Verses Good for the Soul
2 - Who We Are as Human Being
1 – The Sinful Nature
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And
the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must
not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely
die.”…Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He
said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’ ” The woman
said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat
fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” “You
will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes
will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit
of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took
some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes
of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together
and made coverings for themselves. (Genesis 2:15 – 3:1-7)
Every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. (Genesis 8:21)
There is no one who does not sin. (1Kings 8:46)
How many wrongs and sins have I committed? Show me my offense and my sin. (Job 13:23)
What is man, that he could be pure, or one born of woman, that he could be righteous? If God places
no trust in His holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in His eyes, how much less man, who is
vile and corrupt, who drinks up evil like water! (Job 15:14-16)
They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb fashions deceit. (Job 15:35)
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one
who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who
understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is
no one who does good, not even one. (Psalm 14:1-3)
Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; my bones have no soundness because of my
sin. My quilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. (Psalm 38:3-4)
My sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my
heart fails within me. (Psalm 40:12)
Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. (Psalm 51:5)
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You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth. (Psalm 52:3)
You know my folly, O God; my quilt is not hidden from you. (Psalm 69:5)
God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes. (Ecclesiastes 7:29)
The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and
afterward they join the dead. (Ecclesiastes 9:3)
Well do I know how treacherous you are; you were called a rebel from birth. (Isaiah 48:8)
Our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us,
and we acknowledge our iniquities. (Isaiah 59:12)
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all
shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. No one calls on your name or strives
to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our
sins. (Isaiah 64:6-7)
My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding.
They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good. (Jeremiah 4:22)
When you engage in your wickedness, then you rejoice. (Jeremiah 11:15)
Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are
accustomed to doing evil. (Jeremiah 13:23)
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9)
But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on
oppression and extortion. (Jeremiah 22:17)
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man unclean. For
out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony,
slander. These are what make a man unclean. (Matthew 15:18-20)
What comes out of a man is what makes him unclean. For from within, out of men’s hearts come evil
thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander,
arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean. (Mark 7:20-23)
No one is good – except God alone. (Mark 10:18)
But Jesus would not entrust Himself to them, for He knew all men. He did not need man’s testimony
about man, for He knew what was in a man. (John 2:24-25)
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“If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”…At this, those who heard
began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still
standing there. (John 8:7-9)
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a
murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. (John 8:44)
Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over
to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of
wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They
are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil;
they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know
God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do
these very things but also approve of those who practice them. (Romans 1:28-32)
There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.
All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not
even one. (Romans 3:10-12)
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way
death came to all men, because all sinned – for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But
sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam
to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam…The
many died by the trespass of the one man…The judgment followed one sin and brought
condemnation…By the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man…the result of
one trespass was condemnation for all men…through the disobedience of the one man the many
were made sinners. (Romans 5:12-19)
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the
parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness. (Romans 6:12-13)
For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work
in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. (Romans 7:5)
But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of
covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. Once I was alive apart from law; but when the
commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was
intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the
commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. (Romans 7:8-11)
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But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so
that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful. We know that the law is spiritual; but I
am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do,
but what I hate I do. (Romans 7:13-15)
As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me,
that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what
I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. Now if I do
what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
(Romans 7:17-20)
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I
delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against
the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a
wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus
Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave
to the law of sin. (Romans 7:21-25)
The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled
by the sinful nature cannot please God. (Romans 8:7-8)
God has bound all men over to disobedience so that He may have mercy on them all. (Romans 11:32)
The Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promise, being
given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. (Galatians 3:22)
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and
witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy;
drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not
inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)
The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction. (Galatians 6:8)
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you
followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work
in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of
our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of
wrath. (Ephesians 2:1-3)
You were taught, with regard to our former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted
by its deceitful desires. (Ephesians 4:22)
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But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after
desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
(James1:14-15)
The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person,
sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds,
reptiles and creature of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame
the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. (James 3:6-8)
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?
You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want.
(James 4:1-2)
I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your
soul. (1Peter 2:11)
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim
we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a Liar and His word has no place in our lives.
(1John 1:8-10)
He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.
(1John 3:8)
2 – Iniquities, Transgressions and Sins
The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of
the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that He had made man on
the earth, and His heart was filled with pain. (Genesis 6:5-6)
God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.
(Genesis 6:12)
You are sure to become utterly corrupt and to turn from the way I have commanded you. In days to
come, disaster will fall upon you because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD and provoke Him to
anger by what your hands have made. (Deuteronomy 31:29)
They are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful. They made me jealous by what is no god
and angered me with their worthless idols. (Deuteronomy 32:20-21)
But they mocked God’s messengers, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets until the wrath
of the LORD was aroused against His people and there was no remedy. (2 Chronicles 36:16)
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O my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are
higher than our heads and our quilt has reached to the heavens. (Ezra 9:6)
There is no fear of God before his eyes. For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or
hate his sin. The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and to do
good. Even on his bed he plots evil; he commits himself to a sinful course and does not reject what is
wrong. (Psalm 36:1-4)
Do you rulers indeed speak justly? Do you judge uprightly among men? No, in your heart you devise
injustice, and your hands mete out violence on the earth. Even from birth the wicked go astray; from
the womb they are wayward and speak lies. (Psalm 58:1-3)
In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of His wonders, they did not believe. So He ended
their days in futility and their years in terror. (Psalm 78:32-33)
But they put God to the test and rebelled against the Most High; they did not keep His statutes. Like
their fathers they were disloyal and faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow. (Psalm 78:56-57)
How long will the wicked, O LORD, how long will the wicked be jubilant? They pour out arrogant
words; all the evildoers are full of boasting. (Psalm 94:3-4)
He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground, and fruitful land into a salt waste,
because of the wickedness of those who lived there. (Psalm 107:33-34)
For they cannot sleep till they do evil; they are robbed of slumber till they make someone fall.
(Proverbs 4:16)
A scoundrel and villain, who goes about with a corrupt mouth, who winks with his eye, signals with his
feet and motions with his fingers, who plots evil with deceit in his heart – he always stirs up
dissension. Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant; he will suddenly be destroyed – without
remedy. (Proverbs 6:12-15)
A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but in his heart he harbors deceit. Though his speech
is charming, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart. His malice may be concealed by
deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly. (Proverbs 26:24-26)
Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made.
(Isaiah 2:8)
The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the exalted of the earth languish.
The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the
everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their quilt.
Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left. (Isaiah 24:4-6)
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The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the quilt of its
rebellion that it falls – never to rise again. (Isaiah 24:20)
Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities
have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.
For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your
tongue mutters wicked things. (Isaiah 59:1-3)
For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us,
and we acknowledge our iniquities: rebellion and treachery against the LORD, turning our backs on
our God, fomenting oppression and revolt, uttering lies our heats have conceived. So justice is driven
back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter.
Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The LORD looked and was
displeased that there was no justice. (Isaiah 59:12-15)
I called but you did not answer, I spoke but you did not listen. You did evil in my sight and chose what
displeases me. (Isaiah 65:12)
I will pronounce my judgments on my people because of their wickedness in forsaking me, in burning
incense to other gods and in worshiping what their hands have made. (Jeremiah 1:16)
I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and
made my inheritance detestable. (Jeremiah 2:7)
Your wrongdoings have kept these away; your sins have deprived you of good. (Jeremiah 5:25)
Although our sins testify against us, O LORD, do something for the sake of your name. For our
backsliding is great; we have sinned against you. (Jeremiah 14:7)
Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you people have brought to mind your
quilt by your open rebellion, revealing your sins in all that you do – because you have done this, you
will be taken captive. (Ezekiel 21:24)
In you they have treated father and mother with contempt; in you they have oppressed the alien and
mistreated the fatherless and the widow. You have despised my holy things and desecrated my
Sabbaths. In you are slanderous men bent on shedding blood; in you are those who eat at the
mountain shrines and commit lewd acts. In you are those who dishonor their father’s bed; in you are
those who violate women during their period, when they are ceremonially unclean. In you one man
commits a detestable offense with his neighbor’s wife, another shamefully defiles his daughter-in-law,
and another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter. In you men accept bribes to shed blood;
you take usury and excessive interest and make unjust gain from your neighbors by extortion. And
you have forgotten me, declares the Sovereign LORD. (Ezekiel 22:7-12)
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We have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away
from your commands and laws. (Daniel 9:5)
There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying
and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Because
of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field and the birds of the
air and the fish of the sear are dying. (Hosea 4:1-3)
They consult a wooden idol and are answered by a stick of wood. A spirit of prostitution leads them
astray; they are unfaithful to their God. They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the
hills, under oak, poplar and terebinth, where the shade is pleasant. Therefore your daughters turn to
prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery. (Hosea 4:12-13)
Woe to them, because they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, because they have rebelled
against me! I long to redeem them but they speak lies against me. They do not cry out to me from
their hearts but wail upon their beds. They gather together for grain and new wine but turn away from
me. I trained them and strengthened them, but they plot evil against me. They do not turn to the Most
High; they are like a faulty bow. (Hosea 7:13-16)
You have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception.
(Hosea 10:13)
Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they carry it out
because it is in their power to do it. (Micah 2:1-2)
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because
their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear
that his deeds will be exposed. (John 3:19-20)
If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no
excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them what no
one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they
have hated both me and my Father. (John 15:22-24)
God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their
bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served
created things rather than the Creator…because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even
their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also
abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed
indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over
to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. (Romans 1:24-28)
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They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the
ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have
given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for
more. (Ephesians 4:18-19)
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
(Colossians 1:21)
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and
pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. (Titus 3:3)
Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire.
You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who
mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of
the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened
yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not
opposing you. (James 5:3-6)
You have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do – living in debauchery, lust,
drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They think it strange that you do not plunge
with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give
account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. (1Peter 4:3-5)
These men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of
instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish. They will be paid
back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight.
They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. With eyes full of
adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed – an accursed
brood! (2 Peter 2:12-14)
3 – Pride and Rebellion
I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath
you like bronze. (Leviticus 26:19)
Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when
your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then
your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God. (Deuteronomy 8:12-14)
When I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, the land I promised on oath to
their forefathers, and when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods and worship them,
rejecting me and breaking my covenant. (Deuteronomy 31:20)
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Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who
knows, and by Him deeds are weighed. (1Samuel 2:3)
Rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. (1Samuel 15:23)
You warned them to return to your law, but they became arrogant and disobeyed your commands.
They sinned against your ordinances, by which a man will live if he obeys them. Stubbornly they
turned their backs on you, became stiff-necked and refused to listen. (Nehemiah 9:29)
His wisdom is profound, His power is vast. Who has resisted Him and come out unscathed? (Job 9:4)
If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion and again display your awesome power against me.
(Job 10:16)
Yet they say to God, “Leave us alone! We have no desire to know your ways. Who is the Almighty,
that we should serve Him? What would we gain by praying to Him?” (Job 21:14-15)
If men are bound in chains, held fast by cords of affliction, He tells them what they have done – that
they have sinned arrogantly. (Job 36:8-9)
The godless in heart harbor resentment; even when He fetters them, they do not cry for help.
(Job 36:13)
Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and
the rulers gather together against the LORD and against His Anointed One. “Let us break their
chains,” they say, “and throw of their fetters.” The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the LORD scoffs
at them. Then He rebukes them in His anger and terrifies them in His wrath, saying, “I have installed
my King on Zion, my holy hill.” (Psalm 2:1-6)
In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises.
He boasts of the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD. In his pride the
wicked does not seek Him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. (Psalm 10:2-4)
You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty. (Psalm 18:27)
Let their lying lips be silenced, for with pride and contempt they speak arrogantly against the
righteous. (Psalm 31:18)
The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud He pays back in full. (Psalm 31:23)
He rules forever by His power, His eyes watch the nations – let not the rebellious rise up against Him.
(Psalm 66:7)
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God sets the lonely in families, He leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a
sun-scorched land. (Psalm 68:6)
To the arrogant I say, “Boast no more,” and to the wicked, “Do not lift up your horns. Do not lift your
horns against heaven; do not speak with outstretched neck.” (Psalm 75:4-5)
Whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, him will I not endure. (Psalm 101:5)
Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains, for they had rebelled
against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High. So He subjected them to bitter
labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help. (Psalm 107:10-12)
You rebuke the arrogant, who are cursed and who stray from your commands. (Psalm 119:21)
You reject all who stray from your decrees, for their deceitfulness is in vain. (Psalm 119:118)
But since you rejected me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand, since
you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will
mock when calamity overtakes you – when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster
sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. (Proverbs 1:24-27)
To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.
(Proverbs 8:13)
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. (Proverbs 11:2)
Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice. (Proverbs 13:10)
The LORD tears down the proud man’s house but He keeps the widow’s boundaries intact.
(Proverbs 15:25)
The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished. (Proverbs 16:5)
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18)
Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor. (Proverbs 18:12)
Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin! (Proverbs 21:4)
The proud and arrogant man – “Mocker” is his name; he behaves with overweening pride.
(Proverbs 21:24)
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Blessed is the man who always fears the LORD, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.
(Proverbs 28:14)
A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed – without remedy.
(Proverbs 29:1)
A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor. (Proverbs 29:23)
The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low; the LORD alone will
be exalted in that day. The LORD Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty.
(Isaiah 2:11-12)
The arrogance of man will be brought low and the pride of men humbled; the LORD alone will be
exalted in that day. (Isaiah 2:17)
The LORD says, “The women of Zion are haughty, walking along with outstretched necks, flirting with
their eyes, tripping along with mincing steps, with ornaments jingling on their ankles. Therefore the
Lord will bring sores on the heads of the women of Zion; the LORD will make their scalps bold.”
(Isaiah 3:16-17)
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. (Isaiah 5:21)
These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far
from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. (Isaiah 29:13)
Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the LORD, who do their work in
darkness and think, “Who sees us? Who will know?” You turn things upside down, as if the potter
were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, “He did not make me”?
Can the pot say of the potter, “He knows nothing”? (Isaiah 29:15-16)
“Woe to the obstinate children,” declares the LORD, “to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin.” (Isaiah 30:1)
In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have
none of it. You said, “No, we will flee on horses.” Therefore you will flee! You said, “We will ride off on
swift horses.” Therefore your pursuers will be swift! (Isaiah 30:15-16)
All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing
their own imaginations – a people who continually provoke me to my very face. (Isaiah 65:2-3)
I called but you did not answer, I spoke but you did not listen. You did evil in my sight and chose what
displeases me. (Isaiah 65:12)
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Do not run until your feet are bare and your throat is dry. But you said, “It’s no use! I love foreign gods,
and I must go after them.” (Jeremiah 2:25)
Hear, O earth: I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not
listened to my words and have rejected my law. (Jeremiah 6:19)
Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that
it may go well with you. But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn
inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. (Jeremiah 7:23-24)
I warned them again and again, saying, “Obey me.” But they did not listen or pay attention; instead,
they followed the stubbornness of their evil heats. (Jeremiah 11:7-8)
They greatly love to wander; they do not restrain their feet. So the LORD does not accept them; He
will now remember their wickedness and punish them for their sins. (Jeremiah 14:10)
Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns
away from the LORD. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it
comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.
(Jeremiah 17:5-6)
This is what the LORD says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you.
So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions. But they will
reply, “It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; each of us will follow the stubbornness of his
evil heart.” (Jeremiah 18:11-12)
They turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would
not listen or respond to discipline. (Jeremiah 32:33)
Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears
to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people. (Ezekiel 12:2)
All this disaster has come upon us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning
from our sins and giving attention to your truth. The LORD did not hesitate to bring the disaster upon
us, for the LORD our God is righteous in everything He does; yet we have not obeyed Him.
(Daniel 9:13-14)
But they do not realize that I remember all their evil deeds. Their sins engulf them; they are always
before me. (Hosea 7:2)
When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot
me. (Hosea 13:6)
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You are destroyed, O Israel, because you are against me, against your helper. (Hosea 13:9)
This is what they will get in return for their pride, for insulting and mocking the people of the LORD
Almighty. (Zephaniah 2:10)
But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and stopped up their ears. They
made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD
Almighty had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the LORD Almighty was very angry.
“When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,” says the LORD Almighty.
(Zechariah 7:11-13)
“You have said harsh things against me,” says the LORD. “Yet you ask, ‘What have we said against
you?’ You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out His requirements and
going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed.
Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.’” (Malachi 3:13-15)
“Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble,
and that day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the LORD Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will
be left to them.” (Malachi 4:1)
He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost
thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. (Luke 1:51-52)
You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are
the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. (John 5:39-40)
You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You
always resist the Holy Spirit! (Acts 7:51)
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against
yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when His righteous judgment will be revealed. (Romans 2:5)
God has bound all men over to disobedience so that He may have mercy on them all. (Romans 11:32)
He may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. (1Timothy 3:6)
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth,
which is so uncertain. (1Timothy 6:17)
And to whom did God swear that they would never enter His rest if not to those who disobeyed? So
we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief. (Hebrews 3:18-19)
It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them
did not go in, because of their disobedience. (Hebrews 4:6)
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God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6)
As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:16)
They stumble because they disobey the message – Which is also what they were destined for.
(1Peter 2:8)
It is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome
be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? (1Peter 4:17)
Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe
God has made Him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about
His Son. (1John 5:10)
4 – Human Infirmity, Ignorance and foolishness
Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a
hundred and twenty years.” (Genesis 6:3)
God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.
(Genesis 6:12)
He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swept away. Darkness comes
upon them in the daytime; at noon they grope as in the night. (Job 5:13-14)
What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects, that I should be patient? Do I have
the strength of stone? Is my flesh bronze? Do I have any power to help myself, now that success has
been driven from me? (Job 6:11-13)
We were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow. (Job 8:9)
Surely He recognizes deceitful men; and when He sees evil, does He not take note? But a witless
man can no more become wise than a wild donkey’s colt can be born a man. (Job 11:11-12)
There are those who rebel against the light, who do not know its ways or stay in its paths. (Job 24:13)
It is not only the old who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right. (Job 32:9)
God is greater than man. Why do you complain to Him that He answers none of man’s words? For
God does speak – now one way, now another – though man may not perceive it. (Job 33:12-14)
If it were His intention and He withdrew His spirit and breath, all mankind would perish together and
man would return to dust. (Job 34:14-15)
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I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, “Who is this that
obscures my counsel without knowledge?” Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too
wonderful for me to know. (Job 42:2-3)
Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in
anguish. (Psalm 6:2-3)
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one
who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who
understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is
no one who does good, not even one. (Psalm 14:1-3)
Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart have
multiplied; free me from my anguish. Look upon my affliction and my distress and take away all my
sins. (Psalm 25:16-18)
Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my
body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because
of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. (Psalm 31:9-10)
Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.
You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each
man’s life is but a breath. (Psalm 39:4-5)
Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth,
not knowing who will get it. (Psalm 39:6)
God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who
seek God. Everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does
good, not even one. (Psalm 53:2-3)
He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return. (Psalm 78:39)
The length of our days is seventy years – or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but
trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. (Psalm 90:10)
How great are your works, O LORD, how profound your thoughts! The senseless man does not know,
fools do not understand. (Psalm 92:5-6)
The LORD knows the thoughts of man; He knows that they are futile. (Psalm 94:11)
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For He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like
grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place
remembers it no more. (Psalm 103:14-16)
Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
(Psalm 107:17)
Do not put your trust in prince, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return
to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. (Psalm 146:3-4)
There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. (Proverbs 16:25)
A man’s spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? (Proverbs 18:14)
A man’s own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the LORD. (Proverbs 19:3)
Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find? (Proverbs 20:6)
All a man’s ways seems right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart. (Proverbs 21:2)
There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD. (Proverbs 21:30)
Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth. (Proverbs 27:1)
Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much
and disown you and say, “Who is the LORD?” Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the
name of my God. (Proverbs 30:7-9)
All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear
its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is
nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:8-9)
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was
meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 2:11)
What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? All his
days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.
(Ecclesiastes 2:22-23)
He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from
beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
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God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes. (Ecclesiastes 7:29)
For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a man’s misery weighs heavily
upon him. Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come? No man has power over
the wind to contain it; so no one has power over the day of his death. As no one is discharged in time
of war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it. (Ecclesiastes 8:6-8)
Then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all
his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he
cannot really comprehend it. (Ecclesiastes 8:17)
I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor
does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance
happen to them all. Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel
net, or birds are taken in a snare, so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them.
(Ecclesiastes 9:11-12)
And the fool multiplies words. No one knows what is coming – who can tell him what will happen after
him? (Ecclesiastes 10:14)
However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all. But let him remember the days of
darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is meaningless. (Ecclesiastes 11:8)
Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he? (Isaiah 2:22)
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who
put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in
their own sight. (Isaiah 5:20-21)
Does the ax raise itself above him who swings it, or the saw boast against him who uses it? As if a
rod were to wield him who lifts it up, or a club brandish him who is not wood! (Isaiah 10:15)
Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the LORD, who do their work in
darkness and think, “Who sees us? Who will know?” You turn things upside down, as if the potter
were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, “He did not make me”?
Can the pot say of the potter, “He knows nothing”? (Isaiah 29:15-16)
All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the
flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass.
(Isaiah 40:6-7)
All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak
up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame. Who shapes a god and casts an idol,
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which can profit him nothing? He and his kind will be put to shame; craftsmen are nothing but men.
Let them all come together and take their stand; they will be brought down to terror and infamy.
(Isaiah 44:9-11)
So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness;
for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way
like men without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the
dead. We all growl like bears; we moan mournfully like doves. We look for justice, but find none; for
deliverance, but it is far away. (Isaiah 59:9-11)
Your own conduct and actions have brought this upon you. This is your punishment. How bitter it is!
How it pierces to the heart! (Jeremiah 4:18)
My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding.
They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good. (Jeremiah 4:22)
Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush
observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the LORD.
(Jeremiah 8:7)
The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word
of the LORD, what kind of wisdom do they have? (Jeremiah 8:9)
Look at the nations and watch – and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe, even if you were told. (Habakkuk 1:5)
This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not
hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: ‘You will be ever hearing but never
understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heat has become
calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see
with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’”
(Matthew 13:13-15)
Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.
(Matthew 26:41)
These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their
teachings are but rules taught by men. You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on
to the traditions of men. (Mark 7:6-8)
What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? (Luke 9:25)
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You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is
highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight. (Luke 16:15)
“Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”
(John 4:48)
Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in Him. But because of the Pharisees
they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved
praise from men more than praise from God. (John 12:42-43)
For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their
thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they
became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man
and birds and animals and reptiles. (Romans 1:21-23)
First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God. What if some did not have faith?
Will their lack of faith nullify Gods’ faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true, and every man is a liar.
(Romans 3:2-4)
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law
we become conscious of sin. (Romans 3:20)
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do… As it is, it is no
longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my
sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not
the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not
want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work:
When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I
see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and
making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who
will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I
myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
(Romans 7:15-25)
For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.
Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own,
they did not submit to God’s righteousness. (Romans 10:2-3)
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being
saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of
the intelligent I will frustrate.” Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher
of this age? Has not God mad foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the
world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was
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preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those
whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For
the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s
strength. (1Corinthians 1:18-25)
Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human
standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things
of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He
chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify
the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him. (1Corinthians 1:26-29)
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
(1Corinthians 2:14)
You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are
you not acting like mere men? (1Corinthians 3:3)
Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should
become a “fool” so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s
sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”, and again, “The Lord knows that the
thoughts of the wise are futile.” (1Corinthians 3:18-20)
We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who
thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. (1Corinthians 8:1-2)
We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they
measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.
(2 Corinthians 10:12)
You must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their
understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the
hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so
as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. (Ephesians 4:17-19)
These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and
teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship,
their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining
sensual indulgence. (Colossians 2:22-23)
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For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires,
they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related
to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and
are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his
own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 5:13)
But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.
Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where
you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. (James 3:14-16)
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?
You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You
quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive,
because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
(James 4:1-3)
In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires. These are the men
who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. (Jude 1:18-19)
5 – God’s Warnings
Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God
made man. (Genesis 9:6)
If anyone curses his God, he will be held responsible. (Leviticus 24:15)
If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I
testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. (Deuteronomy 8:19)
Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them.
(Deuteronomy 11:16)
See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse – the blessing if you obey the commands
of the LORD your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the
LORD your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you
have not known. (Deuteronomy 11:26-28)
Do not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise
and twists the words of the righteous. (Deuteronomy 16:19)
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Cursed is the man who carves an image or casts an idol – a thing detestable to the LORD, the work
of the craftsman’s hand – and sets it up in secret. (Deuteronomy 27:15)
The LORD will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until
you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking Him.
(Deuteronomy 28:20)
But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to
other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed.
(Deuteronomy 30:17)
Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained. (1Samuel 2:30)
He repays a man for what he has done; He brings upon him what his conduct deserves. It is
unthinkable that God would do wrong, that the Almighty would pervert justice. (Job 34:11-12)
In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your heart and be silent. (Psalm 4:4)
You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell. The arrogant cannot
stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong. You destroy those who tell lies; bloodthirsty and
deceitful men the LORD abhors. (Psalm 5:4-6)
The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud He pays back in full. (Psalm 31:23)
The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
(Psalm 34:16)
Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not travel on it;
turn from it and go on your way. (Proverbs 4:14-15)
The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. (Proverbs 5:22)
There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into
evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
(Proverbs 6:16-19)
To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.
(Proverbs 8:13)
What the wicked dreads will overtake him; what the righteous desires will be granted. (Proverbs 10:24)
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The righteousness of the blameless makes a straight way for them, but the wicked are brought down
by their own wickedness. The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the unfaithful are
trapped by evil desires. When a wicked man dies, his hope perishes; all he expected from his power
comes to nothing. The righteous man is rescued from trouble, and it comes on the wicked instead.
(Proverbs 11:5-8)
A good man obtains favor from the LORD, but the LORD condemns a crafty man. (Proverbs 12:2)
Misfortune pursues the sinner, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous. (Proverbs 13:21)
Stern discipline awaits him who leaves the path. He who hates correction will die. (Proverbs 15:10)
If a man pays back evil for good, evil will never leave his house. (Proverbs 17:13)
Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent – the LORD detests them both. (Proverbs 17:15)
If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it; if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him. (Proverbs 26:27)
If you have played the fool and exalted yourself, or if you have planned evil, clap your hand over your
mouth! (Proverbs 30:32)
If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will
be devoured by the sword. (Isaiah 1:19-20)
But rebels and sinners will both be broken, and those who forsake the LORD will perish. (Isaiah 1:28)
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who
put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in
their own sight. (Isaiah 5:20-21)
Woe to you, O destroyer, you who have not been destroyed! Woe to you, O traitor, you who have not
been betrayed! When you stop destroying, you will be destroyed; when you stop betraying, you will
be betrayed. (Isaiah 33:1)
“There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.” (Isaiah 48:22)
Your wickedness will punish you, your backsliding will rebuke you. (Jeremiah 2:19)
Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns
away from the LORD. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it
comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.
(Jeremiah 17:5-6)
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And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does
evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.
(Jeremiah 18:9-10)
Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the
offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. (Ezekiel 18:30-31)
Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the
abundance of his possessions. (Luke 12:15)
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against
yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when His righteous judgment will be revealed. God “will give to
each person according to what he has done.” (Romans 2:5-6)
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the
parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those
who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to Him as instrument of
righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
(Romans 6:12-14)
We have an obligation – but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live
according to the sinful nature, you will die. (Romans 8:12-13)
Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to
you, provided that you continue in His kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. (Romans 11:22)
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’ Spirit lives in you? If anyone
destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
(1Corinthians 3:16-17)
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the
sexual immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor
thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
(1Corinthians 6:9-10)
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received
from God? You are not your own; you were brought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
(1Corinthians 6:19-20)
Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” Come back to your senses as you ought,
and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God. (1Corinthians 15:33-34)
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Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to
please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit,
from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:7-8)
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be
kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
(Ephesians 4:31-32)
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those
who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them. (Ephesians 5:6-7)
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil
desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk
in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these:
anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you
have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in
knowledge in the image of its Creator. (Colossians 3:5-10)
Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism. (Colossians 3:25)
Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. (Hebrews 4:7)
6 – The Grip of Sin
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at
your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it. (Genesis 4:7)
If a person sins and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD’s commands, even though he does
not know it, he is guilty and will be held responsible. (Leviticus 5:17)
But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the LORD; and you may be sure that your sin will
find you out. (Numbers 32:23)
Surely He recognizes deceitful men; and when He sees evil, does He not take note? (Job 11:11)
How many wrongs and sins have I committed? Show me my offense and my sin. (Job 13:23)
The wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. (Psalm 9:16)
Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; my bones have no soundness because of my
sin. My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. (Psalm 38:3-4)
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My sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my
heart fails within me. (Psalm 40:12)
He turns rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground, and fruitful land into a salt waste,
because of the wickedness of those who lived there. (Psalm 107:33-34)
The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. (Proverbs 5:22)
The wicked are brought down by their own wickedness. (Proverbs 11:5)
Misfortune pursues the sinner, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous. (Proverbs 13:21)
The way of the guilty is devious. (Proverbs 21:8)
One sinner destroys much good. (Ecclesiastes 9:18)
The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the quilt of its
rebellion that it falls – never to rise again. (Isaiah 24:20)
Because you have rejected this message, relied on oppression and depended on deceit, this sin will
become for you like a high wall, cracked and bulging, that collapses suddenly, in an instant.
(Isaiah 30:12-13)
Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities
have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.
(Isaiah 59:1-2)
Our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us,
and we acknowledge our iniquities. (Isaiah 59:12)
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all
shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. No one calls on you name or strives
to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and make us waste away because of our
sins. (Isaiah 64:6-7)
“Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how
evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the LORD your God and have no awe of me,” declares
the Lord, the LORD Almighty. (Jeremiah 2:19)
Your own conduct and actions have brought this upon you. This is your punishment. How bitter it is!
How it pierces to the heart! (Jeremiah 4:18)
Your wrongdoings have kept these away; your sins have deprived you of good. (Jeremiah 5:25)
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Instead, everyone will die for his own sins. (Jeremiah 31:30)
Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?
Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins? (Lamentations 3:38-39)
Because you people have brought to mind your guilt by your open rebellion, revealing your sins in all
that you do – because you have done this, you will be taken captive. (Ezekiel 21:24)
But they do not realize that I remember all their evil deeds. Their sins engulf them; they are always
before me. (Hosea 7:2)
Your sins have been your downfall! (Hosea 14:1)
I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever
blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of eternal sin. (Mark 3:28-29)
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord, I am a sinful
man!” (Luke 5:8)
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because
their deeds were evil. (John 3:19)
I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will
indeed die in your sins. (John 8:24)
I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. (John 8:34)
We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does His will.
(John 9:31)
Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see
will become blind.” Some Pharisees who were with Him heard Him say this and asked, “What? Are
we blind too?” Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim
you can see, your guilt remains.” (John 9:39-41)
If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no
excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them what no
one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they
have hated both me and my Father. (John 15:22-24)
When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in
regard to sin, because men do not believe in me. (John 16:8-9)
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I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin. (Acts 8:23)
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way
death came to all men, because all sinned. (Romans 5:12)
Before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law.
Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not
sin by breaking a command, as did Adam. (Romans 5:13-14)
The many died by the trespass of the one man…The judgment followed one sin and brought
condemnation…By the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man…the result of
one trespass was condemnation for all men…through the disobedience of the one man the many
were made sinners. (Romans 5:15-19)
Sin reigned in death. (Romans 5:21)
Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in
it any longer? (Romans 6:1-2)
We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that
we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
(Romans 6:6-7)
The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. In the same way,
count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:10-11)
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the
parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those
who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to Him as instrument of
righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
(Romans 6:12-14)
Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to
the one whom you obey – whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which
leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you
wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free
from sin and have become salves to righteousness. (Romans 6:16-18)
When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you
reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!
(Romans 6:20-21)
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The wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23)
For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work
in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. (Romans 7:5)
But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of
covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. Once I was alive apart from law; but when the
commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was
intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the
commandment, deceive me, and through the commandment put me to death. (Romans 7:8-11)
But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so
that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful. We know that the law is spiritual; but I
am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do,
but what I hate I do. (Romans 7:13-15)
As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me,
that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what
I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. Now if I do
what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
(Romans 7:17-20)
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I
delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against
the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a
wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus
Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave
to the law of sin. (Romans 7:21-25)
Everything that does not come from faith is sin. (Romans 14:23)
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. (1Corinthians 15:56)
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you
followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work
in those who are disobedient. (Ephesians 2:1-2)
The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others
trail behind them. (1Timothy 5:24)
In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleaned with blood, and without the shedding of
blood there is no forgiveness. (Hebrews 9:22)
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Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to
death. (James 1:15)
Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins. (James 4:17)
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which
war against your soul. (1Peter 2:11)
He who has suffered in his body is down with sin. (1Peter 4:1)
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is law lessness. But you know that He appeared so that
He might take away our sins. And in Him is no sin. No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one
who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him. (1John 3:4-6)
He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The
reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. (1John 3:8)
No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on
sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and
who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is
anyone who does not love his brother. (1John 3:9-10)
All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death. (1John 5:17)
7 – Bondages in Worldly Living
The worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you. (Exodus 23:33)
If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, “You are my security,” if I have rejoiced over my
great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained, if I have regarded the sun in its radiance or the moon
moving in splendor, so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand offered them a kiss of
homage, then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.
(Job 31:24-28)
The sorrows of these will increase who run after other gods. (Psalm 16:4)
Though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them. (Psalm 62:10)
All who worship images are put to shame, those who boast in idols. (Psalm 97:7)
They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them. (Psalm 106:36)
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Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it.
(Proverbs 1:19)
Ill-gotten treasures are of no value, but righteousness delivers from death. (Proverbs 10:2)
Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf. (Proverbs 11:28)
Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great wealth with turmoil. (Proverbs 15:16)
A greedy man brings trouble to his family, but he who hates bribes will live. (Proverbs 15:27)
Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice. (Proverbs 16:8)
Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise. (Proverbs 20:1)
A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare. (Proverbs 21:6)
He who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich.
(Proverbs 21:17)
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches,
and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
(Proverbs 23:4-5)
Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons
become poor, and drowsiness cloths them in rags. (Proverbs 23:20-21)
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises?
Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. Do
not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it
bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind imagine
confusing things. You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. “They hit
me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it! When will I wake up so I can find
another drink?” (Proverbs 23:29-35)
It is not good to eat too much honey, nor is it honorable to seek one’s own honor. (Proverbs 25:27)
A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.
(Proverbs 28:20)
A stingy man is eager to get rich and is unaware that poverty awaits him. (Proverbs 28:22)
A greedy man stirs up dissension, but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper. (Proverbs 28:25)
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Whoever flatters his neighbor is spreading a net for his feet. (Proverbs 29:5)
What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? All his
days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.
(Ecclesiastes 2:22-23)
There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. “For whom am I toiling,” he
asked, “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment”? This too is meaningless – a miserable
business! (Ecclesiastes 4:8)
The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man
permits him no sleep. (Ecclesiastes 5:12)
I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, or wealth lost
through some misfortune, so that when he has a son there is nothing left for him.
(Ecclesiastes 5:13-14)
All man’s efforts are for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied. (Ecclesiastes 6:7)
Now stop your mocking, or your chains will become heavier. (Isaiah 28:22)
“Woe to the obstinate children,” declares the LORD, “to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin; who go down to Egypt without
consulting me; who look for help to Pharaoh’s protection, to Egypt’s shade for refuge. But Pharaoh’s
protection will be to your shame, Egypt’s shade will bring you disgrace.” (Isaiah 30:1-3)
My people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols. (Jeremiah 2:11)
Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay is the man who gains riches by unjust means. When
his life is half gone, they will desert him, and in the end he will prove to be a fool. (Jeremiah 17:11)
They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be an unclean thing. Their silver and
gold will not be able to save them in the day of the LORD’s wrath. They will not satisfy their hunger or
fill their stomachs with it, for it has made them stumble into sin. (Ezekiel 7:19)
My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not
put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust
gain. (Ezekiel 33:31)
I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. (Matthew 5:26)
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves
break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not
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destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will
be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)
No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to
the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. (Matthew 6:24)
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough
trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34)
What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man
give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26)
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you
will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away
sad, because he had great wealth. (Matthew 19:21-22)
Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness
of wealth and the desires for other things come in and chocked the word, making it unfruitful.
(Mark 4:18-19)
Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a
needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. (Mark 10:24-25)
Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no
root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns
stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and
pleasures, and they do not mature. (Luke 8:13-14)
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one
thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
(Luke 10:41-42)
Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the
abundance of his possessions. (Luke 12:15)
And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat,
drink and be merry.” But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from
you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” This is how it will be with anyone who
stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God. (Luke 12:19-21)
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will
wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. (Luke 12:22-23)
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Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing,
why do you worry about the rest? (Luke 12:25)
What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight. (Luke 16:15)
Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life,
and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the
face of the whole earth. (Luke 21:34-35)
I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin. (Acts 8:23)
The mind of sinful man is death…the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law,
nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. (Romans 8:6-8)
We have an obligation – but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live
according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the
body, you will live. (Romans 8:12-13)
You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute
idols. (1Corinthians 12:2)
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has
blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow
brings death. (2 Corinthians 7:10)
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now
that you know God – or rather are known by God – how is it that you are turning back to those weak
and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? (Galatians 4:8-9)
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you
followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work
in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of
our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of
wrath. (Ephesians 2:1-3)
For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person – such a man is an idolater – has
any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. (Ephesians 5:5)
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. (Ephesians 5:18)
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People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires
that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some
people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
(1Timothy 6:9-10)
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and
pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. (Titus 3:3)
You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone
who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. (James 4:4)
Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their
corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.
(James 5: 2-3)
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not
in him. For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting
of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires
pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. (1John 2:15-17)
8 – Our Days on Earth Are Like a Shadow
We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a
shadow, without hope. (1Chronicles 29:15)
My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and they come to an end without hope. (Job 7:6)
We were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow. (Job 8:9)
Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He springs up like a flower and withers away;
like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure. (Job 14:1-2)
Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.
You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each
man’s life is but a breath. (Psalm 39:4-5)
You turn men back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, O sons of men.” For a thousand years in your
sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. You sweep men away in the
sleep of death; they are like the new grass of the morning – though in the morning it springs up new,
by evening it is dry and withered. (Psalm 90:3-6)
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All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan. The length of our days is
seventy years – or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they
quickly pass, and we fly away. (Psalm 90:9-10)
My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass. (Psalm 102:11)
For He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like
grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place
remembers it no more. (Psalm 103:14-16)
Out of the goodness of your love, deliver me. For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded
within me. I fade away like an evening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust. (Psalm 109:21-23)
O LORD, what is man that you care for him, the son of man that you think of him? Man is like a
breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow. (Psalm 144:3-4)
“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun? (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3)
All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear
its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is
nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:8-9)
I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after
the wind. What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.
(Ecclesiastes 1:14-15)
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was
meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 2:11)
What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? All his
days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.
(Ecclesiastes 2:22-23)
Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing
from his labor that he can carry in his hand. This too is a grievous evil: As a man comes, so he
departs, and what does he gain, since he toils for the wind? All his days eats in darkness, with great
frustration, affliction and anger. (Ecclesiastes 5:15-17)
Who knows what is good for a man in life, during the few and meaningless days he passes through
like a shadow? Who can tell him what will happen under the sun after he is gone? (Ecclesiastes 6:12)
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However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all. But let him remember the days of
darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is meaningless. (Ecclesiastes 11:8)
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry
on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your
life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is
the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15)
9 – Death
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And
the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must
not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”…
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also
desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who
was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were
naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (Genesis 2:15 – 3:6-7)
As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to the grave does not return. (Job 7:9)
Surely you know how it has been from of old, ever since man was placed on the earth, that the mirth
of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment. Though his pride reaches to the
heavens and his head touches the clouds, he will perish forever, like his own dung; those who have
seen him will say, “Where is he?” like a dream he flies away, no more to be found, banished like a
vision of the night. (Job 20:4-8)
Do not be overawed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases; for he will
take nothing with him when he dies, his splendor will not descend with him. Though while he lived he
counted himself blessed – and men praise you when you prosper – he will join the generation of his
fathers, who will never see the light of life. (Psalm 49:16-19)
What man can live and not see death, or save himself from the power of the greave? (Psalm 89:48)
The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death. (Proverbs 14:27)
There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. (Proverbs 16:25)
It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of
every man; the living should take this to heart. (Ecclesiastes 7:2)
No man has power over the wind to contain it; so no one has power over the day of his death. As no
one is discharged in time of war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.
(Ecclesiastes 8:8)
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The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in
their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead. (Ecclesiastes 9:3)
For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and
even the memory of them is forgotten. Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since
vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.
(Ecclesiastes 9:5-6)
And the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
(Ecclesiastes 12:7)
Everyone will die for his own sin. (Jeremiah 31:30)
The soul who sins is the one who will die. (Ezekiel 18:4)
You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you
would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your
sins. (John 8:23-24)
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way
death came to all men, because all sinned. (Romans 5:12)
Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not
sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come…by the trespass of
the one man, death reigned through that one man. (Romans 5:14-17)
Sin reigned in death. (Romans 5:21)
Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised
from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Romans 6:3-4)
For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has
mastery over Him. The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God.
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:9-11)
What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result
in death!...for the wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:21-23)
For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work
in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. (Romans 7:5)
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Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires…The
mind of sinful man is death…the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can
it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. (Romans 8:5-8)
If you live according to the sinful nature, you will die. (Romans 8:13)
He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is
death. (1Corinthians 15:25-26)
When the perishable has been clothes with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the
saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” (1Corinthians 15:54)
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the
power of sin is the law. (1Corinthians 15:55-56)
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you
followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work
in those who are disobedient. (Ephesians 2:1-2)
It has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death
and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. (2 Timothy 1:10)
Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment. (Hebrews 9:27)
But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after
desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
(James 1:14-15)
During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude
them. (Revelation 9:6)
Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power
over them. (Revelation 20:6)
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.
(Revelation 20:14)
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice
magic arts, the idolaters and all liars – their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the
second death. (Revelation 21:8)
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10 – The Heavens and the Earth Will Perish
In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change
them and they will be discarded. (Psalm 102:25-26)
The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundation of the earth shake. The earth is broken up,
the earth is split asunder, the earth is thoroughly shaken. The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like
a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the quilt of its rebellion that it falls – never to rise again.
(Isaiah 24:18-20)
All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will
fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree. (Isaiah 34:4)
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the
earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. (Isaiah 51:6)
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. (Matthew 24:35)
It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.
(Luke 16:17)
The time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who
mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it
were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this
world in its present form is passing away. (1Corinthians 7:29-31)
They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe;
like a garment they will be changed. (Hebrews 1:11-12)
At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the
earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken –
that is, created things – so that what cannot be shaken may remain. (Hebrews 12:26-27)
By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the
present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of
ungodly men. (2 Peter 3:6-7)
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will
be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare…That day will bring about the
destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with His
promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
(2 Peter 3:10-13)
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The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. (1John 2:17)
I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like
sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth,
as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling
up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. (Revelation 6:12-14)
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from His presence,
and there was no place for them. (Revelation 20:11)
Then I saw a new haven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,
and there was no longer any sea. (Revelation 21:1)
11 – Yet a Soul Will Never Die
Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, let
this boy’s life return to him!” The LORD heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he
lived. (1King 17:21-22)
The dead are in deep anguish, those beneath the waters and all that live in them. Death is naked
before God; Destruction lies uncovered. (Job 26:5-6)
God does all these things to a man – twice, even three times – to turn back his soul from the pit, that
the light of life may shine on him. (Job 33:29-30)
O LORD, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit.
(Psalm 30:3)
Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth. (Psalm 31:5)
Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.” (Psalm 35:3)
But God will redeem my life from the grave; He will surely take me to Himself. (Psalm 49:15)
For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave. (Psalm 86:13)
Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death. (Proverbs 23:14)
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there
is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom. (Ecclesiastes 9:10)
The grave below is all astir to meet you at your coming; it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet
you – all those who were leaders in the world; it makes them rise from their thrones – all those who
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were kings over the nations. They will all respond, they will say to you, “You also have become weak,
as we are; you have become like us.” All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with
the noise of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you. (Isaiah 14:9-11)
Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and
everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2)
The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man
also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away,
with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, “Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to
dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.” But Abraham
replied, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received
bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and
you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can
anyone cross over from there to us.” (Luke 16:22-26)
He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive. (Luke 20:38)
I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son
of God and those who hear will live…Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are
in their graves will hear His voice and come out – those who have done good will rise to live, and
those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. (John 5:25-29)
We will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every
knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’” So then, each of us will give an account
of himself to God. (Romans 14:10-12)
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due
him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10)
They will have to give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is the
reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged
according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. (1Peter 4:5-6)
When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because
of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice “How long,
Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”
then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number
of their follow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.
(Revelation 6:9-11)
I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the
souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word
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of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their
foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
(Revelation 20:4)
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another
book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done
as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the
dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.
(Revelation 20:12-13)
12 – We Can Not Save Ourselves
Here we are before you in our guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand in your presence.
(Ezra 9:15)
Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker? (Job 4:17)
But how can a mortal be righteous before God? Though one wished to dispute with Him, he could not
answer Him one time out of a thousand. (Job 9:2-3)
Since I am already found guilty, why should I struggle in vain? Even if I washed myself with soap and
my hands with washing soda, you would plunge me into a slime pit so that even my clothes would
detest me. (Job 9:29-31)
Surely He recognizes deceitful men; and when He sees evil, does He not take note? (Job 11:11)
Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one! (Job14:4)
What is man, that he could be pure, or one born of woman, that he could be righteous? If God places
no trust in His holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in His eyes, how much less man, who is
vile and corrupt, who drinks up evil like water! (Job 15:14-16)
How then can a man be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure? If even the
moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in His eyes, how much less man, who is but a maggot –
a son of man, who is only a worm! (Job 25:4-6)
Those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches? No man can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for him – the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough – that he
should live on forever and not see decay. (Psalm 49:6-9)
What man can live and not see death, or save himself from the power of the grave? (Psalm 89:48)
If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? (Psalm 130:3)
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No one living is righteous before you. (Psalm 143:2)
Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin?” (Proverbs 20:9)
A man who strays from the path of understanding comes to rest in the company of the dead.
(Proverbs 21:16)
Those who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their filth. (Proverbs 30:12)
There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins. (Ecclesiastes 7:20)
No man has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has power over the day of his death. As no
one is discharged in time of war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.
(Ecclesiastes 8:8)
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way. (Isaiah 53:6)
But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved? All of us
have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up
like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold
of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins.
(Isaiah 64:5-7)
Although you wash yourself with soda and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still
before me, declares the Sovereign LORD. (Jeremiah 2:22)
Because of their sins, not one of them will preserve his life. (Ezekiel 7:13)
They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be an unclean thing. Their silver and
gold will not be able to save them in the day of the LORD’S wrath. They will not satisfy their hunger or
fill their stomachs with it, for it has made them stumble into sin. (Ezekiel 7:19)
Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears. (Hosea 6:4)
Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the LORD’S wrath.
(Zephaniah 1:18)
But who can endure the day of His coming? Who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a
refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. (Malachi 3:2)
For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the
law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:20)
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Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. (John 7:19)
You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you
would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your
sins. (John 8:23-24)
When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.
(John 16:8)
But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God
is unjust in bringing His wrath on us?...Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world?
(Romans 3:5-6)
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law; rather, through the law
we become conscious of sin. (Romans 3:20)
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work
in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. (Romans 7:5)
I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is
good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to
do – this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin
living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body,
waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my
members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to
God – through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the
sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. (Romans 7:18-25)
For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by
sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so He condemned sin in
sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live
according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3-4)
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires…The
mind of sinful man is death…the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can
it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. (Romans 8:5-8)
If you live according to the sinful nature, you will die. (Romans 8:13)
All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does
not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one is justified before God by
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the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.” The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The
man who does these things will live by faith.” (Galatians 3:10-12)
You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from
grace. (Galatians 5:4)
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming – not the realities themselves. For this
reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those
who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers
would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those
sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to
take away sins. (Hebrews 10:1-4)
Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the
same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. (Hebrews 10:11)
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed
from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of
Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (1Peter 1:18-19)
13 – We Need to Confess and Repent
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and
turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their
land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)
He makes them listen to correction and commands them to repent of their evil. (Job 36:10)
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your
hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged
my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”
– and you forgave the quilt of my sin. (Psalm 32:3-5)
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18)
For I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me. I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.
(Psalm 38:17-18)
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot
out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my
transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what
is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
(Psalm 51:1-4)
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The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
(Psalm 51:17)
Restore us, O LORD God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.
(Psalm 80:19)
Restore us again, O God our Savior, and put away your displeasure toward us. (Psalm 85:4)
If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts
known to you. (Proverbs 1:23)
He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
(Proverbs 28:13)
Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, lean to do
right! (Isaiah 1:16-17)
Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and He will
have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will freely pardon. (Isaiah 55:7)
I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of
the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. (Isaiah 57:15)
This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.
(Isaiah 66:2)
If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you
will be my spokesman. (Jeremiah 15:19)
Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways,
each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions. (Jeremiah 18:11)
Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from his evil way. Then I will relent and not bring on them
the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done. (Jeremiah 26:3)
Restore me, and I will return, because you are the LORD my God. After I strayed, I repented; after I
came to understand, I beat my breast. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of
my youth. (Jeremiah 31:18-19)
Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD. (Lamentations 3:40)
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If a wicked man turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right,
he will save his life. Because he considers all the offense he has committed and turns away from
them, he will surely live; he will not die. (Ezekiel 18:27-28)
Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the
offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. (Ezekiel 18:30-31)
I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!
(Ezekiel 18:32)
I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.
(Ezekiel 33:11)
The wickedness of the wicked man will not cause him to fall when he turns from it. (Ezekiel 33:12)
And if I say to the wicked man, “You will surely die,” but he then turns away from his sin and does
what is just and right – if he gives back what he took in pledge for a loan, returns what he has stolen,
follows the decrees that give life, and does no evil, he will surely live; he will not die. None of the sins
he has committed will be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he will surely
live. (Ezekiel 33:14-16)
And if a wicked man turns away from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he will live by
doing so. (Ezekiel 33:19)
Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your
sins and detestable practices. (Ezekiel 36:31)
When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion and did
not bring upon them the destruction He had threatened. (Jonah 3:10)
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. (Matthew 3:8)
If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part
of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin,
cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body
to go into hell. (Matthew 5:29-30)
If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life
maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye
causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to
have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. (Matthew 18:8-9)
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“The time has come,” He said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”
(Mark 1:15)
Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call
the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:31-32)
I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. (Luke 15:7)
Jesus continued: “there was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father,
give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the
younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in
wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he
began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his
fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one
gave him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have
food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him:
Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son;
make me like one of your hired men.’ So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long
way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms
around him and kissed him. The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against
you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the
best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf
and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was
lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.” (Luke 15:17-24)
Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your
sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for
all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call. (Acts 2:38-39)
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come
from the Lord. (Acts 3:19)
Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive you for having such a
thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin. (Acts 8:22-23)
So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life. (Acts 11:18)
In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent.
For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has
given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead. (Acts 17:30-31)
They must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus. (Acts 20:21)
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I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.
(Acts 26:20)
Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that
God’s kindness leads you toward repentance? (Romans 2:4)
Thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of
teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to
righteousness. (Romans 6:17-18)
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret. (2 Corinthians 7:10)
Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; and purify your
hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy
to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up. (James 4:8-10)
The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you,
not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim
we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives.
(1John 1:8-10)
Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.
(Revelation 2:5)
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. (Revelation 3:19)
Index:
1. The Sinful Nature (p.1)
2. Iniquities, Transgressions and Sins (p.5)
3. Pride and Rebellion (p.9)
4. Human Infirmity, Ignorance and Foolishness (p.15)
5. God’s Warnings (p.22)
6. The Grip of Sin (p.26)
7. Bondages in Worldly Living (p.31)
8. Our Days on Earth Are Like a Shadow (p.36)
9. Death (p.38)
10. The Heavens and the Earth Will Perish (p.41)
11. Yet a Soul Will Never Die (p.42)
12. We Can Not Save Ourselves (p.44)
13. We Need to Confess and Repent (p.47)
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