Congregation Beth Ha'Mashiach
(House of the Messiah) - Worshipping ADONAI
& His Messiah, Yeshua Ha'Mashiach
Living & teaching as our
Messiah taught us to Live
Messianic
Congregation serving Northeast Atlanta Georgia (Gwinnett, Barrow, Dekalb,
Rockdale, Walton)
Phone 770
554-2867 - email:
rabbi@cbhm.org
Nasso - נשא : “Make an accounting” Torah : Numbers 4:21–7:89 Haftarah : Judges 13:2–25 Gospel : John 3,4
Thought for the Week:
(An excerpt from Torah Club)
A sinner should turn back from his sin, and should confess his misdeed before
God as Scripture says, “When a man or woman commits any of the sins of mankind,
acting unfaithfully against the LORD, and that person is guilty, then he shall
confess his sins which he has committed.” (Numbers 5:6–7) The main element is
remorse in the heart, in truth, over the past; and one must take it upon himself
not to do such a thing ever again. This [confession] is the essential part of
repentance; but the more one confesses, the more praiseworthy he is.” (Chofetz
Chaim)
Commentary:
Confession and Repentance
(Based on Torah Club)
It is a mitzvah of the Torah to confess our sins and repent from
them. When we sin, we are not to remain in the sin, nor are we to passively
accept the fact that we are sinners. We are to strive against sin. We must
humble ourselves to confess the sin and then turn away from it. It is a positive
commandment, to confess one’s sins and repent from them. Therefore it is a sin
to leave a sin unconfessed!
Even the smallest sin should be confessed. Confession should be made
privately, but audibly, directly to God. King David says, “I acknowledged my sin
to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, ‘I will confess my
transgressions to the LORD; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah. (Psalm
32:5) Yochanon the beloved disciple says, “If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
Confession and repentance work together. It says, “then he shall confess his
sins which he has committed and repent.” (Numbers 5:7) Confession is the first
step toward repentance. When Yochanon called Israel to immerse as a sign of
repentance, they came to be “baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing
their sins.” (Mark 1:5)
But a person may hesitate. His evil inclination will accuse him and say, “How
dare I confess this sin to God? Didn’t I just confess this same sin yesterday
and resolve not to do it again? How dare I come before Him again with the same
offense?” When this happens, we must shove away the evil inclination from our
thoughts and remember that God truly does desire our repentance. “There will be
more more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over
ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7) A person must
never give up on himself. He must say to himself, “God has not given up on me,
neither should I. I will try again. I will start over, brand new, beginning
right now. God has surely washed me clean by Messiah’s blood. I am a new
creature in Messiah. He will strengthen me to walk uprightly.”
The mitzvah of confessing our sins before God is one we can carry
out confidently in Messiah. Thanks to the efficacious sacrifice of Messiah, we
know that our confession and repentance will always be received. “He made you
alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions.” (Colossians
2:13)
