The more we analyze them, most of the sins mentioned in the Bible [as well as our own sins] tend to be sins of omission. We don’t set off into each day brazenly bent upon committing sin. But we so easily are lulled into the mire of mediocrity whereby we simply omit to do that which God requires of us. Wide-eyed and innocent, the rejected will claim, “When did we see You hungry… thirsty… in prison?”. They will find it hard to understand that sins of omission were that serious. To brush off the idea we might visit the imprisoned [in whatever forms of prison they are in], attend to the needy… because we’re too busy today, as we were yesterday, and as we shall be all our tomorrows… these kind of psychological, mental decisions of a moment, made each day, could lead to the Lord telling us that He never knew us. When we consider the Lord's teaching of Mt. 7:22,23 and 25:42-44 together, He's saying that those rejected at the day of judgment will be so on account of their omissions- hence their surprise, and anger because they knew that they had done good works; they thought that what they had committed was morally acceptable to God, and this would usher them into the Kingdom. But their sins of omission cost them the Kingdom. 

We think we have no time. Because we let the world, the internet, thinking about that movie… take it from us. We quickly justify ourselves by thinking that we do quite enough for others anyway, that we care for our family… when in the end, we are leaving the least of Christ’s brethren needy and unvisited. The one talent man wasn’t condemned for doing anything wrong; but rather for omitting to do at least something with his talent. Likewise the Pharisees were condemned for ‘omitting the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy and faith’ (Mt. 23:23). These men occupied themselves day and night with what they considered the weighty matters of the Law- its exposition, careful understanding of the Hebrew text etc. But exactly by doing this they committed the crucial sins of omission. In the end, it’s action which is the weight of the Law and not dissecting of texts. Whilst true understanding of a text is of course important, we can so easily become guilty of ‘bibliolatry’, worshipping the Bible as an end in itself without catching the spirit of selfless service to others.

The Lord Jesus was perfect, never sinning, despite being saddled with our human condition just as we are. One aspect of His achievement was perhaps that He didn’t focus as we tend to, upon not committing sin but rather, positively, on achieving the Father’s glory. It was this emphasis which led Him not to commit sins of omission either. As we think of Him in His time of dying especially, I believe we see this. When I imagine myself being crucified - and we all need to go through such an exercise of imagination if we take seriously His command to take up His cross and die with Him - I imagine being faced with a stream of temptations which I know I’d not overcome. But the Lord wasn’t on the defensive, fighting off each temptation as it came, but rather positively focused upon the goal before Him. Quite naturally therefore He was less likely to fall into sins of omission, because He was positively oriented toward the goal. But here we have to examine what is the goal of our lives? Raising families, providing security for them… or seeking the Father’s glory, and dealing with every issue in life as a means to that end? This approach should enable us to deal better with the issue of priorities… for so often we justify our sins of omission by reasoning that we had other priorities, and one can’t do everything in life. ‘How to juggle priorities?’ ceases to be a difficult question if we have the clearly defined aim of in all things seeking the Father’s glory.

If in the daily round we can know how desperate we are, the urgency of our spiritual situation, we will appreciate the more finely what the Lord has done and is daily doing for us, and will be motivated to make an urgent, joyful response.  The whole wonder of God’s truth as it is in Christ is totally lost on us unless we see our desperate need. And the wider wonder of grace will only be appreciated, the thrill felt, if we feel something of the whole of humanity’s desperation. One way of realizing the seriousness of our sin is to recognize that each sin we commit, we could have avoided. We must hang our heads, time and again. In the very end, we can blame neither our circumstances nor our natures, even though these are factors in the committal of each sin. We must each bear total personal responsibility for every sin, both of commission and omission.

Grace And Works

The justification by works mentality can lead to a paranoia about sins of omission. Believers wrongly feel guilty that they vowed to do something and didn’t; that they enthusiastically decided on some great project in an evening of dynamic discussion with others, or made a promise in the mystical impetus of a short-lived moment… and never did it. But the omissions the Lord focuses on are omissions of simple acts and attitudes of love, and perceiving ones brethren as truly part of the image and person of He Himself.

The fact that the ecclesia is a hospital for sinners and not a club for the righteous, and that salvation is by pure grace and not works, must not be allowed to blur the cutting edge of the demands for action which there are in following Christ. Only in realizing how far we fall short of them are we led to a more thorough humility and a more radical repentance. Regular repentance is absolutely necessary for each of us - for sin both of omission and commission, in motive, aim, thought, desire, wish and fantasy is sadly a daily reality in our lives. Yet grace reigns as a King (Rom. 5:21), in the sense that the real belief that by grace we are and will be saved, will rule over our lives and transform us (Titus 2:11,12). Grace will be the leading and guiding principle in our lives, comprised as they are of a long string of thoughts and actions. And as with every truly focused life, literally all other things become therefore and thereby of secondary value. The pathway of persistent, focused prayer, the power of the hope of the Kingdom, regular repentance…day by day we become alive, real people, not couch potatoes sitting hunched over a screen, but living out in our lives the life that He lived and the death He died.

Duncan Heaster

Join Our Mailing List Carelinks Newsletters "Gospel News" Magazine Links About Us / Donations Search Carelinks Online Breaking of Bread Books and Articles Books by Duncan Heaster Living With Alcoholism Къкво е Евангелието? Audio Talks / MP3 Events (caption missing)