For the Forgiveness of Sin
by Bob Day
Leviticus 5 and 6 continue with the instructions that the Lord gave to Moses concerning the sacrifices required for the forgiveness of sin. One of the things that is so surprising is that the sins mentioned in these chapters are sins committed by a person who doesn't realize that He has sinned.
Even though the person is required to offer sacrifice when the sin is brought to their attention, the fact is, according to these two chapters, the person is guilty of the sin even when they don't know it. That sounds like a tough thing to live with. Can you imagine realizing that you could be offending God at any time during the day or night without realizing it? And in doing so, bring guilt down upon your head.
That brings up an interesting question, how often must you offer up sacrifices for sins that you don't realize you were committing? The short answer is, everyday. That would wear you out after a while wouldn't it? Here's some good news, the fact that the Lord is giving these instructions shows He wanted to have fellowship with His people and wanted His people to be in a position to fellowship with Him. He knows that our sin separates us from himself, so, he provided a way through the sacrificial system to destroy that which separates us.
Even though the sacrifices would cleanse a person of their guilt and sin, the fact is that cleansing and forgiveness is only temporary because our sin nature causes us to sin not "in every way, everyday" but often enough that we would have to be offering sacrifices 24/7.
The sacrificial system was a visible reminder of humanity's sin and God's holiness, in other words, God's people would have to continually offer up blood sacrifices in order to stay in fellowship with Him.
Now, praise God, we don't have to offer up blood sacrifices day in and day out over and over again in order to find forgiveness and fellowship with God. Heb. 10:10-18 states that Jesus made a once-for-all- perfect sacrifice for sin through his death and resurrection. Once he had shed his blood for the forgiveness of sin, He sat down on the right hand of God and now there is no more sacrifice needed.
This doesn't mean that we can sin against God any old time we choose simply because we trusted in Jesus for our salvation. No, if we have truly been rescued from sin and death. Then we should want to live a life that remains in fellowship with God (Rom. 6: 1,2.) But, because we are weak and in firm, there is a need for daily confession of sin; however, there is no more sacrifice needed. Now, there is no need to live under the burden of guilt and shame because of sin.
Even though the person is required to offer sacrifice when the sin is brought to their attention, the fact is, according to these two chapters, the person is guilty of the sin even when they don't know it. That sounds like a tough thing to live with. Can you imagine realizing that you could be offending God at any time during the day or night without realizing it? And in doing so, bring guilt down upon your head.
That brings up an interesting question, how often must you offer up sacrifices for sins that you don't realize you were committing? The short answer is, everyday. That would wear you out after a while wouldn't it? Here's some good news, the fact that the Lord is giving these instructions shows He wanted to have fellowship with His people and wanted His people to be in a position to fellowship with Him. He knows that our sin separates us from himself, so, he provided a way through the sacrificial system to destroy that which separates us.
Even though the sacrifices would cleanse a person of their guilt and sin, the fact is that cleansing and forgiveness is only temporary because our sin nature causes us to sin not "in every way, everyday" but often enough that we would have to be offering sacrifices 24/7.
The sacrificial system was a visible reminder of humanity's sin and God's holiness, in other words, God's people would have to continually offer up blood sacrifices in order to stay in fellowship with Him.
Now, praise God, we don't have to offer up blood sacrifices day in and day out over and over again in order to find forgiveness and fellowship with God. Heb. 10:10-18 states that Jesus made a once-for-all- perfect sacrifice for sin through his death and resurrection. Once he had shed his blood for the forgiveness of sin, He sat down on the right hand of God and now there is no more sacrifice needed.
This doesn't mean that we can sin against God any old time we choose simply because we trusted in Jesus for our salvation. No, if we have truly been rescued from sin and death. Then we should want to live a life that remains in fellowship with God (Rom. 6: 1,2.) But, because we are weak and in firm, there is a need for daily confession of sin; however, there is no more sacrifice needed. Now, there is no need to live under the burden of guilt and shame because of sin.
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