Sin of Omission
Introduction:
1. There are two types of sins which deal with the free will of man.
2. Free Will is the ability of man to rationally choose to do or not do an action.
3. These are the only two choices.
4. The concept of waiting or withholding one's choice is really a choice to do no action.
5. Let us consider one of these this morning.
6. James deals with what the Christians were omitting from their lives.
7. They were omitting the commands of God.
8. As a result they were committing the sin of omission.
I) Application of the Sin of Omission
A) This is a conclusion in the form of a maxim or truth regarding the arrogant and insolent Christian.
1. Contrary to worldly ideas there is a universal standard of living.
2. The sin of omission is one of those universal standards.
a. Even in the United States legal system this law exists.
b. Every child is taught that omitting something that should be done is wrong.
c. Each person has a duty to do and failure to do is sinful.
3. Because this is a universal ethic we are not limited to the immediate context.
4. Its design is to express the guilt of the insolent and arrogant satisfied with their self-sufficiency.
a. John 9:41 - Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
b. The Pharisees and Sadducess recognized what the Law of Moses taught yet they were not doing it.
c. Jesus tells them that their sin is not push forward to the cross but continues with them regardless of their sacrifices.
B) Applicable in avoiding wrong.
1. We have an obligation to do that which is good when we know good.
a. We are not referring to a subjective good.
b. God is telling us that when we, through study and obedience, know what to do then we must do it.
c. The references to good signify right living or obedience to God.
d. It becomes our obligation because of the universal characteristic.
e. Since this law comes from God then we cannot refuse to do it.
2. We also have an obligation to avoid wrong by applying the wisdom we have gained from God's word.
a. Not only does this command imply that we have to do good but it also implies that we do good only.
b. Let's observe the concept of good and bad.
(i) Good is righteousness and bad is unrighteousness.
(ii) God did not create anything that was bad.
(iii) Therefore everything that exists is good.
(iv) When man does bad then he is doing something that has no value because value comes from what exists.
(v) Therefore we conclude that bad is the absence of good.
c. What we are getting at is the fact that when God requires us to do then when we do bad we are actually not doing good.
C) Applicable in avoiding doubtful propriety.
1. We have an obligation to avoid doubtful activity.
a. The law of doing good hangs on the balance of knowledge.
b. We do what we know is good and do only good things.
c. What happens we come across something that we are unsure about?
d. The response should be avoidance of that activity at all costs.
e. Since we must do what is good then we must refrain from doubtful things till we come to knowledge of the subject.
(i) "Till" is an interesting word in that it associates actions with time.
(ii) The context of this idea impresses upon us the fact that once we can come to the knowledge of the goodness of the doubtful activity then we can do it.
(iii) Conversely, to come to know the evil of the activity in question means that we cannot do it.
(iv) However, not mere prudence does not provide man a reason to refrain from a doubtful activity
(v) If we don't know then we must step around them until we know.
2. To do a doubtful activity shows God the arrogance and presumptuous attitude towards God's law.
a. To act upon something that is doubtful assumes that you know the good of the action in question.
b. You have taken the opportunity to declare an action good regardless of what God says about the subject.
c. Also the person willing to "chance it" is really saying that he is the exception and chance doesn't apply to him.
d. What will happen if you find out that what you did was bad? You have fallen from God.
e. This in fact is no different than the presumptuous confidence we have previous explored in James 4.
II) Guilt of Committing the Sin of Omission
A) Many have a faith only picture of the religious life.
1. Contributing to the guilt of the sin of omission is the fact that one who does not do good lives a faith only life.
a. Evidently these Christians believed in God to provide for them but they were going to do nothing to obey God.
b. They are like the ones who in the face of hungry and thirsty neighbors wave their hands and say, "Be ye warmed and filled."
2. The sin of omission comes from the need to have faith plus works.
a. To do evil is to not work good.
b. To not work good is to have a faith only view of life.
B) The sinner is guilty because he was shirking his responsibilities.
1. We responsible for a great many things.
a. Men are responsible for their families, the 5 aspects worship to God, and the advancement of His kingdom.
b. Women are responsible for keeping their families, for being a part of worship, and advancing the cause of Christ.
2. The example of David assists us with this fact.
a. Ps 19:13 - Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
b. David tells us to avoid the Philosophers stone and remain faithful by doing good.
C) Presumption brings one to guilt concerning his faithfulness.
1. Those aware of how little they do for the Lord must pretend to do more than they really do.
a. Matthew 21:19 - And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever. And presently the fig tree withered away.
b. The fig tree was presumptuous in its having leaves before it had fruit the way God designed it.
c. Christ was relating a subject of extreme importance by teaching us to follow the pattern God wrote for us or we will wither and die.
2. Essentially our guilt turns us from the fruitless and Arrogant to the Hypocrite.
a. Much like the fig tree
b. It is the hypocrite who complains the sermon is too long and needs to be shorter but does not study and home and this is the only Bible education to him.
c. The sins we observe are often times sins of omission but do we recognize that to sin in this manner is to sin because we are presumptuous enough to think that we know better than God.
III) Result of Not Repenting of the Sin of Omission
A) Unrepentant will be condemned by what they had not done.
1. Matthew 25:42-43 - For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
2. These people are hellbound in their sins.
3. The result of this sin is the hardening of the heart faster than anything else.
B) God looks upon inactivity in His kingdom as sin.
1. Every judgment parable in the New Testament concerns itself with the sin of omission.
2. Not doing good means you are doing anything.
a. Have you ever heard someone say that this or that is not bad and say that this or that is not good.
b. A courtroom declares that a person who does not evil nor was good is wicked and guilty of a sins
Posted in: Book of James, Sermon Outlines, Sin