Sorrow for Sin?

I started reading through the Bible again this year and I am currently in Leviticus. It's tough reading -- the Lord is giving Moses all of the very specific, detailed instructions regarding the different sacrifices Aaron and the priests would need to make in order to make atonement for themselves and for the people. There is a lot of reference to blood, internal organs, etc. Because I believe the Word when it says, "ALL Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness," (2 Timothy 3:16, emphasis mine), I was really struggling with what exactly the Lord would have me to learn through my reading in Leviticus. As I was meditating and praying this morning, He brought the following thoughts to my mind and heart.

Throughout these instructions, there is the often repeated direction that the animal must be "free from blemish" or "without defect." These flawless animals were to bear the judgment for the sins of the people. How seriously would I take my sin, and how careful would I be not to sin, if I knew that an innocent animal would need to be slaughtered to pay the price? I would feel terrible knowing that animal's death was my fault.

For all of us believers living under the new covenant, Jesus is our perfect sacrifice, free from blemish and without defect. He bore God's judgment and wrath for all of my sins, and for yours. How much more sorrow should I feel for my sin, knowing it put my precious Lord and Savior on a cross to die an unthinkable death, to have His Father turn His back on Him, to bear the weight of all that guilt and shame? Knowing that my sin has already been paid for, that I am forgiven, because of what Christ did for me on that cross as the once-for-all sacrifice who was the only perfect sinless One is cause to rejoice, but it should also cause me to take my sin very seriously. Out of deep heartfelt love and gratitude, I should seek, by His grace and strength, to live a life that is pleasing to Him.

Romans 6:1&2 "What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"
Romans 6:15-16 "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey-whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?"

Oh Lord, forgive me for the times I have taken my sin too lightly. "Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me........May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." (Ps. 19:12b-13a, 14)

Stacey Poplawski
WOC Graduate