James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
This brief passage of scripture brings to light the sacred truth that we are held accountable for the sacred truths which have been made available to us at tremendous cost, and therefore it is incumbent upon each person to find out for ourselves, what constitutes sin, so that it can be avoided and uprooted by the grace and power of God. The problem is that many of us do not spend sufficient time with The Living Word and the written word so that sin can be detected in all of its various forms and manifestations by The Holy Ghost, and as a result, many of us continue to commit sin, even though we do not recognize it as being sin.
This problem was addressed by Christ who made it clear that all who are willing to come to a knowledge of God, and thereby be equipped to detect sin in our personal lives, may do so through the abundant grace and knowledge poured out upon us by The Holy Spirit. Let's read:
John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
It is one of the most sacred duties that can ever devolve upon us, to search the scriptures for ourselves so that the knowledge that is necessary for us to make informed decisions can be acquired and put into practice through the power of God. This important obligation cannot be shifted to the shoulders of another, since we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ individually, not collectively, and as such we should be diligent students of the scriptures, which are able to make us wise unto salvation. Let's read:
Hebrews 5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Proverbs 22:3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
The are people who work for the United States Treasury department, whose sole responsibility is to detect and identify counterfeit currency of all sorts, and they accomplish this arduous task by scrutinizing only the true currency, never the counterfeit, for if they were to study the many variations of that which is false, then their minds will ultimately become clouded as to the identification of the true currency, and thereby their skills at detection will become greatly compromised. The same is true of the word of God which has been given to us so that we can accurately differentiate between the true and the false, and because of neglect for various reasons, our ability to detect good or evil has also been diminished to a large extent, and sometimes to the point where we accept good for evil and vice versa.
The truth of the matter is that we are held accountable for that which has been made available through the scriptures, and thus it behooves every person to search the word of God for ourselves so that our knowledge can then be commensurate with our practice. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which encourages us to study diligently each day, so that the spirit of discernment can be increased in our minds. Let's read:
2nd Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. 23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. 24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
May God add His blessing to the study and doing of His every word. God bless!