Leviticus 5 continues talking about unintentional sin and the guilt of the one who committed it. It sometimes seems like the person really didn’t know, that it was really unintentional. Other times, it seems as if they knew what they were doing. For instance, the first verse is about not speaking up when witnesses are called, when you know what happened. The list goes on, but the point is that when the person realizes their guilt, they are to confess and bring compensation.

A guilty conscience is a gift from the Lord. It pushes us to confess, to make it right. Sin is the curse on our lives. Obedience and forgiveness are our blessing. It’s the difference between light and dark, life and death.

When we justify our actions or let the world justify our actions, then we are the ones who lose. A guilty conscience not satisfied by confession and restitution is one that becomes seared and hardened and a stone is laid on the path to destruction, making it that much easier to head that way next time and to go that extra step further.

There are whole books out there dedicated to justifying certain sins. There are churches out there dedicated to justifying certain sins. There are churches and denominations in America which have, little by little, let sin in, said things were okay, until it’s no longer recognizable as a Christian church or organization, even if they go by the name.

But acting like “they” are the problem doesn’t help. It has to start with us. Where have we let the world in, little by little? Being in the world and not of it is not always the simplest task.

God sent His disciples out as sheep among wolves. He didn’t build a big pen for them to live in. He sent them out to the people because God loves each and every one of them. Jesus died for each and every one of them.

They all get the opportunity to come to the realization that they are sinners and confess before a holy God and offer their lives in return for Christ’s life given for them.

It’s something we can do each day: offer up our lives, declare they are not our own, confessing our emptiness in and of ourselves and the fullness He offers us that we receive freely from Him.