Six, or Seven, Things God HatesProverbs 6:16-19

Forest Hills Bible Chapel

22 July 2007

A Bumper Sticker Proverb

Eschew

Obfuscation!

16 There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:

17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who stirs up dissension in the community.

Proverbs 6:16-19 (TNIV)

Some Background• Hate?? God?!?

• “The presence of religious people who claim God hates others is one of the great problems in the world today!”

• If I were to say to you “I hate you!”, I suspect the first question you would ask me would be…

• WHY???

Some Background

• A Suggestion: God hates these things because of what they do to His world and to His people.

• Simply put, God hates these things because they destroy the very ones that He loves – His people.

• These seven things contrast with the Beatitudes – especially 1 and 7.

Hatred #1: Haughty Eyes

• The essential vice, the utmost evil, is pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison. It was through pride that the devil became the devil. Pride leads to every other vice; it is the complete anti-God state of mind.” -- C. S. Lewis

• “Many a bee has been drowned in his own honey!” - Vern McClellan

Hatred #1: Haughty Eyes• Two main types of pride:• Individual pride – where we gloat over our own gifts

and/or accomplishments.• Corporate pride – where we think the group to which

we belong is superior to all other groups.• 6 Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself

and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. 7 For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it,

why do you boast as though you did not?

Hatred #2: A Lying Tongue• St. Augustine argued that “a person is to be

judged as lying or not lying according to the intention in his own mind, not according to the truth or falsity of the statement.”

• There are two issues here – 1) deliberate, intentional telling of falsehoods, and 2) careless, or even biased, passing on of information that is false.

Hatred #2: A Lying Tongue• The Lord has a way of revealing those of us who

really know him, and those that don't! Think about it! John Kerry gave a big speech last week about how his faith is so "important" to him. In this attempt to convince the American people that we should consider him for president, he announced that his favorite Bible verse is John 16:3. Of course the speech writer meant John 3:16, but nobody in the Kerry camp was familiar enough with scripture to catch the error. And do you know what John 16:3 says?

• John 16:3 says; "They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me."

Hatred #2: A Lying Tongue• Al Gore gave a big speech this week about how his

faith is so "important" to him. In this attempt to convince the American people why we should consider him for president, he announced that his favorite Bible verse is John 16:3. Of course, the speech writer meant John 3:16, but nobody in the Gore camp was familiar enough with Scripture to catch the error.

• Do you know what John 16:3 says? • "And they will do this because they have not known

the Father or me." • Coincidence?

Hatred #2: A Lying Tongue• Subject: Bush and John 3:16 Worth thinking

about . . . The Lord has a way of revealing those of us who really know him, and those that don't!!!

• Think about it! Bush gave a big speech last week about how his faith is so "important" to him. In this attempt to convince the American people that we should consider him for president, he announced that his favorite Bible verse is John 16:3.

• Of course the speech writer meant John 3:16, but nobody in the Bush camp was familiar enough with scripture to catch the error. And do you know what John 16:3 says?

• John 16:3 says; "And they will do this because they have not known the Father nor Me".

• The Holy Spirit works in strange ways. Pass it on. VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!!

Hatred #2: A Lying Tongue• Last week [January, 2001], Gov. Bush appeared at the

thank-you banquet for his campaign staff, and was going table to table to shake hands with the 1000+campaign volunteers. He got to one lady, who by a brief comment she made, indicated she was a Christian. She was there with her 16 year old son. Gov. Bush asked him if he was a believer, too. He said he didn't think so. Gov. Bush then asked, "Do you mind if I tell you how I came to know Christ as my savior?" The boy agreed, and Gov. Bush pulled up a chair and witnessed to him for 30 minutes, and led him in the sinner’s prayer! How glorious to know that our new president is a man that doesn't feel the political pressure to glad-hand 1000 people, but would take 30 minutes of his precious time to lead a teenager to Christ. 

Hatred #2: A Lying Tongue• 20 You, however, did not come to know Christ

that way. 21 Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. - Eph 4:20-25

Hatred #3: Hands that Shed Innocent Blood

Hatred #3: Hands that Shed Innocent Blood• Hopefully, we are not at the point that we do

physical violence to one another!

• (That is, no fistfights in the Fireside Room, please!)

• But what about emotional violence?

• Emotional violence through gossip, slander, and harsh words?

Hatred #4: A Heart that Devises Wicked Schemes

• We must realize that our hearts are capable of plotting all kinds of evil – Genesis 6:5.

• We should desire only the best for our fellow believers – Proverbs 12:20; 14:22.

• This passage describes the individual whose will is desirous of going contrary to that of God.

• Such a person does not believe that God’s will is what’s best for the believer.

Hatred #5: Feet That are Quick to Rush to Evil

• Sometimes we “rush to evil” because we think that we (or “I”) am the only person being hurt by it.

• The myth of the victimless crime – the myth of the victimless sin.

Hatred #6: A False Witness Who Pours Out Lies

• The idea here is of one who testifies falsely in a law court.

• Cf. Psalm 40:4; Amos 2:4; Micah 1:14

• We need to speak the truth to, and about, one another.

• We need to speak the truth about ourselves, about who we are in Christ.

Hatred #7: A Person Who Stirs Up Dissension in the Community

Hatred #7: A Person Who Stirs Up Dissension in the Community

• In a list such as this (the seven things God hates), the emphasis is on the first and the last item listed.

• The first, haughty eyes (=pride), is a major cause of all the other items listed.

• The destruction of the community opens up all sorts of opportunities for things such as lying, violence, wicked schemes, false witness, etc.

• The phrase (For six…for seven) indicates that #7 is of paramount importance.