Numbers 5:5-7 5 The Lord said to Moses, 6 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Any man or woman who wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to the Lord is guilty 7 and must confess the sin they have committed. They must make full restitution for the wrong they have done, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the person they have wronged.
Any sin is a sin against God. If I wrong someone or hurt them or fail to do something I know to do, I don’t just sin against another person, but against my Creator and Heavenly Father.
I need to recognize and then confess my sin to God and to those affected. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were also required to make restitution plus 20%! This was in addition to taking the time and money to offer a sin and guilt offering!
Because Jesus has paid our penalty for our sin already and was the sacrifice for all sin, we no longer are required to make sin and guilt offerings. However, is confession enough?
We don’t earn forgiveness by making restitution, but if we are truly sorry for our sin, we will want to make things right. If we truly desire to follow God and His commands, we won’t just be sorry about the consequences of sin. Sorry about the consequences is just having a selfish pity party. Truly sorry for being unfaithful to God means we want Him to help us restore whatever was damaged for His glory and the benefit of all involved. Our actions, behavior and generosity will reflect our true heart.
Is there someone you and I have wronged or hurt?
Have we confessed it and to whom?
(At times in the past, I have confessed my sin to God for hurting someone else, but I should have also confessed it to the other person.)
Then, how can we show our confession is not just empty words?
Will we sincerely love God and others we have hurt by going above and beyond (with God’s help) to make restitution when possible?
Alice
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