Sins of Omission

In my previous post, I wrote about sins of ignorance.  In this post I would like to explain sins of omission, which can either be committed knowingly or unknowingly.

James wrote: "If anyone, then, knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for him." (Jas 4:17)

If you read Matthew 25, you will see that beginning in verse 31 Jesus spoke of the coming judgment when He will separate the sheep from the goats. You may already be familiar with that passage, but let me point out that the goats were guilty of committing sins of omission. He told them:

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'" (Mat 25:41-43)

"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' (Mat 25:44).

They may not remember ever seeing Jesus hungry, thirsty, a stranger, needing clothes, sick, or in prison. But here is what the Lord will tell them:

"He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." (Mat 25:45-46)

So if you don't believe it's possible to commit sins of omission, then this passage proves you wrong. The goats will most certainly be guilty of sins of omission. 

On the other hand, the sheep are the ones who do meet people at their point of need and show mercy, feeding the hungry, giving a drink to the one who is thirsty. visiting the sick and those in prison, etc. And whenever they do it for the least of these His brethren, they have done it unto Him. 

Let's repent, brothers and sisters, for our sins of omission, as well as our sins of commission.Let's repent for the both kinds of sin, whether we did it knowingly or unknowingly in ignorance. Let's ask the Lord to put it all under the blood of Jesus and cleanse us white as snow. Let's have a total change of mind about those sins. Then he will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and we will hear the Master say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

Sins of Ignorance, 

Attribution notice: Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission.The image may be subject to copyright, used per the Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, please also see the following: Sins of Ignorance, Ask for the Ancient Paths, Sins That Will Keep You From Heaven, The False Gospel of Eternal Security, and Repentance That Leads to Life. You may find the Main Directory for this blog at Home, and you may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.