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James 4:17 KJVS. [17] Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Up to this verse in Chapter 4, James had pointed out to the Jewish believers some of their faults.  He had covered everything from quarrels to critical spirits to being pretentious in making business plans.  He has given several warnings that challenged the readers to examine their motives, their intentions and their hearts.   

James now makes a statement that has been quoted over the years, used as the basis for sermons and has motivated numerous essays, letters and books.  He says to them that, because of all he has already written—that’s the”therefore”—it is committing sin if one knows to do good but does not do good.  

His statement can be made by any spiritual leader in the Christian church world of today.  The fact of the matter is that a person who knows what should be done but chooses not to perform that action is sinning.  Failure to do, be, say or even think that which is good is disobedience against the source of all good.  It is disobedience against God.

It has been said that not choosing good is choosing evil.  Not acting in a proper manner will result in improper actions.  Not speaking out against evil is equal to speaking for evil.  Not choosing, is, in reality, choosing the opposite of that which one chooses not to do.   

There is a progression in this verse that we need to consider.  The first step in that progression is gaining knowledge of doing good.  When we learn the difference between good and evil, we learn the difference between proper actions and improper actions.  

There is a huge difference between an action being legal or acceptable according to civil law, which deals with our physical world,  and something being acceptable or unacceptable according to moral law, which deals with the spiritual world.  Moral law, the spiritual law, is based in knowing the difference between good and evil.  Moral law establishes right from wrong according to God’s commandments.   

When we learn good from evil by learning God’s moral instructions, we come to the second step in the progression.  We then have to decide if we are going to do good or if we are going to do evil.  Knowledge of the difference between good and evil places us in the position to either follow moral law and do good or to disregard moral law and do evil.

This part of the progression is when faith comes into play in our lives.  We have to believe that following moral law and doing good will lead to greater benefits for our lives than doing evil will bring into our lives.  We have to choose to place our trust for the future in living according to what God says about how to live in good actions as opposed to evil actions.  That choice requires faith.

We then come to the important step of actually doing the good actions, saying the good words and thinking the good things that the moral law of God says we should think, say and do.  If we have learned the difference between good and evil, decide to have faith in doing good but do not actually do good, then we have negated our choice to have faith.  

Allow me to give you an analogy of what I’m saying.  I enjoy drinking a good cup of coffee.  Years ago, I learned how to make a pot of coffee that suits my taste.  I learned which brands have less acid and how much coffee to use for a pot full.  I learned how to brew the coffee and how to pour it into a cup without spilling it.  But if I do not actually drink that coffee, my knowledge and preparation of the coffee will be useless to me.  I will have wasted my time, water and coffee grounds.  Not drinking the coffee would be equal to never having made it.

That’s the concept James is presenting in this last verse of Chapter 4.  We have to do more than know about good and choose to believe in good.  We must actually do the good, or our knowledge and faith will have been wasted.  Not doing the good would be equal to choosing evil.