Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“‘If the whole congregation of Israel sins, and the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done any of the things which Yahweh has commanded not to be done, and are guilty; when the sin in which they have sinned is known, then the assembly shall offer a young bull for a sin offering, and bring it before the Tent of Meeting.”
(Leviticus 4:13-14)

“We have sent together with him the brother whose praise in the Good News is known throughout all the assemblies. Not only so, but he was also appointed by the assemblies to travel with us in this grace, which is served by us to the glory of the Lord himself, and to show our readiness. We are avoiding this, that any man should blame us concerning this abundance which is administered by us. Having regard for honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.“
(2 Corinthians 8:18-21)

Unwitting sin. Being guilty, but having no idea that you are guilty. It wasn’t considered sin when you KNEW about it. It was sin as soon as you did it. But it wasn’t charged against you. You were not required to pay. But as soon as you DID know – whether you learned on your own, someone told you, or even whether or not you agreed – then you were responsible to pay. As soon as you knew about wrongdoing, you were required to make restitution. You were required to cover the wrong with the symbol of what makes everything right: worthy blood (which is Jesus’ blood – 1 John 1:7).

Paul took this lesson to heart. One of the pillars of his personal values was taking pains to do what was right. Not leaving it to chance. Not leaving the opportunity for false accusations OR the opportunity for wrongdoing. Paul often forestalled criticism and eliminated the opportunity for temptation by placing matters in the hands of more than one person – and ALL of the people involved trustworthy and of proven character. It wasn’t about appearances to others. It was about making sure that nothing wrong was being done. It was about participating in doing right and creating an atmosphere of godly values.

Summary

We can renew our minds to God’s point of view (Romans 12:2). It is important we do that because it is only by embracing God’s point of view that we can understand what righteous living is. Sometimes we discover something we were doing doesn’t conform. This isn’t something to hide under a carpet. It is an opportunity to get right with God. We should lean into the things we know that are right and good to do. When we learn of wrongdoing, we should confess that toe the Lord, find out what He thinks about it, and change our behaviour so that we are in line with Him. This isn’t about condemnation (Romans 8:1), it’s about getting His Light into every area of our lives as He directs us. Day by day, piece by piece, until we are just like Him and standing before the Father face to face (2 Corinthians 3:18).