Cowardly; the little known deadly sin

Aug 19, 2025 6 Min Read

Cowardly is being timid, fearful, lacking courage, especially in the face of danger, difficulty, or opposition.This is not simply "shyness" or introversion, but a moral failure to stand firm, especially under persecution or when one is called to testify or endure hardship for God.

It's often a little known sin but has a very huge magnitude that warrants it being named amongst sins like murders and idolatry. It therefore christians need to be courageous to enter the kingdom of God.

  • Cowardice is often omission: failing to confess Christ, failing to stand for truth, failing to do the good one knows they ought. You cannot be neutral in matters of faith since it's not just fear, it's one that overrides faith, resulting in denial of Christ, avoidance of suffering, or betrayal.

  • The coward doesn’t commit open evil, but refuses costly obedience.

Let's explore the cowardly topic.

Our lead scripture will come from Revelation 21:8

But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.

At the first glance, it is easy to ignore cowardly as a very dangerous sin and one would easily rush to idolaters, liars, murderers, imomorals and magic arts. But cowardly is a disapointment in the list. 

Elsewhere in James 4:17, we get a glimpse of a hard choice must-doings that are rarely existent in other verses.

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

It echoes that just by knowing something and failing to do it, you are a coward and therefore a sinner. That begs further questions such as how huge cowardly is. It listed amongst the biggest of sins like murderers and not just some sins like slandering or gossip. James was addressing arrogance, self-will, and presumption: James presses humility and obedience, not just avoiding obvious evils, vv13–16 rebuke those who boast about tomorrow without considering God’s will, Then v. 17 comes almost like a capstone: sin is not only the evil you commit, but also the good you withhold.

Two Categories of Sin

Most people naturally think of sins of commission—things like theft, adultery, idolatry (Gal 5:19–21, Exod 20, etc.).

Let's see how God treats the cowards - those who refuse to publicly acknowledge or profess Jesus. But James highlights sins of omission—neglecting to act when you know you should. Both reveal disobedience, but omission is subtler.

  • Commission: “doing what God forbids.”

  • Omission: “failing to do what God commands.”

Why omission is so serious

  • Knowledge raises accountability: James stresses “knowing the good.” Awareness creates moral responsibility.

  • God’s will is proactive, not neutral: Holiness is not only refraining from sin but actively walking in love, mercy, and obedience.

  • The neglected good may cause hidden harm: Not helping the needy (James 2:15–16), not using your resources wisely, not speaking truth—these failures may be just as destructive as active evil.

Biblical Echoes

  • Proverbs 3:27 – “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.”

  • Ezekiel 33:6 – The watchman who sees danger and doesn’t warn is held guilty.

  • Luke 10:31–32 – The priest and Levite who passed by the wounded man weren’t violent, but their omission condemned them.

  • Matthew 25:42–45 – The goats are judged not for murder or adultery, but for failing to feed, clothe, and visit.

  • Matthew 10:28-33 — Cowardice is denial: Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell... So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father... but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father.

  • Luke 9:26 — Ashamed of Christ: For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory…Cowardice includes being ashamed to be publicly identified with Christ. And therefore, Christ's reaction is symmetrical — He will be ashamed of them.

  • Hebrews 10:38-39 — Shrinking back: But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. “Shrink back” equals cowardice under pressure, avoiding persecution, forsaking the faith leading to destruction and not salvation.

  • Mark 8:34-38 — Losing life for Christ: If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. The coward clings to safety, avoiding the cross. Jesus calls for bold, costly discipleship. Failing to do so equals losing eternal life.

  • 2 Timothy 1:7-8: For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord… but share in suffering for the gospel…Paul contrasts cowardice (fear) with true Christian courage. He means God’s Spirit doesn’t make us cowards; we are empowered to endure suffering, not flee it.

How It Expands Sin Beyond the Lists

  • Galatians 5 and similar lists show visible, outward works of the flesh.

  • Cowardice in James 4:17 or Revelation 21:8 [cowardly] shows sin is broader: it touches conscience, hidden neglect, and missed opportunities.

  • Cowardice shifts sin from “rule-breaking” to “falling short of love and obedience.”

  • Cowardice  denies Christ for the sake of self-preservation

  • Cowardice  betrays faith under pressure

  • Cowardice  values comfort over Christ

  • Cowardice  refuses to take up the cross

  • Cowardice lets fear win over obedience

So a cowardice act is like a net that catches everything not caught by the lists. It says: even if you avoid the obvious evils, if you withhold love, mercy, or obedience when you know better, that too is sin. It therefore is eternally serious because you are like telling God you fear man more than Him. But the fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10).

It’s Not Hopeless

Since we all still have time, God is still pouring it's mercies on man. Thus all is not lost yet. Peter denied Jesus—three times—yet was restored because he repented and later stood boldly, even to the point of crucifixion.

The sin is not merely the presence of fear, but the refusal to choose Christ because of it.

“The Spirit God gave us does not make us timid (δειλίας)…” (2 Tim 1:7)

It’s not about being fearless—but about being faithful in spite of fear. Therefore I urge every reader to be bold and choose Christ openly, he will not deny you too.