The trouble with much sin is it becomes a habit. Then it seems so desperately hard to break. If you take the section of the Bible, commonly called, “The Sermon on the Mount,” Matthew 5, there is a list of sinful behavior Jesus is talking about. It seems to go in progression. Dallas claims that the order Jesus uses is on purpose. There is a process for the ability to overcome the sin as one moves from anger onward. Here are the sins.

Anger Matthew 5:21-22

Contempt 5:22

Lust 5:27-28

Divorce 5:31-32

Verbal Manipulation 5:33-37

Revenge 5:38-42

Hate 5:43-44

This list of sin covers the human condition quite well, don’t you think? Especially as it deals with our relationships with others. Now, the whole idea is to not try to follow Jesus’ teaching directly here. “I will just stop myself from getting angry,” and so on. Matthew 5 is specifically meant for how we are to live as Christians in community with other Christians. The assumption is we can break the cycle of these sins under the power and influence of the Holy Spirit. These are not a set of rules for any person to follow. These are descriptions of what life can look like when, working with the Holy Spirit, you become the kind of person who will not give in to the sin mentioned.

I will comment on each one of these sins this coming week.