“The Things That God Hates”
Proverbs 6:16-19 "These six things does the Lord hate. Yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18An heart that devises wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19A false witness that speaks lies, and he that sows discord among brethren.
I. A Proud Look
A. literally haughty or lofty eyes – the Latin Vulgate – oculos sublimes
B. A proud look is the idea that we are better than others.
C. Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”
D. During the Battle of the Wilderness in the Civil War, Union general John Sedgwick was inspecting his troops. At one point he came to a parapet, over which he gazed out in the direction of the enemy. His officers suggested that this was unwise and perhaps he ought to duck while passing the parapet. "Nonsense," snapped the general. "They couldn’t hit an elephant at this dist--." A moment later Sedgwick fell to the ground, fatally wounded.
E. It was this attitude that was maintained by the Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14
F. The problem with a person who thinks he or she is perfect --they have no room for improvement. They will not come to or seek God.
G. It is said of Uzziah in II Chronicles 26:16 “But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.”
II. A Lying Tongue
A. The book The Day America Told the Truth says that 91 percent of those surveyed lie routinely about matters they consider trivial, and 36 percent lie about important matters; 86 percent lie regularly to parents, 75 percent to friends, 73 percent to siblings, and 69 percent to spouses.
B. Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
C. On a beautiful fall day, four students decided to go for a drive instead of showing up to class on time. When they did arrive, the students explained to the teacher that they had had a flat tire. The teacher accepted the excuse, much to their relief. "Since you missed this morning’s quiz, you must take it now," she said. "Please sit in the four corner seats in this room without talking." When they were seated, the teacher said, "On your papers write the answer to one question: ’Which tire was flat?’" – (Clara Null, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Christian Reader, "Lite Fare.")
D. Leviticus 19:11 “Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.”
E. Contrary to God’s nature - I John 5:6 “This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.” John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me.” Deuteronomy 32:4 “He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.”
F. Proverbs 12:22 Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.
III. Hands that Shed Innocent Blood
A. God hates abortion.
B. At 18 days after conception the heart beats on its own. At 6 weeks the fetus quickly moves in the womb. Brain waves are present at 8 weeks and child grabs, swims freely, heartbeat measurable. At 12 weeks cries, sucks thumb, sleeps and wakes, All organs and systems function, including mental. The unborn infant can definitely feel pain. From this point on nothing new develops there is just growth and a maturing process.
C. Exodus 20:13 “Thou shalt not kill.”
D. Psalms 127:3 “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.”
IV. A Heart filled with Wicked Imaginations
A. Wicked imaginations – thoughts of iniquity
B. There are evil thoughts in the hearts of all men but the devising and fabricating of them with a preoccupation that yields control to Satan is abhorrent to God.
C. Matthew 15:19 “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:”
D. We must be careful what we bury in our heart. To bury something does not mean it is dead. It may simply mean we have buried something alive that will devour and destroy us from within. - Maxie Dunnam in Let Me Say That Again. Christianity Today, Vol. 40, no. 5.
E. II Corinthians 10:5 “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”
V. Feet that are swift in running to Mischief
A. It speaks of feet that quickly to carry out what has already been devised in the heart.
B. This is more than falling or sliding into sin, which is common to all of us.
C. This is the execution of a premeditated act of sin.
D. Proverbs 1:15-16 “My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: [16] For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.”
E. Isaiah 59:7 “Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths.”
VI. False witnesses
A. Literally – “he that breathes out or utters a false witness”
B. Exodus 20:16 “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”
C. Perjury used in ruining the innocent.
D. Matthew 26:59-61 “Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; [60] But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, [61] And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.” (John 2:19-21 “Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. [20] Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? [21] But he spoke of the temple of his body.”)
VII. Sowers of Discord
A. James 3:2 “For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.”
B. The emphasis is on the man who intentionally seeks to destroy the harmony and unity among believers.
C. Philippians 2:3 “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”
D. Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”
E. “What will it profit a man if he gains his cause, and silences his adversary, if at the same time he loses that humble, tender frame of spirit in which the Lord delights, and to which the promise of his presence is made!” - John Newton, from The Letters of John Newton. Christianity Today, Vol. 33, no. 11.
