He Bears Our Iniquities

If you are pulled over for speeding, you will get a ticket. It does not matter whether you know what the speed limit is or not. You have broken the law, and ignorance is not an excuse; you must deal with the consequences of your actions. This holds true for our spiritual lives as well: If we sin, whether we know it or not, we held responsible for it.

God wants us to take responsibility for both what we know and do and say, and what don't (Lev. 5:1-4). While we are often aware of our sinful nature, we are not always aware of what exactly our sins are. But the Holy Spirit will convict us in due time, and once we are made aware of specific sins, we are required to do something about them.

In the Old Testament, the Israelites were always required to beat the penalty of their sin. William Plumer writes, "The expression bearing sin or bearing iniquity, occurs more than thirty times in Scripture, and in every instance it means to bear the sufferings or penalty of sin. Thus in Leviticus 5:1, God ordains that if a person does not speak up when he hears a public charge to testify regarding something he has seen or learned about, he will 'bear his iniquity.'"

Ultimately, God must judge all sin (whether known or unknown, whether sins of action or inaction). God is good, but He cannot simply turn a blind eye to all the evil we have done. Something must be done about our sin. So God the Father sent His Son to bear the burden - that is, punishment of our sins. That is what mercy is.

Living Life