Thursday, January 13, 2022
A Five-Star Recommendation
“Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it” (James 4:17 NLT).
Imagine if someone were in a house that caught fire and rushed out to save their own life but didn’t do anything to help the others who still were inside. Worse yet, they didn’t even call the fire department. Instead, they walked off and acted as though it didn’t happen.
Not only would that be wrong, but it’s even a criminal act.
Or let’s say that a physician ran a series of tests on a patient and realized that person could be treated with a course of antibiotics or perhaps a simple surgery. But the physician felt uncomfortable, even awkward, about telling the patient some bad news. Instead, he sent the patient away and said, “You’re good to go.” That is an irresponsible doctor.
So how much worse would it be to know the way to Heaven, to know the way for someone to be forgiven of their sins and find the meaning and purpose of their life, and not tell them? That’s why not sharing the gospel can be a sin.
Understand, sin has many definitions. There are sins of commission and sins of omission. A sin of commission is breaking a commandment and crossing the line. It’s doing something that we know is wrong.
On the other hand, a sin of omission is not doing something that we know is right. In fact, the Bible says, “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it” (James 4:17 NLT).
Let’s remove the words preach and evangelism for a moment and put a different word on the table: recommendation. We make recommendations all the time, from restaurants to the best products to buy. And when another person recommends something to us, it carries weight.
So let’s take that idea and apply it to sharing the gospel. We’re willing to talk about hamburgers, but are we willing to talk about Jesus?
Copyright © 2022 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
and
Listen to Greg Laurie's daily broadcast on OnePlace.com.
Watch Greg Laurie's weekly television broadcast on LightSource.com.
Grief is one of life’s most difficult challenges. Pastor Greg Laurie experienced this truth when his son Christopher passed away suddenly. Discover comfort and healing in times of pain as you read his book Hope for Hurting Hearts. Receive your copy as our gift for your donation of any amount to Harvest Ministries this month.
