James 4:17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. But do we really believe it. This passage of scripture is quite convincing to the soul, is it not? Or at least it should be. How many times throughout the course of a week do we hear people say, “Well at least I did the right thing” or maybe we hear “I sure am glad I made the right choice” or any different varieties of the same speech. Really what we are saying is I knew what was right and I accomplished that goal. We as humans are so proud of ourselves when we do something good. Almost to the point that we believe that doing the good thing overrides any wrong action we might have taken.
For the next few minutes let’s flip that thought and look at what the verse is really saying. For us not only as humans but more importantly as Christians there are times we are asked to do the right thing and may choose not to. James is telling us that when we know what is right and do not do it, for any reason, then to us it is sin.
Consider the following. There is a friend that we know has not been obedient to the gospel and we regularly choose not to discuss the matter. For the one that knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. How about choosing to be silent about a situation at work that you know is wrong but you use the cop out of well it does not involve or bother me. For the one that knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. Or even this case. A person in the church knows what they can and could be doing to be more active and deliberately chooses to refrain from getting involved, inciting the thought that it takes too much time away from family and from other goals they might have.
What we have here is a matter of choice. Anyone that has been a Christian for any amount of time and has been rightly taught and studies on their own would know what the Lord requires of us. What we do not like is that choosing Christ means just that making a choice. That is why James reminds us that for the one that knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. It is not coming down hard on the one that does not know yet what they should be doing, it is about the one that knows what to do and does not do it. It is not the sin of commission it is the sin of omission. How many, well truth be known all of us will face the Lord on the Day of Judgment and will have known what we should have done and did not do it. James brought this to our attention simply because we like to brag about what we have done and like to sweep under the rug the things that we have not done. So please the next time you are faced with a choice to make remember, For the one that knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.
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