The Sin We Treat as a Virtue: The Major Issue in Christ's Teaching - Softcover

Powers, B. Ward

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1466976268 ISBN 13: 9781466976269

Publisher: Trafford, 2013

Synopsis

Yes, there is a sin we are treating as a virtue. This sin is greed - sheer plain greed. Coveting. The comfortable, respectable, sin. But the extremely dangerous and damaging sin. It is condemned by the Tenth Commandment. It is the sin Christ spoke against more often and more vehemently than any other - he warned against it in the strongest possible terms: Beware! Take care! Watch out! It chokes the Word of God in your life, he said. It hinders a person entering the Kingdom of God and deprives them of eternal life. That is how serious it is. Paul said that greed is a form of idolatry and can destroy a person. He found this sin sneaky, tricky, and insidious. The risk to us from this sin is all the worse because it is so often not recognized as sin. It is so all-pervasive that we do not actually see its deceitful danger. But statistics show it is insidiously at work in the church, seriously affecting its work and witness in the world. It is a trap and a snare that can so easily catch us quite unawares. Breaking free of it is in fact one of the most difficult issues we face in our Christian lives. Can anything be done about this? Yes! It is crucial that we become aware of what the Bible says about it, and then think through how to live our lives in accordance with biblical teaching.  This book will point to all the relevant Scriptures. Can you afford not to heed what they say? They just might save you from spiritual disaster. Don't treat this lightly. Jesus didn't. Paul didn't.

About this title

From the Author:

WHY I CONSIDER THIS BOOK TO BE VERY IMPORTANT INDEED You ask the average Christian in the street (or in church), "Which is the worst sin in Christ's teaching? The one he spoke against most often, and most strongly?" And in nine cases out of ten you will get one of the HIP three: Hypocrisy. Immorality. Pride. But they would be wrong in pointing to one of these. Indeed it is true that these three figure frequently and importantly in Christ's teaching, no question. And they are certainly seriously wrong, and devastatingly dangerous. But the major issue that Christ focussed on in his teaching was something else. Yet it is something that it is very easy for us to miss. Something that slips past our consciousness.It is greed. Covetousness. The lure of wealth.In my ministry I so often encounter the attitude, "How can greed be a sin? Greed is what makes the world go round - our economic system depends on it, to motivate us to improve ourselves!" The rich aim to hang on to their affluence. And get more of it. And the poor aim to become rich. By whatever means it takes. This sums up the story of today's world.I also notice that if in our ministry for Christ we say too much about greed, if we reject it and denounce it just as Christ did, we get very negative responses from people. Worst of all, I can so easily find this greed creeping into my own heart.But Jesus warns us, "Watch out! This is not what life is all about!" (Luke 12:15.) The more carefully and thoughtfully I read the Scriptures the more I am compelled to face this. Jesus insisted that a person has to make a choice: "You cannot serve. God and wealth! Where your treasure is, that's where your heart will be as well."As I have become increasingly aware of the insidious nature on this sin in the world around me - and in the church! - I have been drawn back to the teaching of Christ (and his apostles) about this issue. The more deeply I have examined biblical teaching, the more seriously I see that it treats this sin. In this book I share with you what I have found. And also the remedy set out for us there for this sin, how to be delivered from this snare.Of course, lurking in our hearts is the worst sin of all, in its various forms: Unbelief. Rebellion against God. Rejection of his authority. Disobedience to his commandments and to his way for living our lives. But most commonly, the way all these express themselves in our lives is in our putting the things of this world, and the getting of more of them, in the top place in our lives. where God himself should be. Our desire to possess more and more things, to get more and more money, comes to dominate us. And so often without our even noticing, it takes over our lives.This book looks at what the Scripture says about all these important things. So actually, I need this book myself! Maybe you do also?

About the Author:

Ward Powers is an Anglican clergyman of the Diocese of Sydney, Australia. He has had the charge of a number of parishes in the Diocese, and has been on the faculty of Moore Theological College, Sydney, and of the Sydney Missionary and Bible College. For the past fifteen years he has been the Director and also Dean of New Testament and Ethics at Tyndale College, Sydney. He is the author of numbers of journal articles and a dozen books on various issues relating to marriage and divorce (the field in which he gained his Ph.D. from the University of London), the three Synoptic Gospels (the field in which he gained his Th.D. from the South African Theological Seminary), and various subjects of Christian doctrine and ministry. This present book draws upon his study of the Scriptures and the outworking of their teaching in his own life and ministry. He lives in Sydney Australia, where he exercises his ministry through Tyndale College, and through his writings. He has two sons, David and Philip, from his first marriage to Val, who died some years ago, and is now married to Colleen. He plays tennis each week and enjoys reading science fiction and mystery stories

About this edition

• Publisher: Trafford
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1466976268
• ISBN 13: 9781466976269
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 198