SEVEN THINGS THE LORD HATES

 

Our lesson this morning and evening comes from the book of Proverbs

 

Proverbs 6:16 These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:  17 A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood,  18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil,  19 A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.

 

There are many things that God loves, but we learn from this passage that there are some things that He hates. Now the word hate in this context also carries the meaning to detest or to abhor those things which are abominable. The word abominable means a disgusting thing or a scheme that that brings about evil. These things that God hates come from a person’s heart. Jesus said in,

 

Matthew 15:19 "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.  20 "These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."

 

If we don’t allow God’s Word to be our guide, then we will quickly find ourselves coming up with all kinds of ideas that will oppose God’s will. When we do this, we become God’s enemy. That is why it is imperative that we study God’s Word and try to be Christians that posses a pure heart. Do you remember what Jesus said at the Sermon on the Mount? He said,

 

Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.

 

We can only achieve this goal if we strive to live our life by the Word of God. Peter said,

 

1 Peter 1:22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,

 

So in order to have a pure heart, we must obey God’s truth. When we do, Jesus said that we shall see God. However, if we don’t have a pure heart because we are not living our life accordance with God’s Word, then we shall not see God, which means we will not enter into heaven. So as we examine these 7 things that God hates this morning and evening, if you find that you are involved in any one of these things, then you need to make a change in your life because if God hates it, you will not see heaven.

 

The first thing God hates is a proud look

 

This describes a person who thinks they are all that and then some. We would describe this person as a know-it-all or person who thinks they are better than everyone else. We might also describe this person a being arrogant or haughty. I am sure that everyone in here has met a person like this.

Let me give you some examples of what this kind of person does. First of all, this kind of person will argue with you until their blue in their face even if they are wrong and it has been proven that they were wrong because they don’t want to admit that someone else could possibly be right.

 

 Another Characteristic of this type of person is one who constantly tries to one-up everyone. For instance, if you tell this person that you run a mile every day. Well, not wanting to be outdone weather it is true or not, they will say something like, “Oh really, well I run 2 miles a day. It doesn’t matter if you tell them about what you kids did or what kind of vacation you went on, that person’s kid or vacation is always better than yours These kind of people also have a habit of belittling others to make themselves feel superior.

 

We need to keep in mind that God hates this kind of attitude, and this attitude is not spoken well of in the Scriptures. Look at what Paul tells Timothy in,

 

2 Timothy 3:1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:  2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,  3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,  4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,  5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!  6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts,  7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

 

Not only does Paul warn Timothy and us about people who have a haughty attitude, he tells us to turn away from such people. Paul also says that people like this are always learning, but they are never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. When we get to the point where we think we know it all, it becomes impossible for someone to teach us anything because we are so wrapped up in ourselves. While having this attitude might make you feel good on the inside, it will only be temporary, and it is not worth the cost of your soul.

 

Once again, Paul warns Timothy and describes the characteristics of a proud person

 

1 Timothy 6:3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness,  4 he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions,  5 useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.

 

When Christians engage in this sin, they will do whatever they can to be right even if they are very wrong.

 

The Bible also implies that this haughty attitude is prevalent in those who are rich.

 

1 Timothy 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.  18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share,  19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

 

The reason Paul specifically points out the rich is because many times those who are wealthy develop the attitude that they are better than others. It is easy for wealth to go to you head and cause you to look down on the less fortunate. This has always been a problem throughout history. I can’t even begin to count the movies and books that have told the story of a rich daughter falling in love with a poor man and how the daughter’s family didn’t think that the poor man was worthy to marry their daughter because he didn’t have the money that they did. Stories like this show how people have a habit of putting a higher value on money than another human being. So we must be careful as Christians not to allow our material possessions to cause have a proud look.

 

Now look at what James says about a proud person,

 

James 4:6  "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."

 

So if you are arrogant or a know-it-all, God is going to resist you, and He will not give you His saving grace because He will only give it to the humble, which is the opposite attitude of a proud look. When the Day of Judgment comes when we must all stand before Jesus, those who have had this arrogant attitude will have it taken away.

 

Isaiah 13:11 "I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

 

Now that we have examined the horrible consequences of this sin, let’s turn our attention to what the Bible says about combating this sin.

 

Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate.

 

If we are going to be pleasing to God, we must hate those things that He hates and love those things that He loves. The best way to combat any sin is to learn to hate it because when you hate something you can’t stand it and you don’t want to have any part of it. So, not only are we to learn how to love more as Christians, we must also learn how to hate more. We need to keep in mind that we are hating sin and the evil way, but not the actual person.

 

Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.  19 Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, Than to divide the spoil with the proud.

 

This teaches us that we must do our best to be humble before God and others. When we learn to be humble, it will keep us from becoming prideful or arrogant or thinking that we are better than others. To help motivate us to be humble we need to remember what James said. He said, God resist the proud but gives grace to the humble. So, if we want to see heaven we have to learn to be humble. I believe Paul describes how a Christian should be humble in,

 

Philippians 2:1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,  2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.  3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.  4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.  5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,  6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,  7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.  8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.  9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,

 

If anyone had right to be proud, it would have been Jesus. After all, He was the Son of God, yet even He humbled Himself before God, and He said that He came to the earth to serve and not to be served. As Christians, we need to take to heart what Paul has said in these verses and follow Christ’s example and be humble before God and others because if we are humble, we will not have to worry about having a proud look.

 

The second thing God hates is a lying tongue.

 

Lying is a false statement that is made with the intention of deceiving another. Today, lying is a big problem within the church and within our society. There are several reason why lying has become so popular in our society. Just turn on your TV and begin to look at some the most popular shows that we have. Take for instance the show Survivor. If you want to make it to the end and win the million dollars you almost have to lie or deceive someone to reach your goal. Of course this is not the only one because Big Brother promotes the same thing. There also show called fact or fiction in which the writers make up false stories along with those that are based on facts and at the end of the show, you are suppose to see if you guessed correctly which one true and which one was a lie. Not only does TV promote this, so does the media. Gossip columns and magazines like the National Inquire are known to lie, and people in our society seem to crave these type of lies. This is why we live during a time where many view lying as part of our everyday life.

 

Even without the Media’s influence, some find it easier to tell a lie than to tell the truth. Children have a tendency to lie when they think they can get themselves out of trouble. Adults are tempted to lie when they think they can avoid a confrontation and especially when it comes to staying out of trouble themselves. While telling a lie might be easy to do, it is certainly is not without its consequences. When I think about severe consequences to lying, I always recall what happened to the couple we read about in,

 

Acts 5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession.  2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet.  3 But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?  4 "While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God."  5 Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things.  6 And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.  7 Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.  8 And Peter answered her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?" She said, "Yes, for so much."  9 Then Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out."  10 Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband.  11 So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.

 

These two became great examples of how serious God takes the sin of lying. While He doesn’t immediately kill people today for lying, there are far greater consequences that we will face if we continue in this sin.

 

Revelation 21:8 "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." 

 

So, even if you don’t see any harm in your little lies, surely you can see from this passage that if you continue in your little white lies, you will find yourself at home in pits of hell with all the other sinners mentioned in this text. Friends, we need to work on this sin and not make light of it. We also need to remember what Jesus said about the origin of lying.

 

John 8:44 "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

 

So if we continue in the sin of lying, we are in essence making the devil our father. The devil would love to be your father. If we don’t want that to happen, then we need to stop telling lies and being deceitful. Peter gives us some great advice on how we can put the sin of lying behind us.

 

1 Peter 2:1 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,  2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,

 

You see, we can put lying away by desiring the Word of God and making it part of our everyday life. When we do this, we will grow stronger and it will become easier for us to resist the temptation of lying. When we study the faithful Christians of the NT, we will be encouraged to tell the truth no matter what because they were willing to take a stand for the truth and they would not lie or deny Christ even in the face of death. So, we have the ability not to be guilty of this sin if we choose to stand on the truth, instead of the false way.

 

The third thing God hates is hands that shed innocent blood.

 

This is talking about murdering the innocent, and we see this happening over and over again in our society. In the short time I have been on this earth, I have known of many senseless murders that have taken place. Some murder themselves because they don’t feel like life is worth living anymore. I have known of many married couples where the man or the women would murder their spouse and then themselves because thought their spouse was cheating on them. Some have murdered their spouse over a heated argument. So, jealousy and uncontrolled angry have caused many to commit this sin that God hates.

 

Another example of senseless murder can be found in the news just about every night. I am terrorist attacks. For instance, radical Islamic terrorist have been fooled into thinking that if they kill those who hold a different religion that they will go to paradise. So these people will strap on bombs or drive a car full of bombs and kill both themselves and the innocent victims around them. Some of these people just don’t seem to have any regard for life.

 

We have several examples from the Bible of those who shed innocent blood. Our first example comes from,

 

Genesis 4:3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD.  4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering,  5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.  6 So the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?  7 "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."  8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.  9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?"  10 And He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground.  11 "So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.  12 "When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth."

 

This murder was caused by Cain’s jealousy. Instead of being happy for his brother, all he could think about was himself, so he murdered his brother and he had to pay for that sin. The Bible teaches us that he would no longer have success at growing food, and he would have to wander the earth without a place to call his home.

 

Sometimes those who stand for the truth of God will be murdered. This happened with Stephen when he was put on trial by his fellow Jews for believing and teaching about Christ. The book of Acts describes Stephen’s innocence by describing his face as looking like an angel. Stephen gave his defense for his belief, but things got ugly at the end as we pick up this story in:

 

Acts 7:51 " You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.  52 "Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers,  53 "who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it."  54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.  55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,  56 and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"  57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord;  58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.  59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."  60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep. 

 

This murder was driven by pure hatred for what Stephen stood for. While most of us will never be put to death because of our belief in Jesus, we must follow Stephen’s example and never let intimidation or death itself keep us from standing on God’s truth.

 

We could also look at how King Herod had all those babies 2 years and under killed because he felt his power as a king was threatened or how David had Uriah killed because he was trying to cover up his adulterous affair with Bathsheba. 

 

While all these examples I have given are disgusting and unnecessary the one that disgust me the most is the killing of unborn children. In 54 countries, which makes up 61 % of the world population, abortion is legal, and in the other countries, it is illegal. It is estimated that 46 million babies are killed each year. That’s 126,000 abortions every single day. In the US alone 1,370,000 babies are murder each year. Friends this is sad indeed. There are many excuses people give for wanting their babies aborted ranging from, “I’m too young or I simply do not have enough time for a baby right now.”

In the past, those who promoted abortion would portray the unborn baby as being a blob or a thing, but with our latest advancements in technology, we can now see the baby throughout its stages of growth. For instance, a heart beat is detectable at 6.2 weeks.

 

What shocks me is that the law doesn’t protect these innocent babies, yet there is a law that protects the bald eagle and it eggs. If you destroy a bald eagle’s egg, you will receive the same punishment as if you had killed a hatched bald eagle. Don’t you find it sad and appalling that the law protects an unborn animal and considers it being alive, yet a human baby doesn’t have the same protection?

 

Anyway you look at it murder is ugly and God hates it. So as Christians we need to do our best to never to get to point in our life where we shed innocent blood.

 

So far we have examined 3 things that God hates and I hope you will join up back tonight as examine the remaining 4 things that God hates. We should be interested in those things God hates, so that we can make sure that we are not involved in any of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This morning we began a two part sermon on 7 things that God hates which comes from:

 

Proverbs 6:16 These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:  17 A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood,  18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil,  19 A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.

 

We looked at the first 3 of these of this morning and tonight we examine the last 4.

 

The fourth thing that God hates is a heart that devises wicked plans. 

 

This describes a person who has wicked heart and is always thinking or planning something evil. I knew several people like this back when I was in High School. These people were usually labeled as thugs, and they are always planning and plotting something horrible to do to another student or teacher so they would have the appearance of being bad to bone. Let’s face it, people that behave this way are just rotten to the bone. Again, we have several examples of people like this in the Bible.

 

Our first example comes the story of Ahab and Jezebel. Ahab wanted the vineyard that belonged to Naboth, but he would not sell it to him. We are going to see how wicked Jezebel is and how she is guilty of this abomination to Lord as we pick up on this story in:

 

1 Kings 21:4 So Ahab went into his house sullen and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, "I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers." And he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no food.  5 But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, "Why is your spirit so sullen that you eat no food?"  6 He said to her, "Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to him, 'Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you another vineyard for it.' And he answered, 'I will not give you my vineyard.' "  7 Then Jezebel his wife said to him, "You now exercise authority over Israel! Arise, eat food, and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite."  8 And she wrote letters in Ahab's name, sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling in the city with Naboth.  9 She wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth with high honor among the people;  10 and seat two men, scoundrels, before him to bear witness against him, saying, "You have blasphemed God and the king." Then take him out, and stone him, that he may die.  11 So the men of his city, the elders and nobles who were inhabitants of his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them.  

 

As the story goes on, this poor man is murdered all because Jezebel wanted to satisfy her husband greed. But her plotting and scheming didn’t go unnoticed by God because He made it known that the she would be eaten by dogs and that is exactly what happened to her. She fell to her death and before they went to go get her body, the dogs came and ate her up.

 

There are many examples of those who are guilty of this abomination in the Bible. For instance Joseph’s brothers could not stand him because their father loved him more and gave him a special coat of many colors. So, they plotted and they schemed about killing him. Instead of killing him, they sold him in to slavery and lied to their father and told him he was dead. Even though the devised this wicked plan against Joseph, God blessed him and made him prosper and ultimately made him second in command in Egypt.

 

In the Book of Daniel under King Nebuchadnezzar Meshack, Shadrack and Abednego had been put into great positions of power because of Daniel’s ability to interpret dreams. The people of Babylon didn’t like this, so they plotted and schemed on how they could take these men out, and they found their opportunity when the king made an idol and told the people to bow down to it. When these 3 men would not bow down to it, they quickly pointed this out to the king and the he questioned them about it and gave them a second chance comply, but they would not, so they were thrown into the fiery furnace that was heated 7 times hotter than normal. Even though this evil plan seemed to work, God protected these men from the fire.  

 

The same thing happened to Daniel under King Darius. Some of the King’s people didn’t like Daniel being in a great position of power so they plotted and schemed and convinced the king to sign a decree that no one could pray to another man or God, and of course, Daniel prayed anyway and found himself thrown into lion’s den. Once again, we learn that God protected him and those that had devised the evil plan found themselves in lion’s den themselves.

 

 As we move to the NT, we find the Jews continual plotting against Jesus and we can never forget the wicked plan of Judas to betray our Lord and master for 30 silver coins. All of these are great examples of those who were devising wicked plans, which God hates.

 

As Christians, we must avoid this sin by keeping our minds focused on God and making heaven our goal. The more time we spend planning on how we can help others and how we can be greater servants of God, the less time we will have for devising evil plans.

 

The fifth thing that God hates is feet that are swift in running to evil

 

This describes those who eager to do wrong and will go out of their way to run to evil. Again, I can remember back when I was in high school that there were many kids who rebelled against their parents by doing everything their parents told them not to do. I knew one young man that would sneak out of his house so he could go to a place where he could get drunk. Well, one night he got so drunk that he climbed the city water tower and he wouldn’t come down. The police and the fire department had to get him down.  

 

Another thing that can be included in this sin is gossip. Thanks to our media, our society has been trained to spread gossip without finding out if what they are spreading is true. Some people cannot wait to tell someone about the latest gossip they have heard. But as Christians, we must watch ourselves and make sure that we are not spreading lies. Even if someone tells you something that is true, you still need ask yourself if there is good reason for you to someone else what you know.

 

I have one Biblical example that shows a man literally running toward evil. It has to do with what happens after Naaman is cured from his leprosy.

 

2 Kings 5:20 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, "Look, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, while not receiving from his hands what he brought; but as the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him."  21 So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw him running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him, and said, "Is all well?"  22 And he said, "All is well. My master has sent me, saying, 'Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.' "  23 So Naaman said, "Please, take two talents." And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and handed them to two of his servants; and they carried them on ahead of him.  24 When he came to the citadel, he took them from their hand, and stored them away in the house; then he let the men go, and they departed.  25 Now he went in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, "Where did you go, Gehazi?" And he said, "Your servant did not go anywhere."  26 Then he said to him, "Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants?  27 "Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever." And he went out from his presence leprous, as white as snow.

 

Gehazi was so eager to deceive and make a quick buck that he ran after Naaman to pursue his evil. As Christians we have to be very careful that we don’t find ourselves being like Gehazi and running after evil things.

 

Our last example comes from Paul’s first missionary journey when he encountered an evil sorcerer.

 

Acts 13:6 Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus,  7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.  8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.  9 Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him  10 and said, "O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?  11 "And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time." And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

 

Paul makes it clear that those who are swift to run to evil are sons of the devil and an enemy to God.

 

In 1 Timothy 6, Paul told Timothy to flee from sinful things, and he gave him some great advice on how to keep from running to evil. Paul said,

 

1 Timothy 6:11 pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.  12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.  13 I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate,  14 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing

 

We must follow this same advice if want to avoid having feet that are swift to running to evil.

 

The sixth thing God hates is a false witness who speaks lies

 

I have always found it interesting that two of the sins that God hates involve lying.  In this instance, it’s referring to someone who gives a false report against another. This is another one those sins that our society has no problem with. In fact, Hollywood glamorizes this sin all the time in court dramas in which they use false witnesses to get the guilty person off. For example, the false witness will testify that the guilty person was with them at the time and could not have committed the crime. Another example would be a friend who will lie for their friend on the stand so they can help them win a big sum of money over something that never happened.

 

How many times have kids shared in a lie about what really happened to a broken object. I can remember when I was a teenager and I was staying at home and my step-brother was over and we began fight as brothers do sometimes.  Well, I was chasing after him and he locked the front door on me and at that time the upper part of our door was made of glass. I started yelling at him to let me in or I will break this door down. Well, like an idiot, as kids are sometimes, I punched at the glass and to my surprise my hand went right through the glass and I cut myself a little bit.

 

Now do you think we told my parents what really went down? No, instead we made up a story and told them that we running into the house and closed the door to hard and the glass broke. I was lying and my step brother was being a false witness. What we did was wrong, but this kind of thing happens all the time but it shouldn’t. Christians should do their best to never be a false witness for anyone.

 

Proverbs 19:5   A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who speaks lies will not escape.

 

Our first biblical example of a false witness comes from Jesus’ illegal trial at night by the Jews.

 

Mark 14:55 Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none.  56 For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree.  57 Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying,  58 "We heard Him say, 'I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.' "  59 But not even then did their testimony agree.

 

Jesus had not done anything wrong, so the false witness had to come forward and make up lies, but as you can see, their lies did not match up, which showed them to be false witnesses, which was also a direct violation of the 10 commandments, but no one seemed to care about that because their focus was on putting Jesus to death.

 

Stephen the first martyred Christian also had this problem.

 

Acts 6:11 Then they secretly induced men to say, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God."  12 And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council.  13 They also set up false witnesses who said, "This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law;  14 "for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us."  

 

Stephen was innocent, yet these false witnesses came forward and lied so that he would be put to death. This also happened to Paul several times as the Jews followed him around stirring up trouble by spreading lies about what Paul was preaching. Anyway you look at it, being a false witness is wrong and God hates that sin and we should hate it as well.

 

The seventh thing God hates is one who sows discord among the brethren 

 

This is describing a person who goes around causing division by creating strife in a congregation. Basically, this is describing troublemakers. If a troublemaker doesn’t like someone, they will say and do whatever they can to turn the rest of the congregation against that individual or family. One of the characteristics of a troublemaker is they are never satisfied because they will always find something wrong with someone. So, even when they are successful at turning people against their target, they will just move on to a new victim.

 

Another example of what a trouble maker will do is when they do not agree with what is being taught. When this happens, they will work in the background and try to find others who will listen to them and get them to fight against the people who will not listen to them. Their main goal is to push their particular belief on others and make a huge deal about it even if it is not a salvation issue. It is very sad when this happens, because people who sow discord among the brethren can split a congregation.

 

I personally know a preacher that did this very thing. He caused division in 2 different congregations. He would preach one way from the pulpit, and then have private studies on the side to push his belief. The Bible warns us in many places to watch out for such people because they are dangerous and they can cause great harm to the church.

 

Ephesians 5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.  7 Therefore do not be partakers with them.  

 

Colossians 2:8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

 

Paul warned Timothy that he should avoid getting into to petty arguments that have nothing to do with our salvation in:

 

1 Timothy 6:20 O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge --  21 by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith.

 

God’s Word teaches us that we should not allow people like this to remain in a congregation if they continue to sow discord.

 

Romans 16:17 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.  18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.

 

Paul told Titus,

 

Titus 3:10 Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition,  11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.

 

Over and over again, God’s Word warns us about these types of people and to keep an eye out for them, so they can’t have the opportunity to sow discord and cause division in a congregation. Notice what Jesus said in His prayer in,

 

John 17:20 " I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;  21 "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

 

This is one way that we can battle against this sin. If we are striving to be like minded and our unity is based on the Word of God, then it is going to be very difficult for someone to sow discord or to cause division. Paul taught this same message to the church at Corinth when they were having problems with division.

1 Corinthians 1:10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.  11 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you.  12 Now I say this, that each of you says, "I am of Paul," or "I am of Apollos," or "I am of Cephas," or "I am of Christ."  13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

 

Paul was pleading with these Christians not to be divided because Christ is not divided, and the way they were to accomplish this was to be of the same mind and speaking the same things. So if we want to avoid be guilty of the sin that God hates, we must strive to be of the same mind based on God’s Word.

 

Well, we have examined 7 things that God hates, and if God hates these sins, so should we. We need to realize that if we are involved in any of these sins, then we are opposing God, and if we continue in our sin, we will be eternally lost. Also, we talked about several ways that we can keep ourselves from being involved in these different sins. I would like to finish this lesson by continue on in Proverbs 6 because the writer gives us some more great advice on how to overcome these 7 sins that God hates.

 

Proverbs 6:20 My son, keep your father's command, And do not forsake the law of your mother.  21 Bind them continually upon your heart; Tie them around your neck.  22 When you roam, they will lead you; When you sleep, they will keep you; And when you awake, they will speak with you.