Presumption Of Understanding
When a person unwittingly incurs guilt in regard to any of the Lord’s commandments about things not to be done, and does one of them . . . Leviticus 4:2
Does One Of Them – Sacrifices do not atone for deliberate sins. Punishment atones for deliberate sins. But we need sacrifices because we still make mistakes without realizing that we have offended. When we become aware of our offenses, then a sacrifice is sufficient to remove our guilt. We must make restitution, but the guilt we incurred before the Lord, even unwittingly, is removed in the sacrifice. The Torah, especially Leviticus, makes this principle abundantly clear.
But notice the implication behind this principle. Levine says, “ . . . the presumption is that an Israelite possessed of full awareness and knowledge would seek to obey God’s laws, not violate them.”[1] In other words, the presumption behind the provisions of sacrifice is that if we knew better, sacrifices would be unnecessary. Sacrifices are a testimony to our ignorance. We need them because we don’t know all that we should. The Bible assumes that anyone who knows what God desires will seek to do what God desires. Doing God’s will is doing exactly what we would do if we knew all the facts. Since we don’t know all that facts, we act according to His instructions because we trust that He does know all the facts.
There is a lot of confusion about the sacrificial system. Maybe this helps clear some of the air. None of the usual sacrifices removed the guilt of deliberate sin. God Himself had to deal with that. But all of us make mistakes. The Bible assumes that we never get it all right, but it also assumes that human beings in their right minds will recognize God’s desires and attempt to do them. The Bible does not suggest that we can’t do what God desires. It only suggests that our insanity exhibits itself when we choose not to do what we otherwise know is His desire.
The text (asa meachat mehena) suggests that we may accidentally offend in any of the stipulations for living God’s way. There is a provision for any of these mistakes. All that is required is the recognition of the offense. These are enlightenment moments; those times when we suddenly realize that we have acted against His will without being aware of it. These are moments when suddenly we see something in Scripture that applies to us. These are occasions when we are instantly aware through the Spirit that we did something we should not have done. A sacrifice is our way of saying, “Lord, I had no idea. I am guilty. Now I know it. Forgive me.”
God accommodates our frailty. He knows we don’t always understand. He provides us with actions that accompany new information. We can do something about these offenses. We are participants in this aspect of forgiveness. To know the mind of God is to discover the need for sacrifice. For these offenses, forgiveness begins with us. For all the rest, forgiveness must begin with Him. When we confuse the two, we may actually compound our guilt. We may think that nothing is due on our end and, as a result, treat all our offenses as if God’s sacrifice was sufficient. We may make ourselves the victims of spiritual presumption. God’s good favor rests partially on what we do, and once we know this, if we don’t do it, we magnify the offense.
Topical Index: sacrifice, ignorance, unintentional sin, Leviticus 4:2
[1] Baruch Levine, The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, p. 19.
Skip,
Happy Easter–He is risen!!!
I feel the elation of this joyous day of celebration tempered somewhat by today’s (and yesterday’s) message–hopefully I am misunderstanding the implications (would not be the first time). If sacrifice only suffices to cleanse unintentional sin and can not cleanse intentional sin, does it follow that the ultimate sacrifice–the blood of Jesus–could not (and did not) pay the price for ALL sin and is sufficient only for unintentional sin? If so, does the commission of one intentional sin forever disqualify us for the purity required for eternity with God? If so, I fear we are all doomed (and this would have been a really terrible day to pick for delivering this message!).
I hope your answer is no–that the blood of Jesus is sufficient for all sin. If so, how do you reconcile this with what you are saying?
Blessings on this marvelous day.
Hi Paul,
It is indeed Easter, although I would suggest that Easter as historically understood before Constantine was certainly not about the glorious fact of the resurrection. That event falls in the Biblical calendar, not the pagan one.
Now to the question at hand. What I have been meditating about is the lack of appreciation in Christian circles for the difference between moral and ritual purity. Moral purity involves (among other things) the breaking of fellowship with God and men due to a violation of the character of God incorporated in the instructions for personal and civil harmony. Ritual purity touches something else, namely, my standing before God in terms of my acceptability for worship. Christians tend to lump all of this together, acting as if forgiveness for moral impurity also covers ritual impurity. So, as long as I have asked for forgiveness for my known sins, I am therefore purified before God and able to properly worship Him. Leviticus suggests otherwise. Leviticus suggests that I may in fact have violated a requirement of ritual purity and incurred the wrath of God (be guilty) even if I am at this moment unaware of my offense. Upon awareness, the fact of my guilt does not change. The only thing that changes is that I now have the opportunity to address my guilt through a sacrifice which restores my ritual purity and my place in worship.
Since intentional sins are not covered by the Levitical system of sacrifices, some other means of dealing with my impurity (both moral and ritual) must be available. The biblical message is that no man’s actions can impute righteousness to those found guilty of intentional sin because every man carry this guilt. Only a perfect, sinless sacrifice (modeled in the themes of the Passover, etc.) can suffice. Even on Yom Kippur the high priest must first deal with his own guilt. Isaiah teaches us that only God HImself can comfort His people with the requisite sacrifice. Therefore, Yeshua (God manifest in the flesh) is the only available means for dealing with the guilt of intentional sin. His sacrifice is designed specifically to address the gap left in the system of sacrifices for ritual purity.
It is worth noting that there are means for redemption from intentional sins that do not require the sacrifice of God HImself. This is called punishment. When a man steals, his atonement is covered completely with the return of the property, the payment of the punishment, the public confession and the required rituals. In other words, he is forgiven. He is restored to the community and can enter into worship again. But the problem is that some sins, sins present to each of us, are not so easily dealt with. Some sins require death as punishment. Idolatry is one of those sins. Anyone who has every replaced God’s rightful authority with another is to be punished by death. Unfortunately, this pretty much applies to all of us. So, we need a Savior. There are other good reasons as well, but you get the idea.
To say that Yeshua died for all Sin is essentially and technically correct. God’s sacrifice completes the promise of redemption. But that does not mean we no longer need to have any concern for ritual purity. We all still make mistakes. When we discover that we have done something out of alignment with God’s requirements for worship, we are expected to take the steps He outlines to restore fellowship. To ignore these is to insist that God changed His mind about what matters to Him after Yeshua’s death. I don’t see that in Scripture, in spite of the exegetical history of the Church.
“the blood of Jesus–could not (and did not) pay the price for ALL sin”
Hi Paul,
To me, it doesn’t seem logical to think that any sin of mine that has not yet been committed has already been paid for by Jesus.
If that were the case why would I need to pray for forgiveness?
In my view, Jesus suffered for our sins, even though he was innocent, to show us how to live and die.
He is the Hero of our story.
Michael,
It is finished. When is it paid for if it was not paid for at Calvary? I wa taught we should not pray for forgiveness–we should confess and repent and give thanks for the forgiveness that was already bought. In fact, asking for forgiveness suggests it has not already been paid for. Tim Keller explains it as Jesus being our advocate before God–when we sin, Jesus can stand before the Father and say–I have paid the price for this already–this man is forgiven.
Keller is right and so are you, Paul. When we confess our sins (assumption: we are aware of our guilt – the guilt is real – we did the deed), then He is able and just in forgiving our sins, as He promised, because He has in fact (in real time and space) paid the atonement needed for us to be forgiven. His sacrifice is accepted in our place. Punishment is meted out according to the requirement of the law, even though the actually guilty party did not die in the exchange. Of course, this sacrifice is valid forever. It does not have to be repeated. It is sufficient for all sin, but it certainly does not cover offenses that have not yet occurred. They aren’t offenses yet. So, as a category, all sin is covered, but as individual acts of offense, every sin requires repentance, restitution, etc. Should we miss one, should we forget, should we in our ignorance overlook something – He still forgives. Should we fail to ask because we don’t feel like it. Ah, that’s another story, isn’t it?
Hi Skip,
I’m not so sure the term ‘paid for our sins’ is actually a biblical notion ……
Kees
While the terms may not be exactly in the biblical text, the idea of a substitution and payment is. But, please elaborate. The discussion might be very useful.
Not only is it not logical, it is out-right self-contradictory. The only way we get to the idea that Yeshua died for all my sins, past present and future, is to fall prey to a long-held mythology regarding time and choice. If we think like the Greeks, that time is a river of events and I am a by-stander on the shore, then the events of my life are already “present” somewhere along the river and I am only waiting for them to come across my view. But this is nonsense. It depends on a spatial fallacy. It implies that all the events of my life already “exist” in some fashion even though I have yet to enact them. This is the view of Boethius, Aquinas, Augustine and others, influenced by Parmenides. Christian theology adopted this Greek mistake centuries ago and ended up with intractable problems with free will.
No, in fact, Yeshua could not die for “future” sins because they aren’t sins at all. They are possibilities, not actualities. But the offer of forgiveness applies to all sins and to Sin in general so that when I commit them or become aware of my transgression, there remains an offering for me. You are correct in your logic. If His death and resurrection applies NOW to future sins, then what’s the point of confession or, frankly, of resistance.
Skip …
It is sad that so few believers have any firm understanding of the “sacrificial system” … as such there is much confusion/delusion associated with sin atonement/forgiveness/grace and so forth amongst believers! Another by product of viewing Scripture in non-Hebraic context!
Most certainly Yeshua’s victory, bought and paid for by His perfect self sacrifice, is indeed offered too and accepted by “the elect” …. otherwise we would not need a Mashiach! 🙂 Clearly, for the elect, does Yeshua’s covering result in a judgment of “righteousness”!
As for other believers (non-elect) that call upon the name of The Lord …. again the discussion must delve into that topic of non-acceptance. We move into that zone where our High Priest is unable to accept our sacrifice because it is not pure … or perhaps the sacrifice is not even offered up at all … or perhaps the believer is not even in the encampment because of perpetual defilement … or … etc.
Sacred Scripture is clear that we can not have it both ways. When a believer shrugs off their continued sinfulness and presumes this sin is covered by Yeshua’s sacrifice is a grave heresy. The presumption of forgiveness without t’shuvah is non-Biblical! To presume continued and perpetual forgiveness while willfully continuing in sin is blasphemy … and the wages of sin = “death”!
Skips message and comments herein are very, very important because they address a serious error in the lives of millions and millions of believers. People that believe but do not live according to the standard of faith! People who believe but do not have the power (Ruach) within them to put down the iniquity … and hence continue to be a slave to sin!
We see in Scripture where prayers and cries are sent up to YHVH to make known our iniquities … ignorance is not bliss!
Sadly many are in this state because they really do not want to “walk the walk” … while others simply fall prey to very bad teaching and heresy!
As for us …. let us praise the ONE WHO IS EVERYTHING:
The Sacrificed Lamb, The Unleavened Bread, The First Fruits, The High Priest, The Life within us … and on and on and on … 🙂
Let us praise YESHUA HAMASHIACH … LORD and SAVIOR!