Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Leviticus 5: Unintentional Sins?

I used to work with a pastor whose definition of sin was: "An intentional violation of a known law of God."  Anything that didn't fit within that tight framework was not considered a sin.  However, what we find in the sacrificial system of Leviticus describes something out-of-bounds by that definition - unintentional sins.

So holy is God that accidental transgressions and mistaken infractions had to be atoned for.  Should a person commit a sin of omission (such as failing to speak up when you know something relevant - vs. 1) or brushing against a dead animal or "human uncleanness" (vs. 2-3) or speaking something rashly - without thinking - that you later realize was wrong (vs. 4), a sin offering was required.  Even when done unintentionally, some acts were still regarded as serious sin.

This prompts the question - what about intentional sins?  Where is the prescribed sacrifice for that?  You can search through Leviticus, but you will not find an offering mentioned to atone for intentional sins.  Those are outside of the sacrificial system because sinning intentionally removes a person from the covenant.  A divine act of grace and mercy is needed for intentional sins to be removed - in the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament era.

For a much fuller discussion of intentional and unintentional sins under the sacrificial system (and the impact of Jesus Christ), please see this analysis:
http://www.torahclass.com/old-testament-studies/36-old-testament-studies-leviticus/153-lesson-2-intro-to-leviticus-pt-2

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