Daily Devotional For Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Good morning or good day Southside. It is Wonderful Wednesday — also called “hump” day because you are half-way through the week. When you think of sin, what comes to your mind? The Bible uses different words for sin but the basic use of the word in the Old Testament and New Testament means “to miss the mark, or miss the goal.” I read an article about what I am going to talk about today. 

You can read the full article at this web link: https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/is-the-sin-of-omission-really-that-serious.html??aps=b73798f7faef538283446d5c1dd57f2674e9f3b86488f0de50a1def10e1b93e4&utm_content=1129175_20240430_63&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=lst_bst_todays_bible_breakout&utm_source=newsletter&bt_ee=2RFg6GppJKej034gUn8tq4XxKtKlFyCj5Crz0acH0YA3aXiZkgvzV+SYq5DLr7Gz&bt_ts=1714469135373. I took some from it to share with you and then added my own thoughts from God’s Word.

So, I ask you again. When you hear the word sin, what comes to your mind? For many people, they tend to think sins they do not necessarily commit in the list of the Ten Commandments. Sins such as murder, adultery, lying, worshipping an idols, and not honoring one’s parents. Bible scholars call the sins in the Ten Commandment as “sins of commission.” Meaning these are sins we intentionally planned to do. These are sins that we perpetuate into action. Murder would be one for example.

But have you ever heard of the sins of omission? These two are not the same. The sins of omission are those sins or acts we commit that are not right in God’s sight. It is the sins we commit when we do not act in a way that honors God. For example, we are commanded by God to care for a person in need. A sin of omission is we ignore God’s command to do this. 

If you look up the word “omission” in the dictionary, it means “to exclude, to leave out, to fail to do, to neglect.” So, when you commit a sin of omission, then you failed to do the right thing. For example, Jesus commands us this in Matthew 5:43-44, “You have heard that it was said, `You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ (44) But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you . . .” (ESV). Therefore, the sin of omission based on this passage is to neglect to love and pray for your enemies. 

Jesus said this in Luke 9:23, “And He said to all, `If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me’” (ESV). The sin of omission would be to ignore taking up one’s cross so you can follow Jesus.  Jesus said this in Matthew 28:1-20a, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (ESV). Refusing to make disciples wherever you go is a sin of omission. 

So, does God consider the sin of omission just as bad a sin as the sin of commission? Yes. Look at James 2:10, “Whoever breaks one commandment is guilty of breaking them all” (GNT). The Living Bible puts it this way: “And the person who keeps every law of God but makes one little slip is just as guilty as the person who has broken every law there is.” James 4:17 says, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (ESV).

God has some very harsh words for people who commit the sin of omission. Look at 1 John 3:17-18, “If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister[a] in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? (18) Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions” (NLT). God says we can’t claim we love God if we ignore someone with a need.

The truth is: all of us are sinners. Do you really believe you are a sinner? Or do you tend to compare yourself to others and feel you are probably better than most and thus you are in a safe position with God. We tend to compare ourselves to the murderer, or serial killer or the child molester or the Wall Street Stock Investor who stole millions and feel, “Well, I am not as bad as they are because I have not done what they have done.” It is easy to go that route, but Jesus made it clear — we can be guilty of some of the worst sins on the planet due to our thoughts. Jesus said this in Matthew 5:27-28, “The laws of Moses said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ (28) But I say: Anyone who even looks at a woman with lust in his eye has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (NLT). Jesus extended the sins of commission and the sins of omission to more than just outward acts. We can commit both in our heart and thoughts. 

To me, the best way to avoid the sins of omission is by being in the Word daily. God’s Word. Why? Look at the verses below as to why God’s Word is the best tool we have to avoid committing the sins of commission and the sins of omission:

• Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires” (NLT). 
• Look at Jeremiah 23:29, “Does not my word burn like fire?” says the Lord. “Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes a rock to pieces?” (NLT). 
• Look at Isaiah 55:11, “It is the same with My Word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it” (NLT). 
• Look at Psalm 119:11-16, “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You. (12) I praise You, O Lord; teach me Your decrees. (13) I have recited aloud all the regulations You have given us. (14) I have rejoiced in Your laws as much as in riches. (15) I will study Your commandments and reflect on Your ways. (16) I will delight in Your decrees and not forget Your Word” (NLT). 
• Meditating on God’s Word keeps us from sin. Look at Psalm 1:1-2, “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. (2) But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night” (NLT).
• God’s Word is pure. Look at Psalm 12:6, “The Lord’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over” (NLT).
• God’s Word is powerful. Look at Psalm 19:7, “The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple” (NLT).
• God’s Word shines out for us to know which way to go. Look at Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path” (NLT).
• God’s Word never changes no which way the cultural wind is blowing. Look at Psalm 118:89, “Your eternal word, O Lord, stands firm in heaven” (NLT). 
• God’s Word has no errors in it. Thus no matter the year, it is relevant. Look at 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. (17) God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work” (NLT). 

Whatever your sin may be: the sin of commission or the sin of omission, admit it. To not do that is demonic and evil. Scott Peck, is a Christian psychiatrist who was not a Christian when he started his practice. He eventually came to Christ and discovered that he now had terms to describe the issues people had: sin, evil, demonic and etc. Read below this story by him:

“Psychiatrist Scott Peck wrote of meeting with a depressed 15-year-old named Bobby, who was increasingly troubled after his 16-year-old brother killed himself with a .22 rifle. Peck tried to probe Bobby's mind, but got nowhere. Searching for ways to establish a bond, he asked what Bobby had received from his parents for Christmas. "A gun," Bobby said. Peck was stunned. "What kind?” "A .22.” More stunned. "How did it make you feel, getting the same kind of gun your brother killed himself with?” "It wasn't the same kind of gun." Peck felt better. "It was the same gun.” Bobby had been given, as a Christmas present, by his parents, the gun his brother used to kill himself.

When Peck met with the parents, what was most striking was their deliberate refusal to acknowledge any wrongdoing on their part. They would not tolerate any concern for their son, or any attempt to look at moral reality. Two decades later and after his conversion to Christianity, Peck wrote about this encounter:

One thing has changed in twenty years. I now know Bobby's parents were evil. I did not know it then. I felt their evil but had no vocabulary for it. My supervisors were not able to help me name what I was facing. The name did not exist in our professional vocabulary. As scientists rather than priests, we were not supposed to think in such terms.

Interestingly enough, although Peck often worked with convicted prisoners, he rarely found evil there. He finally decided … "The central defect of evil is not the sin but the refusal to acknowledge it." This definition is reflective of Jesus' far greater severity in dealing with religious leaders than with prostitutes and tax collectors” (Source: John Ortberg, "Fighting the Good Fight," Leadership Journal (Spring 2012).

Years ago another psychiatrist by the name of Karl Menninger, wrote a book titled, Whatever Became of Sin? In it he writes about the sin of both commission and the sin of omission. Read his words below:

'If a dozen people are in a lifeboat and one of them discovers a leak near where he is sitting, is there any doubt as to his responsibility? Not for having made the hole, or for finding it, but for attempting to repair it! To ignore it or to keep silent about it is almost equivalent to having made it!

Thus even in group situations and group actions, there is a degree of personal responsibility, either for doing or for not doing or for declaring a position about it. The word "sin" involves these considerations, and upon this I base the usefulness of a revival of the concept, if not the word, sin” (Source: Karl Menninger, Whatever Became of Sin?, p. 179).

So you see what the sin of omission is now?

Questions To Consider

1. How do you measure up to those sins of commission and why? Jesus said that even if you think it, you have committed a sin of commission. Lust is the sin of adultery or fornication depending of if you are single or married. How do you measure up now?
2. How do you measure up to those sins of omission? For example, do you love and pray for people who intentionally hurt you and despise you? Why or why not?
3. After having read all the Bible verses above, which of these convict you or help you most with the sins of commission and the sins of omission and why?
4. When you compare your sins and self with others, how do you see yourself and why? How do you think God sees you and why?
5. Which of the two do you need to depend more on God for and why? The sins of commission or the sins of omission?

Scripture To Meditate On: Romans 3:23, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (NLT).

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, please convict me to taking seriously both my sins of commission and my sins of omission. I confess that I am a sinner and without the grace of Jesus Christ, I would be doomed to hell. My sins are no less evil than the most hardened criminal in Your sight. Help me to see my sin as You do. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”

I love you Southside! — Pastor Kelly