the basic message # E55
Anyone who has read the Old Testament knows how tough the rules were back then. Can you imagine skipping church to work on a project and have the community show up and kill you? That was the punishment for “Sabbath breakers” in Numbers 15:32-36. Fortunately, we Christians are no longer under the law, rather we have Jesus Christ as our payment for our sins. Thanks be to God. In many passages in the Bible, the word “atonement” is used when describing the covering of sins. I always assumed a sin was a sin, but apparently, an intentional, versus unintentional sin was viewed quite differently by God.
Numbers 15:22
“ ‘Now if you unintentionally fail to keep any of these commands the Lord gave Moses-…..’”
Leviticus 4:1-2
The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘When anyone sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands-….’”
Leviticus 4:13
“ ‘If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, even though the community is unaware of the matter, they are guilty……’”
For sake of space, I’m only quoting the first part of the passages above, but please focus on the word “unintentional”. Many modern Christians mistakenly think that all sin is unintentional, but I disagree. Example: A man is walking out of a store and a beautiful girl walks past him, his mind automatically thinking improper thoughts about the girl. In my opinion: unintentional sin. Example 2: Same man, same girl, except this time, he catches the first glimpse innocently, but rather than simply look away and go about his business, he stops to stare, and even calls out to his buddy to “check out the babe”. In my opinion: intentional sin. Any time we have the opportunity to realize what we’re doing is wrong, yet continue on, that’s intentional sin. I think the #1 intentional sin is gossip and slander. Do you ever find yourself saying, “Well, I shouldn’t say this, but…..”. Simple rule to live by (and I’m especially talking to myself): If we open a conversation with the words, “Well, I shouldn’t say this”, SHUT UP! Yes, shut up. It’s funny, we can train our bodies to accomplish great feats, yet we can’t train our little tongues to behave properly.
Numbers 15:30-31
“ ‘But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or alien, blasphemes the Lord, and that person must be cut off from his people. Because he has despised the Lord’s word and broken his commands, that person must surely be cut off; his guilt remains on him.’”
Again, we have the precious Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, to rescue us from our sins, but should we test that love by sinning intentionally? I’m not going to even suggest that the blood of Christ doesn’t cover all of our sins, but why should Jesus die for sins we could easily stop committing? Think about it, if you really, truly love Jesus Christ, why would you ask him to give his life for some stupid, sinful habit you can break? I thank God for giving me a Savior to atone for the sins I can’t help, but I can and will give my very best effort to eliminating my intentional sins. Many of you will call me a legalist, or possibly a heretic. So be it.