The Ancient Word...

Under the Mosaic Covenant, God provided atoning sacrifices for those who sinned unintentionally:

If a person sins unintentionally, he must bring a year-old female goat for a sin offering. The priest is to make atonement before the LORD for the one who erred by sinning unintentionally, and when atonement has been made for him, he will be forgiven. (Numbers 15:27-28, NIV; compare Leviticus 4-5)

However, the Mosaic Law offered less hope for those who sinned intentionally:

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. (Numbers 15:30-31)

The Hebrews writer offers a similar warning to Christians under the New Covenant:

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the Law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses [see Deuteronomy 17:2-7]. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10:26-29; compare 6:4-8; 2 Peter 2:20-21)

In context, the writer is describing the terrible consequences of apostasy -- of forsaking God. He is not presenting the Father as a merciless Tyrant, who sends people to Hell for the slightest peccadillo. Nevertheless, the text is sobering because small sins can gradually harden our hearts toward God and quench the Spirit's fire (see 1 Thessalonians 5:19; James 1:14-15).

... for Today

Most sins we commit contain an element of willfulness, of intentionality.

Fortunately, our gracious God can and does forgive such sins. For example, He forgave David for premeditated adultery and murder with Bathsheba, forgave Peter for denying him three times, and forgave the thief on the cross for his crimes.

However, all these people repented by forsaking their sin and returning to God. Without the "godly sorrow" that "brings repentance" (see 2 Corinthians 7:10), there is little hope for forgiveness. Ongoing, persistent, willful, deliberate, high-handed sin works against reconciliation with God because we remain in open rebellion against Him.

Since the days of Jesus and the Apostle Paul, the Church has placed strong emphasis on God's grace (see Ephesians 2:8). And that's good because His grace is very real, and we all need it very much. God is looking for ways to save us -- not to condemn us.

However, in highlighting God's grace, it seems that many believers fail to take sin seriously. Studies show that the lifestyle of Christians often differs little from that of our non-Christian neighbors.

Do we show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads us toward repentance? (See Romans 2:4.)

Christ died on the cross as the sacrifice that established the New Covenant. Our Passover Lamb poured out his life's blood to save us and show us the way to God. Our High Priest died an excruciating death to provide an atoning sacrifice acceptable to God.

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We who died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? (Romans 6:1-2)

If we accommodate sin in our lives, then we "insult the Spirit of grace" and trample the blood of the covenant.

Discuss...

1. Some have described sin not as "breaking the laws of God" but "breaking the heart of God." How might our attitude toward sin change if we took this latter perspective?
   
2. Our sin may be intentional or unintentional. But why do so many believers seem indifferent about it? Can we truly repent of that towards which we are indifferent?

Publishers Note...

This issue concludes our series on the Cross of Christ. After a brief break, we will launch a new series during the week of June 18 on Bible Real Estate. In that series, we will reflect on events that made certain locations significant.

Chris Davis, PhD & David Timms, PhD
Hope International University
Fullerton, California

Bare Roots is a regular publication, intended for small group discussion or
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