Introduction
I want to talk to you today on this subject, the sin of omission. Now, most of us think of sin as something that we do wrong. That is, we have a list of things that are wrong and we say, “Well, we better not do them.” Don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t kill, don’t commit adultery, don’t watch X-rated movies, don’t drink liquor, don’t do this, and don’t do that. And, we have a dirty dozen. We have an idea that if we don’t do those things, then we’re all right. But, I want you to notice what God’s Word says here in James chapter 4 and verse 17. James chapter 4 and verse 17: “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). The sin of failing to do what we ought to do. “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” Now, there are all kinds of sins, there are moral sins of the flesh, temperamental sins of the disposition, ethical sins of conduct, spiritual sins of pride, social sins of bigotry and prejudice, but the greatest sin, the sin of all sins, believe it or not, is none of these, but it is the sin of omission. Very frankly, all of these other sins come about because of the sin of omission. Because you see, the sin of omission is failing to do what you ought to do. No man can do two things at one time, and any man who is doing what he ought to do cannot do what he ought not to do. Isn’t that right? And so, all of these other sins of things that we ought not to do, happen because we’re not doing what we ought to do. And, the Bible says, “To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” Very clearly, with emphasis, I want to tell you, it’s a greater sin to fail to do what you ought to do than to do what you ought not to do, because if you’re doing what you ought to do, you can’t be doing what you ought not to do. “To him that knoweth…” I can’t say that again, but it’s true. “To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
What is the sin of omission? Well, let’s back up and get the context for this passage of Scripture that we’re reading here, in James chapter four he begins in verse 13: “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil”—and remember what we’ve told you, whenever you see a therefore, see what it’s there for. It refers back to what he’s already said—“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:13–17).
Now, let me say three things about the sin of omission. Right? First of all, I want to say that it is a deceiving sin, a deceiving sin. You know, you see the sins of commission are easily seen, but the sin of omission is not as easily seen. To illustrate it, James gives us an illustration of a boastful businessman. He was a first century, wheeler- dealer, but he’s got a lot of brothers that live in the twentieth century. I have an idea that it’s right around January, or at least whatever the first of the year was for this man, so long ago. And, he’s making his business plans for the coming year. I want you to see him now as he begins to think like so many of you have done, these early days, these opening days of this New Year. First of all, he plans the period of time. Look at him, and he says in verse 13: “Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow, we will go into such and such a city, and continue there a year.” That is, he says, “Tomorrow, the next day, I’m going to begin my years work.” I see him with his calendar now, and he’s putting marks on his calendar. He says, “Well, let’s see, today or tomorrow I’ll do so and so. How long? Well, it’ll take about a year to get this project done.”
Not only is he planning the period, but he’s planning the place. He says here that, “I will go to such a city.” Now, he has his maps out there as well as his calendar. He’s done his marketing research. He says, “That’s the city, that’s the place, that’s where I’m going.”
Well, not only does he plan the period and the place, he plans the procedure. He said, “This is what I’m going to do. I, on a particular time, am going to go to a particular place and here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to buy and I’m going to sell.” You see, he may have had a degree in marketing from the University of Jerusalem. He said, “Now, this is a good place here, I really believe my product will go this year in that place.” So, he’s got it all mapped up.
And, not only has he done that, he’s also planned the profit. He says, “I will buy and I will sell and I will get gain.” He’s got it all doped out. He’s got it all figured out. Do you say, “What did he do wrong?” Well, really nothing, really nothing. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with what this man was doing. The Bible is certainly not against planning. The Bible is not against thoughtfulness. The Bible is not against business. The Bible is not against hard work. And, the Bible is not against making money, as a matter of fact, it encourages all of those things. Just read the book of Proverbs. The book of Proverbs is a manual on all of those things, but as you read this story you find no mention of God, no prayer, no seeking the will of God, no honoring of God. He’s just a boastful businessman who is running his life as if God did not exist.
Now, the man who doesn’t believe in God is a fool, you’ll agree with that won’t you? I hope so; the Bible says, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Psalm 14:1).
But, may I tell you that there is a bigger fool than the man who doesn’t believe in God. The bigger fool is the man who does believe in God and then doesn’t live like it. I mean, he is a bigger fool than the man who doesn’t believe in God. The man who says, “There is a God,” and then completely leaves God out of his life; that’s what this man had done. Here is a man who is living as if God did not exist. And so, if you’d ask him, are you doing anything wrong? He’d just say, “No, I’m not doing anything wrong. Why, I’m doing everything right. I’ve got my calendar down here. I’ve got my sales charts here. I’ve got my market research here. I I’m making a living for my family. I am doing everything that is good and decent and honorable.” He is condemned for what he failed to do. It is the sin of omission.
I mean, if you study the Bible, you’ll find out about the sin of omission. For example, Jesus one day was walking along and he was hungry and he saw a fig tree. It was a time for figs and there were no figs on that tree. It was barren. And, Jesus cursed it. It doesn’t mean that He used bad language against it, but He put a curse on that fig tree. The only thing that I know of that Jesus ever put a curse on, was a barren fig tree. Why did Jesus curse it? Because it bore poison fruit? No. Because it bore no fruit.
Remember the parable of the talents, where a king went away, or a landowner went away or a businessman, whatever he was, and he gave to his servants various talents. And, some of the servants invested talent and received revenue for their master, but one took his talent and buried it in the ground. When his master returned, he called him a wicked and a slothful servant. Had he wasted the money? Had he squandered the money? Had he stolen the money? No. He simply did nothing with it. And, for that reason, his Lord condemned him. It was the sin of omission. Jesus gave a parable about the Good Samaritan. Do you remember the story of the man who was going from Jerusalem down to Jericho and he fell among thieves. And, Jesus told the story of how a priest and Levite passed him by. Now, did the priest and Levite rob that man? No. Did they beat that man? No. They just simply passed him by. All of these things illustrate what I’m trying to say to you. It is the sin of omission which is such a deceiving sin.
Most people have an idea that if they don’t do certain things, then they’re good Christians. If that’s true, the dog I used to have is probably the best Christian I ever knew. He didn’t steal, didn’t drink liquor, and didn’t do all of those other things. No, my friend, listen, listen, “To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” My prayer before God, quite frankly, is that God will kick some of the self-righteousness out of some of us today. Some of us today who think that we’re doing “quite well, thank you,” because there are certain things we don’t do. But to Jesus, to James, and the rest of the Bible, we must give records “To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
I’ll tell you something else about it. Not only is it a deceiving sin, but it’s such a respectable sin. You don’t know that God may have told me to pray for someone today, or that God may have told me to witness to someone today, or God may have told me to give something, or God may have told me to make restitution. You don’t know that, see. But, you see, the sin of omission is such a respectable sin. Isn’t it? Because we don’t know how God is dealing with other people’s hearts. “To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
Now, I want to say, not only it is a deceitful sin, but it is a destructive sin, a destructive sin. Look in verses 15 and 16: “For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.” Why? Why is it so evil? What is wrong with this sin? Well, let’s just think for a moment. Why are men and women, boys and girls lost and going to hell? Because of the sin of omission or the sin of commission? Well, let’s get technical. Men, women, boys, and girls go to hell because of what they have done, the sin of commission. But, they fail to go to Heaven because of what they have not done. Men go to hell because of what they’ve done; their sin condemns them to hell. But, they miss Heaven because of what they’ve not done.
Now, you say, “What are you talking about?” Well, John chapter 3 verse 18: “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). You see, a man doesn’t go to hell today because he lies and steals and cheats and commits adultery, those sins have been paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. The sin that condemns a man today, the sin that that causes a man to go to hell today is not the sin of commission; it is the sin of omission. The Bible says, “He that believes is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed.” Now, that tells me that no matter how outwardly righteous you may be today if you’ve not believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are lost because of what you fail to do.
Years ago, I knew about a tract. On one side of the tract, it said, “What must I do to be saved?” And, underneath it said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” On the backside of the tract, it said, “What must I do to be lost?” And, underneath that there was nothing, just nothing. That’s exactly right. What must a man do to be lost? Do you have to burn down a church? Do you have to blaspheme God? Do you have to tear up a Bible? Do you have to do some heinous sin? No! Listen to the Scripture again, “He that believeth on Him,”—on Jesus—“is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” I’m talking about the destructiveness of this sin. It’s the reason men are lost. It’s the reason that so many of us have minds that are messed up. It’s the reason that so many are doing, what I call stinking thinking. It is because of the sin of omission.
You see, when God made your mind, God made your mind where it must think something. Have you ever been awake at night and couldn’t go to sleep, and try to put your mind in neutral? That’s the most difficult thing. You say, “Well, I won’t think of anything so I’ll go to sleep.” And, you’re thinking of not thinking of anything. I mean, it’s a, it’s a vicious trap, because God has made your mind where your mind must think something. I heard about a little boy in school, and a teacher asked him, “How do you spell vacuum?” “Well,” he said, “I’m not sure I can spell it, but I’ve got it in my head.” Now, dear friend, there is no vacuum in your head, you are going to be thinking something. And, if you are not thinking what is right, you are going to be thinking what is wrong. You see, the Bible says, “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).
How do you keep from thinking wrong thoughts? By thinking right thoughts. “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:8). Your mind is like a garden. Now, if you’ve ever planted a garden, I’ve only planted one in my life, and it didn’t work out and for this very reason. When you plant a garden, that’s not enough. It may be absolutely beautiful. You have got to weed the garden. You have got to weed the garden. If you don’t weed the garden, I mean, you don’t have to go out there and plant weeds in the garden. The weeds, I don’t know where they come from, they’re like fungus among us. They just they just come. The seeds, the spores are in the air and the weeds are going to be there. And, my dear friend, I’m going to tell you if you don’t keep the garden of your mind, your mind will become a garden of weeds. It is not the sin of commission, going to see X-rated movies so much, as it is the sin of omission, failing to saturate yourself with the Word of God. That’s the reason it is so imperative that you have a quiet time with God every day. It’s so imperative that you load up on the Word of God so that you can meditate on the Word of God.
Now, let me give you an example of what I’m talking about. How did King David get in trouble? Well, King David got in trouble in his mind before he got in trouble with Bathsheba. King David first of all lusted before he committed adultery. Well, why did he lust? Well, turn to Second Samuel chapter 11 for a moment. Let me show you something. The Bible says, and this is concerning David just before he committed adultery with Bathsheba. Second Samuel 11, beginning in verse 1: “And it came to pass, after the year was expired…”—now, underscore this—“…at the time when kings go forth to battle…” It was a time when he, as the commander and chief of the armies of Israel, should have been leading in the battle. “…at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him…” David said, “I’m going to get somebody to take my place, a surrogate.“ …that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But…” And, notice the word “but,” the word “but,” it doesn’t say “and,” it says “but.” And, the word but is put there to show it is in contradistinction to what ought to be happening. “But David tarried still at Jerusalem.” Look at the word “still.” I mean, that evidently God has been dealing with him but he’s still at Jerusalem. “And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed…” Do you know what evening tide is? Friend, that’s when the sun is starting to set. Now, what’s a man doing in bed at that time? I mean when he ought to be on the battlefield, and he’s in bed. Doesn’t sound like the David that I know and love. Doesn’t sound like the great man of God, the warrior king. It’s late in the afternoon, and here he is lolling in bed. He’s in bed. “…and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon” (2 Samuel 11:1–2).
Now, have you ever heard it said that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop? Do you know why David got in trouble? David got in trouble because he failed to be doing what he ought to be doing and therefore he was a snare for Satan. It was not aggressive lust. It was neglected duty. I am telling you, my dear friend, that the sin of omission is the root of all sin. It’s the reason why many people have broken homes. Why are some marriages just coming apart, unraveling before our eyes? What does a man have to do to destroy his home? Does he have to beat his wife or curse her? No, just neglect her.
I heard about a man whose wife said, “Well you never tell me that you love me.” He said, “Look, when we got married, I told you I loved you. If I change my mind, I’ll let you know.” Now, there are a lot of fellows who kind of feel that way. They fail to encourage their wives. My dear friend, you don’t fall in love. You grow in love. Love is not like a diamond, that once you have it, you just keep it and treasure it. Love is like a flower. It has to be cultivated. It has to be nurtured. It has to be watered. It has to be cared for. The reason that some of us have homes that are in deep trouble is not the sin of commission primarily, it is the sin of omission. Do you want your church to fail? What do you have to do? Start a church fuss. Get false doctrine into the church. Well, those things can hurt a church, but do you know how most churches are hurt? Not by sin of commission, but by sin of omission.
Let me give you another text. Here’s a text that a lot of people don’t understand. It’s Numbers Chapter thirty-two, and verse twenty-three. Moses is warning the tribes of Gad and Reuben. Now, let me tell you, before I read the text to you what is happening. The children of Israel are on their way into the Promise Land. And, when they’re on the east side of Jordan, they come to a beautiful place where the grass is real tall. The tribes of Gad and Reuben have cattle. And, they say, “You know Moses, you’re talking a lot about the promised land over on the other side of Jordan, over on the west bank, but we like it over here, on the east bank. It’s just beautiful. Look at this grass. I’ll tell you what we’d like to do Moses, we’d like to take our wives and our children, our cattle and all that we have, and we’ll just settle down here. We want this for our inheritance. Give us this land over here on the east side of Jordan.” Moses said, “Well, okay. If that’s what you want, you may have it. But,” he said, “I’m going to tell you something. In the land of Canaan, where your brothers are going, there are Canaanites and giants. There are wild beasts. There’s a battle that’s going to take place. And, you’re brothers are going across Jordan and they’re going to fight. Now, you can stay here, and you can have this piece of land if you want it. But, when the battle starts, you’re going to have to leave your cattle and your children and your wives and you’re going to have to come and fight with your brothers. And, then after the battle is won for Canaan, you can come back over here on the wrong side of Jordan and you can enjoy this property over here. But,” he said, “If you don’t come and fight with your brothers,” and here’s our text, right here, Numbers 32 verse 23: “But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). Now, what was the sin? Failing to do what they ought to do. If you will not do so, “behold you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.” What is he saying? He’s saying that no man has a right to be at peace when his brothers are at war. When your brothers are over there fighting for the land of Canaan, you can’t just sit around and say, “Well, I’ve got what I want.”
Now, may I tell you my dear friend, that the tribes of Gad and Reuben have plenty of brothers who are alive in the twentieth century. There are plenty of members in this church who are quite content to sit on the east side of Jordan while the members of this church fought to build these buildings, to raise the money, to get this job done to build this church. They just say, “Hey, we’ve got it made where we are. If they want to do it, just go ahead and do it. That’s fine.” If the other tribes want to go claim Canaan, let them go claim Canaan. We’re fine just like we are on the wrong side of Jordan. I want to tell you dear friend, what Moses said. Moses said, “You belong to the people of Israel, and their battle, is your battle.”
We have a lot of people today, members of this church. Oh, they enjoy this church. They want to eat the fat and drink the sweet. They want to sit on the wrong side of Jordan and they say, “Feed me pastor.” They love Deeper Life Conferences. They love Bible conferences. They never win souls. They want the victories, but they don’t want the battles. When the invitation is given, and I’ll be pleading for souls, they’ll be clock- watchers. They’ll say, “Hey, I’m missing the cafeteria line.” I mean, they enjoy the church. They enjoy the tall grass. They enjoy the wrong side of Jordan.
You see, my dear friend, what do you have to do to destroy the church? Do you have to fight the church? No. Just fail to do your part. And, if you fail to do your part, behold, you sin against the Lord. And, be sure your sin will find your out.
I heard about a man whose employer said to him, “You’re fired!” He said, “Why? Ididn’t do anything.” He said, “That’s why you’re fired. That’s why you’re fired.”
Let me give you a parable. There was a man who lived in the twentieth century. His house was new. Two cars and a boat graced his garage and carport. A color television gleamed in his den. His family was healthy, and lo good fortune did smile upon him. As was his custom, when he was in town, when the fish were not biting, when he was not at the lake, when company did not come, when he could get up on time, when he was not too tired, when there was nothing else he could do, he went regularly to church. On these occasions, once every five to six weeks, he spent his time deploring the decaying state of the church. The Sunday school was low in its attendance. The choir was skimpy. The congregation was small. The offering was poor. And, the preacher was discouraged. “They ought to do better,” he said. “What do they think this thing of religion is about anyway? Surely they could do better than this.” So, vacation and days off came and went until many moons had passed. As it is in the way of the world, this man’s children grew up. He knew that they did not go to the church, because they, down at the church had not interested them in religion. The man’s health failed. One day he noticed something strange. They, down at the church, came by no more. They did not visit him in the hospital. Verily, verily he was angry. But, being a great heart, he decided he would forgive them and go to the church once more. But, behold, when he arrived, there was no church, only a 7-11 store. “Where is the church?” he demanded. “Dead” was the answer. “Oh,” he moaned. “They should not have let it die.” “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
Those of you who are sitting here this morning, who do you think turns on these lights? Who do you think enlists these ushers? Who do you think takes care of the babies over in the nursery? Who do you think trains this choir? Who do you think pays the mortgage? Who do you think does this? Did you know there are people who think they do God a wild favor when they get here on Sunday and listen to a sermon? I mean, they say, “Hey, look, look, I got here.” My dear friend, a lot of folks are parking on somebody else’s nickel. Did you know that? Let me tell you something friend, “To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
You don’t have to fight to church. No man has a right to be at peace when his brother’s at war. This sin is such a destructive sin. It’s the reason that so many people are spiritual weaklings. I mean, we have folks today who rather than standing up against Satan, they’re just folding up. I mean, their lives, their families, everything is coming apart. And, you talk to them and say, “Well, I just don’t have the strength. I don’t know. I don’t understand. I don’t have the faith, I don’t have the fortitude, I don’t have the will. I just don’t have it. I just can’t do it. Other people seem to be able to do it, but I don’t.” Suppose you came to me and you say, “Pastor, I’m physically weak. I can hardly get one foot in front of another one. I can’t get out of bed in the morning. I just tremble all day long. I have no energy.” I say, “Well, my goodness man. Do you think you have some illness, some sickness?” He says, “Well, I don’t have any signs of an illness, but I’m just so weak.” I said, “Well, maybe it’s your diet, what are you eating?” “Well, I don’t eat anything.” I say, “What?” “I don’t eat anything.” “You don’t eat?” “Well, I eat on Sunday mornings when somebody feeds me a little bit. But, that’s all I eat.” “You mean, just once a week, on Sunday morning, you sit down and somebody feeds you a little pre-digested food.” “Yea, that’s all I eat. I’m just so weak.” “Well, no wonder you’re so weak.” I say, “Friend, you better get some nourishment or you’re just going to die.”
There are a lot of folks out here who say, “Well, I don’t understand why I’m so weak in my Christian life. After all I come to church every now and then and listen to pastor.” Friend, you better be getting up and feasting on the Word of God, day by day, spending that time alone with God in this book or you’re going to be anemic. Listen to this; it’s the reason that so many Christians are weak. It’s not the sin of commission. It’s the sin of omission, failing to do what you ought to do.
Somebody wrote these words, “Everyday in Africa, every morning, a gazelle wakes up. And, that gazelle knows if he can’t outrun the fastest lion, he’s going to die. Every morning in Africa a lion wakes up. And, that lion knows if he can’t outrun the slowest gazelle, he’s going to starve. And, so whether you’re a lion or whether you’re a gazelle, you wake up running. Because, if you don’t, you’re not going to make it.”
Now, my dear friend, let me tell you something. Your life is like that. You can’t just sit around. Spurgeon said, “If you’re not seeking the Lord, the devil is seeking you. If you’re not seeking the Lord, judgment is on your heels.” You just can’t wake up and sit around spiritually.
Well, let me go on to the third and final point of this simple message. I’m saying that this sin of omission, this sin of omission if number one, it my dear friend, is a deceitful sin. I mean, few of us realize we’re guilty of the sin of omission. It is a dangerous sin. It is the father sin, the mother sin of all other sin. Because if you’re doing what you ought to be doing, you cannot be doing what you ought not to be doing, but thank God it may be a defeated sin.
We can deal with the sin of omission. Look again here in the book of James chapter 4, verse 15: “For that ye ought to say if the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that.” Now, what you need to do, my dear friend, is to see every day as a gift from God, as we preached not long ago. And, in that in that day, you understand that God has a will for that day. And, you say, “Dear God, what do you want me to do? Lord God what is your will for me?” That’s again the quiet time. You don’t live your life as a practical atheist.
“Lord what is your will? You’ve given me this day, if the Lord wills, I shall live and do this or that.”
Is there somebody God wants you to pray for? You see the Bible says, “God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you” (1 Samuel 12:23). You can’t pray for everybody, but God gives you prayer assignments. I have a prayer notebook, and in that prayer notebook, there are some names in that notebook. And, I pray for these people. I’d sin against God. It’s my duty; it’s my responsibility to pray. You have people, my dear friend, that if you’re not praying for, you’re sinning against God. You pray for your children? You pray for your pastor? Do you pray for your president? God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you.
Has God told you to witness to someone? He will if you listen. Ezekiel chapter 3 verse 18: “When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand” (Ezekiel 3:18). Now, what does that mean? God says to you, “You go witness to that neighbor. You go witness to that business associate.” And, you don’t do it. You’re so lily-livered; you don’t go witness. You procrastinate.
Suppose a man is to be executed in the state of Tennessee. And, suppose Governor Ned McWherter pardons that man. And, suppose Governor Ned McWherter comes to you and says, “Here, I want you to deliver the pardon.” And, suppose you take that pardon and put it in your breast pocket and say, “I’ll do it.” Then a golf game comes, or a business trip comes or a family reunion comes and then you pick up the newspaper and see that such and such a person is executed. You reach up there in your pocket and there’s the pardon, it’s already been signed. The man has already been pardoned, but you failed to deliver it. That man will die alright, but friend, you have bloody hands. Wouldn’t you agree? You have bloody hands because simply you fail to deliver the message.
Now, you can’t witness to everybody. There are five billion people. You can’t witness to them all. You say, “Well, then it’s not my fault.” My dear friend, if you will get quiet and get alone with God and pray, and seek the face of God, I’ll guarantee you, God will lay someone on your heart. Don’t tell me it’s not your fault. It is your fault. Number one, because you didn’t even pray and seek the face of God. You say, “Well, I don’t know the will of God.” That’s not the question. Are you seeking the will of God? Are you saying, “This is a day that you’ve given me. I want to know your will and I want to say, ‘If the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that.’”
Is there somebody that God has asked you to go to and seek reconciliation with? Is there somebody that you need to forgive or somebody that needs your forgiveness? Dwight L. Moody said, “One sin with Christians, which is perhaps the most difficult of all to deal with is unforgiveness.” I believe this sin is keeping more people from having power with God than any other thing.” Is that your sin of omission? Just failing to go to that brother, that sister, and say, “I was wrong, or you’re wrong, but whatever, let’s get it right.”
Has God told you to give something? I mean has God lain something on your heart? A while back God said to me, “Give thus and such to a certain person.” I had no reason to give it to him. Well, very frankly, I’ll tell you what it was. A hundred dollars I had in my pocket. And, God said, “Give it to him.” I said, “I don’t even know if he needs it.” God said, “No difference, give it to him.” “Well,” you say, “Maybe it was autosuggestion.” Well, maybe it was, but I didn’t want to take a chance. You say, “You’re bragging.” I’m not bragging, I’m using it as an illustration, that’s it. What I’m just simply saying to you my dear friend is, “Are you listening to God?” Are you listening to God? I mean, has God told you to pray? Has God told you to witness? Has God told you to give? Has God told you to reconcile? That’s the way this sin is defeated. Listen, listen, listen. It is a greater sin to fail to do what you ought to do, than to do what you ought not to do.
I’m finished, but let me imagine you in a room right now. This room is filled with darkness, and you want to get the darkness out of the room, and you want to get the light into the room. All right, you see yourself here in this room now. Now, you want the light. You want light. But there’s so much darkness in this room. How are you going to get the darkness out of this room? I mean can you can you talk the darkness out? Can you take a broomstick and beat the darkness out? Can you take a shovel and shovel the darkness out? You say, “Of course not pastor.” How are you going to get the darkness out? My dear friend, it’s so simple. Just let the light in. Just open the doors, the windows, or turn that switch, and when the light comes, the darkness must go. It cannot stay. You cannot walk into any room and turn on the dark, as long as the light is there. But, you can walk into any room and turn on the light while the dark is there, and the darkness must flee.
Conclusion
Now, some of you are having difficulties living the way you ought. You say, “One of these days, I’m going to get my life right, and then I’ll be a Christian.” Do you know what you remind me of? You remind me of that man in that room, who said, “As soon as I get the darkness out of this room, I’ll let in the light.” Friend, give your heart to Jesus just like you are. I mean just like you are, all of the sin and darkness in your life, you’ll never get it out until you bring Jesus in. The Bible says, “Be not overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.” The great sin in our lives is not the sin of commission. It’s not the darkness; it’s the failure to let in the light. “To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
I want every head bowed. While heads are bowed, I want to ask a question. How many of you know that you know, if you died today, you know if you died today, you know if you died today, you’d go straight to Heaven? May I see you hand? Hold it up. You know it. You absolutely know it. Praise God. Now, if you couldn’t lift your hand. Or, if you lifted your hand, but your conscience smitten, and your conscience said that you shouldn’t lift your hand, I want to pray for you today, that you might know Jesus as your personal Savior. Father God, for these who have doubts, I know dear Lord, that they in their own way love and respect you, or they would not be here in the house of God today. But, I pray dear God, that rather than just struggling against the dark and trying not to do wrong, that they might just open their hearts and let in the light of the Lord Jesus today. Oh, God that they might be saved by trusting Christ, in His name I pray, Amen.
