The 7 Deadly Sins

(Below are notes from Pastor Michael's 1-24-16 sermon)

-Part 3 of the 4 part "The Line Between Good & Evil" sermon series-

The list we have of the 7 deadly sins is not found in the Bible as a list of 7, but was originally listed as such by Ponticus (desert father from the 4th century) who found that even being away from everyone he still had a tendency to sin in thought, in his mind.

The 7 deadly sins:
1. Lust
2. Gluttony
3. Greed
4. Sloth (Indifference)
5. Wrath (Anger)
6. Envy
7. Pride

Later this list was adopted by the Roman Catholic Church, and then popularized in Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” and Dante’s “Divine Comedy” (where hell is shown as having separate circles for the seriousness of sin. That’s a fictional account of hell!)

Any sin is a “deadly” sin because sin separates us from God. These were called deadly for 2 reasons.
First from Gal 5:19-21; this list called “mortal sins”
Second because they were viewed as gateway sins-each one would lead down a path to other sins in a snowball effect.

Each is a distortion of something that is good, that’s the way that the devil often works in our lives, twisting a truth of God that is good into something that is evil for us:

1.Lust is a distortion of sexuality—God’s gift for a man and a woman in the confine of marriage
2.Gluttony is a distortion of food and drink—taking a basic need and focusing solely on it, or using it in place of other things
3.Greed is a distortiona of working hard & taking care of families—want more wealth and things—Love of $$ root of all kinds of evil evil-1 Timothy 6:10; (context of passage is we come into world w/nothing and leave w/nothing and if in the meantime we food, clothing, and Jesus that should be enough)
4.Sloth (Indifference) is a distortion of rest and leisure—honoring the Sabbath a good gift, not willing to do things that stretch us
5.Wrath is a distortion of appropriate anger—Ephesians 4:26-27—holding onto anger gives the devil an opportunity to work
Anger—bitterness—hate—revenge
6.Envy is a distortion of admiration—beauty is meant to be admired, envy leads to resentment—1st murder was b/c of envy over offering
7.Pride is a distortion of a proper self-image

The first 6 sins put other things on the throne as gods in our life, pride puts ourselves on the throne. That is why I would say that this is quite possibly the most dangerous of these deadly sins, or at least it is for me. It is also the first of recorded sins. We think of the first sin as happening in the Garden of Eden, that was the first human sin, but sometime before that there was Lucifer’s sin of pride resulting in his banishment from the presence of God and his motives for enticing the same for us.

Read James 1:13-15 again.
James doesn’t blame this on the devil (like Geraldine did in the video clip we watched last week—the devil made her buy that dress!)

Conceive=give birth like in childbirth, there is this gestation period of thinking, of wondering… “a moment of the maybe”—that’s where the suggestive tricks/schemes of the devil works

How do we overcome?
In response to the 7 Deadly Sins, the Church had outlined 7 Virtues to stand in the armor of God and battle the temptations:

7 Virtues:
1. Faithfulness defeats lust
Promises, accountability, openness, transparency, don’t hide things in your life or in your marriage
2. Temperance defeats gluttony
We think “just a little more won’t hurt me” but it can. Moderation, not over indulgence, and maybe abstinence
3. Generosity defeats Greed
Thinking of others and giving something away to them
4. Sacrifice defeats Sloth
Comfort zone/expectations
5. Forgiveness defeats Wrath
Letting go and letting God, before resentment and revenge set up cold fortress in your heart, be set free through offering forgiveness
6. Kindness defeats Envy
1 Corinthians 13:4- love is kind, love is our law, love is our life
7. Humility defeats Pride
Philippians 2:3-4 (live like Jesus)

It’s not that you just say you are humble, b/c as soon as you start saying you are 100% humble what does that say about yourself?
It’s about practices that strive for humility in our life.
The parking spot at my first appointment was marked “Reserved”. I was later told that premier spot was for the pastor! When I came here I saw the closest spot marked “Guests”. So, I park in the last spot in the corner the farthest away now. I don’t park there because I am a naturally humble person, I park there because I am hoping that one day by doing this it can help make me a little more humble. It gives me a chance to pick up trash as I walk, and maybe if I can be a servant in a practical way at times that it may rub off on my soul.

Practice the virtues to defeat the vices.

Being aware of the sins help us be aware of what can happen if we put something else on the throne where God alone should be.

Martin Luther spoke of “simil iustis et peccator”- that we are both saved and sinner somehow at the same time.
I think that is because our sanctification isn’t complete yet.
God is still working on and in us, still transforming us, still holding up the mirror of truth and making us look at ourselves.

But there is also the quiet conviction that gradually, day by day, little by little, decision by decision God is with us, leading us, coaxing us, bringing us home.

Who/what is going to sit on the throne in your life?