I have a poem I would like to recite.
It’s a wonderful poem, and it was once put to music.
Just sit
right back
and you’ll hear a tale,
a tale of a fateful trip,
That started from this tropic port,
aboard this tiny ship.
The mate was a mighty sailin’ man,
the Skipper brave and sure.
Five passengers set sail that day for a three hour tour.
A three hour tour.
The weather started getting rough,
the tiny ship was tossed.
If not for the courage of the fearless crew, the Minnow would be lost.
The Minnow would be lost.
The ship set ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle,
with Gilligan, the Skipper too, the Millionaire
and his wife, the movie star, the Professor
and Mary Ann, here on Gilligan’s Isle.
OK, it’s not great poetry. But it is familiar.
These words were the lyrics of the theme song of the old television series, Gilligan’s Island.
Is there anyone here who has never ever seen or heard of Gilligan’s Island.
The show appeared to be all about seven stranded castaways.
But, in reality, it was a theological Bible Study!
And it was all about the Seven Deadly Sins.
1. Most obvious is the Professor, who fits PRIDE to a T. Any man who can make a ham radio out of some wire and two coconuts has to be pretty proud of himself.
2. For the sin of ENVY we need look no further than Maryann, who may have worn those skimpy little tops, but could never achieve Ginger’s glamour.
3. And who could doubt for a moment that Ginger is LUST incarnate?
4. What kind of person takes a trunk full of money on a three-hour cruise? Mr.Howell gets my vote for GREED.
5. Mrs. Howell is the embodiment of SLOTH. She did absolutely no work at all during her many years on the island and everybody knows it.
6,7. This leaves ANGER and GLUTTONY, either of which the Skipper had no shortage. He was, after all, a big guy with the tendency to hit Gilligan with his hat at least once an episode. So we give him two sins, covering the two remaining Deadly Sins.
So here we have the Seven Deadly Sins trapped in an endlessly recurring Hell of hope followed by denial and despair, forced to live with each other in our TVs until the last re-run ends. And who is their captor? What keeps them trapped there? Gilligan.
Gilligan is SATAN. Think about it.
Gilligan is the one who trapped everyone on the Island!
The SEVEN DEADLY SINS!
It is easy to see them in other people.
It is not so easy to see these sins in ourselves!
But we need to. We need to examine ourselves so we can grow in faith and in our Walk with God.
And that is why during the Summer we are going to be studying the Seven Deadly Sins.
It is NOT a how to course. This is a how NOT TO course.
This is a course that will help us understand parts of ourselves we don’t like to see.
This class will be taught be several different people, and many times as the leaders were inviting people to teach these classes, the response of those of us being asked was often, “I’m not leading a class on THAT sin!” Some of them struck too close to home.
Gluttony! Gluttony! I got stuck with Gluttony! My only explanation is that the leaders wanted someone who knew from first hand experience the sin of Gluttony.
I am trying to lose weight between now and the class on gluttony.
But we are all guilty of all of these sins. Some of us perfect these sins more than others, but we all have these in common and we will find that if we are honest with ourselves, we will grow during this study and learn to deal more effectively with these sins.
Seven Deadly Sins! Who came up with this list.
If it had been David Letterman, he would have come up with a Top Ten List of Deadly Sins.
But there are seven. Where are the listed in the Bible?
They are found in the Bible, but you won’t find them as a list of seven sins.
They are peppered throughout the Scripture.
The idea of coming up with a specific number of deadly sins – sins that are especially destructive to our lives, is a very old concept. Some early lists of deadly sins included as many as 8, and as few as 5.
Pope Gregory I came up with a list of the Seven Sins. He died in AD 604, so this list has been around for a while.
It’s interesting, however, that while Pope Gregory gets credit for coming up with what we now know of as the Seven Deadly Sins, he did not list laziness, or sloth. He put down Sadness as one of the sins.
But that was later changed and for the past 1200 years, the list has been very consistent.
Pride is excessive belief in one’s own abilities, that interferes with the individual’s recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise. Pride is also known as Vanity.
Envy is the desire for others’ traits, status, abilities, or situation.
Gluttony is an inordinate desire to consume more than that which one requires.
Lust is an inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body.
Anger is manifested in the individual who spurns love and opts instead for fury. It is also known as Wrath.
Greed is the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual. It is also called Avarice or Covetousness.
Sloth is the avoidance of physical or spiritual work.
Presbyterians love Bible Study.
In the Book of Order, which is the Constitution of our church, lists several duties every church members should observe.
One of these is : (G-5.0102a.) “studying Scripture and the faith of the Christian Church,”
When the Book of Order gives a list of the duties of the Pastor, the first one in the list is to read and study the Scriptures.
Why is it so important to Study the Bible?
Let me give you Seven Reasons to Study the Bible.
1. Bible study will increase your faith.
If you are a Christian, you are a person of faith. Everyone wants their faith to increase.
This is one of the reasons we study the Bible.
Take a look at Romans 10:17-18.
Romans is in the New Testament book. It is one of Paul’s letters, and in the NT, the letters of Paul are arranged longest to shortest – except for those that are sequels, such as II Corinthians, II Timothy, etc.
When we say Romans 10:17 and 18, we are talking about chapter and verse.
Chapter divisions were added in 1205, verses were added about 300 years after that. These help us to find the Scripture, because depending on the print size and the photographs that might appear in different editions.
Romans10:17-18
17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
2. Bible study will strengthen you are when tempted.
Christians don’t like to yield to temptation. Or at least, we’re not supposed to like it!
The study that we will be doing is a look at the Seven Deadly Sins. This is not a “how to course,” but a “how not to course.”
Take a look at Psalms 119:11
You can find Psalms by sticking your finger in the middle of the Bible – well, most Bibles (maps, concordance, etc)
Ps 119:11
11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
3. To set things right when life is out of control
Perhaps this is not a concern with you, but those of you with children will understand that life gets out of control.
Those of you who are married, or date, or have jobs, or have relatives, or have next door neighbors, or pets – will all understand that life sometimes gets out of control.
Psalms:19:7-8: The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
4. To have direction & know God’s will
Women who have no respect for men sometimes pick on us men for not looking at a map or asking for directions.
Well, the Bible is our road map, and we all need directions for our lives – men and women!
Psalms:119:105: Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
5. To grow in the Lord
Take a look at I Peter 2:1-2.
It is in the NT. The NT starts with the 4 Gospels, followed by Acts, which is a sequel to Luke’s Gospel. Then there are the letters of Paul, and then Peter’s two letters.
1 Pet 2:1-2
1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.
2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your
(NIV)
6. Bible study will provide encouragement when you are discouraged.
You may have seen little books or pamphlets that say, “what to read in the Bible when you feel….
Lonely, sad, happy, lost, alone…etc
The Bible gives us encouragement, and I don’t know anyone who can do without more encouragement.
Romans 15:1-4
15:1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me." 4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
7. It is a blessing
Ps 1:1-6
1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
(NIV)
The study that has been selected for this summer is about The Seven Deadly Sins.
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Written by Maynard Pittendreigh
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