The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “If anyone sins and commits a breach of faith against the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in a matter of deposit or security, or through robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor or has found something lost and lied about it, swearing falsely—in any of all the things that people do and sin thereby—if he has sinned and has realized his guilt and will restore what he took by robbery or what he got by oppression or the deposit that was committed to him or the lost thing that he found or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt.

 Leviticus 5-6

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “If anyone sins and commits a breach of faith against the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in a matter of deposit or security, or through robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor or has found something lost and lied about it, swearing falsely—in any of all the things that people do and sin thereby—if he has sinned and has realized his guilt and will restore what he took by robbery or what he got by oppression or the deposit that was committed to him or the lost thing that he found or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt. Leviticus 6:1-5

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing with chapter six - When We Are Guilty - covering Leviticus 5:14-6:7, looking specifically at the theme - We Are Guilty When We Cheat Other People. The commentary this morning focuses on v6:1-5 and how God describes the sin of deceiving and oppressing others - generally described as "cheating."  Often times, depending on the object at hand and the associated value, such sin is seen as innocent and perhaps unintentional - again, as discussed previously, it does not matter as it is all sin.   From time to time, all of us are guilty of such matters and the commentary uses the example of borrowing a book and neglecting to return it.  We cannot get around the truth that we all sin and are in need of Savior. 

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Jesus, You are an amazing God as it amazing that despite how believers were enemies of You, and despite how we are unfaithful, You love us and save us anyways.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving, as my sin continues - worry, impatience, etc. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

“If anyone sins, doing any of the things that by the Lord's commandments ought not to be done, though he did not know it, then realizes his guilt, he shall bear his iniquity."

 Leviticus 5-6

“If anyone sins, doing any of the things that by the Lord's commandments ought not to be done, though he did not know it, then realizes his guilt, he shall bear his iniquity." Leviticus 5:17

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing with chapter six - When We Are Guilty - covering Leviticus 5:14-6:7, looking specifically at the theme - We Are Guilty When We Disobey a Command of God.  Here, the commentary stresses unintentional sin, which is explicitly discussed in v5:14, 17-18.  It states that we sin unintentionally all the time - we often refer to these as mistakes, but these are sins nonetheless. We are urged to step back to see the extent of the details in Leviticus as laid out by God as commands that we are to follow.  Yet, the commentary then states regarding the Israelites' ability to keep all of these commandments: "[i]t was easy to make a mistake by forgetting or not knowing about a particular law."  V15 is called out with its reference to "holy things" and the commentary describes these as "all the things set apart for use in the sanctuary--shovels, utensils, and pans used in offering sacrifices and preparing incense. Those things were holy in that they were reserved only for use in the sanctuary." The commentary writes about how easy it must have been to miss a detail - unintentionally - about these commands.  We are urged to see how we - just as those living during the time when the Old Testament sacrificial system was in place were - are human and prone to mistakes and imperfection.  Only God is perfect and Holy. We are also urged to not question God's laws as He is the authority and He gets to make the rules, just as a parent does with a child.  There are no imperfect laws from God as He is perfect and Holy. 

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and whose laws are perfect and good for me.  All that You do is good and good for me.  I am undeserving of how You bless me.  I have sin such as worry, etc. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.  

...and [Sin] is hidden from him, when he comes to know it, and realizes his guilt....

 Leviticus 5

...and [Sin] is hidden from him, when he comes to know it, and realizes his guilt.... Leviticus 5:2,3,4,5

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing with chapter five - Five Eternal, Counter Cultural Truths about God, Us and Our Sin - covering Leviticus 5:1-13, looking specifically at the theme Sin Results in Guilt. Building on my post yesterday, my commentary right away points how in v5:2, 3, 4, and 5, God gives us instructions on how to handle sin once we realize our sin.  We are constantly sinning, with our thoughts in particular and even unintentionally - the point is that we are all born sinners and it pervades our life, and Believers are not immune to sin as we are human.  Yet even as we sin, our culture, in which we as Believers find ourselves, refrains from discussing sin as morality fades from public view.  My commentary points to a secular book Whatever Happened to Sin as an example of such discussion, and this book was written nearly 50 years ago!  The commentary then proceeds to describe guilt within secular culture as a bad thing - something to be alleviated just as another malady where perhaps we can take a pill, have a drink, etc. Yet the commentary urges all of us, Believers and non-believers alike, to see guilt as playing a necessary and critical role in pointing us to the need for God.  God alone provides the path for atonement and a means to reconcile us to Himself. We all sin and we all need a savior - Jesus Christ is that Savior! 

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves us and who gives us a conscience, the Word, etc. so that we can all recognize our guilt and seek You.  Thank You Jesus!  What an awesome design!  I am not deserving of how You love me and how You design and provide for all of my needs.  I have anger and other sins.  Please forgive me Jesus.  Help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

And the priest shall make atonement for him/them for the sin which he has committed, and he/they shall be forgiven.

Leviticus 4

And the priest shall make atonement for him/them for the sin which he has committed, and he/they shall be forgiven. Leviticus 4:20, 26, 31, 35

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing with chapter four - How God Deals with Sin - covering Leviticus 4:1-35, looking specifically at the theme God Forgives People for Present Sin. My post yesterday described how God provided the law to make sin known to us, so that we can then approach God for atonement.  This morning, the commentary highlights how Leviticus 4 describes God's treatment of unintentional sin, indicating how "unintentional" is used three times in v4:2, 22, and 27 based on how priests, leaders and common people are to purify themselves of unintentional sin. The ESV translation goes further, using "unintentional" in v4:13 in the context of such sin committed by the whole congregation of Israel. The commentary defines and unpacks the use of the word unintentional, stating as such sin is not premeditated or planned, we nonetheless can find ourselves involved in sin by "unthinkingly stray[ing] into trouble like sheep."  Isaiah 53:6 is referenced for its use of how we are all just like sheep that easily go astray.  The commentary discusses how unintentional sin is still sin nonetheless - it can simply be a matter of negligence - we stopped paying attention or we were less focused or aware of our surroundings or circumstances - mistakes happen.  But God of course sees all of this sin and provides a path for atonement for all of our sin whether it be intentional or unintentional.  The commentary points to v4:20, 26, 31, and 35, which states how sin is forgiven. We are urged by the commentary to see how God forgives all but it is not automatic - in the Old Testament the sacrificial system provided a path for atonement but with the Second Covenant, Christ died once and for all. 

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who forgives me for my sins - intentional and unintentional.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You forgive, for such mercy and compassion, and for all the other many blessings You pour out for me.  My sin continues...worry, etc. Please forgive me Jesus.  Help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

“‘But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or foreigner, blasphemes the Lord and must be cut off from the people of Israel. Because they have despised the Lord’s word and broken his commands, they must surely be cut off; their guilt remains on them.’”

Leviticus 3-7,15,17

“‘But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or foreigner, blasphemes the Lord and must be cut off from the people of Israel. Because they have despised the Lord’s word and broken his commands, they must surely be cut off; their guilt remains on them.’” Leviticus 15:30-31

Day 51 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) focuses on fellowship offerings (required and freewill) and unintentional vs intentional sin, the latter of which is related to sins of omission vs commission.

Of course we must start with the fact that, as I emphasized yesterday, we all sin, the wages of sin is death, and we all need a Savior.  Elsewhere in scripture, we find several examples of how our heart condition (vs explicit actions) or even just thoughts are sinful.

The Ten Commandments indicate that we are not to covet our neighbors house or anything that belongs to him - these are thoughts, regardless of whether we act on them.

Proverbs 26:25 highlights how deceptive our speaking can be - "Though their speech is charming, do not believe them, for seven abominations fill their hearts".

1 John 3:15 talks about murder in our heart: "Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him."

Matthew 5:21:28 says "[b]ut I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart". 

John Piper also has an excellent post on how "willful" sinning causes one to lose his/her salvation.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who has forgiven my sins and help me gain victory of sin and death!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such a God.  I sin...daily.  Please forgive m Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself strength and wisdom.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.