When I read this verse of scripture that tells us BE SURE YOUR SIN WILL FIND YOU OUT reminds me of the young couple that were about to get married.
• The young man went to his Dad and said, "I’m a bit apprehensive about getting married, Dad".
• "Why, son", said the Dad.
• "Well, I’ve got terribly smelly feet Dad and it’ll be so embarrassing when my wife finds out".
• "Don’t worry about it, son, just be sure to go to bed with your socks on and she’ll never notice the smell. You’ll be fine".
• Meanwhile, the young lady goes to her mother and tells her,
• "I’m a bit worried about getting married, Mom, because I’ve got terrible bad breath in the mornings and it’ll be so embarrassing when my husband finds out".
• Mom says to her daughter, "Don’t worry, dear. All you need to do is, be sure not to open your mouth first thing in the morning. Don’t say a single word until you’ve been to the bathroom and brushed your teeth and use some mouth wash.
The wedding goes off fine and for six months they each manage to keep their secrets safe.
Then one morning at about 5 am the young husband wakes up and discover his socks had came off.
He start to scrambling around in the bed trying to find his socks and he woke his wife up and she got in his face and said, “What are you doing?
And he smelt her bad breath and he said, “Oh no, she has swallowed my socks!”
Before we consider our text BE SURE YOUR SIN WILL FIND YOU OUT, we need to consider the context in which we find this text is written.
Moses said these words when Israel came to the land of Jazer. They were about to enter the promise land, but the tribes of Reuben, Gad, came to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the princes of the congregation, and said to them, (paraphrase), “This is such a wonderful sheep land we are presently in, let us have this land instead of the land on the other side of Jordan.”
In Numbers 32:6, Moses said, in so many words, “You mean you want to stay here on the East side of Jordan while your brothers go across and do all the fighting?”
Then it would seem Moses detected something was not right about this request. He made an accusation against them.
In verses 7-12 he told them they were doing the same thing their fathers had done. They were trying to discourage the people of Israel from entering the promised land.
WHAT DID HE MEAN BY THIS?
Remember, earlier Moses had sent spies out from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land.
• Two spies, Joshua and Caleb came back with a good report and said that they were “well able” to take the land and encouraged the people to go at once.
• But all the other spies discouraged the people from going. They told of the giants. saying that the giants were so big the Israelite people would be “as grasshoppers” in comparison.
However, when Reuben and Gad had been accused of this they defended themselves saying, “No, we are not doing the same thing our fathers did!”
They told Moses how they would support the ten tribes in fighting with them to drive out all the enemies and afterward they would come back to their families and settle in the land just outside the promised land.
Evidently Moses was not completely convinced they were telling the truth...
Now we come to the remarkable verse of our text.
Moses told them that if they would not do as they promised, he said in Numbers 32:23, “...ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.
HOW WERE THEY SINNING AGAINST THE LORD?
Let me come to the defense of Reuben and Gad.
That is, they preferred to live on this side of Jordan rather than the other side. This was a wonderful place for them to live and it had good pasture land for their sheep.
There is not anything wrong with what they wanted!!!
WHY DID MOSES REBUKE THEM THE WAY HE DID?
He rebuked them sharply because he felt the reason they were wanting to live on this side of Jordan they were trying to get out of doing something they should do!!!
WHAT WAS THAT?
They had other battles to fight as they entered the promise land and he felt they were trying to get out of fighting those battles.
But they assured him they would leave their families there but the men were willing to go to the other side of Jordan and fight with them.
Moses calm down and he said, OK, BUT IF YOU DO NOT DO AS YOU SAID YOU WOULD DO YOU ARE SINNING AGAINST THE LORD AND BE SURE YOUR SIN WILL FIND YOU OUT!
Moses was accusing them committing the sin of Omission
WHAT IS THE SIN OF OMISSION?
There are two kinds of sins:
(1) The sin of COMMISION is a sin we know we
should not do something therefore we do not commit such a sin.
(2) The sin of OMMISION is a sin we know we should
do something but we do not do it.
The Book of James has something to say about that.
James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
Let me give you some Bible examples of some folks that committed the sin of OMISSION.
To illustrate we need to look at…
I. A BUSINESS MAN
James 4:13-17 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
These scriptures are about a business man who is making his business plans for the coming year.
Look at verse 13: “Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow, we will go into such and such a city, and continue there a year.”
That is, he says, “Tomorrow, the next day, I’m going to begin my years work.”
• He probably had his calendar out and he’s putting marks on his calendar.
• He figure how long …it’ll take about a year to get this project done.”
• Not only is he planning the period, but he’s planning the place. He says, “I will go to such a city.”
• And, not only has he done that, he’s also planned the profit. He says, “I will buy and I will sell and I will get gain.”
• Now, he has his map out there as well as his calendar.
He’s done his marketing research. He says, “That’s the city, that’s the place, that’s where I’m going.”
He’s got it all figured out.
WHAT HAS HE DONE THAT IS WRONG?
Well, really nothing, I mean, there’s nothing wrong with what this man was doing.
• The Bible is certainly not against planning.
• The Bible is not against thoughtfulness.
• The Bible is not against business.
• The Bible is not against hard work.
• And, the Bible is not against making money, as a matter of fact, the book of Proverbs encourages all of those things.
This smart business man has not done anything wrong!
But listen to me carefully…His sin is not what HE HAS DONE it is what HE HAS NOT DONE!
He has committed the sin of omission.
How?
As you read this story you find:
• No mention of God,
• No prayer,
• No seeking the will of God,
He’s just a boastful businessman (Like so many) who is running his life as if God did not exist.
We christians are suppose to be led of God but there are christians who live their life like there is NO GOD!
Illus: Some will go day after day not even thinking about God. The only time they think of God is when they come to Church each Sunday and many of them even during that time their mind is not on God their Creator!!!
The reason they go day after day without consulting with God in prayer is because they do not feel a need for God in their lives. God is not that important to them!!!
Illus: Years ago when Dr. Odell Belger was in Bible college and he worked at Lakeland General hospital in Lakeland Florida.
He worked in the intensive care and they brought in a man who had jumped out of an airplane that the news paper stated he was one mile high when he jumped out of the airplane and landed on the Tarmac of the airport and survived.
He survived with two broken legs.
Several days after he was admitted they had the newspaper reporters in his room at the hospital with his family. Dr. Belger as an employee was in the room also.
They asked him how he survived this jump and he was taking credit of landing on his heals and making a certain kind of landing that broke the fall.
His father who was a Christian in the room spoke up and said, “Son, you need to give God the credit for being alive, it is not what you did…it is what He did on your behalf is the reason you are alive today!”
So many live their life daily as if everything depends on them, not on God above!
The Bible tell us in Psalm 14:1 “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God”.
But, may I tell you that there is a bigger fool than the man who doesn’t believe in God.
The man who says, “There is a God,” and then completely leaves God out of his life.
That’s what this business man had done in this passage of scripture. Here is a man who is living as if God did not exist in all his decision making.
Why do you think God tells us to TO PRAY WITHOUT CEASING!
Because God our Creator wants to be in charge of His Creation.
Illus: I like that song that states, “I CAN’T EVEN WALK UNLESS HE HOLDS MY HAND!”
The business man is condemned for what he did it was for what he did not do.
It is the sin of omission which is one of the biggest sins among many christians.
Let me give you another example of the sin of OMISSION…
II. PARABLE OF TALENTS
Look at Matthew 25:14-25 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant…”
Parable of the talents, where a king went away, and he gave to his servants various talents.
Some of the servants invested talent and received revenue for their master, but one took his talent and buried it in the ground.
When his master returned, he called him a “wicked and a slothful servant”.
• Had he wasted the money?
• Had he squandered the money?
• Had he stolen the money?
No! It is not what HE DID it is what HE DID NOT DO!
And, for that reason, his Lord condemned him.
It was the sin of omission.
Let me give you another illustration from the Bible on the sin of OMISSION!
III. PARABLE OF GOOD SAMARITAN
Luke 10:29-37 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Jesus tells the story of a man who fell among thieves
And, Jesus told the story of how a priest and Levite passed him by.
• Now, did the priest and Levite rob that man?
• No. Did they beat that man?
No. They just simply passed him by. They committed the sin of OMISSION by not doing what they should have DONE!!!
Let me share with you WHY I FELT GOD WANTED ME TO PREACH ON THE SINS OF OMISSION?
Most believers in our churches have the idea that if they don’t do certain things, then they’re good Christians.
Some think that they are doing “quite well because there are certain things they don’t do.
Every church is filled with Christians who sit in the church pews with their spiritual halos on who are not commiting the sins of commission. They know they should…
• Attend church every Sunday
• Should pray daily
• Should come to Sunday school
• Should tithe
And they feel they are ok because they do all these things. All across this nation we have such christians sitting in our churches.
Their problem is not what they are doing, their problem is NOT DOING WHAT THEY KNOW THEY SHOULD BE DOING!!!
My prayer before God, quite frankly, is that God will KNOCK off these self-righteousness halos of christians who are sitting in the church pews today who live such a life.
The problem is it is not what they are doing, it is what they are not doing they know they should be doing.
For example, some of you…
• Can not remember the last time they tried to win someone to the Lord if ever!!! BUT THEY ARE WILLING STAND BEFORE GOD LIKE THIS.
• Can not remember the last time they tried to help someone in need financially if ever!!! BUT THEY ARE WILLING STAND BEFORE GOD LIKE THIS.
• Can not remember the last time they brought someone to church if ever!!! BUT THEY ARE WILLING STAND BEFORE GOD LIKE THIS.
• Can not remember the last time they turned off their television and picked up the telephone and called someone to encourage them if ever!!! BUT THEY ARE WILLING STAND BEFORE GOD LIKE THIS.
• Can not remember the last time they tithed if ever!!! BUT THEY ARE WILLING STAND BEFORE GOD LIKE THIS.
They do not sin by what they do but they sin daily in what THEY KNOW THEY SHOULD DO!!!
James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
IT IS WHAT?
It is sin!!!!
DON’T THEY REALIZE THEY ARE GOING TO GIVE ACCOUNT TO GOD THEIR CREATOR FOR ALL THE SINS OF OMISSION THEY HAVE COMMITTED!!!
Conclusion:
In Mark 11:11-14 we read And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve. And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
Jesus one day was walking along and he was hungry and he saw a fig tree. It was a time for figs and there were no figs on that tree. It was barren. And, Jesus cursed it.
It doesn’t mean that He used bad language against it, but He put a curse on that fig tree.
The only time I know of Jesus in the scriptures ever putting a curse on something or someone, was a barren fig tree.
Why did Jesus curse it?
• Because it bore poison fruit?
• No! Because it bore no fruit.
God created that fig tree to bear figs and it was not doing what God had created it to do!
And many today are living a life of curse because they are not doing what God created them to do!!!
They do not commit SINS OF COMMISSION but they commit sins of OMISSION EVERY DAY!!!
There is not anything wrong with what Reuben and Gad wanted to do, but Moses said, Ok, stay here but when we NEED YOU IN THE BATTLE and you do not show up you have sin against God and BE SURE YOUR SIN WILL FIND YOU OUT.
Listen, if you are a SINNER or a SAINT if you commit the sins OF COMMISSION or the sins of OMISSION your sins will find you out!!!
To see the sin of OMISSION we have looked at…
I. A BUSINESSMAN
II. PARABLE OF TALENTS
III. GOOD SAMARITAN
