Mountainview International Church

Welcome to a new series on the Seven Deadly Sins. I must admit, after deciding we should look at the “7 Deadly Sins”, I got a bit nervous about the series. But now, having done quite a bit of reading and reflection, I am convinced this will be an interesting, exciting and highly challenging series for everyone.

At our recent leader’s retreat we committed to be more focused on discipleship at Mountainview. Researching this series has challenged me to take the issue of sin in my life a lot more seriously – to think intentionally about growing as a disciple of Jesus. This series is about intentional discipleship!

Before Easter we discovered Lawrence had written a number of great songs. Our offertory “Today” (excuse any pun), was one of the songs Lawrence wrote. It begins with a cry, based on Hebrews 3:15, to not harden our hearts to the voice of the Lord. My plea to myself, to our leaders, to everyone seated here, and to all those who will visit Mountainview during this series, is that we don’t harden our hearts. Yes, our hearts and deepest motives will be challenged. But we must not lose sight of the fact that on the other side of the challenge stands our risen saviour, with arms open wide – longing welcome us and give us life in ever greater fullness.

If this series had a central verse it might be this verse – also from Hebrews:

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Look at the verse for a minute. Where is the focus? On the sin that entangles? On working harder to be a better Christian? On doing the right things? No! The focus is on Jesus, the one who began our faith, the one who will complete it.

Alongside reading about the 7 Deadly Sins, I’ve been reading a book called, The Prodigal God, by Timothy Keller. His book is an extended essay on the Parable of the Lost Son, found in Luke Chapter 15. In the closing chapter of his book Keller writes:

If we say, “I believe in Jesus” but it doesn’t affect the way we live, the answer is not that now we need to add hard work to our faith so much as that we haven’t truly understood or believed in Jesus at all. ~ Timothy Keller

Later we are going to come back to Keller’s book. However, I want to say this very clearly, and about this point I want us to listen carefully. This series is not about us working harder to become better Christians. Yes, this series will seek to expose the destructiveness of sin! But in contrast we will seek to highlight Jesus greatly. I hope through this series we will grow in our understanding of the love Christ and the life he offers. Doing the right thing is not about working harder but knowing Jesus better. My prayer is that each week we won’t leave Mountainview feeling like we have to, but rather desperately wanting to escape the cold clutches of sin and seek the warm and loving embrace of God our Father.

This morning we are looking at Pride. Before we look at pride I want to lay out some landscape around the Seven Deadly Sins. I don’t know whether we have people in the church who like to re-create ancient battles using small model soldiers? One of the first things that we need to do is create the landscape on which the battle took place. Before we can do battle with sin we need to lay out some landscape for this important topic.

History: An Ancient List

A list of deadly sins goes as far back as Evagrius of Pontus ( 346-399 AD), one of the Desert Fathers. His disciple John Cassian ( 360-430 AD) introduced the list to the western church. A few centuries later Pope Gregory I (540-604 AD) reduced the list to 7 deadly sins. For almost 1500 years the list of deadly sins has remained fairly constant – although the order has changed a number of times. Modern lists of sins tend to down-play this ancient list. Greed that fuels western economies is seen as a good thing. Religious intolerance and the exclusivity of Jesus is viewed as an extremely bad sin.

Just think for a minute. The list of deadly sins has been around for over 1700 years. This series offers us the chance to gain access to the collective wisdom of Christ-followers who have fought seriously to overcome sin for nearly 2 millennia. This is not a dusty list to be ignored but a treasure chest to be explored.

Capital Sins

The Deadly Sins need to be distinguished from the list of “mortal sins”. The “deadly sins” are sometimes referred to as the “capital sins”. It comes from the Latin root caput or capitis, meaning “head”. The head city in a country is the capital. Capital punishment originates from the idea of chopping off someone’s head.

They are called capital sins because it is believed that all sins of commission and omission flow from these capital sins.

If we imagine sin like a tree! Pride is the trunk – the main source of sin. The branches are the capital sins. The bitter fruit are the ways that sin expresses itself in daily life. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says that if you hate your brother you’ve already committed murder in your heart. Or if you lust after a woman you’ve already committed adultery in your heart.

Jesus is saying, in order to overcome sin we must not simply rid ourselves of its ugly fruit, but deal with it at its root; at its heart, at the capital level in our lives. The list of deadly sins helps us get at the source of sin. If we can deal with sin at its source then it will be less likely to bear its bitter fruit in our lives. Changing analogy, especially for the NATO members of our church! If we can bomb the capital of sin it will be less likely to dominate the country of our lives. Rebecca Konyndyk De Young says in her book Glittering Vices:

We can use the list of vices to recognize and identify networks of sin in our lives and discover layers of sin of which we were previously unaware of. ~Rebecca Konyndyk De Young

Question: Scary as this may sound will we allow this series to create a greater awareness of sin in our lives that we deal with it more effectively at its source?

A few thoughts on sin.

What the Hell is Sin?

We popularly think of sin as breaking the rules. However, it’s probably better to view sin as highly destructive habits which, if we don’t control them, will destroy us and those around us. Peter reminds us that sin is out to destroy us:

Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. (1 Peter 2:11)

Graham Tomlin in his book on the 7 Deadly Sins speaks of how sin works to isolate us from God and one another. His offers this outstanding apologetic for dealing with sin:

It is vital, if we are to live good, healthy lives, enjoying good, healthy relationships, that we learn to avoid those patterns of behavior that destroy us and the people we love, and in turn learn the habits of life that build strong lives and communities ~ Graham Tomlin

I think if we can develop a vision of the blessings that come from overcoming sin – blessings to our walk with God, blessings to us, blessings to our families and to our communities - we may have a sporting chance in making progress with mastering it.

Sin: A Twist of Good

When God created the world he made everything good. It’s important to understand that evil cannot create it only takes something good and distorts it out of shape or destroys it. For example, God blesses us with taste buds and creates food with all its rich flavours to be celebrated, enjoyed and shared, let alone to satisfy our hunger. Evil twist it into a gluttonous desire to consume. We try to satisfy our spiritual hunger with a never ending array of good curries and Cobra beers. We end up fat while others end up poor. Another example! God creates sex as something deeply unifying and pleasurable between a husband and his wife. Evil twists it into a self-centred, animal-like, isolating, endeavour for a personal fix.

We must understand that mixed up with sin is often something very good; which is why we are so often attracted to sin and have a hard time distinguishing sin from good. The complexity of sin twisting good is a reason why we need the collective wisdom of the ages to expose it! It’s a reason we need to develop the mind of Christ and sensitivity to His voice!

Finally this last thought on sin!

Sin Expands to fill a Vacuum!

In the Gospels (Matthew 12: 43-45) Jesus warns us that if we get rid of a demon and clean house the demon is likely find go and find a few friends move back in with his buddies, leaving us in a far worse situation. This series is not just about getting rid of some destructive habits – it’s about replacing them with positive habits too.

Let’s look briefly at pride.

P R I D E

I want to start our look at pride by having [name] come and read the story of 2 sons:

Luke 15:11-32 (Contemporary English Version)

11Jesus also told them another story:

Once a man had two sons. 12The younger son said to his father, "Give me my share of the property." So the father divided his property between his two sons.

13Not long after that, the younger son packed up everything he owned and left for a foreign country, where he wasted all his money in wild living. 14He had spent everything, when a bad famine spread through that whole land. Soon he had nothing to eat.

15He went to work for a man in that country, and the man sent him out to take care of his pigs. 16He would have been glad to eat what the pigs were eating, but no one gave him a thing. 17Finally, he came to his senses and said, "My father's workers have plenty to eat, and here I am, starving to death! 18I will go to my father and say to him, `Father, I have sinned against God in heaven and against you. 19I am no longer good enough to be called your son. Treat me like one of your workers.' "

20The younger son got up and started back to his father. But when he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt sorry for him. He ran to his son and hugged and kissed him.

21The son said, "Father, I have sinned against God in heaven and against you. I am no longer good enough to be called your son."

22But his father said to the servants, "Hurry and bring the best clothes and put them on him. Give him a ring for his finger and sandals [c] for his feet. 23Get the best calf and prepare it, so we can eat and celebrate. 24This son of mine was dead, but has now come back to life. He was lost and has now been found." And they began to celebrate. 25The older son had been out in the field. But when he came near the house, he heard the music and dancing. 26So he called one of the servants over and asked, "What's going on here?"

27The servant answered, "Your brother has come home safe and sound, and your father ordered us to kill the best calf." 28The older brother got so angry that he would not even go into the house.

His father came out and begged him to go in. 29But he said to his father, "For years I have worked for you like a slave and have always obeyed you. But you have never even given me a little goat, so that I could give a dinner for my friends. 30This other son of yours wasted your money on prostitutes. And now that he has come home, you ordered the best calf to be killed for a feast."

31His father replied, "My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we should be glad and celebrate! Your brother was dead, but he is now alive. He was lost and has now been found."

In his book, The Prodigal God, Timothy Keller reminds us that this parable is not about a lost son, but about two lost sons. The intended audience were the religious leaders. The story culminates in the Father’s plea that the elder brother soften his heart and join the party. (That the religious leaders soften their hearts and join the party).

Keller writes of the older brother.

It is not his sins that create a barrier between him and his father, it’s the pride he has in his moral record; it’s not his wrongdoing but his righteousness that is keeping him from sharing in the feast of the father. ~ Timothy Keller

In devotion time each day I read Keller’s book. In my sermon study time I read books on the 7 deadly sins. Honestly, I ended up deeply challenged about my own pride. I was amazed how easily, how quickly pride comes in and takes root in my life. Just what a greasy-pig it really is – I think I’ve got a hold on it and then it slips out of my hands. What an onion pride is – I peel back one layer of pride and wow there’s another deeper layer of pride underneath.

I was reading that the Desert Father’s attempted to use solitude to overcome pride. They would spend days in alone in a small room. But it was not uncommon for those on the outside, to hear those in solitude preaching sermons as if to great audiences, regaling imaginary thousands of their successes in overcoming pride!

Keller uses the story to remind us how pride infects us all – the bad guys and the good guy – and how quickly it shuts us off from God. He writes:

Jesus does not divide the world in the moral “good guys” and the immoral “bad guys”. He shows us that everyone is dedicated to a project of self-salvation, to using God and others in order to get power and control for themselves. ~ Timothy Keller

I realised with fortissimo what an elder brother I can be. So proud of my good works and achievements! So in control! Proud when writing this sermon about how you would be really impressed by my research. Proud of the fact that people often tell me what a humble guy I am – little do they know!

Strange as it may sound I found myself repenting of good things done for the wrong reasons. I even told Riekje I was mulling over the idea of getting re-baptised. My first baptism was for my salvation from sin and this follow up would be a baptism of salvation from good works. Pride in our good works can so quickly leave us aloof us from the Father and blinded to our true spiritual need!

Timothy Keller says that to truly become Christians we must not only repent of our sins but “we must also repent of the reasons that we did anything right”. We are all profoundly infected with pride and we badly need of a saviour

There are many good people at Mountainview. We have never wandered away from the faith…but yet again we have been so busy dwelling on how good we are that we have never wandered back into the arms of the father.

Last September we showed Rembrandt’s picture, The Return of the Prodigal Son. Henry Nouwen wrote a whole book on his thoughts around this picture and he notes how for much of his life he plays the observer (like the onlookers in the picture). He asks, “Have I ever dared to step into the centre, kneel down, and let myself be held by a forgiving God?" [Repeat]

Pride is the most deadly of all sins because it isolates us, like no other sin, from the love of God and from one another. Graham Tomlin writes:

One the key reasons why Christianity has it in for pride. If the essence of sin is that it renders unable to build healthy relationships and societies, pride is the most isolating of all sins ~ Graham Tomlin

How do we overcome pride?

Overcoming Pride

Humility is the key to overcoming pride.

The best starting point for humility is the realization that God is humble. One of the great mysteries, is why God is so unwilling to advertise His existence in the universe. God does not emboss on the hills behind El Escorial “made by God”, for every Spanish sceptic (of which there are millions) to see and believe. People have pondered why God appears so “shy”. Perhaps “humble” would be a better word to “shy”..

When the great God walked this earth we are told He was the most humble of men. At one point Jesus, fully aware of His divinity, His history and His future, washes his disciple’s feet.

God wants us to be humble because He is humble. There is a great paradox here. In becoming humble we become more like God. Augustine puts it this way, “Pride changed angels into devils and humility makes men as angels”.

And in learning humility and becoming more like God we develop more fully our humanity. Humility builds self-esteem way more effectively than pride. Humility connects us to one another in rich community.

Graham Tomlin writes:

If pride is wanting everyone to notice us and look up to us, humility is being secure enough not to draw attention to ourselves all the time, giving space for other people or things to exist and be themselves, refusing to impose ourselves and agenda on others, and leaving them the opportunity to grow and flourish with or without us. It is the willingness and the ability to be the servant of others; to be more interested in hearing the stories or successes of others than in reciting our own. Just like God ~ Graham Tomlin

CS Lewis wrote:

Humility is thinking less about yourself, not thinking less of yourself.

Perhaps a useful exercise would be to decide for a one day not to think about ourselves in any way - to be a captive, attentive audience to others. To invite our family, our friends, our colleagues, our neighbour, to share their stories - and then to just listen!.

Conclusion:

In a few minutes we are going to take communion. The father meets the wayward son on the road home and invites him to a feast. The Father meets the proud elder son at the door and invites him to a feast. Jesus meets us at Mountainview this morning and invites us to share in bread and the wine. A simple meal! A foretaste of the great feast in heaven! Reminders to us all that salvation is not based on what we do for God, but on what God has done for us - A gift of forgiveness for all who will humble themselves before God.

Will we dare this morning; to step into the centre, to humble ourselves and kneel down, and let ourselves be held by a forgiving God? To hear him say through the bread and wine, “I love you! I love you! I love you!”

God invites us to a feast. The door is open. Will we humble ourselves and go in?

[Pray]

Jacob lead communion time.