Tuesday, March 09, 2010

"The Sin Offering" Sermon: Leviticus 4:1-5:6

“The Sin Offering”
[Leviticus 4:1-5:6]
March 7, 2010 Second Reformed Church

We come this morning to a fourth offering: the Sin Offering. And we may immediately wonder what this is about – wasn’t the first of the offerings, the Burnt Offering, an offering which reconciled the person to God, covering the sin that the person had committed? We would be correct in remembering that, but God here distinguishes between sins that are done deliberately, knowing they are sin – these are covered in the Burnt Offering – and sins that are done deliberately, but not believing them or perceiving them to be sins – these are covered in the Sin Offering.

In other words, if you deliberately did something that you knew was a sin and then came to repent of sinning, you would offer up the Burnt Offering. But if you deliberately did something that you did not realize was a sin when you did it, but then came to realize it was a sin, and you repented of it, you would offer up the Sin Offering. Does that make sense?

We will look at the first part of the instructions for the Sin Offering this morning, and if the Lord is willing, we will look at the rest of the instructions next week. In this morning’s Scripture, Moses explains there are four different categories of people and how an unintentional sin is to be dealt with by each of them. And then he gives a few specific examples of sins.

First, God says, if a priest – who is the representative before God of the people – if the priest sins unintentionally, the entire people is held guilty of the sin. We may think of what James said, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (James 3:1, ESV). Those who teach and preach the Word of God will be judged more strictly, because we are leading the rest of the Church, teaching what God has said, and we will be judged more strictly that our hearers, to see if we have misled anyone, either intentionally or unintentionally.

Because the weight of the sin of the priest was so heavy – since it effected the whole people – the most expensive animal was required for the Sin Offering – a bull. The initial steps of the sacrifice we will recognize: the bull was to be a male without blemish, the priest was to lay his hands upon it, symbolically transferring his sin, and then he was to slit the throat of the bull and collect its blood.

Then we are told that the priest was to sprinkle the blood of the bull seven times in front of the veil of the sanctuary. Here we have the symbolism of sprinkling seven times – seven was the number of completeness or perfection. And then the blood was sprinkled on the veil of the sanctuary, because it was through the veil that one entered into the Presence of God – and, as we saw in the Burnt Offering, it is only through the shedding of blood that the way to God can be opened. Sinners are barred from God without the shedding of blood.

This symbolism of sprinkling the blood seven times on the veil of the sanctuary was fulfilled in the crucifixion of Jesus. As the author of Hebrews tells us, “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:19-22, ESV).

In the days of the Old Testament, God was reached through blood and through a physical veil in the sanctuary, but now, we who believe, have the awesome privilege of coming into the Presence of God, not through the blood of animals, not through our own blood, but through the blood of Jesus, and not through a mere cloth veil, but through the Body of Jesus, torn open so that we might enter in.

The priest would then smear blood on the horns of the Altar of Fragrant Incense. The horns represented the Strength of God and the smearing of blood upon them represented a strong appeal for atonement – reconciliation – not merely for the priest, but for all of the people who believed.

Then, the rest of the blood would be poured out at the base of the Altar of Burnt Offering – as we have seen as said before, this was to remind those offering the sacrifice that there is no reconciliation with God except through blood. And, as we have also seen, Jesus offered up the One and Final Blood Sacrifice which reconciles all those who will believe to God through Jesus and His Sacrifice.

Then, just as we saw last week in the Peace Offering, the priest would dismember the bull and removed the fat from the intestines, and the fat around the kidneys, and the kidneys, and the fatty lobe off of the liver. These would be burnt on the Altar of Burnt Offering as a “food offering to the Lord.”

Unlike the Burnt Offering, only the fatty parts would be burned on the altar, and unlike the Peace Offering, the rest of the animal would not be eaten by the person bringing the offering. Here again we have something different: the priest was to take the rest of the bull and assemble it and “carry [it] outside the camp to a clean place, to the ash heap, and [] burn it up on a fire of wood. On the ash heap it shall be burned up.”

To be outside of the city – outside of the camp – was to be separated from God – banished – rejected. The garbage was brought outside and burned. Lepers and other sick people were separated and kept outside and away until and unless they received healing. Crucifixions took place outside as the author of Hebrews reminds us, “For the bodies of those animals who blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside of the camp. So Jesus suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood” (Hebrews 13:11-12, ESV).

Jesus became the Sin Offering for us. He became sin for us. His Blood was shed, and then He was brought outside of the Holy Place – outside of the view of the “good people” – in the place of the rejected and the damned – where He would cry out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46b, ESV) – suffering eternal Hell for everyone who would ever believe – and then die. And then rise – victorious over sin and death and Hell – for all those who would believe. So, He fulfilled the Sin Offering.

For the other three types of peoples, the sacrifice is similar. Let us just note the differences:

If the entire congregation sinned unintentionally, but was not led into sin by the priest, a bull was still required to be sacrificed, as we have seen, but it was the elders who would lay their hands upon the bull, symbolically transferring the sin of the people to it.

What type of sin are we talking about? An example is found in Jesus’ words to the Church at Thyatira, “But this I have against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols” (Revelation 2:20, ESV). The Church at Thyatira had a woman in the congregation who called herself a prophetess and was instructing the people to sin sexually and in committing acts of idolatry, and the Church had not stopped her. For some reason, they did not think it their place to tell her to stop, and if she would not stop, to remove her.

Perhaps a more modern example for our community: if someone in this congregation was a known drug user – that person would be welcome to join us for worship – however, if we did not warn that person to stop using drugs and try to get that person help, we would also be guilty of sin, and if that person began encouraging others to use drugs, we would be guilty of sin if we did not tell that person to stop, and if we did not remove that person from us if he refused.

The third type of person is the leader – someone who is a leader of people, but not a priest. That person was required to offer up a male goat and to follow the steps we have outlined.

The fourth type of person is everyone else – those who are not a priest or a leader of some type. All others were required to bring a female goat or lamb and to follow the steps we have outlined.

In chapter five, verses one through six, we are given three examples of unintentional sin that a common person could commit which would require the sacrifice of a female lamb or goat:

First, if there was a trial and witnesses were called for, and a person who was a witness does not want to get involved, so he doesn’t answer the call to appear for trial. That was a sin which would require a Sin Offering.

Second, if someone were to accidently touch something that was unclean – an unclean animal, a dead animal or person, a cloth with something unclean on it, etc., the person would be unclean, even though it was unintentional. That was a sin which would require a Sin Offering.

Third, if someone made a rash oath – just blurted out a promise and then realized he could not keep it – that he should not have made the promise – that was a sin that would require a Sin Offering.

In modern times, were we obliged to offer the Sin Offering, another example would be parking in a no parking zone when we didn’t realize it was a no parking zone. It would still be a sin, and we would still have to pay the penalty – probably a parking ticket.

More drastically, if someone got into a fist fight and a person died, even though the intent was not to kill the person, he might be found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and have to pay the penalty for the sin.

So, we see, the Sin Offering was made for unintentional sins that one comes to understand as sins. It is something that was done deliberately, but not thought to be a sin and later one recognized it was a sin and repented of doing it. Thus, the Sin Offering would be offered up.

We have also seen that Jesus has fulfilled the Sin Offering in paying the debt for all of the sins – even the unintentional sins – of all those who will believe in Him Alone for salvation.

How shall we respond to this?

First, let us understand that unintentional sin is sin, and we must confess and repent when we realize we have sinned – whether it was intentionally or not.

Second, let us understand that all unrepentant sin – whether intentional or not – separates us from God, His Kingdom, and His people.

Third, let us be quick to repent of all sin that we understand we have committed and to ask God to forgive us of those sins we do not realize we have committed. As David wrote, “Search me, O God, and know my heart Try me and know my thoughts And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting ” (Psalm 139:23-24, ESV).

And fourth, let us give thanks and rejoice that Jesus went outside the camp as our Sin Offering and paid the debt for all of the sins of everyone who will believe – even unintentional sins.

So, as we soon receive the bread and the cup, let us remember that Jesus was sacrificed for our sins: His Blood was shed; His Body was torn open. And the Way was made for us to be forgiven and welcomed into the Presence of God the Father as His forgiven sons and daughters.

Let us pray:
Almighty God, we thank You for sending Your Son to be our Sin Offering. We thank You that He took our place and died for all of our sins. We ask that You would search us now and forgive us for all of our sins, whether intentional or unintentional, whether we are remembering and repenting of them, or whether they have not entered into our minds. Forgive us through Your Son and for Jesus’ Sake. And may we meet with Jesus in the bread and the cup and receive His Grace that we might live as Your people. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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