James 4:17

James 4:17 “So for one who knows the right way to do and does not do it, it is sin.”
This is a definition of sin. I think there are others in the Bible but I cannot remember where. But this is a good one, really.
This definition gives me encouragement and it should you too. We do not know much. No, I’m not talking about stuff we pretend not to know. This gets us into lots of trouble.
We do not know much. Don’t worry about what you do not know. God is in charge. If you need to know, God can make it happen. You can trust God.
Be concerned about what you know and be obedient. There you are. Easy isn’t it? NO! It’s not. Being responsible for what we know is all we can handle. We certainly cannot handle worrying about what we do not know. If we concern ourselves to try to figure out if we are sinning ignorantly we will make ourselves a nervous wreck.
Here is encouragement. It is all right. God is compassionate and merciful (James 5:11). Even with this seemingly easy requirement we will sin a lot. We can trust in his mercy and ask his forgiveness, determining not to be discouraged. God is compassionate.
God will reveal many things to us who wait on him, who read his word, who abide in his presence. We should aspire to be closer to God. But then at times our unbelief will cause us to sin. We will not do what we know that we should. We can know we are just like all the saints before us, even James.
There is a lot in the spiritual realm that we do not know. We cannot see spiritual things. Even with earthly things that we can see we do not know a lot. How much more with spiritual things of God that we cannot see! We do not need to be so concerned with them. We need not worry if we are sinning without knowing. God will reveal what we need to know.
James 4:17 If you know what is right and do wrong, you are sinning. It seems simple enough. But in the midst of living it is not easy.