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Unknown sin


Ezekiel 45:20

You must do the same on the seventh day of the month for everyone who unintentionally does something wrong and is unaware of it. So you must make peace with the Lord for the temple.

  

Thought for the day – Unknown sin

There’s an idea forming in my head. What are the things we do that may or may not unintentionally be sinful? Intentional sin is easy. It’s the conscious things we do that bring us into rebellion against God. Having said that, even that’s not clear cut because so much of what we deem to be right is driven by the zeitgeist, the spirit of the age.

So, what about the unintentional sins we commit? Unintentional sin is defined as acts that are objectively wrong or harmful in effect, but where the actor lacked the guilty knowledge or deliberate will. Things we do because we don’t know they’re wrong or we didn’t consciously choose to commit them. And before someone says it’s unfair for God to hold us accountable for things we do not know what we’re doing, think again. We do things that hurt others all the time without thinking about it. How do we know we’ve done something wrong, it’s usually because someone’s told us and we then have to go back and make good.

Fortunately for us as followers of Jesus, all of that was nailed to the cross with Jesus. We no longer have to offer sacrifices for sins we may committed unknowingly, but the penalty is paid. Our only commitment is to find them and root them out. And of course to apologise for the things we’ve done and been told about. 

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