Proof is in the Payment

Proof is in the Payment

Imagine that you are driving down the road and your car breaks down. It’s not drivable and you have it towed to your trusted mechanic. He orders the needed parts and spends days working on replacing what is broken and restoring it to its former glory. When you return to pick up your car you are overjoyed and overwhelmed with gratitude. You shake the mechanic’s hand, praise the skill and care he put into the repairs and promise to recommend him and his shop to everyone you know. You talk about how much you value your car now that it’s fixed and the places you are going to be able to go with it. Then the mechanic hands you the bill, but you just keep on praising him and saying how your car now looks as good as new, never reaching for your wallet, purse or credit card. You are full of appreciation, but you never take steps toward paying your repair bill. The mechanic gently interrupts: “Sir or ma’am, your gratitude is nice, but the proof of your gratitude for the work done on your car is in your payment.” Now imagine you try to get in your car and drive away without paying. No matter how thankful you are, no matter how many kind words you offer, the car isn’t truly yours until the debt is settled. You can’t truly enjoy the freedom of driving it away until you have paid the bill. The only way you can walk out of the mechanic’s shop with confidence—free from guilt, free from accusation—is with the receipt in your hand, proof that you made the payment in full. The proof is in the payment.

This is exactly what God wants for us as we live our lives on this earth. He doesn’t want us to live weighed down by the debt of our sin or the burden of our guilt. He doesn’t want us to keep coming back with empty promises or feelings of remorse. He wants us to experience true freedom, emotional and spiritual freedom, knowing that the debt has been settled. Just as the mechanic required payment, God required a costly payment for sin. In Leviticus 6, the guilt offering was a visible and tangible proof that the debt had been dealt with. This gave the Israelites assurance and confidence that they had been ransomed, restored and forgiven. And just as the mechanic’s receipt gives the car owner confidence to drive away free and clear, God wants us to live with that same assurance and confidence, knowing that we have been ransomed, restored and forgiven, knowing the debt of our sin has been paid, and we can live free of guilt. But how does God provide that assurance and confidence? How can we experience true emotional and spiritual freedom? The answer, of course is, Jesus. The guilt offering, and in fact all the offerings we have been studying, point to Jesus, who paid our debt in full on the cross. Because of Jesus, we don’t have to live under the shadow of guilt or the fear of not being forgiven. We can live free, knowing the payment has been made. And it’s not because we ignore our debt, but because Jesus has paid it. The proof is in the payment, and the cross is our receipt. That brings us to our big idea this morning that God desires His people to live emotionally and spiritually free from sin and guilt.

Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, we come before You with grateful hearts, seeking Your presence this morning. We thank You for gathering us together as a community to hear Your Word and to grow in faith. Lord, as we prepare our minds and hearts for the message You have for us, we ask for Your Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts and open our understanding. May Your Holy Spirit speak to us and encourage us and give us wisdom. Remove all distractions from our minds and help us to focus on Your truth. Draw us close to Yourself, transform us and equip us to live out Your will in our daily lives.

Before we get to our scripture this morning, I, again, want to give a short recap of the offerings God instructed the Israelites about. First was the burnt offering signifying the worshipper’s complete love, devotion and surrender to God. Second was the grain offering signifying the joy and celebration of the worshipper for God’s faithful provision and covenant saving relationship. Third was the peace or fellowship offering signifying the worshipper’s thanksgiving for the restored relationship and communion they could have with God. Fourth was the sin offering signifying the cleansing and purification of the worshipper’s unintentional sin that highlighted the seriousness of sin. It also signified that it required blood to fully remove sin’s penalty and pollution, allowing renewed access to God’s presence. Lastly was the guilt offering signifying making things right and reconciling with the offended party, either God or a fellow Israelite. These offerings were the way that the Israelites were to approach their Holy God in worship. There is a natural progression to them, especially when we look at them in reverse order. Without the mandatory sin and guilt offerings, there was a fractured relationship with God and worship was hindered. Once they were offered then the burnt, grain and peace offerings could be brought expressing their devotion and thanks to God. All five sacrifices together showed the Israelites the path to a deeper intimacy with God. That’s what I want. I want a deeper intimacy with God, and I hope you all do too. I want to fall deeper in love with Jesus every single day and that is my prayer for all of you as well.

That brings us to our first point this morning, Price: Costly, found in Leviticus 6:1-5a. Follow along as I read. This is what God’s Word says, “The Lord said to Moses: “If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the Lord by deceiving a neighbor about something entrusted to them or left in their care or about something stolen, or if they cheat their neighbor, or if they find lost property and lie about it, or if they swear falsely about any such sin that people may commit— when they sin in any of these ways and realize their guilt, they must return what they have stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to them, or the lost property they found, or whatever it was they swore falsely about.”

Last week our big idea was that God desires His people to not be slaves to their sin and guilt. And we may ask “why was this?” It was because He desires His people to live emotionally and spiritually free from their sin and guilt. God knew that sin and guilt would rob us spiritually of our relationship with Him and our proper worship of Him. It would also rob us emotionally creating shame, draining joy, leading to self-condemnation, depression, and a distorted identity, preventing true repentance and freedom. Lastly, it would rob us of our relationships with others. It would cause broken intimacy and trust which would lead us to withdrawal from others because of embarrassment and shame. It also would cause unhealthy self-focus, broken communication and internal conflict. This would cause us to make excuses, tell lies, become angry, aggressive, anxious and worried. This is not what God wants for His children. There are a few things we can do with the Holy Spirit’s help to live emotionally and spiritually free from our sin and guilt. First, we must have a healthy realization of our sin and guilt. Our sin and guilt are never cheap; it will always cost us more than we think it will. Second, God wants us to restore what sin has ruined and, third, God wants us to rest in the payment He has provided for us. As we study our scripture this morning, I am going to be referring to last week’s scripture at times as the entire section from Leviticus 5:14 through 6:7 is God’s instruction of the guilt offering.

In 6:1, we see for the third time, “The Lord spoke to Moses” or “when or if anyone sins” meaning that God is introducing a new train of thought and a different command about the guilt offering. There are a couple of things that sin does to us. First, sin brings us guilt. Guilt is mentioned ten times and sin is mentioned five times in the section on the guilt offering. We see two types of guilt here. The first is objective guilt. This means that someone has committed a sin and was guilty. We know this because at the end of each section such as 6:7 we see that “the priest will make atonement for them. . . and they will be forgiven for any of the things they did that made them guilty.” The second type of guilt is subjective guilt. This is the feeling of guilt someone has because they have sinned and are guilty. When either kind of guilt happened, the Israelites were held responsible and were to follow God’s commands concerning the guilt offering. When we have committed sin against God or others and we know it, we are guilty, but we also have feelings of guilt which can affect us in different ways,

The effects of guilt can be extremely hurtful physically and emotionally. In Psalms 38:4-6, David described his hidden sin, “My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly. I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning.” And in Psalms 32:3-4 he says, “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.” Guilt can cause severe physical and emotional distress. Guilt can become a burden too heavy to bear, it drains your strength, and it leaves you feeling overwhelmed and depressed. It can lead to a mental breakdown and a broken spirit which can affect our overall health. When we become guilty and have these feelings of guilt, we need to be careful about how we deal with those feelings. Today, in our culture, the remedy for guilt is to find a way to feel better about ourselves and what we’ve done. This could mean repressing our guilt or telling ourselves we’re not a bad person or at least not as bad as so and so. It could also mean justifying our sin by telling ourselves that what we did was not that bad or everybody’s doing it. God’s remedy is for us to be free to come to Him when we sin and feel guilty, admit our sin and guilt with a sincere heart, and receive His forgiveness.

Second, sin breeches our covenant with God. Leviticus 6:2 says, “If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the Lord.” As Christians, we are in an intimate, loving covenant relationship with Jesus signifying the unity, love and purity we are to have with Him. He is our bridegroom and we are His bride and so every time we sin against God it’s like committing spiritual adultery. Our sin, all our sin, is a breach of faith and trust that tramples on His love for us. Our sin is more than a failure to live up to some code of conduct or more than falling short of some contractual obligation expected of us. As R.C. Sproul puts it, “Our sin is cosmic treason.” I like how one person put it, “We’ve turned against the bridegroom who loves us and gave Himself for us. We pay a heavy cost for our sin.” The effects and results of sin are not cheap. In fact, Romans 6:23 says that the “wages of sin is death.” The proof that sin is costly is in the payment. Guilt can damage us in many ways: physically with health problems, emotionally with feeling depressed, anxious, or worthless, financially with addictions that cause debt and worry about money, and spiritually, feeling distant from God. In order to live emotionally and spiritually free from sin and guilt, we must have a healthy realization of our sin and guilt and willing to confess it.

Next, our sin affects our relationships. It not only breeches our covenant with God but affects our relationship with Him as well. We talked last week about acting treacherously toward God and His “holy things.” This is acting with a hidden and faithless agenda while also appearing holy and pious on the outside. We see this in scripture with Judas and his betrayal of Jesus. The “Lord’s holy things” were anyone and anything set apart by God for His service. Some of these sins may have been, not redeeming the firstborn, not giving the first fruits of your harvest, or not observing the Sabbath or tithing laws. Strain says, (these) were condemned here in order to drive home the point of the gravity, the solemnity that attended everything involved in the honor of God, in the glory of God, in the name of God, and in the praise of God.” How do we act treacherously with the Lord’s “holy things” today?” Here are some possible examples: having a casual indifference to the worship and praise of God in our congregations, a flippant disregard for God’s Word by barely opening it up and reading it, praising the name of the Lord on Sunday and using His name in vain or as a curse word on Monday and making vows or promises to support the church with our time, talents and tithes but allowing a host of worldly things to get in the way. The remedy for our sin, guilt and guilty feelings is to do what David did and confess it. That brings us to our first next step, which is I will identify areas where I’ve grown casual about my sin against the Lord and confess it.

Our sin also affects our relationships with others. And this is what we see in Leviticus 6:2-5. ​​ We see the representative sins that an Israelite could commit against his fellow Israelites. It is important to note that when they sinned against their neighbors they were also still sinning against God. The first sin against their neighbor was deceiving or lying to them. The word for neighbor means an associate or companion and seems to imply a close neighbor, friend or colleague. The examples given are normal in the everyday lives of the Israelites. First, if you are going on a journey, you may ask your next-door neighbor to watch your house or your pet while you are gone. The idea was that when you returned, everything would be in order and your pet would be healthy and well-fed, etc. The next example is like the first, but it is probably something smaller and more precious or valuable to you. It could be money or jewelry, etc. It was not safe to travel in the ANE with robbers and other unsavory people lying in wait for travelers, so you would leave them with a neighbor. The third example is something that you left with your neighbor, and then they said it was stolen or taken by violence. The fourth example was cheating your neighbor by extorting or oppressing them. The fifth example is finding something that belonged to your neighbor that was lost and lying about finding it. One example is in Exodus 23:4 which says, “If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it.” Even if the property belonged to your enemy you were required to return it to its rightful owner. All of these examples were a sin against their neighbor but was also a sin against the integrity of the community and society and an egregious offence to God. At the end of verse 3 we see “if they swear falsely about any such sin that people may commit.” The “swearing falsely” is speaking about the sins mentioned here and all the other sins represented by them. To swear falsely meant invoking God's name to affirm a lie, breaking a vow, or making a frivolous oath. This reminds us of Leviticus 5:4, where someone thoughtlessly, rashly and inadvisably swore an oath. But here it is not rash or thoughtless, it was deliberate and intentional. ​​ They swore falsely using God’s name in vain in order to cheat a neighbor out of their property. ​​ 

Next, in verse 4 we see these words, “when they sin in any of these ways and realize their guilt.” Here the offender seems to have had a change of heart. They willingly “tell on themselves” and admit their sin because they have a guilty conscience and are remorseful. We know the offender has “turned themselves in” because of the lesser penalty that is imposed. To be caught and convicted of one of these sins against a neighbor before a confession was made and repentance was given would bring a heftier penalty. The first thing that had to be done was to return whatever it was that had been stolen, taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to them, or the lost property they had found, or whatever they had sworn falsely about. True repentance included restoration of what was taken and making things right was evidence of a changed heart and not just trying to get off the hook. When we sin against our neighbor and are willing to put things right, it will greatly improve our physical, emotional and spiritual well-being (Big Idea). Again, the proof is in the payment. The proof that we are doing what God wants us to do about our sin and guilt is in the payment of restoring what sin has ruined. Now you may be able to return the item in the same condition, but you will probably need to regain the trust of your neighbor. The offended party may put some distance between you and them. And there could also be a difficult rebuilding of trust requiring boundaries, accountability and a sincere effort from both parties to want to restore trust, respect and connection. Your friendship may not be the same for a while, or it may never be the same. So the question is: To whom do you need to restore what sin has ruined? That brings us to our second next step which I will examine my life to see where I have sinned against my neighbor and take steps to restore what sin has ruined.

That brings us to our second point, Picture: Christ, found in Leviticus 6:5b-7. This is what God’s Word says, “They must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day they present their guilt offering. And as a penalty they must bring to the priest, that is, to the Lord, their guilt offering, a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. In this way the priest will make atonement for them before the Lord, and they will be forgiven for any of the things they did that made them guilty.”

The idea of restitution is expanded here. After returning the stolen property they swore falsely about, the offender was to also to make additional restitution by giving a fifth of the value of what was taken. If the offender “told on themselves” and confessed before being convicted, the total restitution was one hundred and twenty percent. But if you continued to claim your innocence and were then taken before the elders and convicted, the total restitution was two hundred percent or more. We see this in Exodus 22:4 which says, “If the stolen animal is found alive in their possession—whether ox or donkey or sheep—they must pay back double.” We may wonder why God had them pay one hundred and twenty percent restitution? Why wasn’t just returning the stolen item enough? It probably had to do with pain and suffering so to speak. Depending on what was taken, the loss of that item could have had major consequences for the livelihood of the offended party. Thinking back to last week, we could have asked the same question about having to give over and above to the priest for defrauding God of His holy things. The answer probably lies in the fact that while they were defrauding God, they weren’t obeying and worshipping Him the way they should have been. They were not only to make restitution to God for the sin they committed but they were also to make restitution for the obedience they skipped out on. The offender then was to bring his total restitution and give it to the owner on the same day they brought their guilt offering before the Lord. This implies that the restitution God commanded was to be accepted. There is nothing stated that the owner could deny the restitution or demand more. The matter was considered settled. This was a safeguard for both the offender and the offended. Then as a penalty they were to bring their guilt offering to the priest meaning the Lord. The guilt offering was the same as when defrauding the Lord, a ram without defect and of the proper value. Not only did the ram have to be perfect, but it also had to be worth the proper value set by the sanctuary shekel which traditionally was two shekels. This reflected the worshipper’s sincere repentance and true remorse. The sacrifice wasn't just symbolic but had tangible worth, with the value being determined by community standards.

The guilt offering was to be a sign of sorrow for the offender’s transgression against his neighbor, against the community and society, and against God. The proof that their sin was serious and that God required a costly offering to deal with their guilt is seen in the payment of the one hundred and twenty percent restitution and the costly ram offering. We are not only reminded that sin is costly but also that forgiveness requires a substitute. The sacrifice of the ram reminds us of Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac. God stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son Isaac on the altar and provided a ram in the thicket for the sacrifice. The sacrifice of the ram also reminds us of Jesus Christ as the ram that redeems us. The earliest interpretation of the significance of the suffering servant, Jesus, and the guilt offering is found in Isaiah 53:5 and 10. Verse 5 states clearly the idea of substitutionary atonement: “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” The offering and the servant suffers instead of us and the penalty we should have paid, he paid for us. And Verse 10 states clearly that when Jesus died, God the Father, made His son “a guilt offering” for us: “Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.” An “offering for sin” is literally translated as “guilt offering” or “reparation offering” meaning to make amends by compensation. Wenham says, “The death of the suffering servant compensates for the sins of the people and makes many to be accounted righteous.” God is provided compensation for our sin and for His loss, the death of His son, Jesus Christ.” Lastly, we see that the priest makes atonement for the sinner before the Lord and they will be forgiven. This is the third time in the instructions of the guilt offering that we are told that the sinner will be forgiven for the sins that made him guilty. This also points us to Jesus. No sin is too great for God’s grace and God’s promise of forgiveness is certain. The proof is in the payment of the willing sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross and the cross is our receipt that says paid in full. That brings us to the third next step which is I will rest in what God has provided by trusting in Jesus for my salvation as the one who paid my debt. ​​ 

I want to close thinking about the idea of “resting” in what God has provided. Resting in the assurance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross connects with our 2026 theme of Sabbath. It fulfills the Sabbath’s ultimate purpose, which is to shift our focus from self-effort to Jesus’ finished work, offering a deep, continuous spiritual peace or "Sabbath rest." This supersedes the weekly Old Covenant ritual, providing freedom from the law's condemnation, and enabling a daily, grace-filled rest from striving for justification, as Jesus becomes our ultimate source of peace and forgiveness, a rest we enter by faith, not works. Old Covenant Sabbath was a weekly command to cease from labor, pointing forward to a deeper reality, a foreshadowing of true rest. Jesus, the "Lord of the Sabbath," fulfilled its purpose by providing the way to true rest through His sacrifice, freeing people from the burden of earning righteousness. Sabbath is the ceasing from works. Instead of working to achieve right standing with God (which is impossible), believers rest in Christ's completed work, accepting salvation as a free gift. We receive a profound, internal peace that comes from knowing one is fully forgiven and accepted by God, not based on performance. And the Sabbath rest isn't limited to one day but is a perpetual state available every day through faith, offering freedom from guilt and striving. In essence, the Old Testament Sabbath pointed to a need for rest from labor; the New Testament reveals that Christ is that rest, offering not just a break from work, but a complete, liberating rest from the burden of sin and self-justification through His pardoning grace. Our ultimate sabbath rest comes when Jesus returns to take us to our heavenly home. We can have true Sabbath through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Proof is in the Payment.

As Gene & Roxey come to lead us in a final hymnal and as the ushers prepare to collect the tithes and offerings, let’s pray: Gracious and loving God, thank you for gathering us together in your presence. May your message to us take root in our hearts and bear fruit in our lives. Grant us the courage to live out your teachings each day. Help us by your Holy Spirit to live emotionally and spiritually free from sin and guilt, daily identifying areas where we’ve grown casual about sinning against You and confess it. Help us to also to examine our lives to see where we’ve have sinned against our neighbors and take steps to restore what sin has ruined. And help us to rest in what you have provided by trusting in your son, Jesus, for our salvation and not our own works. In Jesus’ name, Amen. ​​