What does the Bible say about corruption?

• Genesis 6:5-6, great wickedness of humankind
• Exodus 20:4-5, do not make idols
• Exodus 20:14, do not commit adultery
• Exodus 22:22, do not abuse widows or orphans
• Psalm 14:1-3, fools are corrupt; they have gone astry
• Proverbs 10:31, the tongue of the perverse will be cut off
• Ecclesiastes 7:7, a bribe corrupts the heart
• Isaiah 1:23, the princes do not defend those in need
• Jeremiah 17:9, the heart is devious and perverse
• Amos 5:12, great are your sins — taking bribes, pushing aside the needy
• Matthew 7:22-23, go away from me, you lawless ones
• Luke 3:14, do not extort money
• Romans 6:23, the wages of sin is death
• 1 Corinthians 13:1, if you don't have love, you are a noisy gong
• Galatians 6:8, if you sow to satisfy your selfish desires, you will reap corruption
• Colossians 3:5, kill any evil desires
• James 4:8, purify your hearts, you double-minded

Sermon ideas about corruption

Sermons about corruption can point to its importance in the Christian understanding of sin. Corruption is not so much a particular sin as it is the multiplying power of all sin to spoil what's good. Corruption is a deadly spiritual virus — a mysterious, systemic, infectious, and progressive attack on our spiritual immune system that eventually breaks

it down and opens the way for hordes of opportunistic sins. These make life progressively more miserable. Conceit, for instance, typically generates envy of rivals, a nasty form of resentment that eats away at the envier. As Augustine says, sin ends up becoming the punishment of sin.

Images for corruption

Sermons about corruption can mention these images we get from church history: corruption is a despoiled nature, a diseased root, a contaminated spring, a foul heart. A bad strain has gotten into human stock so that we now sin with the ease and readiness of people born to the task. We are born sinners, as some people are "born athletes." This fact, empirical as well as biblical, lies behind a broad consensus on original sin among Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant believers: namely, that sin in humanity is old, universal, progressive, often addictive, and stubbornly resistant to eradication. This is why the regeneration of a human heart is a miracle of God.

What does corruption include? 

Sermons about corruption can discuss its various facets. For example, corruption includes perversion, which amounts to twisting something good (say, the office of county prosecutor) so that it serves an unworthy goal (merely gaining convictions) instead of a worthy one (seeking criminal justice), or so that it serves an entirely wrong goal (such as humiliating one's political enemies). Rape victims sometimes discover to their dismay that a prosecutor will proceed with their case only when confident of a slam-dunk conviction, particularly near election time. Other examples abound: a journalist distorts an event to render it more controversial and more newsworthy; a clergyman uses his office and authority to subject children to his lust; a teenager uses a friendship to move up in the social pack; a head of state launches a short but lethal war against a tiny nation in order to boost the economy, raise his standing in the polls, and bury criticism of his domestic performance.

Corruption includes pollution, which amounts to weakening something good by introducing into it a foreign element. Classic biblical examples are idolatry and adultery, emblems of each other. In each case, some new commitment gets insinuated into an existing and exclusive relationship and compromises it.

Corruption includes dividedness and then disintegration. Adultery both pollutes and splits a marriage, often leading to its death. Idolatry both contaminates human loyalty to

God and splits it, often leading to its death. Third parties in these cases are wedge-shaped.

Disintegration

Accordingly, Christians have traditionally feared double-mindedness not merely because it shows ingratitude to God but also because it disintegrates mind and heart. To split our important loves and longings is to crack our life's foundation and risk the crumbling of life itself. A divided house cannot stand.

Disintegration is the main event in corruption — the breakdown of personal, social, or systemic integrity; the loss of an entity's shape, strength, and purpose. Sin tends to disintegrate both its perpetrators and its victims. In fact, it is the prelude to death. When the Teacher says in Ecclesiastes 7:7 that a bribe corrupts the heart, the Hebrew `abad (translated "corrupts") also means "to cause to die."

Excerpts about corruption

Following are sample excerpts from Zeteosearch.org sermon resources about corruption:

"So what are we to do when we encounter such corruption in the Church? Should we protest? Should we just leave the Church? Should we post all of our accusations on the internet?" Article about Church Life and Leadership by Michael Gillis from Ancient Faith

"Jesus really means it: the Kingdom of God will not let any corruption stand; evil will be swallowed up and destroyed completely." Sermon Preparation by Chelsey Harmon from Center for Excellence in Preaching

Worship ideas about corruption

Following are sample excerpts from Zeteosearch.org worship resources about corruption:

"Remember your church in Lebanon today, as it carries your light to a society staggering under mistrust, corruption, selfishness, nearby wars, lack of reckoning with the past, abuse of nature and misuse of your name." Prayer of Intercession by Nishan Bakallan from Global Ministries