Our mistakes have been atoned for. Israel had a sacrifice for unintentional sins. It covered sins that the congregation did out of ignorance. In a scripture we read earlier, it speaks of making a sacrifice after you realized that you had done something wrong.

There are sins they don’t realize they are committing, and there are sins they didn’t realize they were committing at the time and later realized it and sought forgiveness through atonement. These sins are forgiven.

God is very merciful and patient with our ignorance. We grow up in Christ. We become more and more like Christ. Little by little He reveals to us the things in our lives that don’t line up with His, and we repent; we change. Those things are forgiven. They were covered by the blood of Jesus on the cross. They weren’t held against us in our ignorance.

But this Scripture clearly says that making the choice to disobey results in being cut off. Choosing to disobey is choosing to deny God. This is different than fumbling and stumbling and partnering with the Holy Spirit to work on getting certain reactions out of your life.

There is a place for humbling yourself and repentance after doing something you know is wrong. But, real repentance means you aren’t going to do it again. “Sin now and ask forgiveness later” is not the policy of someone who is saved.

There are commands in the Bible we are expected to obey. It’s not earning your salvation; it’s a mark of salvation. If you don’t have it in your heart to keep God’s commandments, then you don’t have the life of Christ in you, because He always sought to do the Father’s will.

In this lesson’s reading from Numbers 15, a man is killed for gathering sticks on the Sabbath. God’s serious about His commands. Yes, He’s a loving Father with open arms. And, He’s a holy God that demands perfection. He is just and will make sure justice is done.