Any Sin of an individual is never isolated to that one person because it affects other people—often in an unseen manner. One thing is fore sure is that individual's sin reaches far and wide into families, friend and even person unknown to you. Much like the watery rippling rings emanating from a pebble tossed into a pool of water, the outward reaching effects of the sin of one person can affect many others. We can see this exact pattern in Romans 5:12-14 where one man sinned and it affected the whole world. “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.
Some people, religious or otherwise, believe Sin can be ranked one worst than the other. Many, mistakenly believe the Bible lists the “Seven Deadly Sins” as “pride, greed, lust, wrath, gluttony, envy, and sloth.” This list of sins does not have a direct biblical reference, although, at one point or another, each is censured or condemned. This grouping of seven sins emerged when first compiled by Pope Gregory around 590 AD. Pope Gregory also compiled a list of the seven virtues: faith, hope, charity, justice, prudence, temperance, and fortitude.
But let's not get twisted by man's misguided convolutions, by a Pope or otherwise. Let get back to where we belong—back into the Bible. Turning to Proverbs Chapter 6, in its entirety, we read from the ERV, Easy-to-Read Version.
Dangers of Debt
My son, don’t make yourself responsible for the debts of others. Don’t make such deals with friends or strangers. If you do, your words will trap you. You will be under the power of other people, so you must go and free yourself. Beg them to free you from that debt. Don’t wait to rest or sleep. Escape from that trap like a deer running from a hunter. Free yourself like a bird flying from a trap.
The Dangers of Being Lazy
You lazy people, you should watch what the ants do and learn from them. Ants have no ruler, no boss, and no leader. But in the summer, ants gather all of their food and save it. So when winter comes, there is plenty to eat.
You lazy people, how long are you going to lie there? When will you get up? You say, “I need a rest. I think I’ll take a short nap.” But then you sleep and sleep and become poorer and poorer. Soon you will have nothing. It will be as if a thief came and stole everything you owned.
Troublemakers
Some people are just troublemakers. They are always thinking up some crooked plan and telling lies. They use secret signals to cheat people; they wink their eyes, shuffle their feet, and point a finger. They are always planning to do something bad. But they will be punished. Disaster will strike, and they will be destroyed. There will be no one to help them.
What the Lord Hates
The Lord hates these seven things: eyes that show pride, tongues that tell lies, hands that kill innocent people, hearts that plan evil things to do, feet that run to do evil, witnesses in court who tell lies, and anyone who causes family members to fight.
Warning Against Adultery
My son, remember your father’s command, and don’t forget your mother’s teaching. Remember their words always. Tie them around your neck and keep them over your heart. Let this teaching lead you wherever you go. It will watch over you while you sleep. And when you wake up, it will give you good advice.
Your parents give you commands and teachings that are like lights to show you the right way. This teaching corrects you and trains you to follow the path to life. It stops you from going to an evil woman, and it protects you from the smooth talk of another man’s wife. Such a woman might be beautiful, but don’t let that beauty tempt you. Don’t let her eyes capture you. A prostitute might cost a loaf of bread, but the wife of another man could cost you your life. If you drop a hot coal in your lap, your clothes will be burned. If you step on one, your feet will be burned. If you sleep with another man’s wife, you will be punished.
A hungry man might steal to fill his stomach. If he is caught, he must pay seven times more than he stole. It might cost him everything he owns, but other people understand. They don’t lose all their respect for him. But a man who commits adultery is a fool. He brings about his own destruction. He will suffer disease and disgrace and never be free from the shame. The woman’s husband will be jealous and angry and do everything he can to get revenge. No payment—no amount of money—will stop him.
Yes, with a little more Biblical research we can come up with some very specific or overlapping things. In every case, we should avoid each of the following because God hates them.
1. Homosexual acts (Leviticus 18:22).
2. Bestiality (Leviticus 18:23)
3. Idols, and the materials used to make idols (Deuteronomy 7:25)
4. Blemished sacrifices (Deuteronomy 17:1)
5. Worshiping the sun, moon or stars (Deuteronomy 17:3-4)
6. Divination (Deuteronomy 18:10)
7. Astrology (Deuteronomy 18:10)
8. Enchanters (Deuteronomy 18:10)
9. Witches (Deuteronomy 18:10)
10. Charmers (Deuteronomy 18:11)
11. Wizards (Deuteronomy 18:11)
12. Necromancers (Deuteronomy 18:11)
13. Transvestism (Deuteronomy 22:5)
14. The hire of a whore (Deuteronomy 23:18)
15. Remarriage to a former wife after she has been married again (Deuteronomy 24:4)
16. Dishonest scales (Deuteronomy 25:13-16)
17. Workers of iniquity (Psalm 5:5)
18. The wicked (Psalm 11:5)
19. Those who love violence (Psalm 11:5)
20. The froward [perverse] (Proverbs 3:32)
21. A proud look (Proverbs 6:16-17)
22. A lying tongue (Proverbs 6:17)
23. Hands that shed innocent blood (Proverbs 6:17)
24. A heart that devises wicked imaginations (Proverbs 6:18)
25. Feet that are swift in running to mischief (Proverbs 6:18)
26. A false witness speaking lies (Proverbs 6:19)
27. Anyone who sows discord among brethren (Proverbs 6:19)
28. Lying lips (Proverbs 12:22)
29. The sacrifices of the wicked (Proverbs 15:8)
30. The ways of the wicked (Proverbs 15:9)
31. The thoughts of the wicked (Proverbs 15:26)
32. The proud in heart (Proverbs 16:5)
33. Those who justify the wicked (Proverbs 17:15)
34. Those who condemn the just (Proverbs 17:15)
35. Vain sacrifices (Isaiah 1:13)
36. Feasts as Israel celebrated them (Isaiah 1:14)
37. Robbery for burnt offering (Isaiah 61:8)
38. Idolatry (Jeremiah 44:2-4)
39. Evil plans against neighbors (Zechariah 8:17)
40. False oaths (Zechariah 8:17)
41. Esau (Malachi 1:1-3; Romans 9:13)
42. Divorce (Malachi 2:14-16)
43. The deeds of the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2:6, 15)
44. You shall not set up a sacred pillar, which the LORD your God hates. (Deuteronomy 16:22).
45. I hate, I despise, your feast days. (Amos 5:21). This goes with Isaiah 1:14: "Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates."
Evidence of violence, cheating, stealing, and evading the truth can be seen in the youngest of children, just as in less than perfect preachers and past Presidents. Adultery, promiscuity, and the litany of other sins runs rampant among the young and the old in today's' modern world.
A week or two ago, while watching a movie with an interesting story-line, I had to turn it off. Why? It was filled with absolutely unnecessary swear words that added nothing to the intensity of the plot. Selecting a different movie, I soon found most of the main characters there involved in adultery or promiscuous sex with someone of the same gender. A recent Gallup poll estimated that nearly one in four Americans are gay or lesbian, Men 17.4% and women 29.7%.
Turning those movies off, I retreated to a repeated episode of “The Big Bang Theory.” Yes, in a strict sense, that comedy show could be criticized as well.
But getting back on point. Every sin has ever-flowing, ever-outward oscillations detrimental not only to the involved parties but to others as well, be they innocent or guilty. The misdeeds of the grandchild of Henry Ford is a fairly good bad example. A fleeting glance at a woman he later described as "the most beautiful woman he ever saw"—led his family into a downward spiral. Yes, in the early 1960s, Henry Ford II (grandson), began an affair with Cristina Austin, an attractive socialite. He kept the affair a secret for as long as possible, but one night his wife, Anne, walked into the restaurant where he and Cristina were dining. In a controlled, well-mannered fashion (showing she was a true Lady,) Anne said, "This was bound to happen sometime sooner or later."
Henry persisted in the affair, ending two-decades of marriage in divorce. Their daughters, Charlotte and Anne (mother and daughter Anne share the same name), were furious at their father for his behavior for breaking up their happy home. Sin's outward oscillations were just beginning.
Henry, determined to reconcile with his daughters, invited them to join Cristina and himself in St. Moritz, Switzerland. There, his daughter, Charlotte met the Greek shipping tycoon, Stavros Niarchos. They began an impassioned, illicit affair. Returning stateside, she would soon give birth to their illegitimate daughter. That was a lasting ripple of sin, was it not? Still, more sin and heartbreak was to follow.
Stavros, aware of the pregnancy, divorced his wife and married Charlotte. They were not an ideal match. Not only was he far older than Charlotte; he was even eight years older than her father. They lived together only occasionally, divorced in two years and Stavros remarried his first wife.
This sin of adultery, as most sins do, plays itself ever onward for years if not for generations. Many people suffer for the sins of others. The lesson on this for all is, of course, highlighted in the Bible through the sins and weakened afflictions of David. 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel cover the bulk of the life of David and they read like an exciting, action-packed novel. His story actually begins with his great-grandmother Ruth, who is Jewish by choice, rather than natural-born. His lineage is mentioned at the end of the book of Ruth but you can learn more of David and the beginning of Solomon's rule as king (his son) you should also read 1st Kings 2, as well.
David was the greatest of all kings in ancient Israel, a leader who presided over a golden age for the people of God. As a poet, musician, and warrior, he was truly a “Renaissance Man.” We think of David as a saint, as a man after God's own heart. Yet the Bible is candid, vividly describing David's various sins and misdeeds. David is remembered as one of the Bible's 'greatest' sinners because of his atrocious actions revolving around Bathsheba. His consummated sin affected the innocent lives of many others, even leading to the death of Uriah, her lawful husband and righteous leader of his army.
Did David’s adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband Uriah start “innocently?” No! The first step down David's path to sin was not lust, as many people think. It was a combination of unfaithfulness and laziness, whatever you wish to name it. He was not only being unfaithful to his other eight wives and his concubines, he was being unfaithful to the many men serving in his army. As King, he should have at least been in the field of battle, if not actually leading his troops as he had in the past.
No, he choose to lay around all day and only got up as the sun was going down. David, who had so much that needed doing, was taking it easy. Several verses in Proverbs describe what David was doing (24:30-34). In the spiritual realm of his heart, David was allowing the seeds of sin to flourish. He certainly wasn't thinking of Proverbs 28:14 “Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble.”
We don't often think of laziness as a sin, at least not a grievous sin. No sin is small. All sin is against God, and may, if not most probably, have immeasurable consequences. In his slothfulness, his dereliction of his God Given duty, David had lost his sensitivity to displeasing God.
David, by laziness, deserted his army. Maybe as a retired serviceman, I'm going a little off the wall about this—but David failed to do his duty because he was not fighting with his army. His latter actions concerning Uriah was worse than murder, it was treasonous!
David's lust for Bathsheba was wrong from the start. His sin then grew with unguarded, uncontrolled lust. David was sauntering about the roof of his palace when he saw Bathsheba bathing. The king could have turned his gaze away, but he found himself drawn to another man’s wife. Consumed by his lust, he used his authority to bring her into his house and ended up fathering an illegitimate child.
How often do we put ourselves in similar predicaments? Where little wrong doings lead to more pain and sorrow after fleeting moments of greed or acts of misplaced gossip or pride? How often do we relish the taste of our lusts, fueling unashamed fires of wickedness as David did? How often do we give God less than our best? How often do we hear but choose to ignore the words of Paul: “Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). Such wonderfully needed advice! Why didn't David listen to similar words that God had written on his heart? Why do we sometimes forget?
David's escapades are fitting illustrations of what happens when people sin? From there it is easy to disregard the effects our evil actions will have on others as we sin against them. David did just that when he violated the trust of Uriah, the very man who was murdered defending David's throne.
Of course, most people once they have sinned, attempt to cover their tracks like David did. One sin leads to many and is often so very detrimental in twisting and debasing the lives of others. David’s patterned advance of sin revealed the hardening of his heart, a hardening that would make him unable to return to God without the work of the Spirit through the Word of God (John 3:5; Hebrew 4:12). Like David, we too must repent when the Lord pierces our hearts (2 Samuel 12:1–15) so that we may manifest that we are truly His. Long before Jesus came to earth, the Holy Spirit inspired David to author Psalm 51 as a prayer of and for repentance.
Yes, God mercifully forgave David as he acknowledged his sin. However, this did not mean his transgressions had no consequences. David also worshiped the Lord even after these consequences were brought to pass (2 Samuel 12:15–23), showing that He acknowledged his guilt and the justice of God’s verdict.
From these lessons we see sin, at the onset, may not appear to be ugly or deadly. Sin often comes disguised as something desirable, not repulsively heinous like vengeance or spitefulness. Satan has deceived the strongest of men and the most stalwart women. What terrible losses are manifested by sin as it maneuvers its evil webbing over our lives and the lives of others? Sin, whether we like it or not, has lasting, dreadful, results. What did David's sin result in? Tragedies!
Some tragedies in life are unavoidable. Natural disasters are often unavoidable. Yet David could have avoided his hurtful sin which caused pain to so many others. Sin is not hurtful just because God forbids it. It is an affront to His eyes plus it is often injurious to the ones we love.
What David did was, and is, not permissible in God's eyes. Doing the forbidden things brings untold pains, anguish, heartbreak and even murder! The center of any sin, little or big, by action or omission, is a direct refusal to ignore our accountability to God. Refusing to submit to God and rebelling against him has grave consequences. The Book of James offers very grave instructions.
We recognize harsh trials and ever so easy temptations leading to sin come from Satan, not from God. Great blessings belong to those who are tempted and remain faithful! After they have proved their faith, God will give them the reward of eternal life. God promised this to all people who love him. Whenever you feel tempted to do something bad, you should not say, “God is tempting me.” Evil cannot tempt God, and God himself does not tempt anyone. You are tempted by the evil things you want. Your own desire leads you away and traps you. Your desire grows inside you until it results in sin. Then the sin grows bigger and bigger and finally ends in death.
My dear brothers and sisters, don’t be fooled about this. Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same. God decided to give us life through the true message he sent to us. God wants us to listen and obey what James said: My dear brothers and sisters, always be more willing to listen than to speak. Keep control of your anger. Anger does not help you live the way God wants. So get rid of everything evil in your lives—every kind of wrong you do. Be humble and accept God’s teaching that is planted in your hearts. This teaching can save you.
Do what God’s teaching says; don’t just listen and do nothing. When you only sit and listen, you are fooling yourselves. Hearing God’s teaching and doing nothing is like looking at your face in the mirror and doing nothing about what you saw. You go away and immediately forget how bad you looked. But when you look into God’s perfect law that sets people free, pay attention to it. If you do what it says, you will have God’s blessing. Never just listen to his teaching and forget what you heard.
James continues to inform us of the True Way to Worship God. You might think you are a very religious person. But if your tongue is out of control, you are fooling yourself. Your careless talk makes your offerings to God worthless. The worship that God wants is this: caring for orphans or widows who need help and keeping yourself free from the world’s evil influence. This is the kind of worship that God accepts as pure and good.
What next small sin might envelop us like quicksand sucking us forever downward? I can't tell you what, when, where, or how much—but I can tell you—if you just stop and think, you will be able to recognize sin no matter how well Satan wishes to paint it.
Here, today, we revisited the everyday reality and power of sin that surrounds us. Never petty but sometimes pretty, sin bears grotesque scars and monstrous results. When we submit to sin, we can fall into ugliness like David. Remember, something as trite as laziness, or any weak spot, can be Satan's initial hooks of temptation.
But also remember, when we fail, we are still washed in the blood of Jesus and Satan has no hold on our soul's salvation. Praise God.
In my lifetime, I have never seen such blatant and ever-ongoing animosity toward Christ and His followers. Have you? This is no surprise—for Scripture declares “those who hate the Lord Jesus Christ would surely despise us who serve and worship Him.” America may flaunt its immorality to the world and be guilty of some types of social injustice, boastful pride or self-indulgence. Yes, many people, even churches, are spiritually removed from the living waters of God's word. Do you harbor lingering bitterness over the consequences you suffer from your self-inflicted sin? If so, I pray you worship Him today and declare him Lord of all, and ask for His everlasting forgiveness.
The current corrupt and putrid fruits of our once proud but now disintegrating society, can be overcome by simply sharing His Word and doing Good Deeds for others.
Early on in this essay Romans 5:12-14 was quoted. It reported how the sin of one man, Adam, affected all of mankind. The following verses 15-21 tell us how one Man offers to remove our sin, ripples or otherwise, and extend the gift of salvation. From the Easy to read version, this is offered: “That one man, Adam, can be compared to Christ, the one who was coming in the future. But God’s free gift is not like Adam’s sin. Many people died because of the sin of that one man. But the grace that people received from God was much greater. Many received God’s gift of life by the grace of this other man, Jesus Christ. After Adam sinned once, he was judged guilty. But the gift of God is different. His free gift came after many sins, and it makes people right with him. One man sinned, and so death ruled all people because of that one man. But now some people accept God’s full grace and his great gift of being made right. Surely they will have true life and rule through the one man, Jesus Christ.
So that one sin of Adam brought the punishment of death to all people. But in the same way, Christ did something so good that it makes all people right with God. And that brings them true life. One man disobeyed God and many became sinners. But in the same way, one man obeyed God and many will be made right. The law was brought in so that more people would sin the way Adam did. But where sin increased, there was even more of God’s grace. Sin once used death to rule us. But God gave us more of his grace so that grace could rule by making us right with him. And this brings us eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Just as our sins ripple out, so do our generous, holy actions, although they’re perhaps not as easily recognized. The questions of the moment are; “will you be the person to religiously share the gospel?” and “how often will you do kind and generous things to and for other people?”
The End
