The Gift of Forgiveness (Leviticus 4:1 5:13) 9 th August 2015 1 Please turn your Bibles to Leviticus chapter 4 to begin with. You can take notes on the sermon outline in the bulletin if you wish Let s first ask for God s help as we look at His word together Intro Today we re looking at the topic of forgiveness. How would we define forgiveness? According to the Dictionary it s the act or process of forgiving That s not real helpful is it? So maybe we need to define the word forgive instead [Powerpoint 1 Forgive definition] To stop feeling angry or resentful towards someone for an offence, flaw or mistake No longer feel angry about or wish to punish an offence, flaw or mistake Cancel a debt So why do we need forgiveness in our lives anyway? Well because we seem to offend and hurt people and let them down - don t we? And the simple word that the Bible uses for offending and hurting and letting people down is SIN So maybe we need to define sin whilst we re at it? [Powerpoint 2 SIN] An immoral act considered to be a disobeying God s Divine law Page 1 of 12
But notice the definition says disobeying God s Law. 2 So how is offending and hurting other people, disobeying God s Law? Well we need to understand that God s Law was summarized by Jesus as [Powerpoint 3 Love] Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. (Matt 22:37-42) So when we fail to love God or fail to love each other we are disobeying God s Law and we are sinning and so we need forgiveness But what if we unintentionally disobey God s Law does that count? That s the situation here in Leviticus chapter 4 and 5 Look at Leviticus 4 verse 1 and 2 The LORD said to Moses, 2 Say to the Israelites: When anyone sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD s commands The word unintentionally in Hebrew can also mean in ignorance or inadvertently So the Israelites could, for example, inadvertently use the first fruits of the harvest instead of offering them to the Lord Or they could forget to stop working when the Sabbath started bearing in mind the Sabbath started at Sunset on Friday to Sunset on Saturday and they might get carried away and work too long and not rest on the Sabbath Page 2 of 12
Or they could make a vow or promise to God and then forget to keep it 3 Does that matter? Well it seems to matter to God because He s got a whole bunch of requirements in chapter 4 and 5 of Leviticus - to cover unintentional sins. So that tells us is that whether we deliberately or even unintentionally (in ignorance or inadvertent) disobey God by offending Him or others God requires [Powerpoint 4 All Sin - Rom 3:23] ALL sin to be dealt with And that s because God s standards are perfect And as it says in Romans 3:23: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God Page 3 of 12
The Sin Offerings 4 So chapter 4 and the first part of chapter 5 - list the requirements of individuals and groups when they sin unintentionally and they must make a sin offering. There is not a one-size fits all offering; it varies depending on the individual and group [Powerpoint 5 Table] Person/Group Offering Guilt Blood on Burn Priest Young Bull On people & 7 times on Fat on altar (Lev 4:1-12) without defect priest curtain and on rest outside by priest Incense altar in camp Holy Place Israelite Young Bull by Israelite 7 times on Fat on altar Community elders Community curtain and on rest outside (Lev 4:13-21) Incense altar in camp Holy Place Leader (Lev 4:22-26) Male goat Leader Altar in outer sanctuary Fat on altar Member Female goat or Member Altar in outer Fat on altar (Lev 4:27-35) female lamb sanctuary Member Female lamb or Member Side of altar in No mention (Lev 5:1-13) goat outer sanctuary Speak, unclean or Or 2 doves & 2 vow pigeons Or flour Page 4 of 12
5 As the priest is God s anointed representative and as any failing on his part would bring guilt on the people the priest s offering is most expensive a young bull without defect. In the case of the individual member of the community a female animal could be offered as the female was sin as representing humankind since we are all born of a female. We shouldn t see the different value of each offering as God grading sin but rather that the priest and leaders were more accountable as they could lead the people astray and so the cost of their offering should be greater. Also by allowing offerings of lambs, goats, birds and flour forgiveness was available to all even down to the poorest member of the community. Purpose of the Sin Offerings So what s the purpose of the sin offerings? Well the answer is given at the end of each sin offering: [Powerpoint 6 atonement] the priest will make atonement for them and they will be forgiven It s there in 4:20, 26, 31, 35 and 5:13 The Hebrew Word for atonement literally means covering over with pitch like black bitumen or tar so it s like the sin can t be seen anymore So the sin offering removes the sin and the relationship between the sinner and God is restored. But there is a cost: Page 5 of 12
6 Firstly the offerer has to supply the materials for the offering which is a cost to him or her And secondly by placing his/her hand on the animal the offerer is confessing his/her guilt and then the guilt is transferred to the animal and the animal is killed in place of the offerer as a substitute. So there is a cost to the animal as well its life! And through the ritual or process of this sin offering God accepts the animal sacrificed - as payment for the sin committed and gives forgiveness to the offerer The Cost of Forgiveness We began the service today by reading from Isaiah 43:35 where God says he blots out our transgressions, for his own sake, and remembers their sins, no more We shouldn t take that forgiveness for granted though. [Powerpoint 7 Cost of Forgiveness] To forgive means to give up something remember our original definition to stop being angry or resentful about an offence to give up wanting to punish offense. Forgiveness is not automatic and it has a cost. True, we should have a forgiving attitude as Jesus did when he was being crucified he prayed Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 24:34). And Jesus taught that as we saw in our NT passage from Matthew 6 Page 6 of 12
[Powerpoint 8 if we do not forgive] 7 if we do not forgive others, we cannot receive forgiveness from God (Matt 6:12). However, forgiveness should not be a knee-jerk reaction. We need to keep in mind the cost of forgiveness. Michael Carneal a 14 year student opened fire on his praying class mates and killed 3 and wounded 5 others. A short time later, some of the surviving class mates put up a sign saying We forgive you Mike Some people criticized the students for this sign as it appeared too automatic and was all about feeling good Jesus taught in Luke 17:3-4: [Powerpoint 9 repent] If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. 4 Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying I repent, you must forgive them. Here Jesus is saying if someone sins against you and repents (in other words says sorry and genuinely wants to turn away from that sin) then you must forgive them. If someone repents you must forgive! But - what if they don t repent? Well - True forgiveness is not an automatic response, it is a deliberate and conscious choice. Page 7 of 12
True forgiveness is not just something that is given by the offended party; it s a 8 transaction between 2 parties, the one who committed the offense and the one who has been offended. The offended party can choose unilaterally to forgive without receiving an apology. However, the transaction is not completed until the offender repents and accepts the benefits of the apology. That s what s going on here in Leviticus 4 and 5 God makes forgiveness available and a sinner was only said to be forgiven when they accepted God s provision of forgiveness by making the appropriate sin offering. By way of an example of the struggle of forgiveness. Take Corrie ten Boom she describes her intense struggle in Munich in 1947 when she was approached by a man who had been the cruelest Nazi guard at the concentration camp in Ravensbruck, where she had suffered terribly and where her sister Betsie had died. The Nazi guard had become a Christian. He knew God had forgiven him, but he wanted to hear from Corrie that she also had forgiven him. He stood with his hand held out, but Corrie had trouble responding. She describes her thinking like this: The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us, if we do not forgive men their trespasses, Jesus says neither will your Father in Heaven forgive your trespasses Corrie goes on to say: I knew this - not only as a commandment of God, but as a daily experience. Since the end of the war, I had a home in Holland for victims of Nazi brutality. Those who were able to forgive their former enemies were able to Page 8 of 12
return to the outside world and rebuild their lives, no matter what the physical 9 scars. Those who nursed that bitterness remained invalids. It was as simple and as horrible as that What happened next with Corrie was amazing: She says: I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. Jesus help me I prayed silently. I can lift my hand, I can do that much you supply the feeling As I thrust my hand into the outstretched hand before me, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands and then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. I forgive you brother I cried - With all my heart For a long moment we grasped each other s hands I had never know God s love so intensely as I did then But even so I realized it was not my love. I had tried and did not have the power. It was the power of the Holy Spirit as recorded in Romans 5:5 because God s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. [Powerpoint 10a Questions] Friends, is there someone you need to forgive write that someone s name in the outline and ask God to help you forgive. Page 9 of 12
10 It s going to cost you you might have to give up your anger, your stubbornness, your resentment your desire to get even. [Powerpoint 10b] Friends, is there someone you need to apologize to and repent and seek their forgiveness if so confess to God and ask Him to help you seek that someone s forgiveness and write down their name in the sermon outline and take the first step today Amazing Forgiveness As we ve said already in our series in Leviticus all the offerings and sacrifices find their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus once and for all sacrifice by Him pouring out His blood for us on that cross so we could have forgiveness Think of it this way forgiveness is God s mercy and justice working together in perfect balance. Let me give you an example A Grandfather found his grandson Johnnie jumping up and down in the playpen crying at the top of his lungs when little Johnnie saw his grandfather he shouted Get me out Poppy! Get me out Poppy! Out of compassion the grandfather reached down to pick Johnnie up but just then Johnnie s mum came in and said No Johnnie, you re being punished, you must stay in there! Page 10 of 12
11 The grandfather found himself in the middle of two opposing forces the force of justice and the force of mercy. Johnnie s tears and hands played with the grandfather s heart but he also respected the wisdom of Johnnie s mum for correcting her son s bad behaviour. But love found a way since the grandfather couldn t take Johnnie out of the playpen the grandfather climbed in the playpen with Johnnie. In a far far greater way that s what God has done for each one of us. We re all in our playpens because of our sin which we can t stop doing. And we have our little dummy spits about it not being fair But God in keeping his justice and mercy in perfect balance He climbed in the playpen with His people He dwelt in the tabernacle of the Israelites as they wandered around the wilderness of Sinai (Ex 25:8) He became flesh and dwelt amongst us (John 1:14) He made himself nothing, took on the nature of a servant and died on a cross for us (Phil 2:6-8) As our NT passage from Romans 5 verse 8 says: [Powerpoint 11a Romans 5:8] But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. So even before we repented he died for us on that cross. Page 11 of 12
12 God himself provided the lamb Jesus - the Lamb of God that takes away the Sin of the World And because of His blood Paul says in Romans 5:9 [Powerpoint 11b Romans 5:9] we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God s wrath through him! So we have been justified justified just-as-if we haven t sinned Justified by His blood instead of ours AND we have been saved from God s wrath or anger In other words God s not angry with us because of Jesus once and for all sacrifice. God has given up His anger against us. Now that s amazing forgiveness! In fact it s true forgiveness! Friends have you thought about the cost to God of sacrificing His Son? Let s pray Page 12 of 12