Six, or Seven, Things God Hates
Proverbs 6:16-19
Forest Hills Bible Chapel
22 July 2007
A Bumper Sticker Proverb
Eschew
Obfuscation!
Proverbs 6:16-19 (TNIV)
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.
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.