SCRIPTURE: Leviticus 5
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
1. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. [Matthew 3:6-8] God’s heart has always been for sincere repentance. Sin is very serious, it causes huge damage. God takes sin very seriously, as is evident in Jesus’ sacrifice for us. We should too.
2. Of the five kinds of sacrifices, the sin and guilt offerings were mandatory. As soon as someone became aware that they had sinned, they were to bring one of these sacrifices as a sign of repentance and desire for mercy. The exact difference between the sin and guilt offering is not clear. The difference seems to be based on the nature of the sin. I tried to figure out the difference, but nothing I read helped. There was a difference, I am just not sure what it was.
3. The sins mentioned in the beginning – of not speaking up as a witness, of being defiled morally or physically, or of making empty promises – are examples of sins that affect the whole community. God’s concern is not just for individual sin and guilt, but for the harm it has on the community.
4. God wants us to confess (admit) our sin, to be honest about how we have failed. The proof of that confession is the sacrifice, or the fruit in keeping with repentance [Luke 3:8]. The sacrifice shows (a) the sincerity of repentance (b) the admission of the harm of sin, its bloody and deadly! (c) the hope that God would not hold our sin and guilt against us, but accept a substitute.
5. God’s concern for the poor allows for alternative offerings when a person could not pay for a sacrifice. In other words, everyone can find forgiveness with God, we just need to come with all that we are, just as we are.
6. It would take time to offer these sacrifices. When I confess, do I just throw out a prayer, or do I actually take time to do it? Do I produce any fruit in keeping with repentance? Today I am going to spend 1/2hr totally on my knees, honestly naming and confessing specific sins.
PRAYER:
Lord, I confess my shallow repentance. Help me today to go deeper!