The Great Sin of Doing Nothing

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon

Numbers 32:23

But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.

I. WHAT WAS THIS SIN? A learned divine has delivered a sermon upon the sin of murder from this text, another upon theft, another upon falsehood. If you take the text as it stands, there is nothing in it about murder, or theft, or anything of the kind. In fact, it is not about what men do, but it is about what men do not do. The iniquity of doing nothing is a sin which is not so often spoken of as it should be. A sin of omission is clearly aimed at in this warning — "If ye will not do so, be sure your sin will find you out."

1. It was the sin of idleness and of self-indulgence. "We have cattle: here is a land that yields much pasture: let us have this for our cattle, and we will build folds for our sheep with the abundant stones that lie about, and we will repair these cities of the Amorites, and we will dwell in them. They are nearly ready for us, and there shall our little ones dwell in comfort. We do not care about fighting: we have seen enough of it already in the wars with Sihon and Og. Reuben would rather abide by the sheepfolds. Gad has more delight in the bleating of the sheep and in the folding of the lambs in his bosom than in going forth to battle." Alas, the tribe of Reuben is not dead, and the tribe of Gad has not passed away! Many who are of the household of faith are equally indisposed to exertion, equally fond of ease.

2. This sin may be viewed under another aspect, as selfishness and unbrotherliness. Gad and Reuben ask to have their inheritance at once, and to make themselves comfortable in Bashan, on this side Jordan. What about Judah, Levi, Simeon, Benjamin, and all the rest of the tribes? How are they to get their inheritance? They do not care, but it is evident that Bashan is suitable for themselves with their multitude of cattle. Some of them reply, "You see, they must look to themselves, as the proverb hath it, 'Every man for himself, and God for us all.'" Did I not hear some one in the company say, "Am I my brother's keeper?" Soul-murder can be wrought without an act or even a will; it is constantly accomplished by neglect. Yonder perishing heathen — does not the Lord inquire, "Who slew all these?" The millions of this city unevangelised — who is guilty of their blood? Are not idle Christians starving the multitude by refusing to hand out the bread of life? Is not this a grievous sin? "But oh," says another, "they can conquer the land themselves. God is with them, and He can do His own work, and therefore I do not see that I need trouble myself about other people." That is selfishness; and selfishness is never worse than when it puts on the garb of religion.

3. But with this there was mingled ingratitude of a very dark order. These children of Gad and Reuben would appropriate to themselves lands for which all the Israelites had laboured. God had led them forth to battle, and they had conquered Sihon and Og, and now these men would take possession of what others have struggled for, but they are not to fight themselves. This is vile ingratitude; and I fear it is common among us at this very day. How come we to be Christians at all? Instrumentally, it is through those holy missionaries who won our fathers from the cruel worship of the Druids, and afterwards from the fierce dominion of Woden and Thor. Are we to receive all, and then give out nothing at all? Are we to be like candles burning under bushels? Are we to waste our life by much receiving and little distributing? This will never do. This will not be life, but death. Remember the Dead Sea, and tremble lest thou be like it, a pool accursed and cursing all around thee l The text, when spiritually interpreted, says concerning our personal service in the conquest of the world for Christ — "if ye do not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out."

4. Again, we may view this from another point of view. It is the sin of untruthfulness. These people pledged themselves that they would go forth with the other tribes, and that they would not return to their own homes until the whole of the campaign was ended. Now, if after that they did not go to the war, and did not fight to the close of it, then they would be guilty of a barefaced lie. It is a wretched thing for a man to be a covenant-breaker. It is sacrilege for any man to lie, not only unto man, but unto God. I would speak very tenderly, but if any man has been converted from the error of his ways, by that very conversion he is bound to serve the Lord. Now, if he lives only to make money and hoard it, and he does nothing for God's Church and for poor sinners, is not his baptism a lie? Once more, and I will have done with this painful subject. What would their sin be?

5. According to Moses it would be a grave injury to others. Do you not notice how he put it to them? "Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?" What an example to set! If one Christian man is right in never joining a Christian Church, then all other Christian men would be right in not doing so, and there would be no visible Christian Church. Do you not see, you non-professing believers, that your example is destructive to all Church life?

6. Moses goes on to remark that if these people did not go forth to war, they would discourage all the rest. "Wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord hath given them? "It is no slight sin to discourage holy zeal and perseverance in others. May we never be guilty of killing holy desires even in children! How often has a burning desire in a boy's heart been quenched by his own father, who has thought him too impulsive, or too ardent! How frequently the conversation of a friend, so called, has dried up the springs of holy desire in the person with whom he has conversed! Let it not be so. Yet without cold words our chill neglects may freeze. We cannot neglect our own gardens without injuring our neighbours. One mechanic coming late among a set of workmen may throw the whole company out of order for the day. One railway truck off the rails may block the entire system. Depend upon it, if we are not serving the Lord our God, we are committing the sin of discouraging our fellow-men. They are more likely to imitate our lethargy than our energy. Why should we wish to hinder others from being earnest? How dare we rob God of the services of others by our own neglect?

II. Notice WHAT WAS THE CHIEF SIN IN THIS SIN? Of course, if the Reubenites did not keep their solemn agreement to go over Jordan, and help their brethren, they would sin against their brethren; but this is not the offence which rises first to the mind of Moses. Moses overlooks the lesser, because he knows it to be comprehended in the greater; and he says, "Behold, ye have sinned against the Lord."

1. It is disobedience against the Lord not to be preaching His truth if we are able to do so. The hearer of the gospel is bound to be a repeater of the gospel.

2. We are certainly guilty of ingratitude, if, as I have already said, we owe so much to other men, and yet do not seek to bless mankind; but chiefly we owe everything to the grace of God, and, if God has given us grace in our own hearts, and saved us with the precious blood of the Only-Begotten, how can we sit still, and allow others to perish?

3. There would be sin against God in the conduct of these people, if they did not aid in the conquest of Canaan, for they would be dividing God's Israel. Shall the Lord's heritage be rent in twain? God meant them all to keep together. Can it be that any of us are dividing the Church of God; that is, dividing it into drones and workers? This would be a terrible division: and I fear that it exists already. It is apparent to those who are able to observe; and it is mourned over by those who are jealous for the God of Israel. Half the schisms in Churches arise out of the real division which exists between idlers and workers. Mind this. Be not sowers of division by being busy-bodies, working not at all.

III. We have now reached the last point, and the point that is most serious: WHAT WILL COME OF THIS SIN OF DOING NOTHING? What will come of it? "Be sure your sin will find you out."

1. It would find them out thus: they would be ill at ease. One of these days their sin would leap upon their consciences as a lion on its prey.

2. When conscience was thus aroused, they would also feel themselves to be mean and despicable. Their manhood would be held cheap by the other tribes.

3. They would be enfeebled by their own inaction. How much of sacred education we miss when we turn away from the service of God!

4. Their sin would also have found them out, had they fallen into it, because they would have been divided from the rest of God's Israel. Those who are nonworkers lose much by not keeping pace with those who are running the heavenly race. The active are happy: the haled of the diligent maketh rich in a spiritual sense. There is that withholdeth more than is meet, and it tendeth to poverty: I am sure it is so in a spiritual sense.

5. To come more practically home, if you and I are not serving the Lord, our sin will find us out.

(1) It will find us out perhaps in this way. There will be many added to the Church, and God will prosper it, and we shall hear of it: but we shall feel no joy therein. We had no finger in the work, and we shall find no comfort in the result.

(2) It may be that you will begin to lose all the sweetness of public services. By doing nothing you lose your appetite.

(3) I have known this sin find people out in their families. There is a Christian man: we honour and love him, but he has a son that is a drunkard. Did his good father ever bear any protest against strong drink in all his life? Every man should labour by precept and example to put down intemperance, and he who does not do so may be sure that his sin will find him out. Here is another. His children have all grown up thoughtless, careless, giddy. He took them to his place of worship, and he now inquires, "Why are they not converted?" Did he ever take them one by one and pray with them? If we do not look after God's children, it may be that He will not look after ours. "No," says God, "there were other people's children in the streets, and you had no concern about them, why should your children fare better?" "Be sure your sin will find you out."

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