Although not specifically listed in the Bible, there are 7 vices known as “the 7 deadly sins” which represent the things a Christian is to be aware of and seek to overcome in their life.

1. Pride–is excessive belief in one’s own abilities, which interferes with the individual’s recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise. Pride is also known as Vanity.

2. Envy– is the desire for others’ traits, status, abilities, or situation.

3. Gluttony–is an inordinate desire to consume more than that which one requires.

4. Lust– is an inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body.

5. Anger– is manifested in the individual who spurns love and opts instead for fury. It is also known as Wrath.

6. Greed–is the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual. It is also called Avarice or Covetousness.

7. Sloth–is the avoidance of physical or spiritual work.

When looking around at the world in which we live, it is very obvious that there are major problems with these seven sins. When thinking about these vices, they are all intensely personal in nature, for they emanate from the mind and heart of a person and deal with what are known as “character issues”. In other words, these particular vices do not effect others; they pertain only to the individual person.

In the Bible, there is a list of 7 things mentioned which the Lord hates and are an abomination Him. In Proverbs 6:16-19 the REAL 7 deadly sins are:

1. A proud look

2. A lying tongue

3. Hands that shed innocent blood

4. A heart that devises wicked plans

5. Feet that are swift in running to evil

6. A false witness who speaks lies

7. One who sows discord among brethren

It is interesting to note that the first one on each list is “pride”, but it also interesting to note that after the first one, there are no more similarities. This is not to say the Lord is “cool” with envy and lust for He is not. But, when it comes to things the Lord HATES, they deal far more with sins affecting others rather than personal sins.

Paul sets forth a list in Galatians 6:19-21 which represent the “works of the flesh”:

1. Adultery

2. Fornication

3. Uncleanness

4. Lewdness

5. Idolatry

6. Sorcery

7. Hatred

8. Contentions

9. Jealousies

10. Outbursts of wrath

11. Selfish ambitions

12. Dissensions

13. Heresies

14. Envy

15. Murders

16. Drunkenness

17. Revelries

These seventeen things are the works or fruit of living according to the flesh and not the spirit. Again, some of the so called 7 deadly sins are in this list, but some are not. In Colossians 3:5-9 Paul brings up things he calls “members which are on the earth”, which represent the traits of the “old man”:

1. Fornication

2. Uncleanness

3. Passion

4. Evil desire

5. Covetousness which is idolatry

6. Anger

7. Wrath

8. Malice

9. Blasphemy

10. Filthy language out of your mouth

11. Lying

Here is my point in all this; nowhere in the Christian Bible is a list of “7 deadly sins”. Thus, when speaking of these 7 sins, it must be understood that this is theology and not reciting the Bible. There is nothing wrong with grouping 7 of the most detrimental personal sins into a list, just so long as that list is not said to be in the Bible. This may seem like splitting hairs, but it is where we get into the soup in theological discussions.

The most interesting thing I think about this is that along the way, an antidote for these 7 sins was given and named the “7 contrary virtues”. The Contrary Virtues were derived from the Psychomachia (“Battle for the Soul”), an epic poem written by Prudentius (c. 410). Practicing these virtues is alleged to protect one against temptation toward the Seven Deadly Sins: humility against pride, kindness against envy, abstinence against gluttony, chastity against lust, patience against anger, liberality against greed, and diligence against sloth.

So, here are the 7 deadly sins and the 7 contrary virtues:

Pride humility

Envy kindness

Gluttony abstinence

Lust chastity

Anger patience

Greed liberality

Sloth diligence

According to this theology; if one practices humility they are protected against pride. If one practices kindness, they are protected against envy and on down the list. However good this all sounds, it is still theology since there is nowhere in the Bible that specifically says this is how it works. Do I agree with this theology? I can find nothing wrong with it, so I guess I do. Whose theology is this? This is straight out of Roman Catholic theology. Does that make me a Catholic?

I have nothing against Catholics, theology or anything else; I bring this up only to show how thin the line is between theology and literally reading what is in the Bible. Whereas in this case, there is much truth to be gleaned looking at the 7 sins and 7 virtues; putting them together constitutes the development of a theological position regarding personal character issues.

Paul, after laying out the 17 works of the flesh in Galatians 5, then lists the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22 and 23:

1. Love

2. Joy

3. Peace

4. Longsuffering

5. Kindness

6. Goodness

7. Faithfulness

8. Gentleness

9. Self-control

Amazingly, there is correlation between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. I cannot make a nice list and present them side by side. They do not line up. Besides, how does one align 17 vs 9? The point is, for convenience sake, man makes theology to supposedly make things easier to understand. At times this happens, but at other times it ends up turning the truth into scrambled eggs.