Unintentional Sin

"Now if the whole congregation of Israel commits error and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly, and they commit any of the things which the Lord has commanded not to be done, and they become guilty; when the sin which they have committed becomes known, then the assembly shall offer a bull of the herd for a sin offering and bring it before the tent of meeting... When a leader sins and unintentionally does any one of all the things which the Lord his God has commanded not to be done, and he becomes guilty, if his sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring for his offering a goat, a male without defect... Now if anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any of the things which the Lord has commanded not to be done, and becomes guilty, if his sin which he has committed is made known to him, then he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without defect, for his sin which he has committed." -Leviticus 4.13-14, 22-23, and 27-28

Let me start this post by saying how difficult these first few chapters of Leviticus are proving to be. It's all about a sacrificial system made obsolete by the death and resurrection of Jesus. But just because of that we can't ignore it. One of my college professors said this about the Old and New Testaments, "The New is in the Old concealed, the Old is in the New revealed." Just because something is obsolete it doesn't give us permission to skip over it. And so I am committed to writing at least one post from every chapter of the Bible.

Sin is sin, even sin committed accidentally. God says that even when a person sins and they are unaware of it, when it becomes known then they must seek forgiveness. No sin, not even the unintentional, will be overlooked by God. When we come to new life in Christ we become aware of the wrong things we had been doing. With our new life in Christ we gain a new awareness of sin, and as we become aware of them we need to confess them.

Men, are their sins you've become aware of and are not dealing with? Are you examining your life to see if there are sins you're unaware of? Is there an addictive habit that you've done for years without even thinking about? In a moment of anger you said or done something that you shouldn't have? Have you dealt with the sins that may have resulted?

Let us always examine ourselves for sin that we commit unintentionally, and as we become aware of them let us seek God's forgiveness.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor