In Leviticus 4:1-6:7, God, through Moses, gives the Israelite nation provisions for the forgiveness of sins. The priest, the congregation, the leaders, and the common people are given different sacrifices and rituals to perform to receive forgiveness for unintentional sin. (Leviticus 4) For example:<\/p>\n
“Now if anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and becomes guilty, if his sin, which he has committed is made known to him, then he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without defect, for his sin which he has committed. … Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven<\/em>” (Leviticus 4:27-28, 31 NASB).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Chapter 5 provides for a common person who cannot afford a lamb for sacrifice. The first seven verses of Chapter 6 give instructions concerning forgiveness for various kinds of theft. In all cases, when an Israelite made the proper sacrifice, his sin was forgiven (Leviticus 4:20, 27, 31, 35; 5:10, 13, 16, 18; 6:7).<\/p>\n
What was to be done about a sin, committed unintentionally, that was not made known? Ignorance was no excuse: “Now if a person sins and does any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, though he was unaware, still he is guilty, and shall bear his punishment<\/em>” (Leviticus 5:17). A sin, committed in ignorance, is still sin, and punishment is demanded for that sin. However, God did provide a general amnesty for His people. Once a year, the high priest made a sacrifice “for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance<\/em>” (Hebrews 9:8, cf Leviticus 16). After the high priest performed the prescribed rituals\u00a0on the tenth day of the seventh month, God told the people, “You shall be clean from all your sins before the LORD<\/em>” (Leviticus 16:30). The sins committed ignorantly during the past year were forgiven.<\/p>\n
Since “whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction<\/em>” (Romans 15:4), are there any lessons for the Christian?<\/p>\n
The New Testament states that forgiveness is found “in Christ<\/em>“(Ephesians 1:5-7; Colossians 1:13-14). To be “in Christ<\/em>,” a person must have a relationship with Christ. That relationship is begun by faith working through obedience to God’s word. Faith in Jesus, confession of Jesus, repentance of sins, and baptism in water are commanded for a relationship with Christ Jesus and for receiving forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38; Romans 10:9-10). At the point of baptism, all a person’s past sins are forgiven.<\/p>\n
However, as the bumper sticker says, “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.” Christians can and do sin. (I John 1:8,10) A Christian can fall from grace (Galatians 5:4). I John 1:9 tells the Christian to confess his sins, and God will forgive them. Must a Christian confess every sin he commits in order to have forgiveness?<\/p>\n
God provided a sacrifice for the Israelites to cover their sins that were committed in ignorance. The Hebrew writer draws an analogy between the yearly sacrifice and Christ’s sacrifice in Chapter 9. He concludes that because of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice, there is perfection in Christ (Hebrews 10:14), and complete forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 10:17-18). What sins? All sins, including the sins committed in ignorance! (Hebrews 9:7).<\/p>\n
Christians are required to confess known sins and faults. (I John 1:9; James 5:16) But, “if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world<\/em>” (I John 2:1-2).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Timothy D. Stringer via\u00a0Sentry Magazine, Vol. 19 No. 3, September 1993 In Leviticus 4:1-6:7, God, through Moses, gives the Israelite nation provisions for the forgiveness of sins. The priest, the congregation, the leaders, and the common people are given different sacrifices and rituals to perform to receive forgiveness for unintentional sin. (Leviticus 4) For…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1571,999,179],"class_list":["post-93131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-forgiveness","tag-ignorance","tag-sin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":30738,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/sins-of-ignorance\/","url_meta":{"origin":93131,"position":0},"title":"Sins of Ignorance!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 16, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Russell H. Dunaway via\u00a0Guardian of Truth\u00a0XXVII: 12, pp. 372-373, June 16, 1983 Perhaps one of the most controversial issues among brethren today is that which arises concerning the child of God and his sins of ignorance. Some brethren teach that if a child of God sins through ignorance, that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23831,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-fornication-not-a-sin-under-the-old-testament\/","url_meta":{"origin":93131,"position":1},"title":"Was fornication not a sin under the Old Testament?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Since the Old Testament had no shedding of blood for fornication, could it be considered a sin under the Old Testament? Answer: There were numerous types of offerings given to God depending on the circumstances. A sin-offering was given when the person's sin did not have restitution included in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":92319,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-difference-between-intentional-and-unintentional-sins\/","url_meta":{"origin":93131,"position":2},"title":"What is the difference between intentional and unintentional sins?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Please explain the difference between intentional sin and unintentional sin. I would also like to understand whether God judges us for unintentional sins. Wouldn't it be unjust for Him to punish someone for something they weren't even aware of? Answer: \"'But the person who does anything defiantly, whether he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":47126,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-sin-and-guilt-offerings\/","url_meta":{"origin":93131,"position":3},"title":"The Sin and Guilt Offerings","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Hebrews 13:10-16 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Law of Moses featured numerous sacrifices and making sense of them can be difficult \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There were five categories: Sin, trespass, burnt, meat, and peace offerings \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But they were also grouped in another way: Firstfruits, wave, heave, vow, voluntary, and drink offerings\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22133,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-did-david-get-forgiveness-and-why-is-it-different-after-christs-death\/","url_meta":{"origin":93131,"position":4},"title":"How did David get forgiveness and why is it different after Christ’s death?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How did King David get forgiveness and why is it different after Christ's death? Answer: First, let's make it clear that David lived under a different covenant with God than we do today. See \"Why We Don't Follow the Old Testament\" for details. Still, there are similarities, which should\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":87679,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-unconditional-forgiveness-only-required-for-unbelievers\/","url_meta":{"origin":93131,"position":5},"title":"Is unconditional forgiveness only required for unbelievers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Brother Jeff, I would appreciate your input on this question. We understand from Luke 17:3 and Ephesians 4:32 that forgiveness is conditioned upon repentance. But is this only applicable in situations where the offender is a Christian (brother in Christ) like yourself? In other words, is forgiveness conditional only\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93131\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}