What Are You Doing?

September 17, 2017 Speaker: Tara Detiveaux Series: A Faith That Works

Topic: Sin Scripture: James 4:13– :17

What are you Doing?

James 4:13-17

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

1.You Know What Not to and you Do it anyway…It’s Sin!!

This is the type of sin that the church in general loves to focus on.  The sin of commission.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulters nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders, nor thieve nor greedy nor drunkards nor slanders nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of GOD and that is what some of you were.

Humanity’s first sin was a sin of commission.  God forbade the eating of a certain fruit. (Genesis 2:16-17) Adam and Eve knew God’s command and disobeyed it anyway (Genesis 3:6).  They took action to commit a sinful act.  We are all guilty of sins of commission.  We all commit intentional sin by acting in ways God has forbidden.

That is why we need Jesus.  We can’t stop ourselves from sinning, and by sinning we eliminate any hope of connecting with a holy God.  Only when we allow Christ’s death and resurrection to be our substitute can our sin be expunged (Colossian 2:14 and Romans 6:6)

The end of 1 Corinthians 6:11 says “And that is what some of you were.  But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God.

Second Corinthians 5:21 says, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

2.You Know What to Do and you Don’t Do it…It’s Sin!!

Now this is a sin that is easy to hide from others but equally as sinful.

For example, praying “Moreover, as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you:  but I will teach you the good and the right way 1 Samuel 12:23

For example, tithing “Will a many rob God?  Yet you have robbed me.  But you say, how have we robbed you?  In tithes and offerings.”  Malachi 3:8

For example, Failing to Fellowship “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as you see the day approaching Hebrews 10:25

At this point James brings about this idea of knowing different things.  It’s not just about not doing bad, but doing good.  And this is where the joy and peace and goodness comes in.

We will be judged according to what we know. Remember, God knows.  Better then we know. 

How would it be possible for God the righteous judge to judge someone growing up in the bush of Ecuador that maybe has only heard of Jesus through a missionary but has never had the privilege (and what a privilege it is to have this Bible not only in our language but thousands of different variations so that we can better understand with study guides and D groups (you should be in one) and  accountability) of having his own bible in his language. 

He would never know the same things we know.  We are held accountable to that.

So, you know to not be a hearer of the word but a doer also…now you KNOW.

So, you know to fashion your passion from the world…now you KNOW.

So, you know to tape your face…now you KNOW.

So, you know not to show favoritism…now you KNOW.

So, you know to count it all Joy when you face various trials…now you KNOW.

And if you don’t do it…it is SIN!! 

And James says it like this and perhaps we should commit it to memory in James 4:17 “Anyone then who KNOWS the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins” 

And now the holy spirit convicts our hearts, because He (the Holy Spirit) is bringing up things that we know to do.  He is bringing up the good that we should have done and we didn’t do it, and it was sin. 

And James starts picking because that is what He does.

The time He told me to talk to my neighbor and I was too busy. 

The time He told me to pray in faith for a healing and I chose not to. 

The time He said pray for her so that she will conceive and I didn’t because I was chicken that he wouldn’t do what He promised.  And she conceived but He didn’t use me in the process and I missed all that God has for me and the incredible joy and privilege that comes from following.

The sin of omission. 

We are accountable. 

The sin of commission.

We are accountable.

We will stand before him the righteous judge.  WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

Altar Call

Someone once asked me why do you do what you do? 

Is it because you come from privilege? 

Is it because you feel sorry for people? 

And I would say honestly no. 

Do I have a great family, yes.  Did I ever have a real want, no. 

Terrible bad things have not happened to me. 

I would say it is because of this verse.  I remember when I was younger as I was starting to read the bible and really understand it and could probably say I didn’t have that many sins of commission, I was omitting a lot of things.

And James 4:17 hit me like a bomb. 

It would repeat and still repeats over and over in my head, you know to do good Tara because of who you serve, do it!!  I couldn’t live life like normal, because my Savior was calling me to do good.  To follow Him in commission and quit being a person of omission. 

And one day I will stand before Him and give account.

For Both.  So today I ask you the same question, “What are you Doing?

Are you using the position and placing for His glory and for His good?

Let’s PRAY.

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