Leviticus 4 – the chapter that introduces the concept of unintentional sin, a concept that I don’t know that anyone teaches. Sin is sin, but we also know that God judges the heart, and that sin with intent, especially malicious intent, is worse than other sins, because it is also a matter of the heart, of one’s attitude. And so on.
But, at the same time, sin is still sin. King David – I’ll read his Psalms in about 2 months – makes mention of “secret sins” periodically. These are sins that we have committed but didn’t realize. Realizing it is about as humbling an experience that anyone can have, the realization that, even despite our best efforts, despite our intentions, attitudes, and orientations of our hearts, we still fall short of the glory of God. We can’t help it. This is a topic that, along with many others (like sin itself) is unpopular, but especially in the Age of Self, I imagine that more people than not will bristle at this. Even people who say they are Christian, people who say they swear by the Bible and got fully water-baptized as an adult (and not just the “sprinkling” as an infant), can fall for the illusion that as long as our hearts and intentions are in the right place, then there really should be no problem.
Except, according to the Bible, there is. Unintentional sin exists. Secret sins are a real thing. For example, Jesus addresses two of the commandments, “thou shalt not commit adultery” and “thou shall not commit murder,” and says that even if we are merely angry at someone we have committed murder in our heart, and that even if we look at another person who is not our opposite-sex spouse with lust, we have committed adultery in our heart.
According to Jesus’ interpretation of these two particular commandments, combined with the truth that unintentional sin is still sin, I know that I myself have already fallen way, way short. And yet, I have known people, church-goers who profess to be Christian and/or Jesus-followers, get defensive at even the mere mention of being called out for their sin “when they didn’t mean to do it.”
I still must guard against becoming a Pharisee on this,
because I understand enough that that particular legalistic mindset begins by
standing on God’s law, come heathen or high water, no matter what comes, no
matter their emotions, no matter their circumstances. And yet, time and time
again, I have seen people go the other way, invoking “God’s grace” as a method
of dismissing their actions, out of a belief that to look at themselves
honestly would equate to “beating themselves up.”
This is often a very tough balancing act, and honestly, it’s
not a balancing act any of us can manage, without realizing our desperate need
for a personal, life-saving (and eternity-saving) relationship with Jesus
Christ who died on the cross for all. Recently, in a Bible study where we
examined the Ten Commandments and how we each were doing with each of them, I
was honest with the other men in the group and said that I’ve broken all ten of them. Repeatedly.
Even after I began my real walk with the God of the Bible, I’ve still taken His
name in vain and put other idols in His place. I’ve committed both murder and
adultery in my heart, and I’ve coveted all sorts of things, because of my
longtime frustration with my similarly longtime financial standing. And yet,
every time something good really happened, like a huge push forward in my life,
is entirely and exclusively because of the combination of God’s goodness and my
decision to trust Him in that goodness, repeatedly.
Other notes:
- Leviticus 5:1: the origin of “if you see/hear something, say something.”
- Noticing a trend of sin offerings equating to an animal “without blemish,” often a lamb. The “without blemish” part stands out – after all, the Lord is without blemish Himself. I read this and interpret it both literally and symbolically. Literally because the text repeatedly says to bring [an animal] without blemish; symbolically because of the connection with God Himself who is without blemish.
- Similarly, there is an emphasis on holiness – God is holy, therefore everything we offer, including those that touch it, must be holy.