"I did it. I knew it was wrong, but I did it anyway. Now what?"

Let's say someone does something against you that's really hurtful. 

We project our unwillingness to forgive willful sins committed against us onto God. Our sins weigh heavily on our consciences. 

And let's also say they knew it was wrong thing to do when they did it. They really had no justification for it, not even revenge for something you did to them (or they imagined you did to them).

They did something against you, hurtful to you, because it served their purposes, advanced their self-interests, or they wanted something you had.

It would be really hard to forgive them, especially if the hurt was deep enough or what they took was irretrievable.

And because it would be so hard for us to forgive that being done to us, it's hard for us to imagine God forgiving us when we willfully, intentionally, and habitually sin against him. A lot of our sins weigh heavily on our consciences.

So, does God forgive that kind of sin? And if he does, and expects us to as well, how do we do it? 

We're in our second week of looking at the different atoning sacrifices in the early chapters of Leviticus.

But there's something that's very interesting about them. Almost all of the sacrifices are for unintentional sins. In fact, I can't find a passage that tells an Israelite to go offer a sacrifice for an intentional sin. And if there is no sacrifice for intentional sins, is there forgiveness? 

Yes, there is. But it's more complicated than you might imagine. But answering this question reveals a lot about sin, forgiveness, and sacrifice. 

For one thing we learn that behind every act of forgiveness by God or by us, there is a sacrifice. And that's not all.

Come this weekend and get ready to dig in to Leviticus 5:1-19 with us.

And invite someone who needs to know the God who forgives us even when we sin deliberately against each other and against him.