This is the manuscript of the fifth sermon in the "7 Deadly Sins" series.
There is no list of seven deadly sins in the Bible because the Bible says that all sins are deadly.
Romans 3:23 NIV for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 NIV For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Rather than specific sins this is a list of categories of sin. Every sin that a person commits fits one of these categories which are inward attitudes that affect character and conduct. Although these sins are never listed together in any single passage, they are continually condemned in Scripture.
Pride
Anger (Wrath)
Envy (Jealousy)
Impurity (Lust)
Gluttony (Lack of Self-Restraint)
Slothfulness (Laziness)
Avarice (Greed)
1 John 3:16 NIV If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
Scripture Reading
1 John 3:16-24 NIV This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
Introduction
Today we are going to talk about gluttony or what I call lack of self-restraint, which is the fifth of the 7 deadly sins in the list compiled by Pope Gregory I in about 600 AD.
As a reminder, rather than specific sins this is a list of categories of sin. Every sin that a person commits fits one of these categories which are inward attitudes that affect character and conduct. Although these sins are never listed together in any single passage, they are continually condemned in Scripture.
There is no list of seven deadly sins in the Bible because the Bible says that all sins are deadly.
Romans 3:23 NIV for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 NIV For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The entire list is
Pride
Anger (Wrath)
Envy (Jealousy)
Impurity (Lust)
Gluttony (Lack of Self-Restraint)
Slothfulness (Laziness)
Avarice (Greed)
A month ago, we started with pride which, I believe, is the beginning of all sin, then we talked about anger which if not controlled is a sign of weakness, which can lead to personal harm, rob you of self-esteem, can impair your thinking or attitudes, and can lead to evil actions. Next, we discussed envy or jealousy which expresses itself as a covetous feeling toward another person’s attributes, possessions, or stature in life. Last week we looked at lust not just as sexual immorality but as defined in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. A fervent desire, a craving, abnormal appetite, not only for physical but for spiritual satisfaction, longing desire; eagerness to possess or enjoy; unlawful desire of carnal pleasure; evil propensity; depraved affections and desires. We specifically talked about 3 things: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.
Today we’re looking at gluttony. Now for many it’s hard for us to think of gluttony in the same light as pride, or anger. We don’t look at it as if it’s one of those bad sins like adultery or stealing.
However, gluttony, like all the other Seven Deadly Sins, has to do with our heart’s attitude. It is not about appearance, like being overweight because of eating too much because external dimensions are no predictor of internal rebellion. There are a lot of thin people who are overtaken with the sin of gluttony.
When we talk about gluttony, we generally reference overeating. However, the sin of gluttony is more than overindulgence in food or drink. It is the sin of excess and intemperance. It is unrestraint, self-indulgence, and inordinate extravagance. Gluttony seeks to satisfy our senses and our greed while disregarding the needs of others. So, gluttony covers many sins. As I said last week, one of the things we are seeing, in this series, is that beginning with pride each of these sinful attitude’s bleed into each other. Certainly, in our affluent society, we can readily see the extent of this sin of gluttony and the many heartaches it causes.
So here’s our text:
1 John 3:16 NIV If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
I. Gluttony is often a sin of the affluent.
A. I want to point out that the possession of wealth is not a sin. Occasionally ministers and churches may have given people the impression that affluence in and of itself is a sin. This is certainly untrue.
The Bible tells of many wealthy people who used their material blessings to serve God. Here’s an example of David and others using their wealth for the first temple in Jerusalem .
1 Chronicles 29:3-9 NIV Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: three thousand talents of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?” Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly. They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze and a hundred thousand talents of iron. Anyone who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.
The Bible does however tend to be skeptical of the use of great wealth by those who have it. There are many illustrations in Scripture about how prosperity became a stumbling block. Here’s an example of that
Matthew 19:16-22 NIV Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” 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.
His wealth was not the problem. The problem was his unwillingness to share it.
B. In 1 John 3:17 John pointedly condemned those who have much but are stingy about sharing with the needy.
If you have no pity, how can you say that you are a reflection of God? How can you say God’s love is in you? John implied that this is impossible.
1 John 3:17 NIV If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
C. Holding on too tightly may ensure that you will always have possessions, but it will not ensure friendship or God’s approval.
Most churches, including this one, have benevolence programs, either through their local congregations or through their denomination (or sometimes both). Any benevolence funds are usually exhausted early or are not nearly enough in comparison to needs. We do have to admit that there are those who prey on a church’s generosity or often gullibility, so by using the wisdom of the Holy Spirit churches, including this one, must be judicious in the distribution of benevolence money, clothing, and food. However, we can’t let the fact that sometimes people take advantage of the church’s willingness to share, let this keep us from doing as much as possible. We are trying to do this through our homeless care package ministry and the other things that we at Christ Church do. Jesus did not promise us that people will not take advantage of us and they can and do try. Nevertheless, we are given this instruction in
1 John 3:18 NIV Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
II. I said that gluttony is a sin of the affluent. Gluttony is also a sin of sensual gratification.
A. Gluttony is a gratification of our fleshly appetites. It is often based on pleasure, amusement, excitement, or comfort. Drugs, alcohol, food, and tobacco are representative of this point.
Gluttonous attitudes can also be seen in our use of the world’s natural resources. Many of us believe somehow that it is our divine right to use resources like water, oil, coal and other natural resources that God has provided without regard to future generations or to pollution or to the extinction of parts of God’s creation.
God does care about how we treat the earth which He has given us for a home.
When God created man and woman, the Bible tells us
Genesis 1:28 NIV God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Genesis 2:15 NIV The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
God gave us natural resources to use to make our lives better, but He also gave us the ability to exercise wisdom in our use of these resources. How we use (or misuse) our resources affects other people as well as ourselves. If we waste the earth’s resources today, we will be harming future generations.
B. I am sure that God does not like a godless communism, but I strongly suspect he also hates a greedy capitalism.
In Philippians 3:18–19 Paul wrote, “Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame” (NIV).
Caring for the poor and poverty-stricken should not be entirely the government’s responsibility. We are called to share our wealth.
1 Timothy 6:17-19 NIV Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
C. If you live anywhere other than California, many new automobiles cost more than some have paid for their houses. If you buy a new car today, it may be the first time in your life you had ever paid that much for anything that did not have a lawn or shrubs.
III. Here’s the bottom line on the deadly sin of gluttony. Gluttony is the sin of too much without sharing.
A. Too much, too often, too expensively, too soon is another way to define gluttony. Most people in Jesus’ day were relatively poor. The average daily wage was one denarius which was about sixteen to eighteen cents. The yearly income of most was equal to about fifty to sixty dollars. In one’s adult lifetime, he had only two coats (or outer garments worn for warmth and protection from the elements).
Listen to something that John the Baptist said
Luke 3:11 NIV John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
Notice that John did not admonish us to give away all that we have. He simply said share part of our prosperity.
B. James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote something similar:
James 2:15-16 NIV Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?
The implied answer to James’ question is, “Nothing! It is no good! It is useless!” Having a lot or too much is not a sin. But having a lot or too much and not sharing is a sin.
Conclusion
Here are some wise words from a man who has been successful in every regard. He started businesses and sold them for a lot of money.
He said “My fruit needs to be growing on other people’s trees.” This man is now trying to help others be successful too. He is living out another saying from a wise and successful man “Success is when I add value to myself; significance is when I add value to others.”
In this culture of materialism, the goal is to get more and more and more. It’s tough keeping your priorities right when you live in a society that’s all about “getting.” The one with the most toys wins, right? No! The one with the most toys still dies, whether or not they have toys.
There is only one antidote to materialism and that is generosity. Every time you’re generous, you have a spiritual victory in your heart. Every time you’re generous, your heart grows. Every time you’re generous, you break the grip of materialism in your life. Why? Because materialism is all about getting—get, get, get, get! It is your nature to get and to hold on.
But every time you’re generous, you are breaking that grip and defeating materialism in your life.
The Bible says in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (NIV).
Notice it doesn’t say you “should not.” It says you “cannot.” It’s impossible. You can’t have two number ones in your life.
You have to choose what’s going to have first place in your heart. Choose generosity. It will transform your relationships with other people and your relationship with God. It will change you from the inside out as you learn to be generous like God is generous with you.
Gluttonous behavior tends to move our focus to ourselves. But what if our focus shifted to helping others? We could be significant with our whole life. Success is more than money and things, success is all the key currencies of our life: our time, energy, compassion, money, and presence. What if we become the kind of people who invest not merely in our own net worth, but in the lives of people around us? What if we could be people who transform our spheres of influence? Why not you? Why not now?
We can do this because Jesus told us that we don’t need to focus on and worry about material things. What we to do is focus on God and His kingdom and He will take care of the rest.
Matthew 6:25-34 NIV “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Almighty Father, in this world filled with goodness, evil, pleasure, leisure, lust and temptations, my desire is to have the fruit of Your Spirit evident in my daily life. Grant me Father I pray, a spirit of self-control. May I face all issues of life with calmness and control, from self and over-indulgence.
Sermon Audio
