Behold, These are the Wicked

The arrogant and the wicked:

“have no pangs until death;

    their bodies are fat and sleek.

They are not in trouble as others are;

    they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.

Therefore pride is their necklace;

    violence covers them as a garment.

Their eyes swell out through fatness;

    their hearts overflow with follies.

They scoff and speak with malice;

    loftily they threaten oppression.

They set their mouths against the heavens,

    and their tongue struts through the earth.

Therefore his people turn back to them,

    and find no fault in them.

And they say, “How can God know?

    Is there knowledge in the Most High?”

Behold, these are the wicked…” (Psalms 73:4-12 ESV)

This was the psalmist Asaph’s viewpoint of the arrogant and the wicked, from his perspective, but this was the perspective of a person who was envious of the arrogant when he saw the prosperity of the wicked (see Psalms 73:1-3). So this description may not be accurate on all points with all people who are acting wickedly out of pride and arrogance. But there are particular character traits mentioned here which are consistent throughout the Scriptures in describing those who are full of pride and wickedness.

Although this is not true in all cases, many of those who are full of pride and wickedness are those who seem to never get into trouble for the wrong that they do. They seem to never have to “face the music,” and don’t have to endure some type of just judgments against them and against their actions. They just seem to go from sin to sin to sin, and no one does anything to stop them, as though they have a free ride or something. And so pride is their necklace because they keep getting way with the sins over again.

And so they keep on in their deliberate and habitual sins against God and against other humans, for nothing has yet happened to them to make them stop. And some of them keep going deeper and deeper into sin, trying different things, because they get bored with the “same old” routine. Since sin never satisfies, they thirst for more. For their eyes are full of adultery and they glory in their shame, and so they scoff and speak with malice against those who are speaking the truth to them in love.

And those who are walking in sin, who are living wickedly, in practice, are acting in rebellion against Almighty God, refusing to come to genuine repentance, and refusing to submit to Jesus Christ as Lord over their lives. In their pride they remain in control over their own lives, charting their own course, going their own way, choosing their own choices, and doing whatever their hearts direct them to do. For it is out of the heart that comes both good and evil, depending upon what is stored up in their hearts.

Some of them will set their mouths against the heavens, as their tongues strut through the earth, and they will verbally attack the teachings of the Scriptures. They will verbally attack whatever does not give them permission to keep living as they have been while still promising them salvation from sin and eternal life with God based on a verbal profession of faith in Jesus Christ. For they want to believe that their sins will not be held against them, even though they may or may not acknowledge their sinful practices.

Some of them are well liked among the people. The people generally accept them for who they are, and not many make judgments against them. And much of this is the case because the church at large (not everyone) has adopted a cheapened form of the gospel which does not require the “believer” in Christ to forsake his sinful lifestyle, and which does not require walks of obedience to our Lord, but rather teaches tolerance and acceptance of all people and all walks without any judgment regarding their sins.

And so the people (not everyone) do turn back to those who are living wickedly, and they find no fault in them, and some of them are in support of the wicked, some of them because they are in the same place, for they also are living wickedly in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord, some of whom profess faith in Jesus Christ and heaven as their eternal destiny. And so they may recite the same cheapened and altered gospel message which gives freedom to the “believer” to keep sinning without consequence.

Some of them are even teaching that once you make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ that all your sins are forgiven, including future sins, and that God can’t even see when you sin against him, but that when he looks at you, all he sees is Jesus, even if you are in the process of vegging out on your favorite sinful practice. But that is not biblical. Obviously God still sees when we sin or the writers of the Scriptures would not have spent so much time writing to the churches talking with them about their current sins.

And the writers of the New Testament spent a great deal of time writing and warning the church against continued sin and its consequences, and against pride, envy, hate, gossip, adultery, idolatry, sexual immorality, lying, cheating, stealing, unfaithfulness, and the like. And they let them know that if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to our Lord, and not holy living and righteousness, that we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what faith our lips profess. So we need to take this seriously!

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

For Our Nation  

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

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