James 4:17

"Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." James 4:17

There are two types of sin -- sins of commission and sins of omission. The first we know all about. You lie, you sin. You steal, you sin. You cheat, you sin. The other is a little more mysterious. A while back I was in a donut shop in Central here in Hong Kong, and an old white man of about 90 years came into the shop and asked the girl if they gave senior citizen discounts, she replied yes, but before serving the man I said to check his ID, cause he didn't look like a senior. With that he turned to me with a huge smile on his face and said son, you just made my day, as a matter of fact, you just made my year. Oh, what a feeling. Now that was not a sin. I blessed that fellow.

But, if I hadn't said what I did. . . now that would have been a sin of omission -- a sin because I didn't do something that I knew I should have done. Let's think of some other such sins. How about the time you intentionally forgot your wife's (or husband's) birthday so you could do your own thing? How about the money you spent on new fishing gear (or perfume) instead of paying the electric bill? Oh, here's a good one. What about staying home from Sunday worship because you had spent Saturday night partying? Now my intention is not to have you pack your bags and lay a guilt trip on you -- but if the Holy Spirit is convicting you -- well as they say, "if the shoe fits, wear it." Of course, we all know that conviction leads us to repentance. And repentance leads us to forgiveness. And forgiveness leads us to sanctification. And sanctification leads us to a right relationship with God. If, however, you are suffering from condemnation because of sins of omission -- things you should have done and didn't -- well, that comes from Satan.

He is the author of such thoughts as "and you call yourself a Christian!" and "see, I told you that you didn't have what it takes to be a child of God." or "look at you, holding a pity party. My, aren't we a cutie sitting there with tears of remorse streaming down our faces?" If you are having these thoughts, STOP! DO NOT PASS GO! GO IMMEDIATELY TO THE FATHER AND ASK FOR FORGIVENESS. TELL THE DEVIL WHERE TO GET OFF. AND REJOICE IN THE GOD OF YOUR SALVATION! Halelujah, Amen and Amen.