Freedom!

Bringing guilt on the people…Leviticus 4:3

According to the Bible, when a priest sinned, he brought guilt upon the people. This points to the serious nature of sin. The sin of a priest not only affected him, his sin infected the people with guilt. Perhaps we are not the ‘island’ some say we are. Sin does not just bring spiritual death. Sin pollutes. But God has a remedy for sin’s pollution.

Among all the offerings a God-worshipper could bring was a sin offering. This freewill offering covered the sin and made the person clean. That is pure. The sin offering was for purification. Even if the need for purification was natural. After giving birth, the woman was considered unclean. God made a simple provision to make her clean. She could bring a young lamb and pigeon as her offering. And she shall be clean, Leviticus 12: 6-7.

The need for purification for the priests was more intense. The priest would put his hands upon the young bull and confess his sins. This act transferred the sin to the sacrifice. He then killed the bull and sprinkled its blood at the gate and altar of the tabernacle seven times. Even the place of worship had to be purified after the sin of a priest. This ritual was designed to remind God’s people of the very serious nature of sin. All sin had to be atoned. Their faithfulness brought forgiveness.

All this points to Jesus. Jesus was the final sin offering. His faithfulness brought forgiveness to all who believe. For we who believe have confessed our sins before The Lamb of God. He has taken our sins from us, nailing them on the cross. Our debt has been paid. We have been made clean. We are now purified. We are now ready to be the living temple of the Holy Spirit. 

Because of Jesus we can now worship in spirit and in truth. The guilt of sin has been removed alone with its penalty and its pollution. We are free because God was so serious about sin, He sent His only begotten Son to take away our sin.