Sin And Iniquity

What is the difference between sin and iniquity? Haven't we heard all this time that sin is sin? Indeed, we have. However, Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23, "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

Notice how Jesus did not call these people sinners? But rather, "workers of iniquity", "ye that work iniquity". This to me, emphasizes that there IS a difference. While studying the scriptures and other tools on the subject to prepare this message, I came across several articles concerning "sin of omission" and "sins of commission". While I was reading these articles, I couldn't help but notice the root words of omission and commission. The root word for omission would be omit. To omit means to leave out. Whereas commission means something that is active.

How many times have you heard the expression, "Out of commission"? What does that mean? It means something that was working, is no longer working. Your car breaks down, it is out of commission. The best way to understand the omission part is to think of something like movie credits. There may be an actor in a movie who made a brief appearance, but in the credits, that person's name was omitted. Meaning it was left out. It's not that they weren't in the picture, they were just left out of the credits.

Simply put, when we leave something God commands us in His Word out of something, we leave Him out of it. If we leave out our prayer time with the Lord, we leave Him out of a part of our lives. If we strike up conversation with someone and we leave out the blessings of God we received that week, we leave Him out of the conversation. Case in point, when a church leaves the Gospel of Jesus Christ out of the pulpit, you leave HIM out of the pulpit!

If we don't have our daily prayer time, if we don't read our Bibles that day, we leave God out of our lives, even if just for a time. Nonetheless, we have left God out of it, and we are now guilty of sins of omission. But what of sins of commission? Best example of that would be the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Luke 10:30-37, "Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise, a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So, he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ So, which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Two men, a priest and a Levite both saw a man lying on the side of the road literally beaten half to death. But instead of doing what they knew was right and help this man, the crossed the street and walked right passed him, never giving him another thought. It was a Levite of all people. Levites and Jews in those days were sworn enemies. But this natural enemy would be the one to have compassion for this man and tended to his wounds and took care of him. It's like a viper rending aid and comfort to a bunny rabbit! This was unheard of! No one ever heard of a natural enemy having mercy on his foe like that!

And then Jesus asked the question, "So, which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” Obviously, it was his so-called "sworn enemy". The priest and the Levite KNEW it would have been right to help this poor man, but instead, they ignored him and left him there to die! In God's eyes, what they did was no better than the thieves who robbed him! That is a sin of commission. To know what the right thing to do is and still not do it.