4. Fourthly, when the known law is broken, it implies a higher
4. Fourthly, when the known law is broken, it implies a higher degree of sin as it shows contempt for the law and the lawgiver.
Thus, those who sin with knowledge are said to reproach the Lord and despise His word (Numbers 15:30). Therefore, when
Saul sinned against knowledge, Samuel called it rebellion and equated it with witchcraft, even though it was a minor offense.
Likewise, in Job 24:13, those who sin against light are referred to as rebels because rebellion is added to disobedience.
Knowledge serves as an officer appointed to ensure the execution and fulfillment of the law, making God present in the conscience. That is why it is referred to as a witness in Romans
2:14. Consequently, when people sin against knowledge, they are said to sin in the presence of the Lord Himself. This is an act of great contempt. In Psalm 50:17, the hypocrite who sins against knowledge is said to cast the law of God behind his back, displaying a contempt that is absent in other sins.
5. Fifthly, the more knowledge a person sins against, the more their will is revealed to be inclined towards sin as sin. Now, voluntarium est regula et mensura actionum moralium, willingness in sinning is the standard and measure of sins. The less the will, the lesser the sin. When something is cut off, the will is less inclined towards it. On the other hand, the more the will is involved, the greater the sin. This is why the highest degree of sinning is described as sinning willingly, especially after having knowledge of it, as stated in Hebrews 10. While an ignorant person may commit an act as willingly as when Paul persecuted the church, it is not considered a sin until they have knowledge of it. However, once it is recognized as a sin, and the more clearly it is recognized as such, the will may be said to join with it as sin. Thus, the apostle says, "To him that knows to do well and does not do it, to him it is sin" (James 4:17) because,