The guilt offering was very similar to the sin offering: “The guilt offering is just like the sin offering; there is one law for them” (Lv 7:7). Although the offering was the same, the purpose was quite different. As the sin offering restored one’s standing with God, the guilt offering restored one’s standing with the one who was sinned against. Like the sin offering, it was for a specific sin (Lv 5:15-19).

If any of God’s commandments were broken, once a person realized it, he had to offer a guilt offering. It came with renumeration as well. To the offering he had to add 20% of its worth and give that to the priest. Then he had to make restitution to the one offended by repaying the value of whatever was involved with the sin committed and then add an additional 20% of its value and give that to the one sinned against. The purpose of the guilt offering was to absolve the offender of all legal and moral debt, and it restored one’s favor to one’s fellow man by absolving the guilt of the sin committed.

Whereas the sin offering had a vertical application, the guilt offering had a horizontal application. Paul stated that because we have forgiveness through Christ, we should do the following in our relationship to others: Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice (Ep 4:31). And Jesus stated that if that was not the case then we have mending to do: “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Mt 5:23-24).

While Christ’s death cancels our moral and legal debt, it does even more! Paul tells us this: “He [Christ] was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (Ro 4:25). We often state that Christ took care of our sin problem. Yet, we need to remember that he also took care of our guilt problem as well. This sacrifice therefore represents restoration of one being able to communicate with others without residual guilt.

So far, we have seen that our standing with God has been corrected, our relationship with him has been restored so we can communicate unhindered and even have a restored relationship with our neighbors. Does God have a significant part in all this other than Jesus’ death? Join me next time for the answer.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens