Feeling Guilty?

Leviticus 1:1-5:26, Vayikra, “And He Called”

When given the opportunity, one of the things that I like to share, is that we will never fully understand the New Covenant if we do not have a full understanding of the Mosaic Covenant.  This week’s parsha leads us right into the center of what I mean when sharing this concept.

First of all, it is kind of interesting to me that this book, the book of instruction, begins with the sacrificial system.  Before Hashem even tells us how we are supposed to live, and what His instructions are, He immediately tells us how He has set up a system of atonement so that we enter into our reading seeing His mercy, grace, compassion, and understanding.  The first three chapters are dedicated to this aspect of the instructions.  With this understanding, we should know that we are not judged based on performance, that He is on our side and not against us, and that there is no condemnation in failure.  We should be able to see Him as a loving father who is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6-7 NASB).  We should see that this is not something new in the “New Covenant” and that this is the foundation of who He is and has always been.

The next thing that really hits me is what is found in the very next chapter.  Again, before He even gets into the do’s and do not’s of the instructions, in chapter 4 He takes a pause to explain the difference between sin and guilt.   The concept of unintentional sin, guilt, repentance, rebellion, and blaspheme are absolutely foundational in our understanding of the Mosaic Covenant.  If we do not fully comprehend what Hashem is saying in these verses, we will totally miss one of the most important aspects of this covenant.  If we do not understand the differences between these concepts, we will never understand verses like “yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” (Exodus 34:7 NASB) If we do not understand these concepts within the context of the Mosaic Covenant, we will never understand their context within the “New Covenant”.

The problem comes in when we assume that when we are in sin, we are also in a position of guilt.  This simply is not the heart of God nor is it the foundation of how He parents us.  I would argue that this is the point that Hashem was attempting to make to Cain when Cain did not bring Him a proper sacrifice.  The reality is, when we discover that we are in sin, we are the ones who bring condemnation upon ourselves.  He is a loving father who is true to His Word.  We can trust what He says.  And as such, it is important to understand these concepts so that we know that the only thing that moves us out of a right standing with Him is when we move into active rebellion.  This is what Cain failed to understand, it is why his countenance fell, and why He ended up falling into deeper sin.

In developing this concept, let’s take look at one of Yeshua’s teachings as He explains to His disciples how this concept can be applied.  In this passage, Yeshua is explaining to His disciples that they will be persecuted just as He had and would continue to be.  Within the context of this discussion, He points out that Hashem had used the religious leaders’ observations of Him to move them from a place of innocent sin into a place of fiduciary guilt.  Speaking of those who will persecute Him, He tells His disciples “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have guilt, but now they have no excuse for their sin.  “He who hates Me hates My Father also.  “If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have guilt; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well.  “But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.’ (John 15:22-25 NASB)

In Numbers 15:30-31 (NASB) we are given a better understanding of the concept of guilt and what the ramifications of guilt are.  Here we read, “‘But the person who does anything defiantly, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from among his people.  ‘Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt will be on him.’”

In these verses it is critical to note that the concept of guilt is connected to “defiance” which is very different from sinning unintentionally.  I would even argue that there is a difference between “defiance” and backsliding.  When a person backslides, their heart is truly in the right place. They are not in active rebellion or acting in defiance.  Instead, they are working on moving into a place of full repentance, seeing truth, and attempting to change.  I would also argue that a person who has been in defiance or active rebellion who moves into a place of repentance and a true heart desire to change, is no longer subjected to the conditions of “rebellion”.  There are many New Testament writings that support this claim. 

With this understanding, we can now gain a better insight into what Yeshua was teaching when He said “And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him.” (Luke 12:10 NASB)

To better understand this key verse, let’s bring in one more scripture.  This concept is repeated on several different levels in Leviticus chapter 4 and in Numbers 15 as well as in a few other locations throughout the scripture.  When given, the context is specific for a priest, for a leader, for a member of the community, for an alien, and even for the entire congregation as a group.  Furthermore, this even gets broken down further for when the entire congregation becomes unaware of some of the things, or, as noted in Numbers 15:22-24 for when the entire congregation becomes unaware and sins against the TOTALITY of scripture.  In the following verse we find Hashem’s provision for atonement for when the entire congregation turns away from aspects of what He has provided.  Notice that guilt is specifically defined as “when the sin which they have committed becomes know”.

“Now if the whole congregation of Israel commits error and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly, and they commit any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and they become guilty; when the sin which they have committed becomes known, then the assembly shall offer a bull of the herd for a sin offering and bring it before the tent of meeting.”  (Leviticus 4:13-14 NASB)

The question then becomes, why would speaking a word against the Son of Man not carry the same fiduciary responsibility as speaking out against the Holy Spirit? 

We need to make a few connections for this to all make sense.  If we look at all these scriptures, we discover a common theme.  The common theme is that guilt is connected to knowledge.  At the same time, sin is not connected to knowledge.  Sin is sin even if we are unaware of it.  When we remain actively in sin even after it has become made known to us, we are in rebellion which is defined as blasphemy against the Lord or the Holy Spirit.

From here, I want to go to Deuteronomy 19:15 where we read “A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.” (NASB)

This is restated in the Matthew 18:15-16 where Yeshua, tells us that “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.  “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED.” (NASB)

With this, I think it is reasonable to consider that when we have the Word of God and the Holy Spirit speaking the same thing to us, we have no excuse and are moved into a place of having “every fact confirmed”.  For me, the Word of God and the Holy Spirit are the only two truly creditable witnesses.  Someone telling me something does not quicken that fact into my soul.  Even if they can show me in the bible where it supports what they are saying. 

On the other hand, when the Holy Spirit speaks into our soul, we have no excuse and the facts of our sin are confirmed and we can no longer claim to be in a place of ignorance.  At this point we have a choice to repent, let our hearts be changed, and allow our restored heart to lead us into a transformation of the mind, which leads to a change in behavior.  The other choice would be to call good evil and evil good and continue pressing forward with the sinful behavior “despising” the ways of God and moving forward in “defiant rebellion”.

In this context we can understand why “speaking a word against” Yeshua does not carry the same fiduciary responsibility as speaking out against the Holy Spirit.  I am not going to attempt to explain exactly what Yeshua was communicating relative to accepting Him as Lord and savior in what He is saying here.  At the same time, understanding how sin and guilt are different relative to forgiveness helps us understand why Yeshua was making this point.  If we can accept Yeshua’s teaching on even the sin of “speaking a word against” Him as being a forgivable sin, so too must we accept the forgiveness of sinning against other aspects of Torah observance, for what else could carry a greater weight than “speaking out against” Him.

Now, the concept of being forgiven for “speaking a word against” Yeshua opens a can of worms within our traditional theology if we consider what could be implied in this statement.  For me, the simplest answer is that the entirety of scripture supports two major beliefs.  The first is that a person’s spiritual journey continues into the heavenly realms.  The second is that forgiveness does not imply protection from ramifications or the rod at the hand of a loving father. 

We are told that in the end, all people will be judged. Some will be destined for the lake of fire, and others for the new heaven and the new earth.    From how I see it, between now and then, He will continue to parent each of us as a loving parent who properly balances ramifications and guidance in harmony with how He created us, who He knows us to be, what He understand we are and are not aware of, and as He sees best for His plan of salvation for not only us, but for the world in general.  I am not saying that people who “speak a word against” Yeshua will have the same fate as those who embrace Him just because scripture tells us that they will be forgiven.  What I do believe He is attempting to communicate in all this is that how He interacts in our lives and how He choses to parent us will change based on where we stand in what He knows to be true relative to our awareness of sin.

Ultimately, the point is, that Hashem is a loving father.  He wants to be in relationship with us, and just like Cain, He does not want our countenance to fall every time our sin is made known to us.  Just as He said to Cain, “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” (Genesis 4:7 NASB)

One of the greatest sins against ourselves is to reject His forgiveness, not learn from our mistakes, and fall into a mindset where we feel like we lost His love and are no longer welcomed in His house.  When we feel like His children and that we are fully loved and forever welcomed to stay in His house we are protected from the attacks of the enemy.  Sadly, when we don’t understand the depths of our Father’s love we can tend to start believing that we are no longer welcomed in His home.  In this state we leave the protection of His home where the enemy is crouching just outside the door.  This is the image of where self-loathing and condemnation lead us into deeper sin.

Understanding that Hashem is a loving father who does not see us as “guilty” just because we sinned is really important.  Understanding what we are to do when we find ourselves in a place of guilt, when our sin has been made known to us, is also really important.  Understanding how repentance and true heart felt change impact our accountability to guilt is foundational to our relationship with Him.

Understanding that all of this was available within the context of the Mosaic Covenant helps us to understand how Yeshua did not change the nature of the God-man relationship.  This helps us reconcile that Hashem does not change, and it helps us see that His promises of love, grace, and forgiveness have extended across all the generations of His people.

I pray that this blog has helped you see things in a new way.  I pray that what you have discovered will encourage you in your relationship with Him.  I pray that what you have read will help you understand the New Covenant in a new way.  In and through all this, I pray that your relationship with Him will grow and that each day you will come to receive His love in a new and powerful way.  I pray that in receiving this love you will continue to become freer, more accepting of yourself, and more accepting of others.  Amen Amen