GOD REACHES OUT TO EVERYONE, AND THE SIN OF OMISSION…

I know it’s been awhile since my last post.  I only post when the Lord puts something on my heart to write.  And so a couple of things have come up recently, again and again, urging me to talk about it. The point of topic for the first half of this post is concerning:

THE SIN OF OMISSION 

I’ve had several occasions come up where people were watching others do something they know is wrong but saying nothing, and in some instances, even going along with it.  Every time this came up, I was reminded that the Lord does not like someone watching another do wrong, and making no effort to speak up or try to stop it, or worse.. actually going along with it!  This is commonly referred to as “The Sin of Omission.”  Regardless of whether YOUR actions are defined as sin, they become sin for you because you didn’t do what was RIGHT.

“If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.”  ~James  4:17 (NIV)

“If anyone sins because they do not speak up when they hear a public charge to testify regarding something they have seen or learned about, they will be held responsible.”  ~Leviticus 5:1  (NIV)

It is clear, then, if you go along with someone in their sin, you have sinned as well.  For example, if you know of someone who robbed a bank and you do not report them to the police, or if you participate in hiding them or spending the money they’ve stolen, then it is the same as if you robbed the bank also.  You too are guilty of the sin for not telling them they are wrong for stealing, for not reporting it to authorities and for going along with it.

I’ve seen some blogs that say you’re not supposed to speak up and tell people they are wrong because you then would be ‘judging’ them.  WRONG.  Jesus pointed out bad behaviors ALL the time.  He didn’t judge them… he tried to correct them in their evil ways and turn them toward God.  This is similar to how I treat my kids.  I’m not ‘judging’ them when I see them doing something wrong, but I will point out the bad behavior and institute punishment if necessary.  Judging someone and offering corrective instruction are two VERY different things.

              

It’s interesting that some people get stuck on the 10 Commandments as the ONLY sins.  If they just read their Bible, they would see that doing the right thing is godly and ANY TIME you do the wrong thing, it is ungodly and therefore, a sin.  I do believe that most ungodly people are always looking for justifications for their actions.  As long as they can justify in their minds, or to others, why they sinned, they will live guilt-free.  I’ve even seen some that purposefully find others who agree with their sinful justifications and get those people to also go along with them to FURTHER the justification.  The problem with that is that God SEES everything you do and, I promise you, He’s NOT buying your bullshit justifications.  One day you WILL stand before Him and will see clearly all the sin you have committed.  So it just astounds me that anyone can live that way knowing what they do is wrong.  I don’t know… I guess I was just raised better than that.

GOD REACHES OUT TO EVERY PERSON ON EARTH

I was raised in a family that celebrated Easter and Christmas but we were not taught anything about Christianity, or any religion for that matter.  I would hear talk of God and Jesus and I would ask questions.  My parents would politely respond but they didn’t go into any great detail because, frankly, they didn’t know themselves.  The only thing I knew for certain was that my father thought it was all nonsense, and my mother had stopped believing in God when she was a small child and her grandmother died.  She prayed for her to live but she didn’t, and then she blamed God for taking her grandmother away.  So even though I didn’t know much of anything, I still started praying to God.  I don’t remember when it started but I was doing it nearly every night by the time I was 10 or 11 years old.  I had questions who no answers, so I talked to God about them.  By the age of 12, I was being bullied at school and relied heavily on God to get me through it.  I came out of it changed and a much stronger person, thanks to the Lord!  He was there to help me, where my parent’s failed me.

The point to all that is this;  I didn’t have to be ‘taught’ about God or Jesus.  The Holy Spirit inside me was guiding me to Him!  God reaches out to EVERY SINGLE PERSON on the face of the earth.  Some refer to it as ‘the still, small voice’ and the ungodly dismiss it as their own conscience, their own thoughts. (There is a difference and if you develop a relationship with the Lord, you will know the difference!)

In Romans 1:18-32, Paul is speaking to the gentiles about God and sin, and he is clear that everyone on the earth KNOWS God.  In my own experience, that is very true considering the fact I was taught nothing about Christianity but even as a small child, I FELT GOD’s presence inside me!  There is no other explanation for it.  What Paul says is true!  Here is an excerpt, but I encourage you all to open your Bibles and read it in its entirety:

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”   ~Romans 1:18-20

If someone tells me that they are not Christian and they don’t know God, or that they only believe in [insert false gods here], I know one thing for certain:  they have turned their backs on the Lord.  The Holy Spirit is inside everyone, trying to get a message through.  You can CHOOSE to listen or ignore it but the Bible is clear:  PEOPLE ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE.  Come judgement day, you will NOT be able to tell God that ‘you didn’t know’ or that He ‘never showed Himself to you’, or some other such nonsense.  At that time, it will be too late for you.