Knowledge
is wisdom.
Have any of
you seen the show “What not to wear?”. It’s a show where people nominate their
friends to receive a $5000 new wardrobe, hair and makeup makeover but the catch
is, the person knows nothing about it.
The friends
and family of the person secretly video tape what the person is wearing over
the course of a few weeks and then when the hosts show up to surprise the
person, he or she has to watch the videotape and listen to the friends and
family talk about how poorly the person has been dressing.
One of the
things that happen time and time again is that the “victim” says, “but no one told me I looked so bad, or, I didn’t realize how
bad I looked.”
Our lives
are similar in a way as look at our relationship with God.
Proverbs 6:16-19
16 There
are six things the LORD hates,
seven that are
detestable to him:
17 haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed
innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are
quick to rush into evil,
19 a false witness who pours out lies
and a man who
stirs up dissension among brothers.
He has
given us items of “what not to do” but we need to know what they are so that we
can rate our own selves as to how we are doing and then one day when we stand
before God we won’t say, but no one told me what not to do!”
Solomon was inspired of the
Holy Spirit to write the Proverbs centuries before Christ was
born in
A good positive mental
attitude is essentially a part of Christ's religion. The Christian is taught to
think on the things that are true, and honest, and just, and pure, and lovely,
and the things that are of good report (Philippians 4 and 8), and be thankful
for those things. But, he is able to be informed of the evil things and he
needs to have information about those negative forces, so he may avoid them and
not fall victim to them. There comes a time when the most positive person in
the world needs to face the reality of some of the darker things in life. If
that growth on my ear or on my back is cancerous, it would be good for me to
know it and give it the attention that is due it. If the habit I'm forming is
addictive and damning, it would be good for me to know that, too, and face up
to the dark reality of it, and if someone would point that out to me, he would
be a blessing to me.
So this passage says that
there are six things that God hates; then a seventh is added, according to
scholars it maybe an afterthought, but more than likely and probably it is to
suit the eastern poetic form, or the style of that day. Seven in this instance
is not to be taken as a definite number, so as to exclude all other sins.
No one should feel
flattered because his sin isn't mentioned among these. All disobedience of
God's law is sin (1 John 3 and 4) and God hates all of it. Because God hates
sin should be the reason enough for any of us to condemn it in the strongest
ways possible, not only because He will surely and certainly punish all sin,
but because it separates us from Him, and destroys a lovely relationship with
Him as the Father of our spirits.
Well, the
passage says, " There are six things the LORD
hates, seven that are detestable
to him – let’s take a look at each one of the things.
1)
Haughty Eyes – PRIDE
Haughty –
proud, arrogant, conceited, self-important, overconfident
There are
seven things that God hates, and pride is the first, because it is at the
bottom of much sin and gives rise to it. God sees the pride in the heart and
hates it there; but, when it prevails to
that degree that persons overvalue themselves and undervalue all about them.
Then pride has come to a point of defiance of their need of God in their
lives.
1.
2
Samuel 22:28
You save the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty
to bring them low.
2.
Psalm
18:27
You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are
haughty.
Chapter)
3.
Psalm
101:5
Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, him will I
put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, him will I
not endure.
4.
Proverbs
16:18
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
5. Proverbs
21:4
Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the
wicked, are sin!
•
Contrast Jesus' Beatitude: “Blessed are
the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3).
God hates a proud look.
It gets pretty close to
some of us, even the person who is proud of his humility.
We are talking about that spirit or attitude that springs
from an awareness of physical, intellectual, social, or spiritual superiority. The consciousness
of superior strength, or beauty, or learning, or eloquence, or prominence of
rank, or achievement that shows itself in a disdainful tone of voice, or a
cutting remark, or some exclusive behavior.
God hates that sort of
thing. Perhaps He hates it because He sees something there that we don't always
see. It is essentially a false thing. It is self-praise which is not really
due, therefore, it is false. It projects a false image of one's self, and it's
unbecoming.
Any time any person who
raises his eyebrow at another because of his color, or education, or wealth, or
position-- well, for any reason, it's unbecoming and unlovely. A proud look is
also a cruel thing, cruel and thoughtless and inconsiderate. It wounds and it
wounds deeply, and it wounds the most sensitive souls the worst.
When Jesus was asked who is
the greatest in the
A great
example of haughty eyes is when a teenager gives you the look that says, “I don’t need you.
I can do this on my own. I don’t have to listen to you.” When we look at God
that way, He hates it.
PRIDE WILL DRIVE A WEDGE IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AND WITH OTHERS
• Besides being sin that easily can entrap us, pride is something that will
very quickly drive separate us more and more from God.
PRIDE OPENS THE DOOR TO A HOST OF OTHER SINS
• When it comes to basic descriptions, pride an attitude that focuses undue
attention on one self.
o For example, we give in to greed when we feel that SELF does not have enough;
o We give in to envy when we feel that SELF has not received its due, and honor
has gone to someone “less” deserving;
o We most often give in to anger when SELF is offended;
o We give in to a critical spirit when SELF-ESTEEM has been injured;
o We feel resentment when our own SELF is threatened by that of others.
David Rhodes
Pride is the dandelion of the soul. It’s roots go
deep, only a little needs to be left behind and it can sprout again. It’s seeds lodge in the tiniest encouraging cracks. It
flourishes in good soil. The danger of pride is that it feeds on goodness.
• The remedy from Scripture is very simple. Counter the vice with an opposite, and more powerful virtue.
o Humility.
§ How can we gain humility in our lives, especially if we
have struggled with pride?
o Confess and repent.
o Don’t take yourself too seriously
o Compare yourself upwards, not downwards
Philippians 2:3
Consider others better than yourselves
o Remember the example of Christ
§ He took “the form of a servant” even washing the disciples
feet.
o Ask for cleansing from my secret faults Psalm 19:12
§ Remember that spiritual pride is one of the most unseen
dangers of our lives.
§ It is like an iceberg, the most dangerous part of it lies
beneath the surface.
§ We do not have it within ourselves to be able to cure
ourselves, even if we could see the entire problem.
§ The remedy must lie with our trust in the God who “looks at
the heart.”
2) "A LYING TONGUE" —
Lying –
deceitful, dishonest, insincere, untruthful, false
God hates
lying. One of the easiest sins for us to justify is one that He hates the most.
Psalm
78:36
But then they would flatter him with their mouths, lying
to him with their tongues;
1.
Proverbs
12:19
Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a
moment.
2.
Proverbs
21:6
A fortune made by a lying tongue is a
fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.
3.
Proverbs
26:28
A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and
a flattering mouth works ruin.
•
Parents, teach your kids always to speak truth.
In
children’s church a couple of weeks ago, we talked about the truth and how we
must always tell the truth so that we have integrity.
Game –
coin behind my back
What
if I cheated? You would no longer
believe me and I would loose integrity with you.
Lying
destroys character.
•
Jesus: “I am...the Truth...”
• Good
relationships cannot be built without honesty.
•
Decent societies cannot survive on a foundation of falsehood and lies.
•• God
hates a lying tongue.
Proverbs
but he delights in men who are truthful.
Another translation states:
"Lying lips are an abomination to the
Lord; but those who deal truthfully are His delight."
Abomination means
disgusting. Perhaps one of the reasons why a lying tongue is so despicable in
the sight of God is that He knows that "out of the abundance of the heart,
the mouth speaks" (Matthew
We all misunderstand the
words and actions of other people at times. Of course, we do. Misunderstanding
is bad enough, even though it might be excused, but, to fabricate a story (I
mean just plainly and simply sit down and conceive an out right lie) for
whatever pretended high and noble purpose and go out and tell it against
someone for personal gain or glory or advantage over him, is the most
despicable and shameful thing people do. God hates that sort of thing, not only
because it destroys the good name and the usefulness of the one against whom
the lie is told, but because it's also ruinous to the soul of him who does it. A
person who falls into that kind of habit is self-destructive.
Note that
two of these seven hateful things refer to dishonesty – a "lying
tongue" and "a false witness who pours out lies." Why does God
condemn lying in such strong terms?
In order to
bear false witness, or to lie, you must already understand what the truth is.
That is, you know the truth, but deliberately misrepresent it or withhold it
from view. Often this deception is done for self-serving reasons.
However,
what if you didn't really believe that there is such a thing as
"truth"? What if you didn't really believe that there are objective
standards for behavior? Wouldn't it then be easier to engage in deceptive
behavior for selfish reasons?
Recently,
George Barna conducted a poll that asked adults if
they agreed with the following statement: "There are no absolute standards
for morals and ethics." Seven out of 10 people survey said they agreed
with it! That means, in a room of 10 people, seven of them would deny that
there are any objective moral rules that should govern their behavior!
With this
kind of outlook so pervasive, it's easy to see why lying and deception are so
much a part of our culture:
* 65 percent of high school students say
they have cheated on an exam in last 12 months;
* 24 percent of college students say they
would lie to get or keep a job;
* 47 percent of adults would accept an auto
body repairman's offer to include unrelated damages in an insurance claim.
If there's
no objective truth about our moral choices, then the basis for our decision to
be truthful in any given circumstance will always depend on self-serving
reasons.
But unlike
the moral relativism of most people, God absolutely hates – that is, regards as
personally offensive – a lying tongue and "a false witness who pours out
lies." God hates these things because they are so destructive:
"Telling
lies about others is as harmful as hitting them with an ax, wounding them with
a sword or shooting them with a sharp arrow." According to Proverbs 25:18
God hates
lying because He is the Source of truth. In fact, Jesus used that very word to
describe His character when He testified, "I am the Way and the Truth and
the Life." (John 14:6) Scripture further tells us that "it impossible
for God to lie" (Hebrews
In dramatic
contrast, Satan is called the "Father of lies." (John 8:44) When we
lie, we are behaving more like children of the devil then children of God. Have
you been telling lies about others lately? God says of the liar, "I will
not allow deceivers to serve me, and liars will not be allowed to enter my
presence." (Psalm 101:7)
Now, I'm
not saying it is wrong to convey accurate information if necessary, but the
question is, are you sure that what you are reporting
is true, or is it merely a rumor? Have you checked your facts? Have you gone to
the person? Spreading rumors or insinuations about other people is dishonest,
since it doesn't make the slightest effort of determining the truth about
something while passing it off as credible information.
Christians
are called to be truth-tellers in a world that "loves to live a lie."
(Revelation 22:15) Unlike the majority of others around us, "we will speak
the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ."
(Ephesians 4:15)
3) "Hands that shed INNOCENT BLOOD" —
The devil was, from the beginning, a liar and a murderer (Jn.
8:44), and therefore, as a lying tongue, so hands that shed innocent
blood are hateful to God, because they have in them the devil's image and
do him service.
Psalm
106:38
They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons
and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of
Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are evil thoughts; ruin and destruction mark their ways.
This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of
his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the
alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood
in this place.
Jeremiah
22:2-4 (in Context) Jeremiah
22 (Whole Chapter)
God detests
injustice, especially hurting the innocent for our own means, or for fun and
profit.
4) "A HEART that DEVISES WICKED SCHEMES" —
Devise –
plan, develop, create, think up, formulate, setup, concoct
1.
Psalm
10:2
In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the
weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises.
2.
Psalm
119:150
Those who devise wicked schemes are
near, but they are far from your law.
3.
Isaiah
32:7
The scoundrel's methods are wicked, he
makes up evil schemes to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the
needy is just.
••
Jesus gave a list of sins and said that they proceed “out of the heart” (Matthew
"A
heart that devises wicked plans." These are the people who use their inventiveness and
their skills, not for the good of other people, not even for the good of their
own families, but like the robbers on the road to
Whatever may be their
motive, base gain, mere profit, to wield their power, or just because they are
big enough to do it, or in the position to do it, they prey upon and seek the
destruction of any one who crosses their wicked ways. The
child molesters, the pornographers, the muggers, the rapists, those who for
profit or for pleasure or just for misuse and abuse of other people fall into this
condemnation.
When we
spend our mental and emotional energies creating strategies to sin and get away
with it, God hates that, too.
How do we
train our hearts not to be engaged devising wicked schemes?
Philippians 4:6-8
6Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your
requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends
all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8Finally,
brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is
pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or
praiseworthy—think about such things.
As Pastor
Mike has been preaching, what we think about is what we receive. We need to focus on the goodness of God and
we will receive that in our hearts.
5) "Feet that are QUICK to rush INTO EVIL" —
•• The
hated conduct here is the quickness to rush into
evil.
1You must
teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. 2Teach
the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in
faith, in love and in endurance.
3Likewise,
teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers
or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands
and children, 5to be self-controlled and pure, to be
busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one
will malign the word of God.
6Similarly,
encourage the young men to be self-controlled. 7In
everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show
integrity, seriousness 8and soundness of speech that
cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they
have nothing bad to say about us. Titus 2:1-8
•• Self-control is the antidote to quick falls into temptation.
• For
example, (Proverbs 29:11) “A fool gives
full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under
control.”
The evil heart devises
wicked imaginations and the feet are swift to carry out that wickedness. These
are the people who consort together to do evil. They tell lies, they plan
mischief and they do evil with no regard for the innocent people around them
and that are involved in their mischief.
You remember the school
"bully,” don’t you?
When I was in school, the
bully would use his fists or his words to intimidate others. Well, the school bully grew up; graduated
from the university, found a position in business, in social circles, often in
the church, but he's still what he was then-- the bully. He may use a gun or a
knife or he may use the printing press or his money to throw himself around.
And God hates that kind of behavior. It is the very opposite of what He would
have us to be and do.
Feet that are quick to rush into evil: It’s
not just sinful strategies that God hates, it’s also
the mindset that says, “Sin? I’m there, where’s the party!.”
6) "A FALSE WITNESS who pours out LIES" —
1.
Exodus
23:1
[ Laws of Justice and Mercy ] "Do
not spread false reports. Do not help a wicked man by being a malicious witness.
2.
Proverbs
12:17
A truthful witness gives honest testimony, but
a false witness tells lies.
3.
Proverbs
14:5
A truthful witness does not deceive, but a false
witness pours out lies.
4.
Proverbs
14:25
A truthful witness saves lives, but a false
witness is deceitful.
5.
Proverbs
19:5
A false witness will not go unpunished,
and he who pours out lies will not go free.
6.
Proverbs
19:9
A false witness will not go unpunished,
and he who pours out lies will perish.
7.
Proverbs
21:28
A false witness will perish, and whoever
listens to him will be destroyed forever.
• God
hates those who lie about other people.
• God
hates those who do harm and disservice to His system of justice.
•• God
hates a false witness.
It is generally understood
that the Holy Spirit is speaking here of the act of "perjury," giving
false testimony in a court of law. And there is no doubt that perjury is
included here, but perhaps there's still another (more common) way a person can
give false witness against another. What about propagating a lie about someone,
because we have no proof of this validity; it is still a lie. We hear something
that is totally untrue, we bear witness to it by telling it to other people
with no thought at all of learning first whether it's true. Such a person
didn't create the lie. He didn't personally fabricate the lie, but he gave it
credence by repeating it as though it were the truth
and he knew it was the truth.
A false witness who pours out lies: It should
tell us something that lying makes God’s hate list twice.
7) "A man who STIRS UP DISSENSION among BROTHERS" —
Dissension – opposition,
disagreement, rebellions, conflict
1. Proverbs
10:12
Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs.
Listen
to the kind of people who stir up dissension.
2.
Proverbs
15:18
A hot-tempered man
stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel.
3.
Proverbs
16:28
A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends.
4.
Proverbs
28:25
A greedy man stirs up dissension, but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper.
5.
Proverbs
29:22
An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins.
Titus
But
the Bible clearly declares that “...the Lord hates ... a man who stirs up
dissension among brothers”.
The
Bible tells us not to associate with those who are angry and stir up
dissension.
24
Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man,
do not associate with one easily angered,
25
or you may learn his ways
and get yourself
ensnared. Proverbs 22:24-25
Stirring up dissension
among people is bad in social and business circles and if it is in the church,
it can harm an entire community and cause people to fall away from their faith.
The Bible says that it is
an act of the sinful nature that will keep us from the
Some of us may have
difficulties in our relationships at home because of someone who stirs up
conflict for self reasons. Unhealthy
boundaries are one area where dissension can breed. It is difficult but God says that we are to
put some space between us and the person who is angry, hot-tempered, perverse,
greedy or angry.
So what
does this list of seven things do for us?
For one, it
helps us to know the God who loves us better.
Two, it
gives us a way to show our love for the God who sacrificed His Son for us -- by
not doing what we know He hates. We can draw close to God by doing thing that
make him pleased.
Notice the
first sentence says that there are "six things" God hates. It does
not say there are six types of people God hates. God loves us, but hates our
sin. So we are also to love one another, but we are to hate sin and evil.
From a
practical standpoint, what does this mean?
It means we
are to love everyone - meaning our actions and feeling toward everyone should
be such that we wish the best for them. However, we should not love (or accept
or tolerate) their sin.
Since we are
all sinners, there are only two types of people: unrepentent
sinners (those who do not wish to stop sinning) and repentent
sinners (those who do not wish to sin.)
1
Corinthians chapter 5 describes a unrepentant sinner,
and shows that the most loving thing we can do is to turn that person over to satan "so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and
he himself will be saved when the Lord returns." (NLT) 1 Corinthians 5:5
Someone who
is a repentant sinner should be forgiven, and helped to continue to grow
spiritually.
12Therefore
do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments
of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been
brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as
instruments of righteousness. 14For sin shall not be
your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. Romans 6:12-14
As we think
about those things that are true and noble, we continue growing in our
relationship with God. We become more
like Jesus and less like the world.
We are
saved by faith and not by works. Our
works just help us to come closer to God and understand more of Him.
As we
celebrate labor day, I want to remember that every day
we are a work of Christ. He is at work
in our lives and we are working out our salvation as we choose each day to
surrender to Him.
No matter if
you are a stay at home mom who runs her kids around, takes care of the home,
and thousands more jobs or a professional who works 9-5 in an office, you are
working as to the Lord.
Your life
is an example of what it means to be a Christian.
With
knowledge comes wisdom and I hope this morning that this reminder of things
that God hates will help us remember what to focus on in our everyday
lives.