Worship Begins with Confession of Sin and Assurance of Forgiveness

Wenham sees the confession of sin (Leviticus 5:5) within the ritual sequence of atonement in Leviticus as providing a theological pattern for worship today.

Worship should not simply leap straight into praise or petition. It should have a movement like this:

Confession of Sin → Receiving Christ’s Forgiveness by Faith → Offering Ourselves Anew to God → Praise and Petition

Whether in the ritual of the purification offering or in the worship we offer today, genuine confession of sin and repentance must come first.

Restored by the assurance of forgiveness, worshipers offer themselves to God with joy and gratitude, praising him and bringing their petitions.

The Purification Offering and Christ

God did not leave human beings to pay the price of sin through their own efforts. He sent Jesus the Messiah to bear it all.

The purification offering applied to unintentional sins; other sins were dealt with on the annual Day of Atonement. Jesus, however, forgives every sin of those who acknowledge it moment by moment and genuinely repent and return to him.

Jesus became the perfect and unique sacrifice who deals with our sin.

In Revelation 5, the slain Lamb pays the price of human sin to God with his blood and, as a result, receives the praise of all creation.

The Lord Knows Our Weakness

No matter how carefully we live or how many spiritual safeguards we establish, in our weakness we sometimes fall. Jesus Christ became our purification offering for precisely such moments.

We do not need to remain trapped in guilt. Neither should we treat sin lightly.

We must honestly acknowledge our sin and approach God by relying on Jesus, who shed his blood on the cross in our place.

Today the Lord still calls those of us who have missed the mark:

“You are still precious. I have opened the way for you. Now rise again. Walk with me once more.”

Let us walk once more toward God’s target.