Have you ever heard it said there was no forgiveness of sins in the Old Testament and how the blood of bulls and goats could only cover, but not take away sin? If you are a mainstream Christian, chances are you have heard this preached more then one time from the pulpit. But did you know it is a lie? Did you know that by believing this lie that says the blood of bulls and goats could only cover, but not take away sin, you might end up losing your salvation?
We Christians tend to believe every Bible translator was divinely inspired in their work. The Bible says the written word of Yehovah, not the translation, is divinely inspired. There is a vast difference between believing in the infallible Bible and the infallible translation of the Bible.
When the Bible was translated, the Bible translators allowed their personalities and doctrinal understandings to affect how they read the Greek and Hebrew text. One such example is the way every Bible translates the name of God, Yehovah, as LORD or GOD. In the original Hebrew, it always says Yehovah, but due to translator bias, it has been translated as LORD or GOD. Another example is how they understood the sacrificial system and the Hebrew word for covering.
When you read the book of Leviticus in Hebrew, it says the blood of bulls and goats atoned for sin. So back then, if you sacrificed a bull or a goat at the temple, you would be forgiven by Yehovah and restored to a perfect relationship with Him.
Contrary to what is being taught in mainstream Christianity, the sacrificial system was perfect and worked very well. And contrary to what is being taught, Yehovah did not expect perfection. He knew the people would sin several times unintentionally; that is why He gave us the sacrificial system.
There is one thing the sacrificial system could not do; it could not atone for intentional and high handed sins. It could only atone for unintentional sins.
If someone had sinned intentionally, they would be cut off from the people without having the possibility to come back. In our day and age, we would say they would lose their salvation. When you knew the consequences of intentional sins, you became very motivated to learn how to avoid sinning. So we know from the Bible, the people living in Old Testament times were well able to avoid sinning intentionally.
This is in the Bible, so why then are we being told today by our pastors we can not help ourselves, we have to sin because of our “sin nature”? Why are we being told we can not keep the Torah when we see, in the Bible, how people in Old Testament times were well able to obey the Torah?
When Yehoshua (Yeshua/Jesus) was born, Johns Gospel says He was the lamb of Yehovah, who takes away the sins of the world. In His sacrifice, He atoned for all unintentional AND intentional sins. So for the first time in history, Yehovah allowed having your deliberate sins atoned for.
Throughout the book of Leviticus, one thing is undeniable, ignorance of the law, or even ignorance of what you did, does not excuse your sin. Even though you did not know what the law said or you were not aware of what you did, you still had to atone for it.
If we believe Yeshua fulfilled the law, as in making the Torah obsolete, we make His sacrifice obsolete.
If the law of Moses (the Torah) ended on the cross, then Yehovah is unfair and unrighteous when He sends someone to hell for not believing in Jesus. He is even unjust and wicked when He sends someone to hell for committing a sin they did not know was a sin. And not to mention the fact that if the Torah does not apply to us, then there is no definition of sin any longer. So if everything is grace and not law, a Christian who says homosexuality or abortion is wrong is being legalistic. And if the law does not exist any longer, then people are going to hell for not having the chance to hear about Jesus.
I hope you understand how confusing and contradicting Christianity has become? Why has it become this way? Who in their right mind would want to believe in a god who would send someone to hell for not believing in Jesus, when they have never heard about Him? Who in their right mind would want to listen to someone who says the law of Moses does no longer apply to us, and in the next moment, says abortion is wrong, and homosexuality is illegal? How can something be a sin if there is no law anymore?
It has become this way because most Christians worship their human-made pet doctrines and not the God of the Bible.
If we, on the other hand, allow the Bible to speak for itself, and we believe in a God that never changes, we get a different understanding of the cross and salvation:
When the book of Leviticus says ignorance of the law does not excuse the crime, we know people do not go to hell because they dont believe in Jesus or have never heard about Him. People end up in hell because even though they are ignorant of the Torah and Yehovah’s standard of righteousness, ignorance does not excuse the crime. They still have to atone for their sins, and if they die without having atoned, they will end up in hell for all eternity.
Is it not refreshing to know that the God we believe does not send anyone to hell for not believing in Jesus?
When we know the sacrificial system atoned for unintentional sins, and we believe Yehoshua is the fulfillment of the sacrificial system, it explains 1. John 1:9 and the book of James to us. Yehovah fully expects us to commit unintentional sins, and when we do, 1. John 1:9 says we can confess them to Him, and we will be forgiven on account of our faith in our sacrifice for unintentional sins – the cross of Yehoshua.
But it also gives us a warning we would do well to take into consideration.
The sacrificial system worked perfectly to atone for unintentional sins, but it could not atone for intentional sins. When Yehoshua came, His Blood atones for both deliberate and accidental sins. In the book of Hebrews, James, and John, it says a born again believer can not choose to sin. So if we are genuinely born again and saved, we have no desire to commit a deliberate high handed sin.
When Adam and Eve lived in the garden of Eden, they were perfect and had not yet sinned. The Bible says, adding to, removing from, or changing the word of Yehovah (the Bible) is a great sin. When the snake asked Eve a question, she added to the word of Yehovah in her answer. So even though she had not yet eaten from the apple, she was well able to sin in her perfect state.
When we are born again, we have no desire to sin, but having no ambition for sin does not mean we can’t choose to sin. Just as the snake tempted Eve to do a deliberate sin, the devil is going to tempt us to do a willful sin. If we gave in to that temptation, the book of Hebrews says we will lose our salvation.
Why?
Because Yehovahs offer of forgiveness and atonement for intentional sins is a one time offer only.
This is important, so let’s recap what we have just learned from the Bible.
In both the Old and the New Testament, Yehovah expects us to sin unintentionally. When we do sin accidentally, we can know for sure He will forgive us IF we confess our sins to Him (1.John 1:9). It is also a given from the book of James we will have no desire to sin, so our confession will lead to repentance.
If we are truly born again, we will have no desire to sin intentionally. Not inclined to sin does not mean we cant sin deliberately. Eve was not inclined to sin, but she still sinned by adding to the word of Yehovah before she ate of the apple. Should we choose to sin after having accepted the cross, we will fall from grace, lose our salvation, and never have the opportunity to return.
So what is deliberate sin?
When you know what the Bible says, but you choose to ignore it in favor of the opinions of your denomination/pastor/favorite evangelist/spouse/family, you are sinning deliberately.
Have you sinned deliberately?
Only you and Yehovah can answer that question.
There is a difference between knowing what the Bible says and choosing to ignore it in favor of something else and thinking you know what the Bible says, but you are not sure, so you decide to have it interpreted by someone else.
Did you know that by believing the lie that says the blood of bulls and goats could only cover, but not take away sin, you might end up losing your salvation? If you believe this lie, you have not understood how Yehovahs justice system works. If you dont understand His justice system, you will never understand the cross and how to apply it to your life. If you dont understand the cross, you will easily be tempted to sin deliberately and lose your salvation.