of God.  Sin brings condemnation ("you're guilty, you're guilty, you're guilty"), shame ("I am not worthy"), and broken fellowship with God.  You see man was created for Spirit of the Living God to be inside of them.  There is a place inside of you that only God can fell.  No amount of drugs, or sex, or food, or anything else can fill that place.  It is what the Far Eastern religions, being spiritually death (separated from God), when they look inside of themselves (their spirit man), they call the Great Void.  Because only the Spirit of God, thru the blood of Jesus Christ, can fill that place.  And sin separates a person from Him and the intimate fellowship that we were created for.

Sin brings fear.  As there is a darkness out there, with horrible creatures (demons) in it, that will cause their servants of darkness to do terrible things.  And there is a severe judgment (that man's spirit fears in physical death, no matter what his mind has said) for those who leave their physical body without receiving Jesus.  But Jesus says "Fear not" for he has redeemed us.

Sin comes from a root word meaning "to miss", conveying the meaning of the act of the arrow missing the target.  So sin is the actual action (Jam 1:14-15).  Sin is an offense (being offensive to God, and His commandments, in His Face) as is a crime that transgresses (or rebels) against a law. 

Sin is an offense.  It is against somebody or some law.  More specifically, it is against God, His commandment to us, His Law,  and His Word.  We should recognize that God's Word / Will / Law for us is a Law of Love, to protect us and provide for us.  If we tell our children not to play in the street, it is not to be mean to them, but to protect them.  However, if their desire to play "whatever" is stronger than their desire (or godly fear) to obey us (being receivers of our love), then they will act upon their desire, which is sin, an offense against the commandment. 

Matt 13:41
The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;

Matt 16:22-23
Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.  But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Rom 5:17
For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

Rom 4:25
Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

If the government sets a speed limit, to protect its citizens from danger in accidents and pollution, and a citizen decides he does not value or need to honor that protection by speeding, then he offends against it and is irreverent to the authority.  He could get a ticket and have to appear in court of the "offense" or crime.  People say they "break" the law.  But they cannot break it, as in making it void or of no effect, nor can they "put it back together" as you would with something broken.  But they transgress the law.

God considers sin an offense against Him to His Face, as someone saying "we don't honor You, we don't respect You, we don't care what You say", literally spitting in His Face.  Are you starting to get the idea of how repulsive sin is to God?  And remember there is only one penalty for sin... DEATH.  That is how serious God considers sin. 

God counts it as hatred toward Him, and says He will repay:

Deut 7:9-10
Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.

Who is it that love Him? Those who keep his commandments (1 John 5:2-3).  God's commandments are not grievous in that they are love commandments to us and thru us to others.  If a person concentrates on the "do not's" (similar to trying to fulfill the Old Testament laws),  then they will be concentrating on trying to get the flesh to behave, which flesh cannot.  A person must learn to concentrate on the "do's", as in loving others, to get into the flow of the Spirit and Life.


Transgression

When we sin, we transgress or trespass, which means to revolt against godly authority.

Transgression or trespass means to revolt (to break away from just authority) or rebel against the commandment(s) of God. It is the actual act, not the motive or character.  A person's iniquity would cause them to transgress, which is sin.


Death

When we sin is finished, it brings forth judgment, which includes death. 

Isa 59:2
But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

Rom 6:23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Death is "separation".  Physical death is separation of your eternal spirit/soul from your physical body.  Marital death is separation of rib (wife) from rib cage (husband), because they were to be "one flesh".  Spiritual death is separation of your spirit from intimate contact with God thru the Holy Spirit.                             


The Hall of Fear and Destruction

When Satan tempts a person with iniquity, he does not take the person down the "hall of fear and destruction" to show the person the just end of the action.  Satan saying:

- "Oh, I got this one to smoke, now he is dying of cancer"

- "I got this one to allow that flirt and soft touch of another, to open up to fornication/adultery, now he is dying of AIDS"

- "I got this one to violate God's Loving Law in this area of pleasure, now he is dying, is mine (servant of sin), and I am going to take him to hell to torment (Hee, hee, haa, haa... Away we go... Down, down, down into the fire...)"

Sin destroys (brings death to) your fellowship with God (causing separation (every felt the Holy Spirit grieved in you)), destroys your witness and testimony, destroys your abundant life and blessings, destroys your family (passing it on to the 3rd or 4th generation (but generational curses can be stopped / broken in the name of Jesus), and destroy your spirit in hell. 

Satan wants you to concentrate on the pleasure before you right now.  And sin is usually pleasurable.  Do you think that the devil is going to send a ugly girl by to tempt you, or show you a ugly dress at the store to spend your tithe money on, or is going to tempt you with a bad tasting piece of chocolate cake.  No, of course not!  Because you are drawn away (from who? God!) by your own (flesh, body, desires) lust to rebel.  The devil does not show you where that is going to take you, or what it is going to cost you (the presence of God, the anointing, the power, the perfect Will of God in your life).  No!  But rather, Satan is right there with you saying "it feels so good", taking to you in first person ("I") rather than 3rd person ("you"), "I think I will...". 

That is why you have to hold up the shield of faith against all the fiery darts of the enemy (Eph 6:16)  (which are thoughts) and bring into captivity every thought unto the obedience of Christ

2 Cor 10:5
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Satan wants you to listen to peer pressure, your friends at work.  "It's all right to come drink one beer with us."  (Never mind where they are going to drink it at.) Then they can say, " why should I listen to you... you come down and drink just like the rest of us."  But don't worry, if you don't, they will hate you just like they hated your Lord Jesus Christ and wanted to kill Him.  You can count on it. 

James 4:4
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

But God is always trying to get all things to work together for our good.  But may people only quote the first part of this verse, leaving of "to them that love God", which is to keep His commandments.

Rom 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

If a person is not trying to follow God, but rebelling in sin, then all things are not going to work together for their good.  But if a person gets caught in sin and the curse, don't rejoice that they got what was coming to them, but use it as an opportunity for reaching them with the gospel.

Prov 24:17-18
Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

Sin only comes in one of three ways

Sin came only come one of three ways.

1 John 2:16
For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh, and
the lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life,
is not of the Father, but is of the world.

That is,

(1) the lust of the flesh,
(2) the lust of the eyes, and
(3) the pride of life. 

Note that the devil is the god (creator) of this world (that is, the culture of man), not of the earth (that is, the physical planet), as the purpose of this present evil world is to blind the eyes and minds of men, to keep them in bond / subject to / servants of darkness / sin.   Turn on the TV or look at the road signs as you drive, and see how they apply to the three ways of sin. 

Gen 3:6
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Eve

(1) saw that it was good for food (lust of the flesh),
(2) that it was pleasant to the eyes (lust of the eyes), and
(3) to make one wise (pride of life)...

she took.

When Satan came to tempt Jesus in the wilderness (Luke 4:2-13),

(1) and Jesus hungered, Satan tried to get him to turn the stones into bread (lust of the flesh),
(2) showed him all the kingdoms of the world (lust of the eyes), and
(3) said "if thou be the Son of God" cast Yourself down (pride of life)...

And when he was unsuccessful, he left for a season. 

The devil knows where your weak points are?  He will be back knocking on that old sin door that you used to let him in.  He was back at the cross saying "if you be", come down from the cross.  He does not have any other access but these three.  Do you realize that holiness (that is, sinlessness) is only an issue when temptation (iniquity/lust) shows up?  So, who is going to answer that door next time the devil comes knocking, Iniquity or the Spirit of Holiness that lives in you?

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