Facing Down Sins INTRODUCTION


On September 8, MSN listed the seven deadly sins on Facebook and posted this question: “Which of the ‘sins’ have you faced down today?” Here are some of the initial responses:


• Brad: “All of the above . . . next ques- tion?”


• Lloyd: “I’m an equal opportunity sin- ner.”


• Trina: “I don’t sin . . . which means I don’t have to spend my time at church repenting, which means I can watch football with pride, on the couch without thinking of anyone else or the house I have to clean, wishing I looked like a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader, then getting furious when the other team gets a touch- down, collecting money when my team wins, then go to sleep after fill- ing myself with junk food to dream about a really hot ice-hockey player. Aw, yes—the good life of not sin- ning. You should try it sometime.”


• Joyce: “Lust has always been my favorite sin!”


• Jennifer: “Gotta be lust. I start every day and end every day with lust and, if I’m lucky, a whole lot in between!”


• Jessica: “Currently working on glut- tony and sloth; wait, I got sour cream on my keyboard!”


Why do most people treat the sub- ject of sin so lightly?


SCRIPTURE STUDY


Proverbs 6:16-19 says, “There are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: haugh- ty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers” (NASB).


In summary, those verses say God hates pride, lying, murder, a wicked heart, anxiousness to do evil, a false wit- ness, and gossip.


Refer students to Galatians 5:19-21 for a list of other sins that God hates. Discuss why God hates sin so much. Read the material below from page 5 of


the Evangel:


In the sixth century AD, the Chris- tian church firmly established a list of “the seven deadly sins.” Over the centuries, this list was popular- ized through the writings of Dante, Chaucer, Aquinas, and others. Various ideas and images developed concerning these sins, including how transgressors would be punished after death:


• Prideful: broken on the wheel • Envious: encased in freezing water • Greedy: boiled in oil • Angry: torn apart, limb from limb


• Lustful: Roasted by fire and brim stone


• Gluttonous: forced to eat rats, snakes, spiders, and toads


• Lazy or apathetic: thrown into snake pits


The biblical truth is that all sin leads to eternal separation from God, with no sin being more deadly than another. However, this list of seven sins of the heart—expressed through ungodly words, actions, and inactions—is instructive to believers today.


LIFE APPLICATION


Read the following definitions of the seven deadly sins, drawn from the Evangel feature articles: Pride: the desire to be more important than others, the automatic assump- tion that I know more about a matter than everyone else, the desire to be


more attractive than others, my failure to acknowledge the good works of others, or an excessive love of self.


Envy: painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advan- tage.


Greed: never being satisfied with one’s possessions—always wanting more and more stuff


Anger is an emotion and is not sinful in itself. The issue is what we do while under the influence of anger.


Lust: delight in sensual pleasures instead of God’s purposes


Gluttony: being a greedy eater—one who eats too much and is never satisfied


Apathy: Meaning “without passion,” apathy attacks when circumstances around us do not appear to be moving forward.


• What is similar about these seven sins? • What is different about them?


Ask yourself the Facebook question posed by MSN:“Which of the ‘sins’ have you faced down today?”


CONCLUSION


At times we can feel so overwhelmed by one of these seven sins that our situ- ation seems hopeless. The apostle Paul knew what this felt like. Before he came to Christ, anger so controlled him that he went on a murderous rampage against Christians, whom he then thought was God’s enemies. But after he encountered Christ, Paul exclaimed, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God— through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom. 7:24-25 NIV).


Have students pray for one another to experience the victory over sin that only Jesus Christ can provide.


EVANGEL | October 2010 21


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