06 April 2025

Sunday 6th April 2025 - The Seven Deadly Sins - Jess Jephcott

Readings: Exodus chapter 20: verses 1-11, 20:12-21 (two readings)

Martin asked me to talk to you today, in his stead, whilst he is away in Dear Old Blighty, for a family gathering.

I start with a simple prayer from Psalm 19: v14

“May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14 NIV).

Each week we come here, to our wonderful little Chapel of Saint Marie, as part of our act of worship, and we ask God’s forgiveness for our sins. Each week, I have to ask myself, what sins am I asking forgiveness for?

So, I consulted Mr Google for inspiration, and I fell upon an article that was discussing the Seven Deadly Sins. What were those sins? Are they mentioned in the Bible? What did Jesus say about them? What can we learn about them?

The origin of the Seven Deadly Sins can be traced back to early Christian theology. They were first enumerated by Pope Gregory I in the 6th century, who identified them as vices that lead to further immoral behaviour. They are given as: pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth.

By complete contrast I also read that the Seven Heavenly Virtues were also enumerated by Pope Gregory I in the 6th century, later elaborated in the 13th century by St. Thomas Aquinas, and which are given as: humility,  charity, chastity, gratitude, temperance, patience, and diligence.

So they are not strictly biblical at all. Rather, they are a theological assemblage,  based on the Bible’s teachings.

As a complete distancing from our recent series of sermons from Martin and David, I want to talk today about these seven ‘alleged’ sins. Any one of these deadly sins could easily be the subject of a lengthy sermon, but I hope to keep it simple. We can perhaps look at the heavenly virtues another day.

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Let’s start with Pride. No.1. Pride is sometimes referred to as vanity or vainglory.

On a personal note, I was asked whether I was pleased with a project that I had completed recently. The question immediately reminded me of the subject of this message, that I had been contemplating talking to you about.

I was indeed pleased with how the said project had turned out, but to say as such, would be a sin, wouldn’t it? So I faltered with my answer and gave my reason why, which provoked a lively discussion on the matter.

People are often filled with pride, proud of their children, or a personal accomplishment, or their new car. Is that really sinful?

What would Jesus have said on the matter? From:

2 Corinthians 10:18  “For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.”

In short, Jesus strongly warned his followers against pride, and taught that true greatness comes from humility and service, not self-exaltation. He called the proud ‘blind’, and makes it clear that God opposes them.

Proverbs has much to say on the matter too.

I would think that most of us struggle with the concept of pride.

So, that wasn’t a good start for me.

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Next, Envy. No.2. Put simply, envy is a resentful, dissatisfied longing for another’s possessions, position, fortune, achievements, or success. In this modern age, we are just a click away from seeing what others are up to, what they’re wearing, and who they are with. In many of us, there is a natural inclination to compare and compete, something that grows alongside envy.

From Mark, Jesus spoke of envy, after one of his many exchanges with the Pharisees.

Mark 7:20-23 “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder,  adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside, and [they] defile a person.”

St Paul didn’t hang back on this one either, with Galatians 5:19 really going to town on these sins of the flesh. But let’s not go there, shall we?

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Let’s take the next one, that of Gluttony. No.3. Gluttony covers self-indulgent excess more generally, including drunkenness.

Gluttony is the sin of over-consumption, of indulgence, and of inevitable self-destruction. God wants to be first in everyone's lives, and the flesh should never take His place. Humanity was made for more, than to merely serve physical appetites. I cannot see that Jesus said anything about the sin of gluttony, although he himself was accused of it by people, his enemies, who didn’t want to hear him speak. From:

Matthew 11:19 “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' But wisdom is proved right by her deeds."

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Jesus often talked about sin, but he never seems to have said what sin was.  This may have been because he was speaking to Jewish people in what was to become the 1st Century. Those Jewish people knew what sin was: it was disobedience to the Old Testament law – the  law of Moses, as Jesus usually called it.  So, should we, today, take care to obey every command of the law of Moses?  No.  We don’t need to.  Jesus said all the laws in the law of Moses could be summed up in just two simple laws; we must love God and we must love our fellow humans.

The Ten Commandments were written by God upon two tablets of stone and then given to Moses on Mount Sinai. Our readings from Exodus, chapter 20, read to us by Briget and Alan, gave us the record of God’s Ten Commandments, as given to Moses.

(This can be found in the Bible, both in Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21.)

We all know, deep in our hearts, we should be loving towards other human beings, and not be selfish.  We know that looking after others is good behaviour.  We know that a person who is kind and generous to others is a good person.  We also know that being selfish, is bad behaviour.  We all know that selfish behaviour is wrong.

So, what is sin? Sin is selfishness and selfishness is sin.

We all do things that are selfish sometimes.  Of course we do.  I don’t think Jesus is too concerned about our being selfish sometimes, as long as we recognise that we have been selfish and do whatever is necessary to heal any hurts that have been caused to others by our selfishness.

What Jesus is concerned about is, when we practice sin. From:

John 8:34. “Truly, truly, I say to you, every person who practices sin is a slave to sin.”

So, what does it mean to practice sin?  It means we know what we are doing is wrong, but we keep on doing it and we are not prepared to change our ways.  If we really want to change our ways, and if we admit in prayer that we have been selfish, and if we pray that our loving, heavenly Father will work in our hearts to change our ways, then our loving Father will free us from practicing sin. 

Jesus said that we are all sinners and, therefore, we should not judge or condemn others. From that oft quoted passage in the Bible, when a woman was caught in adultery and about to be stoned, Jesus was challenged by the Pharisees to give a view. We have His response from:

John 8:7 “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”

This is a powerful one for me, as I see so many hypocrites in life today who condemn others, whilst being guilty of much sin themselves. Jesus also said that his followers must forgive the sins committed by others against them.  He used particularly strong language when he said this, stating that if we do not forgive others, our heavenly Father will not forgive our sins, as indeed is encapsulated in our Lord’s Prayer.

Jesus also tells us, in the strongest terms, to be very careful not to cause others to sin. From:

Matthew 18:6 “but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”

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I have digressed somewhat, so let us get back to the deadly seven.

Next we have Greed. No.4. Greed might be defined as a selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power or food, that is always self-centered and never satisfied.

Jesus said in:

Luke 12:15. “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

The question of greed is one that all of us must face, in our jobs, in our daily activity and most importantly, in our walk with God. All of us will face the sin of greed at some point in our lives, especially as it relates to money. This is one deadly sin that I struggle to comprehend. There is such poverty in the world today, yet a few men control all the wealth. Would it make such a difference to them to give some of it away, to eradicate hunger and poverty in the world?

I often have the conversation with people about what I would do with the money if I won the lottery. What would you do with £100m?

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Lust. No.5. In the bible, lust refers to a strong craving or longing, particularly for what is forbidden. The Bible warns against such desires, emphasising their potential to lead to sin and separation from God.

This is another one of the deadly sins that I have struggled with. Now, in my 8th decade of life, the fire has died down a lot. As a younger man, it was very different; the likes of Jane Russell, Diana Dors, Brigitte Bardot, etc. paraded as sex goddesses, had a lasting effect on me. My parents weren’t much help with explaining things and there was no internet to consult. The bible was brutal on the subject.

From the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave us from:

Matthew 5:27-28 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Undeniably, it is this sin that makes the world go round, for babies to be conceived, for mankind to proliferate. Without lust, what? A contradiction?

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Sloth. No.6. Biblically speaking, sloth is laziness that comes from carelessness about the commands and priorities of God, a lack of love for God and His ways.

While Jesus didn’t use the specific term “sloth,” His teachings emphasised diligence, watchfulness, and active faith. Parables like the ‘Talents’ and the ‘Ten Virgins’, warn against spiritual laziness and unpreparedness.

In the Old Testament, the book of Proverbs is particularly rich in wisdom regarding sloth. An example of this, from:

Proverbs 13:4, “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, Although the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.”

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…and finally,

Wrath. No.7. Wrath as anger. The Bible never says that anger is inherently evil; it is what results from our anger that is sinful.  Saint Paul wrote in:

Ephesians 4:26-27. “In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”

Anger is a normal and healthy and appropriate emotion, even necessary in some circumstances.  There are things that we should be angry about:  oppression, injustice, suffering, and violence, come to mind.  But in our anger, we should not sin. 

Wrath distinguishes itself from anger in its intensity.  Anger at a real or perceived wrong can be understandable, but wrath implies a disproportional and uncontrolled response and loss of a rationality and temperance.

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Pope Gregory identified these seven sins as vices that lead to further immoral behaviour. Together with the heavenly virtues, don’t we speak of these as defining our moral values? Our morality?

Aristotle argued that morality is learned, and that we're born as “amoral creatures”, while Sigmund Freud, an uncompromising atheist, considered new-borns as having a moral blank slate.

What do you think? Can a child be born evil? Would God allow that? Of course, this opens up a whole new subject for discussion.

So, to conclude, I will continue to be pleased with my achievements, when appropriate, and especially if they please my wife. I won’t boast, but I will be happy to take pride in my work and to receive compliments, should they be bestowed. If that’s a sin, then I trust that the Lord will forgive me.

Let us pray a prayer from the 16th century.

Almighty and eternal God, by your Son, you promised us the forgiveness of sins, righteousness, and eternal life. By your Holy Spirit, lead and awaken our hearts that we daily pray for help in all afflictions, seek to be near him, believe the promise of His Word, obtain what we pray for, and at last be saved through your Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.  

Source: Veit Dietrich, 16th century German Lutheran theologian, writer and reformer.