Our Omits May Be More Grievous Than Our Commits

In Christianity we often look at the sins that people commit and cringe, even despair.  We cringe and despair about the gross sins that people commit because of the devastating effect sin has on people’s lives.  Some of those sins affect our world to the degree that they have become a major divide in our country.  Those of us who are in Christ Jesus feel justified in our attitudes because many of the sins people commit are indeed heinous, exceedingly immoral, and downright wrong.  They adversely affect people’s lives and the trajectory of our country.  I believe that on the one hand we are right in speaking out against those sins.  As grievous as those sins may be, this writer is afraid that the things we have a more adverse impact than the obvious sins that people commit.   What is even more grievous is that the more grievous sins are committed by Christians.  Those sins are not what people do but what they don’t do.  The apostle James made this statement in James 4:17.   So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.  Why would I say that our sins of omission may be more grievous than our sins of commission? 

Let’s consider a few cases where we fail to do what we know is right and the impact our failure has on the body of Christ as well as our communities and country.  Let’s start with one of the regular practices of numerous Christians and work our way up.  Heb 10:24-25 states, And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25  not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.  There are Christians who know that they should be more faithful in attending church and serving.  We are servants of the living God.  When every person accepted Jesus, the Holy Spirit placed within them one or more spiritual gifts for the building up of the body. Christians know this yet they do not attend church regularly and serve faithfully thereby contributing to a handicapped church and directly adversely affecting the church’s ability to build the kingdom.  Building the kingdom leads to transformed lives that could also transform communities and nations.  More could be said on that one.  Here is another omission that is greatly practiced by Christians.  Jesus said in John 13:34-35,  A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  35  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."  Our greatest witness to the world is how we relate to one another in the body of Christ.  The fact that we are divided racially in the body of Christ is an extremely poor witness to the world that we belong to Jesus.  The unsaved people inherently know that some things are wrong even though they do them.  They know that there should be a difference in how the people of Jesus get along with each other as opposed to those who don’t know Jesus.  Having Jesus is supposed to make a difference, yet we who are in Christ Jesus relate no differently to people who are different from us in race, culture, economic standings, and life-style than those who are not in Christ.  Why are we not different?  We are not different because we are not committed to obeying all of God’s word.  We know what the word states.  We just don’t do it.  We go along with the prejudices of our cultures and communities as opposed to what we know the scripture teaches.  We contribute to the racial and political divide in our country because of what we don’t do.  We may not directly act prejudicially.  However, when we fail to act biblically, much promote prejudices directly.    Let’s look at one more omission that is huge among saints and impacts our world even more than the heinous sins that people commit.  In Luke 8:25  He (Jesus) said to them, "Where is your faith?" And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?"  Jesus asked the question where is your faith?   This may be the area of omission that is most practiced and most damaging to our nation and communities.  We Christians don’t believe enough in our God to exercise faith in Him for the changes in our own lives as well as our churches, communities, and nation.   Many of us have turned to the government as our savior.  I am appalled at the many Christians who do not trust Jesus for situations in their own personal lives as well as for the mission of the church.  We have a great and awesome God who can do exceedingly more abundantly than all we can ask or think yet we dishonor Him by not trusting Him to intervene in our world.  Our lack of faith may be the most awful omission in our faith.  Jesus asked the disciples, where is your faith?  My question to us is where is our faith?  Where is our faith in this great God who is sovereign?  So many of us fail to trust Him in our own affairs and we worry and despair needlessly.  How can we who are in Christ Jesus but don’t trust Him to move on our behalf, talk to sinful people about a God whom we can’t trust to deliver.  The right thing to do in all circumstances is to actively trust Jesus through prayer, commitment, and diligence, but we do not.  What we fail to do but should, is just as heinous as what we do and shouldn’t.

So then, could it be that while we must come out against those sins being forced upon us by our world, we must repent from not doing what we should do and begin doing what we’ve not done.  In this writer’s opinion, the effect of what we don’t do, has a greater impact on our lives, our churches, and the communities around us, than the sins that we advocate against.  The most grievous sins are the things that Christians should do but don’t.  They carry far greater consequences than those done by people who don’t know Jesus.     

Our omits are far more grievous than our commits.  What do you think?

Rev. Lawrence Robinson