What Are the Seven Deadly Sins?

If you’ve been around Christianity for any period of time, you may have heard of the “Seven Deadly Sins.” But what are the seven deadly sins? Is the list found in Scripture, or is it made up? Are they worse than other sins? Are they unforgivable sins? Let’s clear up some confusion and learn about the seven deadly sins!

What Are the Seven Deadly Sins?

Contrary to popular belief, the Bible doesn’t list the “seven deadly sins” as such anywhere in Scripture. A common misconception is the list of seven sins in Proverbs.

Proverbs 6:16-19 says:

The Lord hates six things;
in fact, seven are detestable to him:
arrogant eyes, a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that plots wicked schemes,
feet eager to run to evil,
a lying witness who gives false testimony,
and one who stirs up trouble among brothers.

It is understandable why these seven sins could be misunderstood to be elusive seven deadly sins, given that the author of Proverbs says they are seven sins that God appears to especially detest. But these are not the traditional seven deadly sins.

The seven deadly sins are the following:

1. Anger
2. Envy
3. Gluttony
4. Greed
5. Lust
6. Pride
7. Sloth

And, if you’re wondering, the order of the seven deadly sins doesn’t have any significance. The above list is simply in alphabetical order. It isn’t as though these sins are ranked in the mind of God. In fact, the categorization of these seven sins as “deadly” is a human invention, not a heavenly one.

Where Did the Seven Deadly Sins Originate?

The category of the “seven deadly sins” isn’t a biblical category. Nowhere in the Bible does God list the seven sins listed above as any “worse” or more grievous than any other sin.

The seven deadly sins as listed above were created by the fourth-century Christian monk Evagrius Ponticus, likely as a sort of contrast to the “seven virtues/execellences” created by Aristotle long before the advent of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Ponticus originally listed eight of these sins or “evils”—“sorrow/despair” was on the original list, but was combined with “sloth” by Pope Gregory I in AD 590. Over the centuries, as the list of these deadly sins passed from generation to generation, some revisions took place and we are left with the seven deadly sins as we know them today.

[Check out Knowing Sin by Mark Jones for more on this topic.]

While, as I wrote above, the seven deadly sins aren’t ranked in any particular order of “deadliness” or the like, one of them is seen as chief among the rest—pride. This sort of corrupt selfishness is, in the eyes of many throughout church history, the root of every other kind of sin, seven deadly or otherwise.

Are the Seven Deadly Sins Worse Than Other Sins?

No, they aren’t “worse” sins than other sins in the eyes of God. How do we know this? Primarily because the seven deadly sins are not something God laid out in the Bible. God doesn’t say, “Here are the seven worst sins you could commit, and if you don’t repent of them, I’ll make eternity even worse for you!” God never says this, and this list of sins never appears in Scripture as we know them as the seven deadly sins.

Scripture makes it clear in many places that sin generally, regardless of specifics, leads to death.

“There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death.” – Proverbs 14:12

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” – Romans 5:12

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 6:23

“For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.” – Romans 7:5

“Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” – James 1:15

The purpose of collecting these sins into a list and calling them the seven deadly sins is to highlight how so many other specific manifestations of sin appear to be rooted in these seven. Murder, for example, is often rooted in anger, one of the seven. Sexual immortality, or the abandonment of one’s spouse in an extramarital affair, is usually rooted in lust, one of the seven. That is why these are called the seven deadly sins, not because God sees them as more punishable or condemnable than the others.

Does God Forgive the Seven Deadly Sins?

Yes. God forgives any and all sins of those who repent of their sin and trust Christ for their salvation.

If you happen to believe that God does see the seven deadly sins as more grievous than other sins, you may wonder if God forgives the seven deadly sins. The Bible says in many places that God forgives sin, regardless of which sins we commit. Here are some Bible verses about God’s forgiveness of us in Christ:

“For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.” – Psalm 86:5

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” – Ephesians 4:32

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:9

“For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,
and I will remember their sins no more.” – Hebrews 8:12

God forgives all the sins of those who repent of their sin and trust Christ for salvation from their sin—even the seven deadly sins.

The Unforgivable Sin

“What about the ‘unforgivable sin’?” you may wonder. This sin is not listed among the seven deadly sins of church history, but questions about the unforgivable sin often accompany conversations about the seven deadly sins. In Matthew 12:32 Jesus says, “And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”

This “unforgivable sin” is a willful, continual rejection of God and his commands. It is not listed among the seven deadly sins, but to the question of whether or not God forgives this sin, the answer is, “No,” as clearly stated in the text.

The reason God doesn’t forgive “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit” or a willful rejection of God and his commands is because to be forgiven requires repentance and faith in God, which the “unforgivable sin” doesn’t allow.

To put it simply: the unforgivable sin is unbelief, and the reason it isn’t forgiven is that to be forgiven requires belief in God and in Jesus Christ for salvation.

All Sin Is Deadly

The Bible is clear on this: all sin leads to death and eternal separation from God. There is no hidden ranking of sins that lead to a “worst” kind of death than others. Little “white lies” and cold-blooded murder are both hated by God and make us unclean and unworthy to be in relationship with Him. But, some leaders in early church history collected seven root, or deadly, sins that they found to be at the root of so many other kinds of sin. That is how we get the category of the “Seven Deadly Sins.”

By the grace of God, we may be forgiven of all sin if we see our sin, reject it, and trust in the gospel of Jesus Christ and His salvation of us from our sin. If you would like to know more about how to trust Christ for salvation, reach out to us here.