SINS OF OMISSION

James 4:17 “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

You hear good Baptists talk about sins of omission and sins of commission and which of the two is worse. Inevitably, most Baptists come to the conclusion that what they do is far worse than what they do not do, but according to James, that is not true.

James says, “If we know to do good and do not do it, it is sin.”

Most of us on some level, view sin as something we do wrong.

We have this misconception that if we don’t do certain things we don’t sin, but James says that a Christian who fails to do what he knows he ought to do has sinned, and dear friend, believe it or not, that is the worst sin with the greatest consequence.

I guarantee you that if you answered this honestly, most of you would say that homosexuality is worse than not sharing the gospel, but that is not true because it is the gospel that will transform that homosexual.

Any man doing what he ought to do cannot do what he ought not to do.

Now, let’s put our main verse in context and see what James is saying.

James 4:13–15 “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.””

James 4:16–17 “But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

Three things about the sin of omission.

A. Sins of omission are deceiving sins.

Sins of omission are hard to see, and to illustrate them James uses the example of a boastful businessman. We will assume that this businessman is beginning the new fiscal year, and let’s see what he is doing.

First, he plans the period of time. He says today or tomorrow. He has his agenda out, and he is writing on this day I will do this and on that day I will do that.

Second, he plans the place where he will be doing this or that. “I will go to such a city.”

Third, he plans the procedure. You see this man is a marketing major from the Harvard of the South, the University of Tennessee-Martin. He says this where I am going. They will be open to my product.

Fourth, he plans the project. He says I will buy and sell and make gain or money.

He has it all figured out, and I am going to ask you a serious question, and I want you to be honest. What did this man do wrong? ______________________

He did not do anything wrong. The Bible is definitely not against planning. The Bible is definitely not against preparation. The Bible is definitely against hard work. The Bible is definitely not against making money.

What was this man’s sin? His sin lies in what he did not do.

He does not mention God. He “omitted” God, God’s Will, and God’s Word. He was acting as if God did not exist, and that his business decisions would guide his life.

You know the Bible says that a fool has said in his heart there is no God, but there is a bigger fool. The bigger fool is the person who says there is a God, yet completely leaves God out of everything in his life.

This businessman was living his life as if God did not exist, and churches all across Dyer County are full of people just like him. People who say they believe in God, yet do not include God in any of their plans.

“To him who knows to do good and does it not is a sin” the Bible says.

People plan theirs lives around their kids, their professions, their recreation, or their relationships never thinking about God, and they do not think of it as sin because they are not doing anything wrong, but dear friend, they have been deceived into believing they are okay even though they have totally omitted God.

Can I tell you how you can tell if someone has omitted God? That person has omitted attending and serving the church. That person has omitted in prayer. That person has omitted God’s Word. That person person has omitted sharing the gospel, and that person thinks everything is okay because that person is not doing anything wrong as we can tell, but that person has been deceived.

Let me ask you a question.

Do you remember the good Samaritan in the Bible?

Did the priest or Levite rob that man? NO!!!

Did the priest of Levite beat that man? NO!!!!

Did the priest or Levite do anything illegal? NO!!!!

Did they sin? YES!!!!! To him who knows to do good but does it not to him it is sin.

Sins of omission are so deceiving. I guarantee you that priest and Levite walked away with a clear conscience because they did nothing wrong, but what they did not do was sin.

Sins of omission are respectable sins because no one sees them.

It is easy to look down on the drunk and the homosexual, but you cannot see whether or not God has told me to pray for a specific person today, or that God told me to witness to someone specific today. I can get by with not doing what God has told me to do because in your eyes, I have done nothing wrong.

Sins of omission are so deceiving.

B. Sins of omission are destructive sins.

James 4:15–16 “Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”

Why are sins of omission so evil? Well, let’s think about it logically.

Is it sin of omission or sin of commission that sends men, women, boys, and girls to hell?

People go to hell because of what they have done, the sins committed, but they fail to go to heaven because of what they have not done, the sin of omission.

People miss heaven not because of what they have done but because of what they have not done.

John 3:18 ““He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Every sin that you can commit was what nailed Jesus to Calvary. Those are the sins that condemn a man. Christ was nailed to Calvary by yours and my condemnation.

Colossians 2:14 “having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

Those things nailed to the Cross will send no man to hell, but the sin of omission will. If you do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are going to die and go to hell. You will go because of what you have not done.

What we should do but don’t causes us the greatest trouble. Do you want a perfect example?

2 Samuel 11:1–2 “It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold.”

If David had been doing what he was supposed to be doing, he would not have done what he did. He was supposed to be out fighting the battle, but instead he slept in, and it almost destroyed David. David did not do what he should have done. He really did nothing wrong. I mean he trusted Joab to do the fighting, and he knew Joab would get the job done, but it was David’s job to do.

Listen and this is very important.

If you are part of this body, you may think it is okay for Hope to do what you are supposed to do. You may think it is okay for Lauren to do what you are supposed to do. You may think it is okay for JP to do what you are supposed to do, but you are wrong.

To him who knows to do good and do it not, to him it is sin.

Staying in bed once and watching Bonanza seems innocent. There is not a person in this building that would say there is anything wrong with that, but dear friend, it nearly destroyed David. No one else can do what you ought to be doing.

David is the perfect example of many in the church who think they can just skip the battle. Dear friend, the battle is fierce, and if it is to be won, it is going to take all of us. We do not have time for you to omit what you need to be doing.

Do you know who will be after you if you skip out and omit God?

C.H. Spurgeon: “If you are not seeking the Lord, the Devil is seeking you.”

C. Sins of omission are defeated sins.

James 4:15 “Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.””

To defeat sins of omission, you must begin each day by realizing that every day is a gift from God. If you do that, you can begin your day by praying, “Dear God, what do you want me to do today? What is your will for me today, dear Lord?”

Is that how you being your day? If it is not, who have you omitted?

I know some of you keep planners and write everything down. School teachers are notorious for doing so. In your planner, do you make time for God, or is your planner so full that you have omitted God completely?

Do you know if God has someone that he want you to pray for specifically?

1 Samuel 12:23 “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way.”

You literally cannot pray the way you are supposed to pray for everyone, but God, if you seek His will, will give you specific people for whom to pray.

Take our prayer list as an example. Is it wrong to pray for everyone on that list? No, as a matter of fact, we should, but if we sought God’s will, there might be one particular person on that list that God wants you to pray for specifically.

It is your prayer that God may be waiting to hear before he acts.

James 5:16 “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

If God is waiting and wanting you to specifically pray for Mrs. Marge, but you pray for everyone, you have not done what God wants, and you have committed the sin of omission. It looks innocent, but it could have great ramifications for both you and Mrs. Marge.

Don’t answer this out loud, but answer it honestly. How many of you pray specifically, as instructed in God’s Word, for those in authority over you including the President, the governor, the mayor, your boss, and your teachers?

The Bible says we are are to pray for those in authority so that we can have a peaceable life. It is a simple sin of omission, but how many of our problems in this society are caused by us not praying for those in authority specifically as we are told to do in God’s Word?

Has God told you to witness to someone specifically?

Ezekiel 3:18 “When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.”

There is someone in this world that only you can reach for Christ, and if you pray about it, God will lay that person on your heart, and if you do not go to that person, and that person dies and goes to hell, you will have blood on your hands when you appear at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Are we to share the gospel with everyone yes? Is there someone specifically God wants you to go to with the Gospel? YES, and if you do not, it is the sin of omission.

Has God asked you to reconcile with someone? Is there someone you to need to forgive or someone that needs your forgiveness? Is that your sin of omission.

You can defeat this terrible sin by asking the Lord daily for His will in your life.

Let me close with this.

If you claim to be saved, yet God never lays anyone on your heart to witness to or to pray for, something is wrong in your life.

As Peter asked, are you sure that you are saved? It is the ultimate sin of omission. It is the sin that will keep you out of heaven? They Holy Spirit is at this very moment telling you what you need to do, and this is what He is telling you.

Romans 10:9–10 “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Will you do that today? Will you believe in Jesus Christ and confess Him unto salvation, or will you continue in your sin of omission? The choice is yours. Will you continue to omit, or will you commit?