Numbers 15:30
But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
To do ought presumptuously, or with a high hand, is to sin deliberately and knowingly, not in ignorance. Breaking the seventh commandment by committing sexual impurity is such a presumptuous, knowing sin. That sexual sin is giving way to the loose passions of the carnal heart and gratifying animal propensities.
It is aggravated because it is committed after hearing straight truth, the terrors of the Word of God, and the blazing truth for the last days, at the very time God is purifying unto Himself a peculiar people zealous of good works, so it was never regarded by God as so exceedingly sinful as now. The verse shows God is no respecter of persons, for it applies to native-born or stranger, old or young, high or low, even to a king with exalted position and long faithful service, who is not excused when he departs from a plain Thus saith the Lord. Uzziah is the living example of its folly, for his presumptuous sin in entering the sanctuary to burn incense, though only the descendants of Aaron may officiate as priests, brought judgment upon him when he was smitten with leprosy on his forehead and shut out from the temple to his death.
Such knowing violation of what God has plainly forbidden reproaches the Lord and brings cutting-off judgment from Heaven. It brings God's frown, curse, wrath, and awful visitation, disgracing His cause and removing His presence so that the ark is removed from the camp and He will not dwell in their assemblies. Anciently its doom was temporal and eternal death by being taken without the camp and stoned to death. Though the penalty of stoning to death is abolished, the guilt remains enormous, yet the sin is now indulged beyond measure and counted a small offense. Confessing sorrow afterward does not remove it, and while such sinners are received by the church their prayers and exhortations are a stink in the nostrils of God. The church must act firmly rather than treat such deliberate sin lightly, and those who heedlessly plaster over these sins will be left to their own ways to be filled with their own doings.