Honoring God’s Holiness
Leviticus 5:1, 4-5, 14-16; 6:1-7
In Leviticus, we find the guide for holy living that was given to the nation of Israel. Instructions were given related to health and holiness, worship and sacrifice. Five kinds of offerings, which fulfilled two main purposes, were identified. The offerings (or sacrifices) were for worship or for forgiveness of sin. These background passages are from the instructions related to sin and guilt offerings.
God made clear to the Israelites that failure to do something they should was as sinful as doing something they should not; that is, sins of omission make a person as guilty as sins of commission. We should read these instructions not so much as a checklist of dos and don’ts, but as a reminder of what it means to live rightly before a holy God.
A part of right living includes our response when we do sin. Our response should include not only an admission of our guilt, but also an acknowledgement that our actions (or inactions) were wrong – sinful – and an acceptance of responsibility for those actions and their consequences.
A proper response to sin also includes repentance and restitution. While we cannot, in all honesty, commit to never do a particular thing again, we can commit to doing our best not to repeat that behavior. Repentance involves a change in attitude as well as a change in behavior. Restitution involves payment for sins. In the case of the Israelites, the payment for an unintentional sin was an animal sacrifice. For an intentional sin, the penalty was death, and the only provision was God’s mercy. This seems to be a harsh punishment, but it shows us how serious God is about right living.
Jesus, the perfect and final sacrifice, paid the penalty for all our sins. Yet, when we sin against God, or other people, it is still necessary for us to make things right with them.
Our relationship with God is impacted by our relationship with others. When we do not treat others in a right manner, we offend God. If we want to make sure we are in right standing with God, we need to examine our relationships with others.
These Scriptures lead us to understand, again, that inaction can be as sinful as wrong actions. If we have harmed our neighbor, friend, relative or co-worker by what we have not done or said, we are just as guilty as if we had done or said something sinful. Our relationship with God will not be right until we have restored this broken relationship.
We each need to spend time with God asking Him to reveal any sins that need to be confessed and dealt with, and to give us the strength and courage to make things right with any person against whom we have sinned.
Register– Lessons in the BSL series for the winter quarter are being written by Laurie Register, executive director-treasurer of Woman’s Missionary Union, SCBC.