Goats, Sinners, and Forgiveness...

I listened to Ed Dobson's message from Mars Hill Bible Church Grand Rapids, MI 6/17/2007

I love it when things i thought i knew become something totally different altogether. And as these things become different, it's a little scary you know- if it's different than i thought was truth, is it true, was it true? But i find that scary feeling of things- doctirnes, realities, relationships- changing is the change that i need, that if i didn't have this change at this time, i would leave, give up on something that used to work for me, but just isn't anymore. These scary changes are the only place that my faith is real anymore.

Sin- has 3 different hebrew words, forgive- has 3 different hebrew words and 3 hebrew words for my response to being 'forgiven.' There was this Yom Kippur tradition, the sacrifice for sins of a whole community offered to recieve forgiveness and atonement. They'd kill a goat- it's blood a covering for sin. They'd have a live goat too- and a priest would confess the sins of the whole community while placing his hands on the goat's head. Symbolizing the sins being placed on the goat- they would then send the goat off into the wilderness. This goat would be led out of the town- to this cliff where the guy leading it would push it off the cliff to it's death.

PS32:1-2 Blessed is he whose trangressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him...
forgive- has 3 different hebrew words (all 3 here)
'forgiven' literally to carry away (same word as Gen. 50:13)

'covered' (same word Gen. 38:15 a chapter that would be censored if the fCC read it)

'not count against' (Lev 5:27) God doesn't calculate or determine how he can count our sin agains us

carried away, covered, not held against us

And so these 2 goats, again and again every year. and the priest and the temple with no chairs, because his job was never done, he could not sit. Hebrews 10:11

until Jesus carries away, covers up, and makes it so it cannot be counted against us. He goes and... sits down... at the right hand of God. Hebrews 9:23-28, 10:11-12

And all this trash here in my heart and mind- carried away, covered, 'I'll never count that against you."

3 words of response
Ps 32:11 (last verse)
Rejoice: celebrate with wild unrestrained passion
Be Glad: shout (THANK YOU)
Sing: 'Sing with inexpressible Joy / Fall on your face'

'God through Jesus Christ has carried away, covered up your trash and says 'I'll never count that against you."

sin, forgiveness, response- i seem to have forgotten.