The Seven Deadly Sins of American Christianity
The top seven “Christian” practices that are bringing God’s judgment on the Church
This newsletter is an excerpt from part II of a two-part series on the modern Church’s failure to represent God aright by discerning clean from unclean practices. Parts I and II can be found here and here.
We will be building a thorough case against the practices outlined below by appealing directly to God’s authoritative word, the Bible. Please share this list with your Christian family and friends. Biblically-grounded feedback is encouraged. Although we welcome your feedback, please be sure to carefully back your claims with scripture. Thank you.
Seven things God hates
The book of Proverbs speaks of “six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him” (Proverbs 6:16), including pride, dishonesty, murder (verse 17), evil intentions and inclinations (verse 18), false accusations, and sinful divisiveness (verse 19).
In keeping with this precedent, below is a list of what we here at the League of Believers believe to be the top seven practices that are bringing God’s judgment on the Church and our country. Although they now commonly pass for clean amongst respectable Christians, it is our contention that these practices are no different than the defiling, unclean practices that are so prevalent in the unbelieving world today.
In putting forward this list, our purpose is not to “bash the Church” or “beat up on God’s people.” We are not strutting around, all high and mighty, pointing out others’ sins. As we have stated before, these are not merely others’ sins; we too have been burned by these strange fires. We too are sinners, saved by God’s grace. But we will not let our failures stop us from warning our friends and family, our brothers and sisters in Christ, about these dangerous, deceptive practices.
We are not afraid to follow Jesus outside the camp to embrace the disgrace He bore (Hebrews 13:11-13). Following our Lord’s example (Ephesians 5:2), we are taking up our crosses and laying down our lives for the Church, for the people we love (Matthew 16:24; Luke 14:27; John 15:13).
In the words of the old hymn:
“I have decided to follow Jesus; no turning back, no turning back. Though none go with me, I still will follow; no turning back, no turning back. The world behind me, the cross before me; no turning back, no turning back.”
Here is our list of the The Seven Deadly Sins of American Christianity:
Divorce and remarriage, that is, the violent tearing apart of a man and a woman (Malachi 2:16) that God has joined together for life in a “one flesh” marriage union by holy matrimony (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4-6; Mark 10:8, 9; Ephesians 5:31) in direct defiance of God’s commands not to do so (Matthew 19:6; Mark 10:9) and the subsequent remarrying of divorced spouses to other persons while their original spouse is living, which the scriptures condemn as adulterous (Matthew 5:32, 19:9; Mark 10:11, 12; Luke 16:18; Romans 7:2, 3; 1 Corinthians 7:39; Hebrews 13:4), destructive of the family (1 Corinthians 7:10-16), and, worst of all, a grave misrepresentation of Christ’s love for His bride, the Church (Ephesians 5:21-33).
Birth control, that is, any method which either permanently or temporarily sterilizes the male or female reproductive organs to prevent God’s blessing of children (Psalm 127:3-5) from coming to fruition in direct contradiction to His commands to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28, 9:1, 7) for the production of godly offspring (Malachi 2:15), which the scriptures condemn as wicked (Genesis 38:8-10), being at most equivalent to, or at least akin to infanticide, depending on the method (Exodus 23:19b; Leviticus 20:2; Jeremiah 19:5).
Gender confusion, that is, the unlawful and disordered commingling of distinct gender traits and roles established by God in His creation of mankind as male and female (Genesis 5:2) as expressed in female behavior exhibited by men (effeminacy) and the rule by women in the place of and over men (matriarchy), which the scriptures condemn as gross perversions of God’s “very good” design for masculinity and femininity (Genesis 1:26-31) and attribute to the judgment and wrath of God against sin (Genesis 3:16; Isaiah 3:12; Romans 1:18-27).
Love of self, that is, a refusal to lay down one’s life and pay the cost of following Christ (Matthew 10:37-39; Luke 14:25-33; John 12:25; Revelation 12:11), but instead crafting all of one’s affairs according to one’s selfish preferences (James 4:2, 3), which the scriptures condemn as a denial of Christ’s lordship (Matthew 7:21), willful disobedience (Matthew 25:14-30; 2 Timothy 3:2), deception (James 1:22), and folly (Luke 6:46-49).
Love of money, that is, obedience to perceived financial demands over and against the will and commandments of God, which the scriptures condemn as evil (1 Timothy 6:10; 2 Timothy 3:2), idolatry (Matthew 6:24; Colossians 3:5), vanity (Proverbs 23:4, 5), presumption (James 4:13-17), self-indulgence (Luke 12:13-21, 16:19-31; James 5:1-6), and worldly preoccupation (Matthew 6:19-34, 13:22; Mark 4:19).
Porneia, that is, sexual immorality, which the scriptures uniquely condemn as a sin against one’s own body (1 Corinthians 6:18-20) that results in the judgment of God (Hebrews 13:4) and exclusion from the kingdom of heaven (1 Corinthians 6:9, 10; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:5; Revelation 22:15), especially as it is fueled by pornography, the great stumbling block of our time (Matthew 6:22, 23, 18:6-9, 24:12), which the scriptures condemn as adultery of the heart (Matthew 5:28) deserving of the fires of hell (Matthew 10:26-28, 18:9).
Pharmakeia, that is, any substance that prevents or distorts the normal, “very good” created functions of the body (Genesis 1:31) rather than encouraging or restoring them, which the scriptures condemn as an ungodly usurpation of God’s prerogatives as Creator (Genesis 1:1; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Revelation 4:11; etc.) and Sustainer (Acts 17:28; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3) of all things, a futile attempt to fulfill the serpent’s lie that man can “be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5b), and a mode of action analogous to, if not identical with the dark arts (Exodus 7, 8; 1 Samuel 15:23; Galatians 5:20; Revelations 18:23).
American Christians have been indulging in these practices for long enough. After several generations of running these experiments, the trial period is now officially over. The data is in: It’s a total, unmitigated disaster from start to finish, and we don’t even know the half of it.
We as believers must rise up as one and say “ENOUGH!”
IT IS TIME FOR US CHRISTIANS TO WAKE UP AND CLEAN UP OUR ACTS WHILE WE STILL CAN!
No more limping between two opinions (1 Kings 18:21); choose this day whom you will serve (Joshua 24:15)!
Thanks for reading the League of Believers.
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garrettpleague@proton.me
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