Evildoers Who Eat Up God's People

Psalms 14:1-3 ESV

 

“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’

    They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;

    there is none who does good.

 

The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,

    to see if there are any who understand,

    who seek after God.

 

They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;

    there is none who does good,

    not even one.”

 

Those who are thoughtless, irrational, and unwise deny the existence of Almighty God. They are in the flesh, and they are given over to the deeds of the flesh, and therefore they are corrupt, immoral, wicked people who do abominable (loathsome, detestable) deeds such as taking advantage of those weaker than them, using and abusing others, and committing adultery against their spouses without conscience or true remorse.

 

But wait a minute. This also describes perhaps as much as 65% or greater of Christian men, according to statistics, who are regularly engaging in the viewing of pornography and/or are engaged in other sexually immoral activities or evil deeds. And this includes perhaps as many as 35% or greater of pastors, with women joining their ranks, but at a lesser amount, and with children also joining in, too, including children of “Christian” parents. So these include people who profess faith in God, in Jesus Christ.

 

So, this isn’t talking here just about professed atheists. This is talking about anyone who denies God by his deeds and who does what is detestable and abhorrent (inspiring disgust and loathing). They are those who are not truly seeking after God because they are seeking after the flesh, to fulfill the lusts of the flesh. They have all turned aside and together have become corrupt, and even if they do “good deeds,” God does not see them as doing good.

 

And today’s modern market-driven church is just feeding this attitude that they can “believe” in Jesus and yet continue to regularly (habitually) and deliberately choose to sin against God and against their spouses and children, and against other humans. For they are being taught that all their sins are forgiven so they won’t be punished for their sin, or that God can’t even see when they sin, but all he sees is Jesus when he looks at them.

 

But it goes beyond that. They are being taught that they don’t have to surrender their lives to Jesus Christ, and they don’t have to repent of their sins, and they don’t have to walk in obedience to the Lord and to his commands. If they don’t say this outright, which many do, they still teach it when they tell their adherents that they can make a profession of faith in Christ, that all their sins are forgiven, and now heaven is guaranteed them when they die regardless of how they live their lives from now until then.

 

So, the incident described for us in 1 Corinthians 5 about the man in the church who had his father’s wife pales by comparison to the immorality that is running rampant in today’s modern institutional and market-driven churches which are all about appealing to and pacifying the flesh of man rather than putting the flesh of man to death with Christ and then living to God and to his righteousness in the power of God’s Spirit living within. And God is still saying, “Remove the evil person from among you.”

 

Psalms 14:4-6 ESV

 

“Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers

    who eat up my people as they eat bread

    and do not call upon the Lord?

 

There they are in great terror,

    for God is with the generation of the righteous.

You would shame the plans of the poor,

    but the Lord is his refuge.”

 

So, “all the evildoers” includes many who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who are convinced that their immoral and deliberate and habitual acts of rebellion against God, and against other humans, will not impact their salvation and eternal life with God. And so they feel they have the liberty to keep on in their sins and that God will not judge them. And it doesn’t matter to them who they hurt in the process, for it is all about fulfilling their lusts.

 

So, “evildoers” are not just those who make no profession of faith in Jesus Christ who are still living in their sin, but they are all who make a practice of doing evil, who make a practice of sinning and of disobeying God regardless of what faith they profess with their lips. For, according to the Scriptures, we are slaves of whoever or whatever we obey, and if it is sin, it leads to death, but if it is obedience, it leads to righteousness and to eternal life with God.

 

So, God’s people here are not the evildoers, but they are those who are being “eaten up” by these evildoers, and that is happening much in today’s modern market-driven churches. Many of those professing faith in Jesus Christ who are convinced that they can keep on in their deliberate and habitual sins, and that it will not impact their eternal security, are attacking Christians who believe the Scriptures and who are following the Lord in obedience and who are forsaking their sins.

 

But God is with the generation of the righteous, and according to Scripture, the “righteous” are those who make a practice of righteousness, not those who just make a profession of righteousness. For, if sin is what we practice, and if righteousness is not what we practice, and if obedience is not our practice, but disobedience is our practice, and if we do not love our fellow humans, we don’t know God and we don’t have eternal life with God.

 

Psalms 14:7 ESV

 

“Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!

    When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,

    let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.”

 

Salvation for all Israel (Jew or Gentile by physical birth who believe in Jesus) has come out of Zion. Jesus Christ, God the Son, died on a cross close to 2,000 years ago. He died to take away our sins. So, when he died he became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. So, when he died our sins died with him. But that doesn’t mean that all are saved. Only those with genuine faith in Jesus who are living righteously are saved.

 

Those who make sin their practice, according to Scripture, will not inherit the kingdom of God. Not all who say to God, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who is DOING the will of God the Father in heaven. For, if we walk according to the flesh, we will die in our sins, but if we walk according to the Spirit, then we have eternal life with God. So, it is not the one professing faith in Jesus who is righteous, but it is the one who is living righteously in the power of God’s Spirit living within him.

 

[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 1:21-25; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:21-23; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Heb 10:26-27; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Matt 7:21-23; Rev. 2-3; Rev 18:1-6; Rev 21:8, 27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

He Lifted Our Burdens

 

An Original Work / February 15, 2014

Based off Isaiah 9:2-7

 

People walk in darkness.

They abide in their sin.

It has power o’er them.

True belief escapes them.

 

Jesus Christ came to save them.

He gave His life up for them;

Crucified; died for our sin,

So we might be forgiven,

And have life up in heaven.

 

Many come to know Him.

God’s love now o’erflows them.

They rejoice in vict’ry.

Their sin is but hist’ry.

 

We were once bound in slav’ry.

Jesus lifted our burdens;

Set us now free from Satan,

So we now walk in freedom.

Sin has no more dominion.

 

Praise be to our Savior!

He showed us His favor.

He took all our burdens;

Cast them all upon Him.

 

He is our mediator;

The Light which shines in darkness.

Counselor in our troubles;

He gives peace now in our hearts;

Joy which is everlasting.

 

https://vimeo.com/86854416