The problem of personal sin. Forgiveness for sin was a complex matter in Israel. Different kinds of sin required different types of atonement. One could sin ("miss the mark" or "deviate from the goal") in a number of different ways. Sin included: (1) transgression: a violation of law or covenant, often going beyond the command or the agreement; (2) disobedience: the failure to do what you were responsible to do; (3) rebellion: the deliberate, intention refusal to yield to God; (4) iniquity: deliberate wrong doing; or (5) the sins produced by ignorance or by straying from the path.

The same method, ritual, or sacrifice did not provide forgiveness for every form of sin. Different types of sin required varying responsibilities. The following illustrates the complexity of seeking forgiveness in Old Testament Judaism.

Leviticus chapter 4: unintentional sin

1. Who commits the unintentional sin in:
   1. Leviticus 4:2?

   2. Leviticus 4:13?

   3. Leviticus 4:22?

   4. Leviticus 4:27?

2. Concerning the unintentional sin of the individual:
   1. When he realizes his sin, he becomes what (verse 27)?

   2. What animal must he sacrifice (verse 28)?

   3. How does the sacrifice occur (verse 29)?

   4. What does the priest do with the blood (verse 30)?

   5. What is done with the fat (verse 31)?

   6. What was done with the carcass of such sacrifices (verses 11,12,21)?

3. Describe the sins committed in Leviticus 5:1-6.

4. Read about the trial by ordeal in Numbers 5:11-31 and the laws of rape and adultery in Deuteronomy 22:22-30.

Personal forgiveness for a sinner who becomes a Christian:

Read these scriptures and answer the questions that follow. Acts 2:36-42; Acts 8:26-39; Acts 16:16-34; Acts 22:3-16; Romans 6:1-11; Galatians 3:23-29.

1. By written command, who is the authorized administrator of baptism?

2. For a baptism to be valid, where must it be performed?

3. What commanded ritual must occur at a baptism?

4. Aside from the person being baptized, what other people are commanded to be present when baptism occurs?

5. What sins are forgiven when a believing, repentant person is baptized? What sins are not forgiven when a believing, repentant person is baptized?

Personal forgiveness for a Christian: 1 John 1:5-10

1. What does John say about a Christian who claims to be in fellowship with God while intentionally, deliberately living a sinful lifestyle (verses 5, 6)?

2. When a Christian seeks to live a godly lifestyle and maintains fellowship with Christians, of what is he/she assured (verse 7)?

3. What is said of Christians who claim not to sin (verse 8)?

4. What happens when Christians confess their sins (verse 9)?

5. When Christians claims that they have not sinned, what two things are true (verse 10)?

A forgiveness comparison in Old Testament Judaism and New Testament Christianity:

1. In which forgiveness was blood required?
2. In which did the form of sin determine the means of forgiveness?
3. Which was dependent on an appointed human to administer the rites?
4. Which involved multiple rituals?
5. In which did a person receive forgiveness for sins that he/she did not realize that he/she had committed?
6. In which did the forgiveness come from God?

Through which would you prefer to receive forgiveness? Why?

David Chadwell

God's Contrasting Approaches Study Guide (lesson 4)
Wednesday evening Bible class, Spring Quarter 1999
West-Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, AR

Copyright © 1999
Permission is granted to freely copy and distribute with text unchanged, including author's name.

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