Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.To him therefore who knows to do good and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin.Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
3 sermons cite this verse
… investment in eternity, not an investment in time. So I've got to tell you, start doing good. Quite striking, isn't it? James chapter 4 and verse 17. The individual who knows to do good and doesn't do it sins. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it sins. You go back and read the whole of James for your homework. James chapter 2, Verse 24, you see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone? Who made that up? That's not supposed to be in the Bible. What in the world does that mean? Are we constantly saying, by faith alone, sola fide? And James says a person is justified by what he does and not by faith. Alone. What's the key word? Alone. He doesn't say, So a person is justified by what he does and not by faith. He says, A person is justified by what he does and not by faith. Alone. Because the person who says, I'm a Christian. I heard the Bible. I read the Bible. I do these things. But I don't do good. …
… that God has given to you. Because we're told over in the book of James, chapter four, verse 17, to him that knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. So you gotta use that gift that God has given you. Number three, we all have a part to play in the church with our spiritual gifts. We all have a part to play, Romans 12, four. Just as our bodies have many parts, and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. Think of the human body. Now, when you meet someone, you might notice their eyes, you might notice their hair, you might notice whatever, and you don't notice internal organs, but the reality is, what's more important, how beautiful my hair is or how well my heart is functioning? I can tell you, you can function without hair. You miss it. You wish you had it. …
… but scripturally, you can also sin by what you fail to do. James 4, verse 17, Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. And so it is here on the first Easter with these two men, Cleopas and another, who are disciples of Jesus, who are not where they are supposed to be and failing to do what they have been told by Jesus to do. They are walking slowly and sadly, that's a sloth joke, away from Easter. They're walking away from Jerusalem. They're headed towards Emmaus. It's the greatest day that has ever been in the history of the world. And they're depressed and they're mopey. The first thing Jesus says to them when he bumps into them is, what the heck, bro? Right, he says, why the long faces? Why are you so sad? He's calling them out on the sin of sloth. Now, when we think about sloth, the reason we're so wrong, and you probably notice as the series has been unfolding Greed's not what you think it would be. …