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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
March 29, 2020
What the Lord Hates
Proverbs 6:16-19
Introduction
I trust that my last two sermons dealing with wisdom have been helpful in keeping you calm in the midst of a society that borders on mass hysteria. There is wisdom from above and wisdom from below, and it is easy to see which kind of wisdom people are following by their reactions. (See: Godly Wisdom During a Medical Threat & Foundations of Wisdom). It is tragic that people believe their fear is justified due to media hype and government over reaction. Some reports have made out like SARS-CoV-2, “Wohan virus,” is as bad as the “Black Death,” the plague in the 14th Century. That is “fake news,” or to be more blunt, it is a blatant lie by people with evil ulterior motives. But frankly, even if we were facing something as severe as the pneumonic phase of bubonic plague, we who are Christians are not to fear and be caught up in panic. Certainly we should follow reasonable actions to protect ourselves, and more important, other people. At the same time, we are to sacrificially love others so that if we catch whatever disease is going around in the effort to minister to others both spiritually and physically, our God is still sovereign and we can trust Him in life and death. We present our anxieties to our Lord and then rest in His peace for we are in His hands.
If you believe life is tied up in your material wealth, good health and staying alive, then there is some validity in your fear and panic. Government mandated shut down of businesses and massive government expenditures will surely cause a lot of people to lose their material wealth far beyond what has already been lost on Wall Street. This virus, or any of the vast number of contagious diseases spread locally or around the world, will cause loss to health as will a host of non-contagious diseases and accidents. And everyone will eventually physically die except believers at the Lord’s return. The real question about death is not when, because ultimately you cannot control that, it is whether you are ready now or not, and if not, what are you going to do to be ready to meet your maker?
If the fear being generated about the current virus causes people to think seriously about their mortality, then it is also the opportunity to get them to think seriously about life and its purpose. This is a great time to share the gospel with others. In the midst of times of crises you can open doors to do that by A) Being calm showing your trust in the Lord while others are in a panic, B) Finding practical ways to minister to others and help them with whatever they may need. It may be doing shopping or errands for them, providing food or supplies, cleaning, or even just an encouraging word or shoulder to cry on. Look for ways in which God can use you, and you can be sure that He will.
This morning I return to another of the subjects I have been asked to address before getting into a study in 1 & 2 Thessalonians sometime in Summer. Turn over to Proverbs 6:16-19 and the warning given there about things God hates.
16 There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: 17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, 19 A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.
Hate – Proverbs 6:16a
This Proverb is by no means an exhaustive list of what the Lord hates. The Scriptures specifically list many other things the Lord hates including: false religion (Deut. 16:22), those who do iniquity (Psalm 5:5), the perverted mouth (Prov. 8:13), religious rituals and festivals by the ungodly (Isaiah 1:10-15, Amos 5:21); robbery in the burnt offering (Isa. 61:8), and divorce (Malachi 2:16). We will see the same thing is true when we look at abominations.
The formula for this Proverb, as those in Proverbs 30:15-31 regarding the three things and four, is to give examples of the breadth of the subject. The generic formula would be, “there is this many of these things, and even more.” They are meant to get the hearer to start thinking deeply about the subject.
Notice that in this particular Proverb that the breadth of the abominations the Lord hates is also expressed by the location of the origin of those abominations within the body. The eyes and tongue are in the head while the hands and feet are the extremities both outward and downward, and the heart is the center of control for all of them. This Proverb expresses the depravity of man. The Lord hates abominations, and man is full of them.
What is meant by hate? The word here is an4c9 / sānē’ which “expresses an emotional attitude toward persons or things which are opposed, detested, despised and with which one wishes to have no contact or relationship. It is therefore the opposite of love” (TWOT). A person that is hated is considered a foe or an enemy, and a thing hated is considered to be odious, utterly unappealing, detestable.
It is commonly held among nominal Christians that hatred is bad and therefore not something God would do. Passages such as this one make them uncomfortable and so ways are found to try to diminish what God declares about Himself. A common phrase is that God hates the sin but loves the sinner. However, that is a simplistic statement that is contrary to what God declares.
Certainly God hates the sin for He declares it here and many other passages as already cited. Proverbs 8:13 states in no uncertain terms that God hates pride, arrogance, the evil way and the perverted mouth. Does that mean that He also hates the person who is proud and arrogant, has a perverted mouth and walks in the evil way? Theologians can debate that, but even if the position is conceded, it takes some interesting interpretive gymnastics to always separate the sinner from his sin. In this passage some might argue that God hates the sinful things carried out by the eyes, tongue, hands, heart and feet, but not the person himself who does those things. But what do you with verse 19 in which God’s hatred is directed at the person who is a false witness and spreads strife and not just the actions themselves? God’s hatred here is directed at the person that carries out the things that are abominations to Him. At times, God’s hatred is spelled out directly in personal terms as in Malachi 1:2-3 and Romans 9:13 in which God declares, “but Esau I hated.” Why? Because of Esau’s sinful actions.
That is the warning of this Proverb. There are things that God hates and which are abominations to Him. If those things are part of your life, then understand that God’s wrath abides on you. That does not mean that all is lost, but it does mean that without God’s intervention and you humbling yourself before Him, you will remain a vessel of His wrath throughout eternity. God is not like us. He can hate the sin and the sinner at the same time that He extends His love to the sinner to offer Him redemption through faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. More on that later, but first we need to understand man’s depravity and need for salvation.
Abominations – Proverbs 6:16b
Just as with the things that God hates, there are many more things that are abominations to the Lord than just the seven listed In proverbs 6:17-19. These include various sexual perversions such as consanguinity, incest, homosexuality, bestiality, and prostitution, as well as child sacrifice, and the defiling customs of the Canaanites (Leviticus 18). Also marked out as universal abominations are idol worship (Deut. 7:25-26), serving other gods (Deut. 13:13-14), cross dressing (Deut. 22:5), votive offerings from harlot’s wages (Deut. 23:18), remarriage to the first spouse after marriage to a second one (Deut. 24:4), acting unjustly (Deut. 25:16), the devious (Proverbs 3:32), a false balance (Prov. 11:1), the perverse in heart (Prov. 11:20), the proud in heart (Prov. 16:5), perversion of justice (Prov. 17:5), unjust weights and measures (Prov. 20:10, 23), the scoffer (Prov. 24:9), the unjust (Prov. 29:27), and worthless offerings (Isa. 1:13).
The Hebrew word for abomination is hb9e4WT/ tô‘ēbâ carries the idea of being abhorrent, detestable, loathsome, repugnant, a thing of horror. Idols are such an abomination to God that this word is even used as a synonym for them (Isaiah 44:19; 2 Kings 23:13). When used to describe God’s reaction to or declaration about something, it is often directly connected to His judgment and condemnation of it. For example, in Ezekiel 18:13 the prophet summarizes, “He will not live! He has committed all these abominations, he will surely be put to death; his blood will be on his own head.” Revelation 21:8 warns, “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Many people try to find excuses for their sin or make out like sin is no big deal, but sin is serious. God warned Adam that he would surely die if he disobeyed God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He did and mankind plummeted into sin and death. Ezekiel 18:4 states, “Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.”
Paul states in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” There is hope in Christ, but without Him there is only condemnation and eternal death. The point of this Proverb is that sin, abominations, are pervasive in man and God hates them.
Haughty Eyes – Proverbs 6:17a
The Proverbs mentions seven specific abominations which God hates. We will look at each one individually before looking for the source of hope.
The first is “haughty eyes,” also translated as “arrogant eyes” and “proud look.” Haughty is mOr /rûm which has a root meaning of to be high, lofty or to rise up. It is used as a negative idiom in this verse for haughty, proud, arrogantly superior. Interesting enough, it is in a verb form, so it has a sense of action. It is coupled with the word for eye which can refer to the physical organ, the ability of that organ to see, or used in a figurative sense of knowledge and thought. Here it is referring to the physical organ. Proverbs 30:11 gives this description, “There is a kind – oh how lofty are his eyes! And his eyelids are raised in arrogance.” This person is described well by the English idiom of “someone who looks down their nose at others.” It is directly tied to pride in Proverbs 21:24, “Proud,” “Haughty,” “Scoffer,” are his names, Who acts with insolent pride. It is the look of those who are proud and arrogant perceiving themselves to be superior to others.
I think all of us have met such people who have this look of pride which expresses their arrogant perception of themselves as superior to others. Whether conscious of it or not, it is an exposure of their sin as expressed in Proverbs 21:4, “Haughty eyes and a proud heart, The lamp of the wicked, is sin.” This is a great danger for anyone who is self-centered and forgets that we are all but creatures made by God. Psalm 10:3-4 describes this underlying sin. 3 For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire, And the greedy man curses and spurns the LORD. 4 The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him. All his thoughts are, “There is no God.” While this may be of a greater danger to atheists, it is also a danger for professed theists who seem to forget that truth and act as if there is no God. It can also occur among church leaders who become smug and forget that they are slaves of Christ and servants of His people. Pride is a universal problem for people and one way in which it displays itself is in “haughty eyes.”
The first phrase of 1 Peter 5:5 states that “God is opposed to the proud . . .” so it is no surprise that the Scriptures warn about haughty eyes. Psalm 18:27, “For You save an afflicted people, But haughty eyes You abase.” Psalm 101:5, “. . . No one who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart will I endure.” Isaiah 2:11, “The proud look of man will be abased And the loftiness of man will be humbled, And the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.”
Humility is the protection against this sin as expressed by David in Psalm 131:1, “O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; Nor do I involve myself in great matters, Or in things too difficult for me.” That is why the last phrase of 1 Peter 5:5 states and verse 6 commands, “but He gives grace to the humble. 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.”
Lying Tongue – Proverbs 6:17b
The next in the list of abominations God hates is a lying tongue. I am not going to spend much time with this because I will be preaching a full sermon about lying in the near future. But I do want to point out that lying is a serious sin. And like all sin, the action of the tongue is only a revelation of what was going on internally. As Jesus said in Matthew 15:18, “But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.”
People lie for all sorts of reasons including ones in which they deceive themselves into thinking are noble, but the reality is that people lie because they are born as sinners and sons of disobedience who follow the nature of the devil who is a liar and the father of lies (Eph. 2:1-3; John 8:44). By direct contrast, every person in the triune godhead is truth, Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Psalm 31:5; John 14:6; 15:26). The godly will walk in truth and not lie to others (Psalm 86:11; Eph. 4:25).
Scripture after scripture state in no uncertain terms that God will punish liars. Proverbs 19:5, “A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who tells lies will not escape.” Revelation 21:8, “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
These warnings need to be taken to heart by everyone, not just those who are more often characterized by blatant lying such as the mainstream news media, career politicians, and the spam and phishing you get in your email.
Hands that Shed Innocent Blood – Proverbs 6:17c
The next abomination listed that God hates is specifically phrased to distinguish murder from justified killing such as occurs as a result of the judicial process, in war, and in self-defense or something that occurred accidentally. The phrase “shed blood” is consistently used throughout the Scriptures to describe killing someone with context determining whether it was justified or not. The addition of the word “innocent” makes it clear that this is murder and not something justified. That the murder takes place by the use of the hands means that it is up close and personal. This is not an accident. The killing described is done through the use of some sort of hand held instrument that caused the blood of the innocent person to pour out. This is a violation of the sixth commandment not to murder (Exodus 20:13) and subjects the murderer to capital punishment as directed in Genesis 6:9, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.”
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Joel all make it clear that one of the reasons for God’s judgment of nations including ancient Israel and Judea was the shedding of innocent blood that occurred in them and the lack of justice in punishing the wicked. That is a warning to our own nation which allows children to be murdered in the womb while preserving the lives of those who murder others.
Keep in mind as well that Jesus taught that unjustified anger can make a person liable before God for the same punishment as a murderer (Matthew 5:21-22). 1 John 3:15 puts it bluntly, “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”
A Heart that Devises Wicked Plans – Proverbs 6:18a
This next abomination gets to the root of the other abominations. Man’s problem is a wicked heart. Jesus pointed out in Matthew 15:19, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.”
We use the term heart figuratively to refer to our emotions, but the Hebrews and Greeks used the term figuratively much more broadly to the immaterial aspects of man with the specific reference determined by the context. The Hebrew term used here, bl4 / lēb, “became the richest biblical term for the totality of man’s inner or immaterial nature” (TWOT). This would include emotion, thought and will. This is a reference to what actually makes you who you are as contrasted to the physical shell within which you dwell.
The word “devise” here, vr1j2 / hāraš, has a root meaning of plow, engrave and a figurative meaning of devise. The connection between them is fairly easy to see. The term is used with both metal casting and engraving and carving wood. In these usages the object is being shaped to fit a particular shape or crafted with a particular design. That takes forethought and skill to accomplish. When you plow, you are preparing the ground for planting. That also takes forethought in preparing the ground and what you will do with it after it is ready. To devise is to form in the mind, to plan.
The word for wicked here, ,w^a2 / ’āwen, reinforces that idea since it can not only carry the idea of evil and iniquity, but it also “stresses the planning and expression of deception and points to the painful aftermath of sin” (TWOT). David describes this kind of person in Psalm 36 as being ungodly in his heart, flattered by their own transgression, planning wickedness on their bed, and setting himself on a path that is not good. That path is not good, for verse 12 concludes, “There the doers of iniquity (wickedness) have fallen; They have been thrust down and cannot rise.”
This verse reminds me of Romans 1:18-32 and the decent into greater wickedness as man pursues his own foolish speculations. By verse 28 God gives such people “over to a depraved mind, to do things which are not proper” which includes being “inventors of evil” (vs. 30). God’s wrath abides on them.
Feet that Run Rapidly to Evil – Proverbs 6:18b
This abomination is the action of the heart that is bent on evil. The word for evil here, ha2r2 /rā‘â, is general in meaning as the opposite of good with which it is often contrasted. It is translated in non-moral contexts as calamity, disaster, harm, misfortune, hurt, adversity and trouble. In a moral context, it denotes activity which is contrary to God’s will (TWOT), and so translated as wickedness and evil.
This attraction to evil is due to an inner condition that is evil. Such people “love evil more than good, Falsehood more than speaking what is right” (Psalm 52:3), and “delight in doing evil and rejoice in the perversity of evil” (Proverbs 2:14). Isaiah 59:7 quotes from Proverbs 1:1 and then expands upon it saying, “Their feet run to evil, And they hasten to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity, Devastation and destruction are in their highways.” Paul quotes from this verse in Romans 3:15 in describing the depravity of man. That shows the connection of the wicked heart and the hands that shed innocent blood.
The phrase here does not necessarily mean the person who is attracted and runs to evil joins in the action of the evil being done, though that is often the case. The person may be afraid to personally take part, but they at least want to be present to watch. Mobs that riot are usually made up of both those committing the evil and those that want to be present to watch. A grave danger in our technological age is the ability to broadcast evil events, whether real or staged, that attract large audiences of people who want to take part in the evil vicariously. The violence and immorality portrayed in the entertainment industry reveal the evil hearts of those attracted to it.
A False Witness that Utters Lies – Proverbs 6:19a
This abomination is a specific type of lying tongue. Lying is bad, but not all lies are done with a consciously evil intent. This type of lying always has an evil intent in perverting justice and is a direct violation of the ninth commandment. The origin of this abomination, just as with the others, is in the heart of man. Jesus specifically includes “false witness” as an example of the evils that arise from within the heart of man in Matthew 15:19.
Scripture gives many warnings about false witnesses. Proverbs 12:17, “He who speaks truth tells what is right, But a false witness, deceit.” Proverbs 21:28, “A false witness will perish, But the man who listens to the truth will speak forever.” Exodus 23:1
“You shall not bear a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked man to be a malicious witness.” The false witness will receive the punishment he had intended for the one he lied about (Deuteronomy 19:16-20).
False witnesses pervert justice. They have been the cause of the condemnation of many innocent people. They have also been the reason many guilty people go unpunished. Proverbs 19:28, “A rascally witness makes a mockery of justice, And the mouth of the wicked spreads iniquity.” However, what works on earth will not work in heaven. There will be no perversions of justice in God’s court for He will judge with equity and without partiality and condemn based on the person’s very deeds.
One Who Spreads Strife Among Brothers – Proverbs 6:19b
The last abomination listed may seem minor compared to some of the others such as shedding innocent blood, but spreading strife among those who should be in harmony is serious. Strife, ,Wdm2 / mādôn, is also translated as contention and controversy.
This is a characteristic of the worthless, wicked man described in Proverbs 6:12-15. 12 A worthless person, a wicked man, Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth, 13 Who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet, Who points with his fingers; 14 Who with perversity in his heart continually devises evil, Who spreads strife. 15 Therefore his calamity will come suddenly; Instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing.” It is stirred up by those who are arrogant (Proverbs 28:2) and those who are hot-tempered (Proverbs 15:18). But it is also spread more subtly as described in Proverbs 16:28, “A perverse man spreads strife, And a slanderer separates intimate friends.” And once it has done its damage, it is not easy to correct – Proverbs 18:19, “A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city, And contentions are like the bars of a citadel.”
God’s desire is for brothers to dwell in unity (Psalm 133:1). Such unity is even more important for those who are spiritual brothers. It is our love for one another that demonstrates we are disciples of Jesus (John 13:35). There is not to be divisions among us (1 Cor. 1:10) for we are to be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 3:6). That is done by having the humility to regard others more important than yourself and look out for their interests and not just your own (Philippians 2:3-4).
Hope for the Abominable
I stated early in this sermon that God is very different from us including His ability to both hate and love the sinner at the same time. As seen in this passage, there is no question that God hates both sin and the one who sinning. That which is an abomination to Him is separated from Him and will be judged. However, at the same time, God demonstrated His love to us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Understand the impact of that verse. God’s love was extended to you even when you were abhorrent and detestable to Him. Jesus Himself said He did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32). God’s love is not based in anything good or attractive in you for there is nothing of that nature in you. Even your efforts at righteousness are as filthy rags before Him (Isaiah 64:6). He also did not extend His love to you because of anything you could give Him for He is completely self sufficient and autonomous. God has no need of you. His love arises from Himself and He extends it according to His will without regard of the value or worthiness of the object of His love. The gospel is the good news that God glorifies Himself by offering salvation to condemned sinners through the redemption provided by the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ and granting it to all who will place their faith in Him. If God could not love what He also hates, there could be no salvation for mankind.
As I went through this list of abominations that God hates, perhaps you recognized some areas in which you are guilty. Take heart. If you are not yet a Christian, God offers forgiveness for your sins through faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ who is the just and justifier that can make you righteous before God. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28–30, 28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” He said in John 5:24, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”
The apostle Paul summarizes in Titus 3:5, “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.” Paul cited Isaiah and Joel in Romans 10:11 & 14 writing, “whoever believes in him will not be disappointed,” and “whoever will call on the name of the lord will be saved.” He explained in verses 9-10, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” Today is the day of salvation, do not put it off.
If you are a Christian, then remember that restoring your relationship with the Lord is simply a matter of honesty and confessing your sins to Him for He is faithful and just to forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Your sins may be great, but Christ’s forgiveness of sinners is greater.
Sermon Notes – March 29, 2020
What the Lord Hates – Proverbs 6:16-19
Introduction
Christians are not to fear & be in a panic for we ________ our God & seek to sacrificially love others
We can be ____________ whatever our finances; Healthy or not, we serve the Lord; We are ready to die
The fear in society gives a great opportunity to proclaim the ______- be calm, find practical ways to minister
Proverbs 6:16-19 – six things the Lord hates, seven abominations
Hate – Proverbs 6:16a
There are many more things the Lord hates: false religion, iniquity, _____________, divorce, etc.
The generic formula is “there is this many of these things, and even more” & meant to cause deep ________
The ___________is expressed in the location of the body parts mentioned: eyes, tongue, hands, feet & heart
Hate, an4c9 / sānē’, is the ___________ of love
God hates sin . . . and the ______who is doing the sinning – vs. 19, and can be very personal – Malachi 1:2-3
God’s wrath abides on sinners, but God can both hate the sinner and extend His love to him at the ____time
Abominations – Proverbs 6:16b
There are many more abominations: sexual perversions, idolatry, injustice, the __________, scoffers, etc.
Abomination, hb9e4WT / tô‘ēbâ, what is abhorrent, ____________, loathsome, repugnant, a thing of horror
Sin is serious bringing death (Ezek. 18:4; Rom. 6:23), but there is __________in Jesus Christ
Haughty Eyes – Proverbs 6:17a, & Proverbs 21:24, 30:11
Haughty, mOr / rûm, = high, lofty, a negative idiom for proud, ____________superior
Equivalent to English idiom of “someone who looks _________ their nose at others.”
Haughty eyes expose the __________heart – Proverbs 21:4; Psalm 10:3-4
God opposes & _____the proud, 1 Peter 5:5; Psalm 18:27, 101:5, Isaiah 2:11, but gives grace to the humble
Lying Tongue – Proverbs 6:17b
The action of the tongue reveals what is going on ____________- Matthew 15:18
People lie because the are born sinners who follow the ________, the father of lies (Eph. 2:1-3, John 8:44)
Liars will be punished and _______________from heaven (Prov. 19:5; Rev. 21:8)
Lying is ___________sin whether blatant falsehoods or subtle deceits
Hands that Shed Innocent Blood – Proverbs 6:17c
“Shed blood” describes killing someone with context determining whether it was __________or not
“Hands” and “Innocent” describe this as a ____________carried out by personal attack
God ________ the murderer (Gen 6:9) and the nations that tolerate it without justice being carried out
God judges the _______- and ungodly anger and hatred make you liable to God – Matt. 5:21-22, 1 John 3:15
A Heart that Devises Wicked Plans – Proverbs 6:18a
Matthew 5:19 – evil comes from the heart, bl4 / lēb, the ___________nature of man: emotion, thought, will
Devise, vr1j2 / hāraš, as used here refers here to ____________and skill used to form a plan
Wicked, ,w^a2 / ’āwen, stresses the __________and expression of deception in evil and iniquity
As sinful man descends into a depraved mind, it includes being “___________of evil” (Romans 1:30)
Feet that Run Rapidly to Evil – Proverbs 6:18b
Evil, ha2r2 / rā‘â, is the opposite of good with which it is often contrasted, activity __________to God’s will
This attraction to evil is due to an __________condition that is evil, Psalm 52:3; Prov. 2:14, Isa. 59:7
The person may or may not join in the evil, but at minimum they want to _________it (mobs, entertainment)
A False Witness that Utters Lies – Proverbs 6:19a
This type of lying always has an evil intent in perverting _______and directly violates the 9th commandment
The false witness is to be ____________- Proverbs 12:17; 21:28, Exodus 23:1; Deut. 19:16-20
False witnesses ______justice causing condemnation of the innocent & freedom for the guilty (Prov. 19:28)
One Who Spreads Strife Among Brothers – Proverbs 6:19b
Strive / contention is a characteristic of the worthless and ___________(Prov. 6:12-15),
It is spread by the arrogant, the hot-tempered and ____________(Prov. 28:2; 15:18; 16:28)
Brothers are to dwell in ______(Ps. 133:1) and even more so the church (John 13:35; 1 Cor. 1:10, Eph. 3:6)
Hope for the Abominable
God hates and will condemn those who commit abominations – but God’s ____extends to sinners – Rom. 5:8
God offers redemption and forgiveness in Christ Jesus to those who have committed ______________
You cannot earn God’s favor & He does not need you, yet He glorifies Himself by ______those who believe
Jesus is the just & justifier who calls you to ____________and salvation through faith in Him
Christians restore the intimacy of their relationship with God through _____________- 1 John 1:9
KIDS KORNER
Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – 1) Count how many times “abomination” is said. 2) Talk with your parents about what God hates and how you can be forgiven your sins and know God’s love
THINK ABOUT IT!
Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. Why can Christians be calm when the rest of society is in a panic? Are you calm or anxious? Why? Why does Proverbs 6:16 use the formula, six, yes, seven, when there are many more things He hates and are abominations to Him? How are the locations of the source of the abominations an indicator of the purpose of this Proverb? Does God hate the sin and the sinner or only the sin? Explain. Define abomination. List some additional things that are abominations to God. What are haughty eyes? What is their source? What is God’s response to them? Why does God hate a lying tongue? How does God judge liars? Why is truth important? What kind of killing is described by the phrase, hands that shed innocent blood ? What is God’s judgment of those who do this? What is the figurative meaning of heart in the Bible? Why is that the source of wicked plans? What is described by feet that run rapidly to evil? What is meant by evil in that phrase? How does the entertainment industry promote this abomination? What should you do to resist this temptation? Why is a false witness worse than just a liar? Why is causing strife among brothers included as an abomination? What should relationships be like among brothers? Among the church family? How can God hate the sinner and at the same time extend His love to him? Explain. How is a sinner reconciled with God? How does that glorify God? If you are not a Christian, what do you need to do to be right with God and escape His condemnation? If you are a Christian, how do you maintain your relationship with God when you sin?
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