7 DEADLY SINS How Our Oldest Temptations Can Lead You from Vice to Virtue By Ryan Denison and Dr. Jim Denison 7 DEADLY SINS How Our Oldest Temptations Can Lead You from Vice to Virtue by Ryan Denison and Dr. Jim Denison ALSO FROM DENISON FORUM Visit denisonforum.org/books to request. The Daily Article: news discerned differently every Monday through Friday. Subscribe for free at DenisonForum.org. Making Sense of Suffering Biblical Insight to Tough Questions: Volumes 1–5 How Does God See America? Empowered: A Guide to Experiencing the Power of the Holy Spirit The State of Our Nation: 7 Critical Issues The Bible: You Can Believe It: Biblical Authority in the Twenty-First Century Radical Islam: What You Need to Know Wrestling with God: How Can I Love a God I’m Not Sure I Trust? 7 Crucial Questions About the Bible (And How the Answers Will Strengthen Your Faith) © 2020 Denison Forum. All rights reserved. All biblical citations, unless otherwise noted, are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2011). Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ TABLE OF CONTENTS An introduction to the nature of sin ........................ 9 1. Pride ................................................................... 13 2. Envy ................................................................... 21 3. Wrath ................................................................. 31 4. Slothfulness ........................................................ 39 5. Greed ................................................................. 47 6. Gluttony ............................................................. 57 7. Lust..................................................................... 67 Conclusion ............................................................. 77 Discussion questions ............................................... 79 About the Authors ................................................. 83 About the Denison Forum ..................................... 85 Notes ...................................................................... 87 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NATURE OF SIN The seven deadly sins have morphed beyond what they were originally meant to accomplish. Books like Dante’s Inferno and Purgatorio or the filmSeven have probably done more to educate our present understanding of the sins than history or Scripture. For instance, it might surprise you to learn that the seven deadly sins are not found in the Bible—at least not as you might expect. Pride, envy, wrath, slothfulness, greed, gluttony, and lust are absolutely condemned as sins within God’s word, but it wasn’t until fourth-century Christians began simplifying their teachings on the virtues and vices that the list took its first steps down the path to infamy. The next leap in that process came when Pope Gregory the Great codified the list toward the latter part of the sixth century. By the end of the thirteenth century, they were an integral part of the church’s teachings on sin. (Gregory’s original list included 10 7 DEADLY SINS sadness in place of slothfulness, but the change was made in subsequent centuries to better fit with the larger purpose of grouping them together.) History awarded Gregory his surname in part because he, as much as any pope before or after him, concerned himself with the spiritual training of Christians. Gregory was the first monk to eventually ascend to the position of pope, and that background can be seen in a lot of his decisions and emphases. Consequently, it should not come as a surprise that he gravitated toward a list that would make it easier for people to understand the nature of these sins and better avoid their dangers. During Gregory’s time as pope, the majority of the population was illiterate, so organizing sins in this fashion was a helpful way to teach people since they couldn’t just open the Bible and read about them on their own. That each vice could rather easily and effectively be portrayed visually via art helped ensure their place in the teachings of the church across subsequent centuries. Today, the list can still be a good and helpful introduction to the nature of sin, as well as a practical way to help people recognize the traps into which each of us can so easily fall. The seven deadly gateway sins In many ways, the seven deadly sins are perhaps best understood as gateway sins: each one, if left unchecked, can lead to sins that carry even greater consequences. Introduction 11 For much of Roman Catholic history (and, therefore, church history in general), those consequences have included mortal sins: sins that, absent repentance, were believed to lead to damnation even for the believer. So wrath, for example, was seen as a pathway to murder (a mortal sin). If one could address the temptation toward wrath before it ever moved beyond that point, then it followed that one was unlikely to commit murder. The same was true for lust as a pathway to adultery, greed as a pathway to idolatry, etc. In addition, each of the seven deadly vices was paired with a virtue meant to help us better understand how we can avoid sin by focusing on a more appropriate and God-honoring action. So gluttony, for example, is paired with temperance, greed with generosity, pride with humility, and so on. We’ll take a closer look at the link between each of those vices and virtues in their respective chapters, but it’s helpful from the start to remember that often the worst way to avoid a particular temptation is by trying to avoid it. It is typically far better to focus instead on a positive action that will remove you from that danger. The seven deadly addictions To that end, it’s also worth noting that the true danger of these sins does not come from engaging in them just once. Overeating at Thanksgiving may be gluttonous, but it’s not necessarily a sin or going to lead you to a life of utter degradation. Rather, these vices become an issue when they become habitual. It’s when you get into the pattern of always going back for one more helping than you need that the problems begin. 12 7 DEADLY SINS In a sense, each of these sins can act like an addiction. Their hold on us tends to grow over time as indulging in them simply becomes part of our lives, often in ways that are difficult to fully recognize. That these vices frequently manifest in less noticeable ways is a key component of that difficulty. But it’s also helpful to remember that how we understand these sins today can vary a great deal from how they were understood in earlier eras. Consequently, going back to examine what Pope Gregory and other early Christians meant when they set apart these seven sins will play a crucial role in the coming chapters. With that in mind, let’s now turn our attention to the sin that C. S. Lewis argued “leads to every other vice”: pride. PRIDE “In God you come up against something which his in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that—and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison—you do not know God at all. As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.” —C.S. Lewis 14 7 DEADLY SINS The major was promoted to colonel and received a fancy new office. As he entered it for the first time, sitting in the nice new chair, a knock came at the door. He said, “Come in,” then quickly picked up the telephone as a corporal walked in. “Just a minute,” the colonel said to the corporal. “I have to finish this telephone call.” Then the colonel began speaking into the mouthpiece: “Sorry about the interruption, General. Yes, sir, I will take care of that. Yes, I’ll call the president after I finish talking with you, General.” The colonel ceremoniously put the telephone down, turned to the corporal, and said, “What can I do for you?” The corporal replied, “Well, colonel, I just came in to connect your telephone.” What is pride? Pride is typically listed at the top of the seven deadly sins, and for good reason. So many of the other issues against which we must fight on a daily basis are rooted in a prideful sense of identity that runs counter to the will and image of God. That’s not to say, however, that there is nothing good in us or that it’s always a sin to be proud. For instance, Paul writes, “In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God” (Romans 15:17). The key is to be mindful of the source of our pride, and the degree to which it honors ourselves instead of the Lord. Verses 18–19 further clarify Pride 15 that the pride Paul felt was because of what “Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, by the signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God.” It’s right to be proud of what God has accomplished through us, or those we love, if that pride directs our focus back to the Lord. Moreover, telling those who are close to us (especially when it comes to our children) that we are proud of them when their behavior or character honors God is a crucial part of building up the body of Christ. The problem comes when that pride leads to self-sufficiency and the denigration of God’s role in our lives. And that was just as true for the Christians of ancient times as it is for us today.