Leviticus 7:1
“Likewise this is the law of the trespass offering: it is most holy.”
At some point in everyone’s life there will be a time when you will have to get right over something you’ve done wrong. When God addressed this issue with the children of Israel, He set up different types of offerings to right their wrongs. One of the offerings God set up was the trespass offering. Many of the other offerings were about getting right with God, but the trespass offering was for when a person wronged another person. The word “trespass” is talking about infringing on another’s rights. When your sin infringes on another’s rights or freedoms, then God expects you to get it right with Him and mankind. Let me show you a few observations that you can learn on how to right a wrong when you’ve sinned against another person.
First, God expects you to admit your wrong. Just for the person to have to prepare the offering was an admittance of wrong. God didn’t want them to explain away their wrongs, but He wanted them to admit they did wrong. The simple action of getting the materials for the offering was the person acknowledging their wrong.
You will never right your wrongs until you admit you wronged someone. You need to understand how your sin took freedoms away from another person. You need to understand how your sin caused hardships for others. Sin always affects more than just you. It always takes away from others. You can blame your sin on circumstances or give your excuses of why you did wrong, but that doesn’t change the fact that you sinned. Whatever your sin is, it is still sin no matter what excuse you use to explain it away. It is imperative for you to admit your wrong if you want to make it right.
Second, there must be a time for confession. The person offering the trespass offering had to bring it to the priests. That was a very public action. The priest was God’s representative, and God wanted the person who sinned to go to him.
You will never right your wrong until you deal with your sin to the degree that it affected others. Because a sin of trespass took something from others, you should not only get right with God, but you should also get right with the one you wronged. A public sin will never be righted in a private manner. Yes, God is ultimately the One with Whom you must get right, but you’ll never be right with God until you get right with those whom you wronged.
Third, there must be accountability to right your wrong. Notice, the person had to bring their offering to the priest. This was accountability. Christian, there is an accountability issue when you are to get things right. I truly believe that you will never correct what caused you to do wrong until you are accountable to someone who can help you. This is an amazing thought because it causes us to humble ourselves and submit to someone else. Pride is the source of most sin. God understood that if you would be willing to submit to someone for accountability as you rehabilitate yourself, that you have a greater chance of never doing that sin again.
There are many sins that infringe on another’s rights and freedoms. You need to be sure that when your sin goes beyond your personal borders that you right the wrong by using these three steps God set up. You’ll find that when you follow God’s steps to right a wrong that you will have a better chance of restoring your testimony and the relationships that your sin affected.