Prayer: Father, reveal to us the difference between sins of omission and commission. In Yeshua’s name, amen.
Reading: Numbers 15 key: vs. 30-31
30 “But the person who sins defiantly, whether native or outsider, reviles Adonai and that person is to be cut off from his people. 31 Because he has despised the word of Adonai and has broken His commandment, that person will certainly be cut off—his guilt will remain on him.”
Attention: In 2010 I read a book titled, “The Hole in Our Gospel: What Does God Expect of Us?” by Richard Stearns, then CEO of World Vision. In his book he speaks of the parable of the Good Samaritan to contrast sins of commission and omission.
I had heard the terms years ago in a prayer given before the offering was received in a worship service. Even though quizzical, I didn’t search for understanding. Mr. Stearns used the Luke 10:25-37 passage to illustrate the difference between the two types of sin. There were two men, a kohen (priest) and a Levite (a descendant of the tribe of Levi who served the Temple), both passed the injured man by, choosing to pass on the opposite side of the rode. A Samaritan (the mixed descendants, through marriage, part Gentile/part Jew, of the inhabitants of Samaria), someone not expected to aid someone, were also looked down upon in Hebrew culture.
We all know what sins of commission are, sins which we do willfully and knowingly, intentionally, maybe even habitually. Sins of omission are sins which we know what to do but do not do, like helping someone in distress. We do not want to get involved, so, we avoid the injured and look the other way. This is a tough one as I am guilty of looking past the homeless, the widow and the poor. All who Adonai and Yeshua tell us that ministering unto them is ministering unto Adonai (Isaiah 58, and Matthew 25).
Sin of any kind begins in the individual and is manifest in our culture. We are each answerable individually and corporately. I pray that as followers of Yeshua, we will make a pivot toward serving Adonai to the disadvantaged and serving the disadvantaged as being Christ.
Action: I choose to be obedient to what I know scripturally Adonai wants me to be.
Yield: I give up my rights to do as I please.
Engage: I choose to engage with Adonai in being His ambassador.
Relationship: I choose to be in close relationship with Adonai.
Prayer: Father, I fail often. Draw me closer to Your side. Forgive me for not being who I need to be to those who are disadvantaged. Amen.
Memory Verse: Matthew 25:45
45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Amen, I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’
Music Video: Vertical Worship—Restore My Soul https://youtu.be/mgmalrB4lIE
Remember, “Abide in Yeshua, today!”