The purpose of the book of Proverbs, so says the author is to cause people to understand the fear of the Lord for it is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of a relationship with God in that He has revealed himself to us. I would venture to say that those without the fear of the Lord would not be individuals saved from their sin. It may very well be a comparable term to salvation in the New Testament. Yet though this fear of the Lord results in salvation, it is only the beginning of where God is taking us, or as the author of Proverbs says, it is “the beginning of wisdom.”
Some have claimed that the fear of the Lord is not fear at all but merely a respect of God. But the Scripture does not portray it as anything else but fear. However, it is not a cowering fear. It is not a paralyzing fear but it is a fear that recognizes all of God’s power and might. Jesus said that if our ultimate fear is of God then other earthly terrors will not move us. He said, “do not fear those who can kill the body but are unable to kill the soul, rather fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell.” This fear of God will cause us to seek to please Him and to get on His good side. But as I will discuss at the end of this message, after we have looked at these sins that God hates, there is only one way in which we can please God and get on His good side.
The author lists seven sins that God hates. God doesn’t hate these exclusively and no others for God hates all sin. Yet in a sense God has a special hatred for these sins.
1. Pride
A. Reasons why this sin is so grievous in God’s sight
i. Pride was the original sin
The first object of God’s hatred is the sin of pride. There are two reasons why this sin is so grievous in God’s sight. The first reason why this sin is so grievous in God’s sight is that pride was the original sin. This wasn’t the original sin that Adam and Eve committed but the sin that started war in heaven through a rebellion led by Lucifer the archangel. And by Lucifer’s pride the archangel became God’s archenemy. Isaiah 14 describes this fall of Satan. Though it depicts the King of Babylon its imagery goes beyond the picture of a mere human being.
“How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations! But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’”
Five times in this passage Satan affirms his own will against God’s. Five times he says that he will rise above God and take His place. And this led to his downfall and rejection from heaven. It was this sin that caused Lucifer to leave his place of service before God in an attempt to magnify himself above God.
Can you see God’s anger at such a sin that tore heaven in two and brought about chaos into a universe in which none previously existed? God had made these angelic creatures to worship Him and to give Him glory. He gave them their very being and yet in pride they believed that they could not only exist apart from Him but also have the ascendancy over God. Pride is a reprehensible sin. And this brings us to the next reason why this sin is so grievous in God’s sight.
ii. Pride cuts man off from God as the source of life
The second reason that this sin is so grievous in God’s sight is that pride cuts man off from God as the source of life. When we become proud we, in a sense, have declared that we do not need God. We have cast Him off as our source of life. We might not see it in this way but God does. When we evidence pride in our lives it is because we feel that we are self sufficient and able to cope apart from God’s life sustaining grace.
We saw a glimpse of this when we looked at Psalm 30 last Wednesday evening. King David had declared, “In my prosperity I said I will never be moved.” David thought that he had come to a place where he could never fail. And yet God helped him to see his precarious position before God. Then he said, “You hid your face and I was dismayed.” Just the hiding of God’s face from us is enough to show us how desperately we need Him. In pride we may not think we need Him, but without Him we would not even have another breath. Without God our world would come crashing down around us. Yet in pride, we do not even recognize it. We think that because we can get out of bed and go to work or school and bring home a paycheck or get good grades that we do it because of our own might apart from the grace of God. We are sorely mistaken. This is pride of heart.
B. How does this sin evidence itself in our lives?
So, how does this sin of pride evidence itself in our lives? I think that there are two ways in which this sin of pride evidences itself in our lives.
i. Lack of prayer
First, this sin of pride evidences itself in our lives through lack of prayer. When we become proud then we fail to call out to God to meet our needs. We fail to call out to God concerning decisions that we need to make. God does not call us to pray to Him and ask Him to meet our daily needs because He doesn’t know what we need. The Scripture says that He knows our need before we ask. Why then does He have us pray if He already knows? He tells us to pray for our benefit not His. Our prayer to God humbles us. It is a sign of the recognition that we cannot live apart from Him. Prayer to God is our communication to the One who alone is able to cause us to overcome in our Christian lives.
ii. Thinking oneself better than others
Second, this sin of pride evidences itself in our lives through thinking oneself better than others. Pride is viewing yourself as self important. It raises us up and lowers those around us. Paul in Philippians 2 says that with humility of mind we are to regard one another as more important than yourselves. Yet we tend to look at ourselves as more important than others. How does this happen? We tend to magnify the faults of those around us and minimize our own faults. This always makes us look better than others.
In a book that I
was recently reading, Rees Howells, a Christian man in Wales, had a ministry of helping homeless families find places to live. As he found one family a home that was much too big for them he brought another homeless family to live with them. The first family that had recently been provided with that place to live looked at these people and said, we don’t want these people in our house they are tramps. Those who just a few days before were labeled tramps themselves now allowed pride to cause them to view themselves as better than those who still needed a place to live.
Pride will cause us also to have this same attitude against those around us.
C. How do we overcome this sin of pride?
How do we overcome this sin of pride? The Scripture says that the Lord hardens the proud but He gives grace to the humble. We are to humble ourselves before the Lord. We should meditate on the fact that we need the Lord in all the affairs of this life and God will lift us up. The Scripture says that as we humble ourselves before Him that the Lord will lift us up in due time. He alone can and will do this if we will simply acknowledge our need before Him.
2. Lying
The second object of God’s hatred is the sin of lying. Here again there are at least two reasons why this sin is so grievous in God’s sight.
A. The reasons why this sin so grievous in God’s sight
The first reason that this sin is so grievous in God’s sight is its opposition to God’s character . When we lie we are at opposite ends of the spectrum from God, who the Scripture says, “cannot lie.”
God’s truthful character is the foundation upon which the Scripture is built. When we lie as believers, we undermine God’s purposes in us. If we are called to proclaim the truth of the Gospel to those around us, how will they believe if they see us representing the truth of God with a lie? As God’s ambassadors we are representing Him in every area of our lives, which includes our speech.
The second reason that this sin is so grievous in God’s sight is because God’s enemy, Satan, is the Father of lies and when we lie we align ourselves with him. Jesus said that Satan has been lying from the beginning and whenever he speaks a lie he speaks from his own nature. And so when we lie we are merely reflecting our old nature, the sinful nature that we received from our father Adam.
We, who in our reconciliation through Christ were made friends with God, go back to using the enemy’s language when we lie. Do you see why this is so grievous in God’s sight? We need to be looking at these sins in God’s way as we seek to overcome them in our lives.
B. How does this sin evidence itself in our lives?
So how does this sin of lying evidence itself in our lives? The first way that this sin evidences itself in our lives is through not telling the whole truth. We might favor our side of the story to make ourselves look better. Like telling the policeman that they pulled out in front of you when they had the stop sign but neglecting to say that you were going 45 in the 25 so they weren’t able to see you coming around the corner. Or telling your employer that the reason you were late was because you had a problem with your alarm clock. But you failed to say that it was broken because you chucked it against the wall this morning.
We cannot avoid the truth just because it will make us look worse than we want people to see us.
Sometimes we lie so that we will make some kind of gain. Perhaps we don’t put down all relevant income on our taxes. Or perhaps we neglect to write something on a job application so that we won’t be passed over.
Another way that this sin evidences itself in our lives is through the minimizing the seriousness of lies. We tend to categorize this sin where the Scripture makes no category. We talk about white lies and spinning or stretching the truth. But truth that is spun or stretched is truth that is distorted. And distorted truth is simply a lie. We need to recognize that lying is only the language of the devil and that we must see it as such. And in viewing this from the Lord’s point of view, let us also put it far from us as Christians.
C. How do we overcome this sin of lying?
So how do we overcome this sin of lying? In Ephesians 4, the Scripture say that as we put off lying from our lips we are to replace it with truth telling and positive speech that benefits those around us. We are not to be deceptive or cunning but open and honest with those around us. And as we put off these acts of lying and renew our minds in the truth of God’s Word we are to seek opportunities to speak truth to those around us. And we are to remember that we must speak truth to one another in this local assembly especially because as Paul says, “We are members of one another.”
3. Murder
A. The reason why this sin is so grievous in God’s sight
The third object of God’s hatred is the sin of murder. It is the shedding of innocent blood. The reason that this sin of murder is so grievous in God’s sight is that it devalues what God values highly, human life. In Genesis 9, God placed into the hands of government the death penalty for the purpose of putting to death those who murder another. God highly values human life for one reason and he states it in Genesis 9. Because man is made in God’s image. And therefore when someone destroys human life they are declaring that they think the same way about God. When one of the ancients disdained someone else’s god, if they believed it lacked power, they would destroy the idol or image that represented it.
Man is made in God’s image and though marred by sin the glimmer of that image remains. When someone kills a human being they are showing their hatred of God. They are saying, “The God who made that person in His image is worthless to me.” So the gang member who shoots someone on the street, the abortionist who removes that young life from the protection of that mother’s womb, the doctor who orders a lethal overdose of medication all are saying the same thing. God we hate you and challenge your rule over this world.
This is why it is such a heinous thing in God’s sight. But can we go one step further? When Jesus said that those who hate someone have committed murder already did He really mean it? How can hatred be the same as murder? By hating that person, in your mind, you are seeking to destroy them without having the guts to carry out the action. You are in essence saying that God made a mistake in making them and that their worth and their claim to being here is less than your own. You fail to recognize that God in His sovereignty created them as well as you. And that they are created as much in the image of God as you are. And you know as well I as do that murder takes place in a thousand other ways than through the physical act. Have you never participated in the assassination of someone’s character or the murder of their peace or the slaying of someone’s prosperity? Destroying their lives in any of these ways or desiring it is murder even as the physical act. Perhaps here I need not go any further into how this sin evidences itself in our lives. Do you see why we could never claim to be perfectly right with God?
B. How do we overcome this sin of murder?
So how do we overcome this sin of murder? Jesus said that we must love our enemies, bless them that curse us, do good to them that hate us, and pray for them who despitefully use us and persecute us. Peter in a similar way says that we are to not return evil for evil or insult for insult, but give a blessing instead. For we were called for the purpose of blessing others.
4. Evil Imagination
A. The reason why this sin is so grievous in God’s sight
The fourth object of God’s hatred is the sin of an evil imagination. Solomon here says that this is a heart that devises wicked plans. He does not mention whether or not the deeds are carried out but only that the deeds are wrought in the imagination.
The reason that this sin is so grievous in God’s sight is that the person who has an evil imagination rejects the truth that God knows what are the thoughts of their heart. They fail to give God the glory He deserves by thinking they can somehow exclude Him from their thoughts and elude His grasp. They might say they recognize that God knows their heart. They may acknowledge and give lip service to it but their action of ongoing evil imagination betrays their true thoughts. They refuse to believe in their heart the truth of verses such as Hebrews 4:13, “there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” or Romans 2:16 where Paul says that “God will judge the secrets of men.”
In continuing in evil imaginations, people reject the omniscience of God and they say along with Psalmist concerning the wicked who that declare, “The LORD shall not see nor shall the God of Jacob regard it.”
B. How does this sin evidence itself in our lives?
So how might this sin evidence itself in our lives? Perhaps it comes as a seed thought that lodges itself in your mind. Then you begin to meditate on that secret desire. Your mind is caught up in imagination of such a thing, as you wouldn’t do, except now you see yourself doing it. That is the wickedness of such a sin. Though you wouldn’t do it, yet you are thinking about doing such.
C. How do we overcome this sin?
How do we overcome this sin? Paul says in Phil. 4 that “whatever things are true whatever things are honest, whatever things are just whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of a good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things.” Also we have to recognize that the enemy’s first line of attack comes against our mind because he knows that if he can get us to think in a certain way then we will act in a certain way. This is what Paul says in 2 Cor. 10:4-5. “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” We need to be preparing our minds for action (as Peter says).
5. Quick to do evil
Because of time, though I would like to cover them in depth, I will briefly cover the next two sins and then look more closely at the last. The fifth object of God’s hatred is the sin of being quick to do evil. This is grievous in the sight of God because it shows no restraint in a person, the lack of the fruit of the Spirit of self-control. A person who is quick to do evil has already given themselves over to their own desires. Their conscience has been seared to its core and there is nothing that is hindering them in their sin because they have grown accustomed to evil.
6. Oath Breaker
The sixth object of God’s hatred is the sin of being an oath breaker. The first part of verse 19 says that God hates “a false witness who utters lies.” Being a false witness is similar to a liar but is more serious because this witness has made a promise by God Himself that he would tell the truth. And the matter at hand usually involves the harming of the innocent or the screening of the guilty. There may be an innocent person who will suffer at this oath breaker’s lies like those false witnesses at the trial of Jesus Christ. Or perhaps some guilty person will be kept from the justice that is due them through these lies.
This witness uses God’s name to hide behind while he attempts to lie with impunity. Though they claim to fear God’s name in taking an oath they think nothing of the fear of God. They are practical atheists who use the name of God in a serious way (invoking a curse upon themselves) but do not really believe that He will or can act against them.
7. Strife Creator
A. The reason why this sin is so grievous in God’s sight
The seventh object of God’s hatred is the sin of being a strife creator. Again I think this sin is so grievous in God’s sight because it is related to Satan’s work. He is the accuser of the brethren. Throughout Scripture we see his accusing work which causes division in the body of Christ. Our church is a family. And Satan would love to see it divided over petty issues that have no real basis in the Word of God. The apostle Paul mentioned this in Romans 16. He said to watch out for those who cause divisions that are contrary to the teachings that you have learned. For such people are not serving the Lord Jesus Christ but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naïve people. Then in verse 20 he includes the source of this division when he says, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”
B. How does this sin evidence itself in our lives?
Whether in our own families at home or in this body here, God wants us to be at peace with each other. And so how do we recognize this sin? How does this sin evidence itself in our lives? When we seek to find fault in the lives of others, when we are ungrateful for those in our family, when we seek to harm those in our family and when we speak evil about those people we are creating strife. We need to recognize this when it crops up in our midst.
We carry out the designs of Satan when we speak about others in a way that would hurt them. We are being deceived if we think that speaking about someone else to another person will help them. We need to go to that person directly and deal with them with the right attitude, as the book of Galatians says, with the spirit of meekness lest you also are tempted.
C. How do we seek to overcome this sin?
And how do we seek to overcome this sin? First we to recognize that the Scripture says this is hateful and wicked. Paul in Colossians says that we must, “Bear with one another, and forgive each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love which the perfect bond of unity.” The Scripture gives a realistic view of family life. It doesn’t say that everything will be perfect. It says that we must forgive each other. Paul says that in it we are to work out the troubles that crop up not to ignore them or share them with someone else. He says that we are to bear with one another, not be a bear to one another.
We must acknowledge that the Scripture has the answer for all our relational problems with one another. And that seeking to hide from them or breaking away from them is not the answer. God calls us to unity in the bond of love and we must practice this through the same grace that has forgiven all our sin.
As a believer in Jesus Christ what should our response be to each of these sins?
We should look at them in the same way that God does.
In viewing them as God does, we ought to confess them, agreeing with God that He is right and we are wrong.
We should, in hating them, by God’s grace seek to put them out of our lives. Then in recognizing it we ought to meditate on what God’s Word says about it and by faith live out the godly quality that is opposite of what we had been practicing.
Now back to what we initially discussed concerning the fear of God. Perhaps you are beginning to discover the fear of God. Maybe even now you recognize that you have offended a holy God who is angry at sin and will one day judge and punish all sin. And you want to get on His good side. You want Him to be pleased with you.
I tell you that there is only one way. That way is not to try the best you can and hope that God will be lenient with you. God says in His Word that He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. There is only one way to be accepted by God and that is to be completely righteous in God’s sight. And none of us can be completely righteous by our own effort unless God provides some way to receive that righteousness.
And He did this through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross. His Son, though perfect, took the full penalty for you by dying on the cross. In His suffering, He experienced the punishment of hell that you deserved. And now God offers it to every sinner who will come to Him. Our righteousness is unable to afford us protection from the fierce wrath of the judgment of God. The apostle Paul said that if righteousness could come through the law, then Christ died needlessly. Today you can have your sins forgiven through Jesus Christ and have an eternal relationship with God.