James 4:17—The sin of omission

Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and commander levitra individuellement does not do it, to him it is sin. James 4:17

Remember when James wrote in chapter 2, “For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery’ also said, ‘Do not commit murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law”? He was referring to two of the more recognized “sins of commission”, adultery and murder. The base word of “commission” is “commit”. The sins of commission are, therefore, “action” sins—sins you commit. Very often, the discussion of sin focuses on the http://cra-srl.it/viagra-online-a-buon-mercato-senza-prescrizione-medica/ sins of commission.

However, James refers to the “sins of omission” in verse 17. The base word of “omission” is “omit”, which means to leave something out, to neglect to do something, or to leave something undone. When I told my pre-algebra students to do numbers 1-20 for homework, but to omit #s 16 and 17, they reveled in that omission. They loved the word “omit”.

Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it…

If my students knew to do 1-20, omitting 16 and 17, but instead did 1-15, omitting not only 16 and 17, but #s 18, 19, and 20 as well, they did not get a pass. Their unauthorized omissions were counted against them. No excuses, no questions asked. You see, they knew to do those problems, but chose not to do them. I never said, “Oh, honey, you meant well; that’s OK.” Because it wasn’t.

James wrote very clearly: Anyone who knows the right thing to do and yet doesn’t do it…

…to him it is sin.

This greatly expands our view of the field of sin. How about that Scripture that keeps nagging at you, shining light on something you need to attend to or adjust? If you blow it off, you’ve sinned—the sin of omission. No excuses. No questions asked. Ever sense the leading of the Holy Spirit tugging at your heart to give a certain amount of money to a friend in trouble? Again, if you dodge it, you’ve sinned. No excuses. No questions asked. What if you’re in on a conversation among Christians and the topic of another believer comes up—and the expertly sharpened tongues come out? You know you need to step in to stop it, but you don’t. You’ve sinned. No excuses. No questions asked.

And you walk away each time a little less confident, a little more dejected, feeling weighed down by the load of your omission. Join the club of the redeemed who’ve blown it—we’re all members. It’s at times like this that we so desperately need to go before the Lord for mercy.

Simon Peter opened the door to denying the Lord by shrinking from declaring what he knew to be true about Him after Jesus’ arrest. He was snared by the sin of omission. You’ve heard the story. Here’s the tail-end of it:

But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly (Luke 22:60-62, emphasis added).

That was the best thing that could have happened to Peter under the circumstances—to meet the gaze of Jesus. When you feel disappointed in yourself, deflated, and embarrassed about your omission, that’s when you’re catching the Lord’s eye. Through your sense of conviction, He’s helping you to acknowledge the omission and is leading you to repentance. This is what was going on in Peter when he went out and wept bitterly.

But God didn’t leave Peter in that bitterly remorseful state. After Jesus rose from the dead, an angel instructed the women at the tomb, “But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you’” (Mark 16:7, emphasis added). Peter’s omission had left him feeling disgraced and diflucan without prescription amykenny.ca isolated, unworthy of the Lord he had denied. But here, the singling out of Peter was for honor, not shame. As for you, when you acknowledge your omissions to the Lord, He will lift you up from your place of defeat as well.

Be proactive. Practice yielding to those inward promptings of the Holy Spirit. Apply those Scriptures the Lord lays upon your heart. Do that right thing you know to do, and do it with all your heart. You will grow in wisdom and the fear of the Lord, and those sins of omission will become fewer and further between.

You will never regret omitting the omissions!

Dorothy

Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock…Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. Matthew 7:24, 26

If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. John 13:17