Sins of Omission <Jas 4:17; Num 32:1-2, 4-7, 20-23; Heb 2:3; Lk 12:47-48>

Introduction:

· Two kinds of sins:

（1）“Doing” what one should not do (sins of commission);

（2）“Not doing” what one ought to do (sins of omission).

· People are usually more concerned about what is “done” rather than what is “not done”.

· People’s mindset is usually “as long as I do not do bad things to harm others, then I am a good person”.

· <Jas 4:17> If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

· “Sin” in Greek means to “miss the mark”.

· Read <Num 32:1-2, 4-7>.

1.“Sins of omission” could be more common than we think.

· The entire law is summed up in “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”, and “love your neighbor as yourself” <Mt 22:37-40>.

· Any thought or act of not loving God or men is a kind of “sin of omission”.

2. God equally hates both “sins of omission” and “sins of commission”.

· Read <Num 32:20-23>.

· The neglect of doing the right things brings severe consequences.

· Even if man does not commit outright evil, if he falls short of the good he ought to do, that is enough to condemn him.

· Among all sins, the deadliest is a kind of “sin of omission”, which is the sin of not believing in the Christ whom one should believe in.

o Read <Heb 2:3>.

· When we do not do what we ought to do, this sin can also affect people around us negatively.

3. Why do people have “sins of omission”?

· Still dead in transgressions and sins and yet to be born again, so have no power to do the good one should.

· Selfishness.

· Ignorance.

o Read <Lk 12:47-48>.

· See that many people also have such sins.

4. Realise one’s sins and repent.

· Do not lose heart.

· The precious blood of Jesus covers all the sins of believers, whether it is “sin of omission” or “sin of commission”.

· Be humble, repent, then do what God tells us to do.