Posted on 08/09/2013 10:29:35 AM PDT by NYer
In a kind of follow up from yesterday’s blog on the call to repentance, it seems it might be helpful to list what the Bible describes as some of the more serious sins.
One of the great deceptions of our time is that serious sin is a remote possibility for most people, and that it is only committed by very wicked people. And too many people assess their moral standing with unhelpful slogans such as “I’m basically a good person,” or “I haven’t murdered anybody.”
We have to be more serious and mature in our discernment than this. Of course God does not leave us in such a fog of uncertainty. His word is actually quite clear to list some of the more serious sins that we ought to be aware of so that we can humbly recognize our tendency to do these very things.
Rather than give lots of commentary, I just want to post five biblical lists of the more serious sins that exclude one from the kingdom of God. Saying that these are sins that “exclude one from the kingdom of heaven” is the biblical way of saying they are mortal sins.
It remains true that some of the sins listed, such as lying, can admit of lighter matter. But as we all know, there are very serious and harmful lies that we can all tell.
And so the Lord, in love wants to urgently warn us of the sins that exclude us from heaven. In all the lists that follow, avoid adopting a legalistic mentality. Take them to heart and allow them to become part of your daily moral reflection. The Lord warns us in love that sin is very serious. Even smaller sins, unattended to, begin to grow like a cancer and can ultimately kill us spiritually.
Be serious about it, do not buy into the deception that makes light of sin. God loves us, and because he loves us, he warns us that unrepentant sin is very serious and can rob our hearts of the desire for God, heaven and the good things waiting for us there.
Here then are five lists. they are not exhaustive and there are other sins mentioned elsewhere (e.g. refusal to forgive, cf Matt 6:15) Please reflect on, and share these lists.
1 Cor 6:9-10 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor homosexual offenders, nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were.
Gal 5:19-21 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Eph 5:3-6 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No sexually immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them.
Rev. 22:12-16 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”
Matt 25:41-46 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
And finally just a general warning from the Lord:
John 5:28-29 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.
Here is Allegri’s Miserere (Psalm 51) Have mercy on me O God According to thy great Kindness.
Msgr. Pope, ping!
2 great lessons from “The Screwtape Letters”, by C.S. Lewis:
1. Satan informs his student temptor that the greatest lie they can trick people into believing is “we don’t exist”.
2. “Cards are as good as murder if cards do the trick.”
Meaning that the sins they tempt people into committing, need not be spectacular, as long as it costs them their soul.
1 Timothy 1:9-10
Understand that the law is laid down not for the innocent but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for manslayers, fornicators, sodomites, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching.
I like it because it includes slave-traders (in some translations, "kidnapers"), which shows an early testimony against slavery; also puts ordinary fornication right in there next to sodomy--- lest any of us should think that the LGBT's are in some special category of evil all by themselves.
Wow, those are hard.
Here’s another one:
Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry. Because of these the wrath of God is coming [upon the disobedient]. By these you too once conducted yourselves, when you lived in that way. But now you must put them all away: anger, fury, malice, slander, and obscene language out of your mouths. Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator.
Col 3:5-10
bkmk
That is simply amazing. What a way to explain how it works. That statement says it all!
I like this one most of all.
Proverbs 6:16-19
Lists Every Catholic Should be Familiar With: The 7 Capital Sins and their Contrary Virtues
Prayer to be Freed of the Seven Deadly Sins
The Seven Deadly Sins Revisited: Greed
"Care for an Entrée With Your Entrée?" Gluttony, the Forgotten Sin
Seven Deadly Sins: Sloth or 'Acedia'
Seven deadly sins alive and well today, says Jesuit journal
The Virtue-Driven Life
The Virtues (counteracting the REAL Seven Deadly Sins)
What are Capital Sins? [Seven Deadly Sins]
Satan's Arsenal: "The Seven Deadly Sins"
The Anatomy of Envy
The scripture actually teaches that even just one sin is enough to make you guilty of the whole law.
Jas_2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
Nor are sins such as lust, adultery, homosexuality, fornication, or murder, limited to physical acts. In fact, to even think on these things and commit them in your mind makes you guilty of the crime.
Mat_5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Whenever the law is spoken of as a means for salvation, it is always in the context of perfect obedience to the law. Which, even when achieved, is not even grounds for a reward, as it is your duty to be perfectly obedient to the law of God.
Luk_17:10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
This is why it is foolish to speak of gradations of sin, when in every instance of sin you have broken the law and merited death.
But we are dead to the law, and are no longer under its power. So though we sin like Paul, doing those things we would not, yet it is no longer we who sin, but sin which dwells in our members.
“For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.”
(Rom 7:5-19)
Therefore they are false teachers who say that righteousness can ever be by the law, and who teach that some sins are lesser than others, when just one damns you entirely. We must rely, then, on the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ, which comes by faith only. And this faith, though not the mere belief of devils, is such a faith that produces good works, but is not the result of good works.
I quoted that to my RCIA class just last night!
Especially the last part, "you mean God hates sowing Congregational division as much as murder?" or "But it was just a little harmless gossip!"
You never have to point out who is doing what. They know.
I heard an interesting tidbit about Gal 5:20 the other day (I think last week sometime) on Catholic Answers Radio.
We might think, “WHEW, I’m glad I don’t practice WITCHCRAFT”, and snicker to ourselves while doing so (thinking, in other words, that that reference is an “outdated” mortal sin) but actually the word there for “witchcraft” is “pharmakeia”, (where we get the word “pharmacy”).
Now of course it’s not a mortal (or even venial) sin to use drugs and/or medical devices or inventions for genuine medical needs. However, what we should keep in mind is that this passage is actually indeed warning against use not only of mind altering drugs, but also in a more broad sense, the use of any drug (or device) whose sole (or primary) intention is the interruption or prevention of God-given gifts in exchange for a “lie” (in a general sense of the word).
For example, again, using mind altering substances (which overlaps with using too much alcohol although of course that’s mentioned specifically in the same passage), but also as an example, using any other drug (or device) with the primary (or sole) intent to interrupt God’s intention in exchange for our own pleasure (or “benefit” although of course going against God’s will doesn’t ever really “benefit” us)
What falls into this category as well? Birth control, either condoms or pills, both abortifacients and “simple” contraceptives such as “the pill”.
Now, as far as women are concerned, I THINK (and don’t quote me on this) it may be permissible to use “the pill” for the primary purpose to treat genuine medical needs. There are some, I believe, for example who not only benefit but need the therapy they provide to manage other, genuine medical conditions. In this instance, it’s not a sin to use such drugs because the primary intent is not to prevent pregnancy, but to treat a condition. I BELIEVE this is the case, but, don’t quote me on this. For further clarification on that consult some knowledgeable priest or theologian please.
I am quite confident, however, in the preceding paragraphs’ veracity.
I agree.A small crack in any foundation that left unattended and grows wider works to bring a wall just a surely as a large one. So it is with sin.
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