What is sin? Sin is the transgression of God’s law (1 John 3:4 KJV). Why is sin so deadly? The Bible tells us that “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23a). In other words, sin has deadly consequences. The seven deadly sins were compiled by Pope Gregory I around 600AD and they were probably used extensively as a means to teach principles from God’s word particularly before the Bible was available to the common people to read and study.
The seven deadly sins are: 1) Pride, 2) Wrath/Anger, 3) Envy, 4) Impurity/Lust, 5) Gluttony, 6) Slothfulness/Laziness and 7) Avarice/Greed.
What are the 7 Deadly Sins?
“After a minister had spoken strongly against sin one morning, one of his members said, ‘We don’t want you to talk so plainly about sin because if our boys and girls hear you mention it, they will more easily become sinners. Call it a mistake if you will, but do not speak so bluntly about sin.’
The minister went to the medicine shelf and brought back a bottle of strychnine marked POISON. He said, ‘I see what you want me to do. You want me to change the label. Suppose I take off this poison label and put on some mild label such as peppermint candy. Can’t you see the danger? The milder you make the label, the more deadly the poison.'” (Graham Billy, The Seven Deadly Sins, p.9).
The 7 Deadly Sins are not listed in a single Bible verse. However, they can be validated from several verses in the Bible. The classification of The Seven Deadly Sins came about at the end of the sixth century by Pope Gregory the Great. He maintained that every sin man commits can be classified by seven words. He named the sins: pride, wrath or anger, envy, impurity, gluttony, slothfulness or laziness and avarice or greed (Graham Billy, The Seven Deadly Sins, p.9).
1. Pride
Pride seems to be the sin that comes first. “Pride goes before destruction [or a fall]” (Proverbs 16:18). “Pride is thus the mental and moral condition that precedes almost all other sins” (The Seven Deadly Sins, p. 15).
What is pride? “It is a haughty, undue self-esteem out of all proportion to our actual worth. It is that repugnant egotism which is repulsive to both man and God. It is that revolting conceit which swaggers before men and struts in the presence of God” (The Seven Deadly Sins, p. 15-16).
“The Bible teaches that pride is sin. Any kind of pride is a stumbling block to the kingdom of God. The greatest sin that will keep men and women from the kingdom of God is the sin of pride in all its forms and appearances” (The Seven Deadly Sins, p. 22).
2. Wrath/Anger
Wrath or anger is one of man’s most destructive sins. It can destroy relationships, homes, churches and communities. No one is immune from anger. Anger murders, assaults and attacks causing physical and mental harm to its victims (The Seven Deadly Sins, p. 25).
As James says, “Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:19b-20).
“We all know that hot, violent anger is unrighteous, un-Christlike and unhelpful. God, in love and mercy, has promised both to forgive us the sin of anger and to cleanse us from it” (The Seven Deadly Sins, p. 30)
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
3. Envy
“Envy and jealousy can ruin reputations, split churches and cause murders. Envy can shrink our circle of friends, ruin our business and dwarf our souls” (The Seven Deadly Sins, p. 37).
“Envy is also forbidden because it takes the joy, happiness and contentment out of living. It is impossible to know serenity and contentment as long as jealousy is in one’s heart” (The Seven Deadly Sins, p. 43).
Envy has much to do with money and possessions. It creates an unhealthy competitiveness. That’s why the Bible says, “Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another” (Galatians 5:26).
The Seven Deadly Sins in Order!
| ORDER | TYPE | EXPLANATION |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pride | The inflated sense of one’s accomplishments! |
| 2 | Wrath/Anger | The uncontrolled feelings of hatred and hostility! |
| 3 | Envy | The jealousy towards another’s happiness! |
| 4 | Impurity/Lust | The unrestrained sexual cravings! |
| 5 | Gluttony | The over-indulging, especially over-eating! |
| 6 | Slothfulness/Laziness | The lack of effort – Laziness! |
| 7 | Avarice/Greed | The excessive desire for material things! |
4. Impurity/Lust
“The sin of impurity at the outset does not appear ugly and venomous. It comes in the guise of beauty, symmetry and desirability. There is nothing repulsive about it. Satan clothes his goddess of lust as an angel of love, and her appearance has deceived the strongest of men” (The Seven Deadly Sins, p. 49).
Impurity destroys relationships, families, homes and churches. Impurity distorts one of God’s most precious gifts to man, which is human love. It often drags it down to the level of beasts. That’s why God said, “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14).
“Thousands of people are held in the iron grip of impurity and immorality. Sin, because they have obeyed it and yielded to it, has become their master. ‘Whosoever committeth sin is a servant of sin’ (John 8:34). Is there any hope for those who are held in the grip of impurity? Yes, there is! If you bring your life to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith, God will forgive every sin.” For Christ suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).
5. Gluttony
“Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins and has been placed by the church fathers right alongside pride, envy and impurity. It is a sin that most of us commit, but few of us mention. It is one of the most prevalent sins among Christians (The Seven Deadly Sins, p. 64).
What is gluttony? Simply put, gluttony is overindulgence. Gluttony is at the heart of the philosophy of prosperity and plenty. A philosophy that says: build bigger, take it easier, drink more, eat more and enjoy life more.
Philippians 3:18-19 says, “For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame-who set their mind on earthly things.”
6. Slothfulness or Laziness
“The Bible indicates that the sin of slothfulness engenders a negative kind of life which is stagnant and ineffective and which renders a person unworthy of being a follower of Jesus Christ. Spiritual laziness is not only a sin against God-it is a sin against yourself. It measures the distance between what you ought to be and what you actually are. It shows the difference between the person you are and the person you could be” (The Seven Deadly Sins, pp. 77-78).
Slothfulness or laziness leads to unfaithfulness. It is insidious and subtle.
7. Avarice/Greed
What is avarice or greed? It is the philosophy that says, “Look out for number one!”
“It cheats, robs, murders and slanders to achieve its desires. The Bible teaches that we are born with the sin of avarice. We read in Jeremiah 6:12 that ‘from the least of them, even unto the greatest of them, everyone is given to covetousness.’ Babies are born with selfish, grasping, greedy natures. Though they cannot make requirements known in words, they have a way of making their desires known” (The Seven Deadly Sins, p. 91).
The Seven Deadly Sins may seem inescapable, nevertheless, Jesus has set us free from the power of sin (John 8:36).
Source: Graham Billy, The Seven Deadly Sins (London: Marshall, Morgan and Scott Ltd) 1956