Sunday, April 26, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
The Magnitude of Sin
The Magnitude of Sin
Leviticus 1-3 | Psalm 31 | Romans 10
The entire reading from Leviticus today centers around sacrifices and offerings. The Israelites were instructed to sacrifice perfect and prized animals, and offer grains to the Lord.
These sacrifices were not human attempts to placate a diety or achieve salvation; rather, they were instituted for the purpose of maintaining the relationship between God and His people: sacrifice and offering was a way of dealing with sin and restoring fellowship, emphasising the magnitude of sin, and reminding that forgiveness and a relationship with God is not cheap. To the Israelites, the constant need to sacrifice was a pointed reminder of their sin, and how God feels about sin.
This offering system continued throughout the Old Testament period, with the Israelites offering both regular and irregular sacrifices, but always to deal with their sin. The offerings were a large part of the Jewish life, constantly reminding the Israelites of their guilt and need for redemption.
This system stopped with Christ. We have seen that Jesus' death on the Cross was as the ultimate sacrifice (Rom. 3:25) - He was more perfect than any mere animal or grain we could offer ourselves, and infinitely more important (being both man and God). Since Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice, He had only to be offered once, with the power to take away the sins of the world (cf. Heb. 9:26ff.).
Jesus' death - the need for Jesus' death - should serve as a constant reminder as to the magnitude of the impact that sin has in our world: "The Son of God had to be sacrificed on a Cross and die in order to deal with my sin." Yet many believers (myself included) often struggle with an underestimation of the impact of sin in our lives - it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking of certain sins as 'ok' or small. But the Christian struggle is one against this trap - to grow closer to God is to be looking for ways to please Him and searching for ways you are not pleasing Him (and fixing it).
Anselm, the 11th Century Archbishop of Cantebury wrote concerning the magnitude of sin in a book entitled "Cur Deus Homo?" ("Why did God become man?"), and I wish to quote this section. It is written in the form of a dialogue between Anselm and a character named Boso:
Anselm: If you were to see yourself in the presence of God, and someone should say to you, ‘look thither,’ and God, on the other hand, were to say, ‘I wish you on no account to look,’ ask now in your own heart, what is there in all things that exist for the sake of which you ought to take that look contrary to the will of God?
Boso: I see clearly that I cannot.
Anselm: Not to detain you too long: what if it were necessary either that the whole world, and all that is not God, perish and be reduced to nothing, or that you should do so slight an act against the will of God?
Boso: When I think of the act itself I see that it is a very trifling one. But when I look at what is in opposition to the will of God, I perceive that it is exceedingly grave, and not to be compared with any loss that might be sustained. But we are wont sometimes to do a thing against the will of someone, yet without blame, that his property may be preserved; and we do against his will what afterwards he is pleased with.
Anselm: This is done for a man who sometimes does not understand what is done for his advantage, or cannot restore what he has lost. But God is in need of no one, and could restore all things, were they to perish, just as He made them.
Boso: I must confess that in order to preserve the whole creation, I ought not to do anything against the will of God.
Anselm: You can do nothing better. But suppose it happened that you did take that look against the will of God, what could pay for that sin?
Boso: I have nothing more than I have said above.
Anselm: Thus seriously do we sin whenever we knowingly do anything, however slight, against the will of God. For we are always in His sight, and He is always bidding us not to sin.
(taken from Anselm, Cur Deus Homo?, i.21.)
Praise and thank God for the sacrifice of His Son; and pray that He will aid you to please Him more, and help you to seek out the sin in your life and remove it.
Leviticus 1-3 | Psalm 31 | Romans 10
The entire reading from Leviticus today centers around sacrifices and offerings. The Israelites were instructed to sacrifice perfect and prized animals, and offer grains to the Lord.
These sacrifices were not human attempts to placate a diety or achieve salvation; rather, they were instituted for the purpose of maintaining the relationship between God and His people: sacrifice and offering was a way of dealing with sin and restoring fellowship, emphasising the magnitude of sin, and reminding that forgiveness and a relationship with God is not cheap. To the Israelites, the constant need to sacrifice was a pointed reminder of their sin, and how God feels about sin.
This offering system continued throughout the Old Testament period, with the Israelites offering both regular and irregular sacrifices, but always to deal with their sin. The offerings were a large part of the Jewish life, constantly reminding the Israelites of their guilt and need for redemption.
This system stopped with Christ. We have seen that Jesus' death on the Cross was as the ultimate sacrifice (Rom. 3:25) - He was more perfect than any mere animal or grain we could offer ourselves, and infinitely more important (being both man and God). Since Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice, He had only to be offered once, with the power to take away the sins of the world (cf. Heb. 9:26ff.).
Jesus' death - the need for Jesus' death - should serve as a constant reminder as to the magnitude of the impact that sin has in our world: "The Son of God had to be sacrificed on a Cross and die in order to deal with my sin." Yet many believers (myself included) often struggle with an underestimation of the impact of sin in our lives - it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking of certain sins as 'ok' or small. But the Christian struggle is one against this trap - to grow closer to God is to be looking for ways to please Him and searching for ways you are not pleasing Him (and fixing it).
Anselm, the 11th Century Archbishop of Cantebury wrote concerning the magnitude of sin in a book entitled "Cur Deus Homo?" ("Why did God become man?"), and I wish to quote this section. It is written in the form of a dialogue between Anselm and a character named Boso:
Anselm: If you were to see yourself in the presence of God, and someone should say to you, ‘look thither,’ and God, on the other hand, were to say, ‘I wish you on no account to look,’ ask now in your own heart, what is there in all things that exist for the sake of which you ought to take that look contrary to the will of God?
Boso: I see clearly that I cannot.
Anselm: Not to detain you too long: what if it were necessary either that the whole world, and all that is not God, perish and be reduced to nothing, or that you should do so slight an act against the will of God?
Boso: When I think of the act itself I see that it is a very trifling one. But when I look at what is in opposition to the will of God, I perceive that it is exceedingly grave, and not to be compared with any loss that might be sustained. But we are wont sometimes to do a thing against the will of someone, yet without blame, that his property may be preserved; and we do against his will what afterwards he is pleased with.
Anselm: This is done for a man who sometimes does not understand what is done for his advantage, or cannot restore what he has lost. But God is in need of no one, and could restore all things, were they to perish, just as He made them.
Boso: I must confess that in order to preserve the whole creation, I ought not to do anything against the will of God.
Anselm: You can do nothing better. But suppose it happened that you did take that look against the will of God, what could pay for that sin?
Boso: I have nothing more than I have said above.
Anselm: Thus seriously do we sin whenever we knowingly do anything, however slight, against the will of God. For we are always in His sight, and He is always bidding us not to sin.
(taken from Anselm, Cur Deus Homo?, i.21.)
Praise and thank God for the sacrifice of His Son; and pray that He will aid you to please Him more, and help you to seek out the sin in your life and remove it.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
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