Now That You Know

“Or if his sin, which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge: then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned.” (Le 4:28 AV)

Past ignorance is not a plea.  If the soul is guilty, whether he knew it at the time or not, he was still accountable for his actions.  There was a sacrifice needed.  The law had been broken.  Regardless of one’s knowledge of the law, the soul is still accountable.  Imagine the results if ignorance was a defense.  We could go into any situation and remain oblivious to the law or expectations.  We could do as we please without any fear of consequences.  If we did break the law, “I didn’t know that, officer” would be our legal defense.  Ignorance based anarchy would be the result.  It is a biblical principle that we are accountable to be aware as well as accountable for what we know.

Restitution is the problem here.  We have no more sacrifices to offer.  Christ ended all that.  When we trusted Jesus Christ as our Savior, our sins were forgiven.  Past, present, and future.  As far as our eternal life is concerned, there is no more debt.  There is no more sacrifice to offer.  It is all settled.  Where we fail is restitution.  Learning of past mistakes and sins remains to be compensated.  The mandate to restore is still in force.  Even if we didn’t know it at the time, it is still required.  How common is this?  We go out to eat.  We enjoy a meal.  We have a wonderful time of fellowship and food.  The night is full of laughter and camaraderie.  It is your responsibility to pay the bill.  The receipt comes, you sing it, and place a tract down.  Then, on your way to your car, you realize you never left a tip.  What do you do?  Do you think the likelihood of eating there again is remote, so you don’t go back in to leave a tip?  Do you think you’ll catch them the next time?  Do you hope they never notice?  Do you assume that simply because you have no cash, it is impossible to leave a tip once the card has been swiped?  What do you do?  Or, do you go to an ATM and return with a cash tip for the waiter or waitress with profound apologies for your lapse?

The law requires restitution.  Once we are aware of what we have done, we must try to make it right.  Most of the time, restitution is forgiven.  But we are bound to try.  The above penitent must return to the temple or tabernacle once he is aware of his fault and offers a sacrifice.  Ignorance is not a defense.  It is not a defense because ignorance is only temporary.  How we handle restitution says volumes of our character.  What we are willing to do once we do fail says a lot of who we are as a person.  Say, “I didn’t know” only works to get us to the place of making it right.  Once we do know, we must make it right.