The Wicked Gnash Their Teeth

Psalms 37:12-15 ESV

 

“The wicked plots against the righteous

    and gnashes his teeth at him,

but the Lord laughs at the wicked,

    for he sees that his day is coming.

 

“The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows

    to bring down the poor and needy,

    to slay those whose way is upright;

their sword shall enter their own heart,

    and their bows shall be broken.”

 

Who are the wicked? They are those who practice evil, who make a practice of sin – of immorality, adultery, idolatry, thievery, hate, and lying, etc.

 

“Wicked” defined: “Evil in principle or practice; deviating from morality; contrary to the moral or divine law; addicted to vice or sin; sinful; immoral; profligate; -- said of persons and things; as, a wicked king; a wicked woman; a wicked deed; wicked designs” (1).

 

The wicked hate God and his laws and his righteousness and holiness, so they are also against those who live righteously, who walk in obedience to the Lord and to his commands, and who love God and desire to serve him. They are also against those who teach the truth of the gospel and who call people to repentance and to obedience to God, and who warn of judgment if we do not forsake our sins to follow Jesus with our lives.

 

For, they don’t want to be told that they must leave their lives of sin behind them and that they must follow Jesus in obedience to his commands. Even many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ don’t want to be told that, for they prefer the messages which tell them that Jesus will come to them where they are, and that he will take them as they are, and that he will not ask them to change their sinful habits nor to conform to his ways.

 

They want a Jesus/God who will demand nothing of them but who will give them the world. They want Jesus to share their lives with them, but they don’t want to share in his life with him. It is a one-sided relationship with them expecting Jesus/God to do everything for them while they don’t have to do anything in return for him. They want Jesus to follow them, to go where they go, but they don’t want to follow him where he leads.

 

On The Attack

 

So, they attack the truth of the gospel, and they create their own gospel, or they adopt the cheap grace gospel which is being spread all over. And they attempt to discredit the true gospel message by calling it something else, like “works-based salvation” or “Lordship salvation.” And they accuse those who are teaching the true gospel of being legalistic, judgmental, unloving, unkind, insensitive, uncaring, self-righteous, and teachers of “works-based salvation.” So, they accuse them of teaching what is false.

 

If they don’t like the message that the servants of the Lord are giving out, they may attack them with counter-measures, actions taken to counteract what they perceive is a danger or a threat to them and to their way of life. And they may do this in a way which is “low down and dirty” by saying something to those people that they know will hurt them, and which is intended to hurt, and usually as a way to get them to back down.

 

For, they may want to bring down the righteous. They may attempt to lead them into sin and to compromise of truth and righteousness, or they may spread rumors about them in hopes to destroy them and their reputations so that others will not listen to them. For, they may attempt to discredit them or to shame them in some way so that others will reject them, too. Or they may set a trap for them to try to trip them up with their words.

 

Jesus Christ faced this kind of treatment from some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law and the scribes and religious rulers in the temple. They were all the time following him in order to try to find something to accuse him. So, they would verbally attack him and try to set traps for him in an attempt to trip him up with his words so that they could accuse him. And Jesus said that if we follow him we can expect to be treated as he was.

 

Psalms 37:7 ESV

 

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

    fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,

    over the man who carries out evil devices!”

 

But we need not let their attacks against us dishearten or discourage us. We are not to fear them and what they might say about us to others. We have no control over that anyway. But we are to trust the Lord with our lives and continue to obey him in doing and in saying what his word teaches that we are to do and to say, no matter what kind of flack we may get in return.

 

And we are to trust the Lord with our lives and continue to do good. We are to keep following him wherever he leads us, and we are to continue on in sharing the truth of the gospel and in exposing the lies.

 

For, the truth of the gospel is that we are to turn away from evil and do the good that God had planned in advance that we should walk in it. We are to walk (in conduct, in practice) no longer according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. We are to die with Christ to sin daily and walk in obedience to his commands. We are to submit to Christ as Lord and surrender our lives to his purposes and to his will. And we are to follow him where he leads.

 

And this is what we are to teach, even if it makes some people angry, and even if people unfollow or unfriend or defriend us. It is okay to not have everyone like you. It is better to live a life pleasing to God and to know that you are making a difference in other people’s lives for eternity than it is to compromise faith and convictions in order to not have people be upset with you and in order to not have them say unkind things to or about you.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10, 19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Tit 2:11-14; Jas 1:22-25; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Matt 7:21-23; Heb 10:26-27; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Rom 12:1-2; Matt 5:13-16; Rev 21:8, 27; Rev 22:14-15; Eph 2:8-10; Heb 12:1-2; Jn 6:44]

 

Why Are You Afraid?  

 

An Original Work / December 5, 2013

Based off Various Scriptures

 

Do not be afraid.

Your Lord is always by your side.

Serve the Lord in righteousness

Before Him all your days.

 

Those who hate the light

Will not come to the Lord.

They fear their deeds

Might be noticed.

So, they hate the light,

And they embrace the night.

 

Do not be afraid,

Although your enemy attacks.

Dare to share your testimony

Of God’s saving grace.

 

Do not fear their threats,

But honor Christ, your Lord.

Be prepared to give an answer

For the hope you have,

With gentleness; respect.

 

Why are you afraid?

For all that’s hidden will be shown.

What I tell you, speak in daylight.

Let the truth be known.

 

Do not be afraid

Of those who’ll take your life.

Fear the Lord with understanding.

Trust Him with your life,

And give not up to strife.

 

Do not be afraid.

Take courage, it is I, your Lord.

Bow before Me; now adore Me.

Oh, why do you doubt?

 

Listen to the Lord.

Get up, and bear His name!

Run and tell the world He loves them.

Jesus came to save.

Give Him your all today.

 

https://vimeo.com/114668071

 

(1)       https://biblehub.com/topical/w/wicked.htm