Simply James 4 Part Three

The Sin of Omission.

We have been studying the Book of James Chapter 4, and we have learned that this one Chapter, of this one Book, by one man, James, is filled with lessons that every Child of God needs to learn. What is remarkable about James, is that even though he was the Brother of Jesus, he was a nonbeliever all the way up to the Resurrection. Then he became a Leader of the Church in Jerusalem, and a Pillar of Faith.

We have learned how we shall have whatsoever we ask God to supply us with, as long as we are living for Him. As long as we are doing His Will. He will not answer our Prayers if we are Praying for greed or lust. We have learned that once we become a Child of God, we are no longer OF the World, even though we are still in it. We have learned that the World will hate us, because it first hated Him. That we should not care. But be good and faithful servants of God Himself. We learned that we need to stop relying on ourselves and start relying on God. That if we humble ourselves, it is God who gives us the power and lifts us up. If we give up ourselves to God and allow God to work through us, we will be far better off in all things.

Then we learned that there is but one Way, Truth, and Life. One Judge, and we are not He. We learned that we should not Promise, but say what we mean and mean what we say. Yes is Yes and No is No, and all else is evil. We also learned that we should be anxious for nothing and take no thought of tomorrow. For tomorrow is NEVER a guarantee.

As we go through the Book of James, Chapter 4, we see that James is pretty much echoing Jesus Himself, and teaching us the ways of God, the way it can only be taught, by the lead of the Holy Spirit himself. Here is the entire Chapter again...

James 4:

1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:

14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Now James's core message is simple. Faith without Works is dead. Religion for Religion sake is meaningless and a waste of time. His last lesson in this Chapter, of his letter to the twelve tribes, is this.

"Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."

What does this mean? This means that it doesn't matter if you are in Church every time the door is open. It doesn't matter if you fast during Lent. It doesn't matter if you keep the Passover, or any other Traditions. It does not matter what you do, if you are not following The Father's plan, you are doing nothing.

You may be taking great pride in being "Holy" and "Faithful to the Faith." Or a good, "Insert Religion or Denomination here." But if you are not actually serving others, you are falling into a trap of the devil. Here is the way James puts it.

16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Now most of you know what Sin is. Do not Murder. Steal. Lie. Convent. Have no other God before God. Honor your Father and Mother. ETC. But do you know the Sin of Omission? When a "certain Lawyer" asked Him what to do to be saved, Jesus asked him how he read and understood Scripture. The Lawyer answered rightly. He said "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself." Jesus said well done. You already know what to do.

Understand that this Lawyer was telling the truth. He knew and understood the Scriptures. He was "Religious." He was, in his mind, "Righteous." But he asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?" He most likely was thinking that this means his fellow Religious folks. His own kind. But Jesus answered him this way.

Luke 10:

30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

A Priest, and a Levite. Now all Priests were Levites, but all Levites were not Priests. However, Levites were assigned various duties in the Tabernacle. They assisted the Priests in preparing the Cereal Offerings, and care for the Courts and the Chambers of the Sanctuary. Later the Levites were involved in interpreting the Law and thus functioned as Teachers. So needless to say, both these where "Religious folks." They knew and followed the Law.

When they came upon one in true need, they passed him by. Perhaps they thought him unworthy? Perhaps they thought he got what he deserved. Perhaps they simply did not care. But when one came upon him that was not "Religious," he was the one, that showed the man compassion. He was the one, that truly met the man's needs. Jesus told the Lawyer to go and do likewise.

This next passage needs to be one that you, as a Child of God, take to heart, and fully understand. Jesus taught, that in the time of Judgement, you will be evaluated. In....

Matthew 25:

31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

You see, Jesus makes it a point to explain that these folks, Justified by God, did these things without even taking thought. They did so because that was who they were. They were following God. Then Jesus said to them....

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Then he turned to those on His left. He said this.

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Now stop there for a second. just as a side note here. Notice these two points. Jesus said.."Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Then to the ones cursed, He said "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:" Again, God condemns no one. It was ALWAYS God's intent to give us everlasting life with Him in Paradise. He never intended Hell to be for man. We condemn ourselves but rejecting God. Back to the message.

42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Jesus also put it this way..One of the saddest and scariest passages of the Bible is this.

Matthew 7:

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 

Sad and scary yes. But when you understand what it means, Faith without Works is dead, then you can fully grasp the reason why Jesus teaches us this. If we are going through our daily lives, and we see someone in need, and we have the ability to help them, should we not?

It is good for you to be going to Church. It is good for you to keep the Sabbath. It is good for you to keep the Passover. To follow traditions. There is nothing wrong with any of it. But is there a Food Pantry in your town? Is there a Good Will outlet? Is there a person living under the bridge you cross everyday going to work or school? What are you doing to "Feed the hungry?" "Cloth the Naked?" "Give sight to the Blind?" What are you doing to actually serve God?

In...

Galatians 6:

8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Jesus's, and in this case James's message, is crystal clear. "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." James made it simple to understand in....

James 2:

14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Think about that. If you lose your Job, lose your home, are living in a tent, and you go to Church and say "I lost my Job, home, and live in a tent, I have no way to feed my family." Which helps you more? If the Pastor of that Church says "This is horrible, come let us Pray." Then sends you away. Or one that says, "That's horrible, come let us Pray. Meanwhile, come, stay here at the Church, or in my own home. Come here, eat.?" Of course, it is the Pastor that Prayed AND supplied the needs temporarily. So you, as a Child of God, should go and do likewise.

If you know someone is in need, and you have the means or the ability to do good towards them, and you do it not, God calls that Sin. The Sin of Omission. As Children of God, we need to concern ourselves with the needs of others. Should we keep traditions and attempt to be as close to God as possible. Of course, but He is more concerned with what we are doing for others. Remember, it is a Spiritual Law. The more you give out, the more you receive. The more you do for God, the more God will do for you. Be mindful, that you do not commit the Sin of Omission. One day, it may be you in need.

Do you know Jesus as your Savior? Have you been adopted into the Family of God? If not, say this Prayer. Right now. Wherever you may be. Say it in your own words, and do not doubt in your heart. God will hear you. He will send the Spirit of Life to you. Let us Pray..

"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Jesus's sacrifice for me. I repent my sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Jesus, Amen!"

That's it. It really is that simple. Now go tell someone what you have just done. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." {Romans 10:9} You need to find a Church that God leads you to, and be Baptized the way Jesus said to be. You are now a Child of God. A new Creature. You "have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." {Colossians 3:10}

If you want to tell me, or comment, question, give testimonials, or just say "Hi," the Email is opntalk@gmail.com

Until next time, be blessed, be a blessing, and Jesus IS Lord of all!