5Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.6Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,7in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.8But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.
We know from Scripture what does and doesn't please God, and we are challenged to make it our ambition to live a life that reflects the character of Christ and the redemption that He has brought about for us. He wants to identify those areas of sin so that we can repent, confess our sins, and experience the forgiveness that He offers to us. It's important that we are reliant on the Holy Spirit to point out those areas that do not line up with God's truth so that those things which hold us back in our relationship with Him can be effectively dealt with.
In Proverbs 6, we see a list of activities and attitudes that are not pleasing to God. These don't necessarily line up completely with what are commonly known as the "seven deadly sins," but this can be a starting point for what I'd like to share in The Front Room today:
16These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:17A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood,18A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil,19A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.
The eyes of college football fans will be on Manhattan, KS tomorrow night - that is the home of Kansas State University, who will be hosting the Auburn Tigers in a battle of Top 20 foes.
I don't know a whole lot about K-State, but I do know that a team of researchers there put together a survey in 2009 that continues to make the rounds - in fact, you can Google, "7 deadly sins Kansas State," and find articles that were posted within the last few days. It's an interesting read, and provides us with some definite points for consideration.
So here's the deal on those "sins," what was measured for each of them, according to a chart on the Wired magazine website. I also added some geographical analysis.
Greed
Average income compared with number of people living below the poverty line.
Looks like much of California and the metropolitan areas surrounding Washington, DC, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston might be the leading perpetrators.
Envy
Total thefts (robbery, burglary, larceny, and grand theft auto) per capita.
Looks like the Southeast U.S. has a corner on that market.
Wrath
Number of violent crimes (murder, assault, and rape) per capita.
A very similar breakdown here - high concentrations in So. Carolina-Georgia-Florida corridor. Louisiana doesn't look good.
Sloth
Expenditures on art, entertainment, and recreation compared with employment.
Very few high concentrations, just a few scattered "hot spots."
Gluttony
Number of fast-food restaurants per capita.
Oddly enough, parts of West Texas and eastern Virginia and North Carolina take the cake here.
Lust
Number of STD cases reported per capita.
Interestingly enough, this is where Alabama and Mississippi have high numbers, as well as parts of the Eastern Seaboard.
Finally, Pride
Aggregate of the other six offenses—because pride is the root of all sin.
Mainly, the South and California have the highest numbers here.
It's a thought-provoking study and it's been attracting attention now for over 4 years. And, to think that a subject that seems to get less play in the culture is continuing to generate some fascination is a little bit odd to me.
But, the concept of sin is important. And, while some have made light of this survey, the Bible is clear in its teaching of what pleases God and what does not. And, while this list of 7 sins is by no means exhaustive, we can take this opportunity to consider sin and how to deal with it in our own lives.
We recognize for one thing that we have a propensity to sin. Since we were born as humans in a fallen world, we recognize that we were born in a state of depravity, with the capability to sin. So, no one is innately good - the Bible teaches that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
But, God has made a remedy to the sin problem in the person of Jesus Christ. If we exercise our choice to turn to Christ and be saved, we then are given a new capacity to walk righteously before God. We can also release the power of God in our lives and experience victory over the power of sin. While a sin-free life might be an unreachable standard, it seems, yet that ideally should be our standard, as we appropriate the power of the Holy Spirit.
And, we exercise that remedy by aligning ourselves with God's view of sin and experiencing God's forgiveness. One of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to convict us of our sins - He points out where we have missed the mark, but God also offers us the antidote. By confessing our sins, we recognize that Christ's blood was sufficient to cleanse us of our sins. When we come before God with a contrite and repentant heart, we place ourselves in a position to release the power of forgiveness in our lives.
It's a thought-provoking study and it's been attracting attention now for over 4 years. And, to think that a subject that seems to get less play in the culture is continuing to generate some fascination is a little bit odd to me.
But, the concept of sin is important. And, while some have made light of this survey, the Bible is clear in its teaching of what pleases God and what does not. And, while this list of 7 sins is by no means exhaustive, we can take this opportunity to consider sin and how to deal with it in our own lives.
We recognize for one thing that we have a propensity to sin. Since we were born as humans in a fallen world, we recognize that we were born in a state of depravity, with the capability to sin. So, no one is innately good - the Bible teaches that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
But, God has made a remedy to the sin problem in the person of Jesus Christ. If we exercise our choice to turn to Christ and be saved, we then are given a new capacity to walk righteously before God. We can also release the power of God in our lives and experience victory over the power of sin. While a sin-free life might be an unreachable standard, it seems, yet that ideally should be our standard, as we appropriate the power of the Holy Spirit.
And, we exercise that remedy by aligning ourselves with God's view of sin and experiencing God's forgiveness. One of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to convict us of our sins - He points out where we have missed the mark, but God also offers us the antidote. By confessing our sins, we recognize that Christ's blood was sufficient to cleanse us of our sins. When we come before God with a contrite and repentant heart, we place ourselves in a position to release the power of forgiveness in our lives.
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