While queuing at the checkout point of a popular grocery store in Lagos, Nigeria. I noticed a young lady with long braids in front of a man who was also in the queue. As the woman made efforts to re-pack her hair, it swept across the face of the man standing behind, causing some pain. The man shrugged his shoulder at what just happened, even as the lady continued her transaction without an inkling of the harm she had caused. Trying to help the man cope, I put a scriptural spin on it and told the man that that was a case of ‘sinning’ through ignorance.
“For us, the conscience and the Holy Spirit make us aware of wrongdoings.”
The book of Leviticus provided elaborate instructions on dealing with sins. Specifically, chapter 4 deals with sinning through ignorance. Incidentally, there were four of such in that chapter. It covers sin though ignorance by individual, the congregation, the leaders, and the people of the land. This points to the fact that sin is a general problem and everyone is susceptible. The chapter also implies that sin can come under two categories. Here we are told of sin through ignorance or what the New King James Bible describes as “unintentional sins”. The other category is sinning intentionally. This can also be described as presumptuous sin. We observe that God made no provision for intentional sin, because that amounts to rebellion. Though sin is sin, God makes allowance for sin without knowledge. However, the moment individuals become aware of their sins, they should make amends. For us, the conscience and the Holy Spirit make us aware of wrongdoings. When this happens, we are to appropriate the finished work of Christ for cleansing.