Walk Not in Wicked Counsel

“Blessed is the man

    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

    and on his law he meditates day and night.

“He is like a tree

    planted by streams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

    and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so,

    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

“Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,

    but the way of the wicked will perish.” (Psalms 1:1-6 ESV)

Who are the wicked in God’s sight? They are all who walk in sin, in deliberate and habitual acts of sinful rebellion against the Lord, who choose evil over good, and unrighteousness over righteousness, and pleasing the flesh over pleasing God. And they are all who do not walk in obedience to his commands, in practice, but who go their own way, instead, choosing their own choices, and doing their own will, and not choosing God’s choices and not doing his will. For they are still being ruled by the flesh.

And they could be many who profess faith in Jesus Christ, but not in truth, and not in righteousness, and not in walks of surrender and obedience to the Lord. For by God-persuaded faith in Christ Jesus we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. So we are not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it leads to death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it leads to righteousness, and its end is eternal life.

So we are not to seek the counsel of the ungodly, of those who do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and who are worldly minded and who are fleshly minded, and who do not have the mind of God. For they are those who are still dead in their sins, for whom sin is still their practice, and for whom righteousness, godliness, moral purity, and obedience to our Lord are not what they practice. So we are not to conduct our lives in the counsel of the wicked who would lead us away from our pure devotion to Jesus Christ.

Instead, we should trust in the counsel of the Lord and of His Word, especially the teachings of Jesus Christ and of his NT apostles, which are under the New Covenant relationship God’s people now have with him via genuine faith in the Lord Jesus. And our delight should be in the Lord and in his teachings, which we should meditate on day and night. And we should look to the Lord for wisdom and guidance in day to day living and in decision making so that we walk in the ways of the Lord and not in the flesh.

Our trust is to be in the Lord and in his Word and not in other humans who may or may not tell us the truth, and who may or may not give us godly counsel, and who may or may not be true to their word. And when our trust is in the Lord we can be steadfast in faith and in practice in doing the will of God and at peace in knowing that we are living lives which are pleasing to the Lord. And if we truly are being led by the Lord, we will be blessed in what we do and others will be blessed by our obedience, too.

But those who live wickedly, who walk in the ways of the flesh and of self-will, and not according to the will and purpose of God for our lives, they will suffer the judgment of God when he comes to judge the people of the world, and they will spend eternity in hell, and not in heaven, because they did not obey the Lord, in practice, but they still lived for the pleasures of the flesh. And it won’t matter if they profess faith in Jesus Christ, for they will be judged by their works (deeds), whether of God or of the flesh.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

Seek the Lord  

An Original Work / July 20, 2012

Based off Isaiah 55

“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.

Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,

And your soul will delight in richest of fare.

Give ear to Me, and you will live.

I have made an eternal covenant with you.

Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him. 

Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.

Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.

Freely, God pardons him.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,”

declares the Lord, our God.

“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.

It will not return to Me unfulfilled.

My word will accomplish all that I desire,

And achieve the goal I intend.

You will go in joy and be led forth in peace.

The mountains will burst into song… before you, 

And all of the trees clap their hands.”

https://vimeo.com/379408296