Distinguishing Between Sins

“If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any one of the things that by the Lord’s commandments ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt, or the sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has committed. And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill the sin offering in the place of burnt offering.”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭4‬:‭27‬-‭29‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Most of us tend to make a distinction between the things we’ve done wrong. We make a distinction between the intentional and the unintentional.  We distinguish between things we’ve done purposely, and those we’ve done accidentally or without thinking.

Now, in one sense, these distinctions are very real. We often commit wrongs very purposely. We do them intentionally. We know what we’re doing is wrong and, yet, we do them anyway.

However, while we readily acknowledge the sinfulness of those things done intentionally and purposely, we minimize those done unintentionally or accidentally. We want to believe that these wrongs should be overlooked or dismissed. We do so telling ourselves that our intentions are generally good.

Speaking for myself, I’m more likely to give the benefit of the doubt to someone who sinned against me unintentionally. I’m quick, in this case, to overlook their offense. And, generally speaking, I expect the same from others when I unintentionally sin against them.

But we tend to believe the same is true when it comes to God. We tend to think that only our intentional sins matter. We think that only they count against us. And we think that only they need to be forgiven.

This, however, is far from the case. And we see this clearly in the above passage. As instructions are given to the people of Israel regarding the sacrifices, we see these instructions for sins committed unintentionally.

We’re told that, when a person has unintentionally committed a sin, and when he realizes his guilt or is made aware of it, he’s to offer a sacrifice. He’s to offer a sacrifice for this sin he has committed. 

We see here that these sins do make us guilty before God. Like sins committed purposely, they too make us deserving of his wrath. And, for this reason, atonement must be made for them.

We, of course, do not offer sacrifices. The death of Jesus on the cross paid for each and every one of our sins. But this does tell us that, when we sin unintentionally, we need God’s forgiveness.

When we realize our guilt, or when we’re made aware of it, we must not take it lightly. Nor should we dismiss or excuse our sin. We must, rather,  confess it to God. We must acknowledge before him the sinfulness of our sin. And we must look to him for the forgiveness that’s found in Jesus.