Uncovering Sin

Author: Joseph

Date: August 5, 2018

God instructs Israel in how the priests are to offer up sacrifices for various kinds of offerings. There are burnt offerings, grain offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings. Each offering has a specific purpose and meaning. One purpose for the sin offering to be made was for unintentional sin.

Unintentional sin is defined by God as the action of unknowingly disobeying Him (Leviticus 4:2, 13). God explained to Moses that it did not matter if the person who unintentionally sinned was a common person, a priest, or even if it was the entire assembly of Israel – a nation. All unintentional sin was to be repented from and atoned for once the person or people became aware of their sin.

"We still bear the consequences..."

God told Moses, “Now if a person sins and does any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, though he was unaware, still he is guilty and shall bear his punishment” (Leviticus 5:17). The guilt that comes from unintentional sin is not emotional, it is consequential. We still bear the consequences because God is just and we are guilty in God’s eyes for the sin we have committed. We are “guilty and shall bear [our] punishment” (Leviticus 5:17 [emphasis mine]).

Earlier in the Bible, we read how Cain’s countenance fell when he began to hate his brother Abel and his sin became apparent when God told him to master his sin and overcome his emotions. Later in the book of Genesis, we read how Judah was overcome with shame when he found that it was his own fault that Tamar had become pregnant. These and others in the Bible had committed sin without realizing it, but in every case those that committed the sin had to bear the consequences of their actions.

Ask God to uncover any unknown sin in your life and have a heart of humility so that you are able to repent when the sin is revealed to you. Cain continued in his sin and was cursed because of his murderous will. Judah turned away from killing Tamar when he discovered it was his own foolish action that brought shame to her. He also did not bring her further shame and admitted his fault. Israel had to be reminded that even now that they had received God’s commandments, there were still sins that could be committed unintentionally. We also need to remind ourselves that knowing what sin is does not mean that we will instinctively do what is right.

Be aware of your actions and your will. Do not be complacent in your faith so as to commit sins carelessly, without knowing what you are doing.

Bible Passage: Leviticus 1:1 – 5:19.

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB). www.lockman.org