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    does it "hatch"? After "hatching," how does it continual1y "eat its way" to the outside?

    A minister once answered a group of people who were arguing against the truth of original sin in this manner:

    "You believe in actual sin, do you not?"

    "Yes, certainly."

    "Tell me, then, have you ever seen a tree growing without a root?"

    Actual sins are of two types:

    1. Sins of omission

    2. Sins of commission

Sins of omission are sins of not doing, of omitting, that which God commands us to do - not thinking, saying, and doing that which God requires of us in His law. Sins of omission testify of our failure to live up to the standard of God's law, to live the life we should.

Sins of commission are sins of doing, of committing, that which God forbids us to do - thinking, saying, and doing that which God forbids in His law. Sins of commission testify of our rebellion against God, our transgressions of His commandments.

    "Tonight when you retire to bed," a minister once explained to his catechism class, "if you do not read a portion of Scripture, asking God's blessing upon it, you commit a sin of omission. If you read an evil book instead, you perform a sin of commission.

    A child not obeying her mother's request to first clean her room before playing, commits a sin of omission. A boy doing that which his mother told him not to do, commits a sin of commission.

    Not speaking a comforting, supporting, or rebuking word when necessary is a sin of omission. Saying a cruel, degrading, or unnecessary word is a sin of commission.

    On his deathbed, an old, faithful servant of God prayed aloud, "0 God, forgive my sin - especially my sins of omission!"

    Why did this minister emphasize his sins of omission?

    The chart on the following page illustrates the various kinds of sin:

  • Omission - Neglect or failure to do that which should have been done


  • Commission - Acting or doing that which was decided upon



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