Premeditated Sin
As I was reading through Leviticus again this year, I came to the passage about the offerings for unintentional sin. That passage always challenges me, because I think about "intentional" sins. What does God do with intentional sins? Now, I know that many sins are intentional sins in the sense that we decide to do the wrong thing. They are not accidental or done in complete ignorance. However, it seems to me that Adam and Eve's sins were intentional, and God made a way for them to be forgiven. Eve was tempted, and no one knows what Adam was thinking when he ate that forbidden fruit. There is one thing to note though, they were evidently spur of the moment sins. They were done in confusion or in the midst of temptation. I think that might be why God was gracious and forgiving.
What about premeditated sin? What does God do when a believer knowingly decides to commit a sin that he or she is fully aware God hates? They do not commit it in an act of haste. They take time to measure it out. They take days or weeks, and then, they decide to go ahead and sin, even though there is no question that their action will be rebellious to God's will. How does God handle that? It seems to me that premeditated sin is like the sin of Israel refusing to enter the Promised Land, because of the testimony of the 10 spies. They had time to consider what to do, and they willingly did the wrong thing. What did God do then? He never forgave that generation. They all died in the wilderness. Does God do the same kind of thing today when people commit premeditated sin? All I know is that God does not change. He hates sin, and He loves obedience. I believe the same type of punishment is possible today for a premeditated sin. I believe that there are believers who are wandering in the wilderness for the rest of their lives, and they never get to enter God's rest, because they committed premeditated sin. They still go to heaven, but they suffer the consequences of their sin the rest of their earthly lives. I may be wrong, but I believe it is very possible. I pray that we all will be very careful to love God completely, and to hate sin with every fiber of our being.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Leviticus 8-10 and Matthew 25:31-46.
What about premeditated sin? What does God do when a believer knowingly decides to commit a sin that he or she is fully aware God hates? They do not commit it in an act of haste. They take time to measure it out. They take days or weeks, and then, they decide to go ahead and sin, even though there is no question that their action will be rebellious to God's will. How does God handle that? It seems to me that premeditated sin is like the sin of Israel refusing to enter the Promised Land, because of the testimony of the 10 spies. They had time to consider what to do, and they willingly did the wrong thing. What did God do then? He never forgave that generation. They all died in the wilderness. Does God do the same kind of thing today when people commit premeditated sin? All I know is that God does not change. He hates sin, and He loves obedience. I believe the same type of punishment is possible today for a premeditated sin. I believe that there are believers who are wandering in the wilderness for the rest of their lives, and they never get to enter God's rest, because they committed premeditated sin. They still go to heaven, but they suffer the consequences of their sin the rest of their earthly lives. I may be wrong, but I believe it is very possible. I pray that we all will be very careful to love God completely, and to hate sin with every fiber of our being.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Leviticus 8-10 and Matthew 25:31-46.