‘Respectable’ Sins

June 26, 2008

Today I will be finishing up a book called Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. Bridges’ aim is confront many of the sins that people in the Church seem to tolerate in themselves, while they groan about the more obvious sins of our society (like drug abuse, abortion, homosexuality, etc.).

Here’s the list of respectable sins that Bridges confronts in his book: Ungodliness (which Bridges defines as living one’s everyday life with little or no thought of God, His will and His glory), Anxiety and frustration, Discontentment, Unthankfulness, Pride, Selfishness, Lack of self-control, Impatience and Irritability, Anger, Judgmentalism, Envy and Jealousy, Sins of the Tongue, and Worldliness.

So here are my two questions for everyone:

Of the list above, which respectable sin catches your eye as one you need to read up on and put to death?

What other respectable sin does Bridges NOT mention that you think would be beneficial to address in a book such as the one he wrote?

Leave some comments, and I’ll share my answers as we converse about this.

Larry

Posted by Larry | Filed Under Recommendations, Seeking Him 

Comments

3 Responses to “‘Respectable’ Sins”

  1. Larry on June 27th, 2008 9:06 am

    Alright, so maybe if I start that will provoke some comments?

    The one on Bridges’ list that is most in my face is the sin of judgmentalism, though impatience is close behind.

    The sin that seemed lacking from Bridges’ consideration is the sin of laziness.

    Anyone have thoughts on this?

  2. Will on July 1st, 2008 11:45 am

    Larry,

    I think that gluttony could use it’s own chapter, as I’ve observed that it’s almost seen as a Christian virtue in some circles to eat excessively. This is also a sin that I’ve noticed I am susceptable to, and indulge in with little or no reflection.

    I tend to attribute the sin of lack of self-control to external forces, rather than the wickedness of my own heart. This is something that the Holy Spirit laid bare for me last night after I read and meditated on Mark 7:20: “What comes out of a person is what defiles him”. When I blame my sin on outside forces (i.e., that rude person, that commercial on TV), I deny the truth of scripture that this sin originates within. It’s a good thing that my righteousness does not originate within, but outside of myself in our savior, Jesus Christ.

    Will

  3. Larry on July 1st, 2008 2:27 pm

    Thanks for commenting, Will.

    If I remember correctly (the book is back home in Pitman), Bridges mentions gluttony in the chapter about self-control.

    Larry

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