@Jim
No, that is just not true.
When James in chapter 2 said "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.", He was not saying that if one disobeyed just one law of God he had disobeyed every law. Pleasing God is much the same. Here again, if one has committed just a single act displeasing to God, then he has not pleased God. That does not mean that God is displeased with every act, everything, that he does.
Yes he is. Jim, my dear friend,
every act a man does
is sin, "if not done by faith"! Surely you believe this.
Proverbs 21:4
An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.
Everything a wicked man does is sin. God rejects his looks, heart, actions. He is deeper in trouble every day (
Ro 2:5). Even innocent things like his plowing are sin if not done in faith.(Titus 1:15,16). God once drowned the world when He saw man’s every thought was evil (Genesis 6:5).
Righteousness begins in a regenerated heart that has humble thoughts and motives (
Pr 4:23;
14:14;
22:11). It continues in the looks of the countenance (
Pr 30:13;
Is 2:11), which leads to actions that honor and please the holy God (
Pr 11:20;
21:27;
Ps 11:7).
If your heart is not right with God, fully obedient to Him, your actions
are all sinful. What a horrible and damning thing is sin! The most innocent, noble, or religious activities become further condemnation when done
without a pure heart. Read how the prophet rebuked Israel for spiritual slothfulness corrupting all they did (
Hag 2:10-14).
Jim, Solomon also condemned the plowing of the wicked. What can we learn about sin in light of the plowing of the wicked? Even natural and apparently innocent activities that are duties of God and nature become sin
when done by a man without faith. Following a plow, a duty of man to feed himself, is sin when it not done in true faith. These words are God's testimony not not mine concerning how we just sin.
Every activity of man must be done to God’s glory, which the wicked
never consider (
I Cor 10:31;
Ps 10:4). Every activity must be done in faith, which the wicked do not have (
Rom 14:23;
II Thess 3:2). Every activity must include thanksgiving, which they never consider (
Rom 1:21;
II Tim 3:2). So even their breathing becomes a breath of damnation.
The religious activities of a wicked man
are worse. His prayers are an abomination (
Pr 28:9). His sacrifices are an abomination (
Pr 15:8). When he sacrifices while thinking about sin, which is common, it is worse yet (
Pr 21:27). What a horrible life, accumulating sins for the Day of Judgment, even when he is in church and puts money in the offering.
Why is this true? Because
wicked men trust in themselves, are unthankful, and pursue their own greed and pride, rather than the glory of their Creator.
God is not in all their thoughts (
Ps 10:4). They use His creation for their own selfish ends. T
hey have no regard for Him or His precepts. They ignore Him constantly and reject Him when confronted.
Before plowing, a righteous man thanks God for his and his ox’s health, sunshine, last night’s rain, the acres he owns, the opportunity to work, God’s mercy to sinners, and the hope of eternal life. While plowing, he meditates on the ox’s strength, the smell of the soil, the miracle of plant growth, the Lord’s goodness, and begs Divine mercy for more rain and greater grace. He wipes sweat away and
thanks Heaven for the body’s cooling system. At the day’s end, he gives seed to a neighbor, takes a chicken to the preacher, thanks the Lord for a blessed day, reads his Bible, confesses his sins, and loves his wife.
Before plowing, a wicked man c
omplains about the fact he has only one ox, the lack of sunshine last month, the mud from last night’s rain, the farm next door he wishes he owned, the death of his father last winter, the burden of taxes, and how life is hard. While plowing, he dreams of making more money than his brother, beating his neighbor for local councilman, and of how strong and successful he has become. Twice he swears at the sun for making the day so hot. At the day’s end, he sends the borrowing neighbor away empty, kills two chickens to glut himself, complains about how hard he worked, reads the Police Gazette, and goes to sleep thinking of his neighbor’s wife. (much of this I owe to a friend who preached from this verse a few years ago)
