Walking with the Wise #273: The Surety of Sin

“Evil people are eager for rebellion,

but they will be severely punished.”
—Proverbs 17:11 (NLT)

While unredeemed flesh still walks upon the earth and Satan roams free, evil will flourish.  School and mall shootings are incontrovertible reminders of that.  Legislation can help in some ways, but it cannot change the evils of the human heart.

Philosophers and authors have theorized for millennia whether man is inherently good or bad, but the Scripture is unequivocal in its judgment—we are, at our core, evil (cf. Psalm 143:2; Romans 11:32; Romans 3:23; 2 Chronicles 6:36; Isaiah 53:6; Micah 7:2-4; Romans 3:9-12; 1 John 1:8-10, et al.) . Left to our sinful devices, we are capable of all kinds of reprehensible things (cf. Mark 7:21-23), but we can be sure that such evil does not escape the eye of God. He knows and will judge everything we have done and not one sin will go unpunished, as today’s proverb reminds us. We can be sure that we will receive our just reward (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:10; Hebrews 9:27).

While we may rail against the reign of God through all kinds of sin, we will quickly discover that our rebellion hurts no one but ourselves. God doesn’t delight in the death of the wicked, but delights in sinners turning from sin to the Savior:

“Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?”—Ezekiel 18:23.

Only by receiving Christ does evil find its match, because He is the one who “appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself”—Hebrews 9:26. Christ died for sin so that we may no longer be enslaved by its sinister grip—rather we can have the freedom that He achieved by His death and resurrection. Let us enter into His resurrection life by faith! Let us turn from our sin to the Savior who gave Himself for us so that we might have peace and life in Him! Amen.