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Psalms 37:12-15 ESV
Who are the wicked? They are all who make a practice of sinning, of doing evil, who deliberately and habitually and even premeditatedly sin against God and against other humans, without conscience, without compassion, and knowing full well that their actions are doing harm to others, even doing harm to their spouses or children or neighbors or friends or co-workers, etc. And they can even be those who make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ but who do not honor God with their lives, for their faith is lip service only.
Some or many of them do their sins in secret. And this includes secretive from outsiders, but it may include willful and deliberate sins against those of their households, but in ways that can’t be seen by people on the outside, and thus cannot be proven. Some of them have the character traits of what psychologists have termed “narcissistic.” Now I am not a follower of modern psychology, but the description of a narcissist does describe one who sins against others in secret to where their sins cannot be discovered by others.
Some of those character traits are: lies, cheating, smear campaign, silent treatment, gaslighting, constant drama, creates confusion, emotional abuse, lacking empathy, no remorse, no conscience, lacking boundaries, violates boundaries, not accountable, addiction, self-serving, chameleons, faking ignorance, blame shifting, immoral, abusers, users, manipulation, seduction, enticement, brainwashing others, mask wearers, fakery, pitting others one against the other, false accusations, laying traps, and playing mind games.
They are those who plot evil against others, so this is often premeditated sin against others, hoping to find cause to accuse others of wrongdoing, or to lay an emotional or mental or spiritual trap for them, hoping they will fall into it. It is a plan made in secret with the willful intent to do others harm. And this plan is obviously not of God but of the flesh of man, and if successful, in some cases, it can impact people’s future and their destiny. And it may be acted out in some sort of theatrical presentation, too.
For this plot may include putting on a performance or an act, in other words, in order to deceive others or in order to try to trap some people in their net of deception. And it can have to do with theology or some argument or opinion on a particular subject of controversy. But the basis or the foundation for this argument, opinion, or theology is not safe, secure, justified nor in a good position with regard to the truth and with regard to the teachings of the Scriptures. For it is unfounded, in other words.
But those who are plotting the evil against others, and who are trying to persuade or to manipulate them into agreeing with or succumbing to a particular argument, opinion, or belief system, are conniving, unfair, and dishonest, in order to gain advantage over other people. So the steps that they are taking to gain that advantage are also lowdown dirty, i.e. shady, sordid, and nasty. And their purpose is to move people away from “solid ground” to what is unsafe, unsecure, and not in a godly or moral position.
For this isn’t just about trying to lead people (especially the righteous) into sin or into some kind of trap in order to accuse them falsely of wrongdoing, and it isn’t just about abuse and meanness and doing others harm on purpose in order to hurt them, out of hate. But this is about trying to trick people into believing lies and a false gospel so that they will not surrender their lives to Christ, and so they will continue living in sin. So this is about leading them to a false church and to a false gospel of men, not of God.
For this gospel that many are teaching today is not accidental. It was plotted out by the wicked in order to bring the righteous down and in order to keep the sinners from true repentance and obedience to Christ. And this was plotted by people in high positions of power and authority over the universal church regardless of church denomination, for it is across denominations and it is spread wide and far across America, and perhaps in other nations, too. For it makes no requirements for genuine repentance and obedience to Jesus Christ. And so it leads people away from pure devotion to Jesus as Lord.
Psalms 37:7 ESV
Now what was just talked about in the previous section here should grieve the hearts of those of us who are of true faith in Jesus Christ, who have died with Christ to sin, and who are now living to God and to his righteousness. It should sadden us deeply that there are so many liars out there deceiving people by the masses to believe that they can “believe” (not explained) in Jesus Christ, have their sins forgiven, and be guaranteed heaven when they die, but that it doesn’t have to alter how they live on this earth.
Some of these liars and deceivers are telling their people outright that all that is required of them is for them to “believe” (not biblically defined) in Jesus and that they are good to go, and that nothing can take away from them their salvation regardless of how much they sin from this point forward. And they are telling them, too, that God no longer requires repentance and obedience, for they call those “works salvation” which is to be discarded. And so many professers of Christ are still in slavery to sin.
Other liars don’t go so far as to say that we don’t have to repent or obey the Lord, but they minimize them, and they present them as optional, like something we should do but if we don’t do them that it will not impact our eternal security. For they teach that once you pray the prayer that you are good to go and that nothing can take it away from you no matter how you live your life on this earth. But those are lies, too, for that is not what the Scriptures teach. They teach the opposite of that.
So, those of us who know the truth, who believe the truth, and who are walking in the truth should not let this unsettle us. We should not fret and worry over this. But we should be diligent in getting out the truth of the gospel, and in exposing the fruitless deeds of darkness and these lies of the flesh of man which so many people are buying into these days. And then we should be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him to act, for God is still sovereign over all that he has made. So we need to trust him.
Now the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that Jesus died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. It is that he died to free us from our slavery (addiction) to sin and to empower us to live godly and holy lives, to the glory and praise of God. And it teaches us that if we continue living in habitual and deliberate sin, and not in walks of obedience and righteousness, that we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips have professed.
And if this is what we are living and teaching others, we are going to have evildoers coming against us, plotting evil against us, trying to trip us up with our words, trying to get us to fall back into sin, accusing us falsely of what we did not do, bloodying our reputations, trying to make us look bad in front of others via trickery and deception, etc. We will be treated just like Jesus was treated by his enemies, in other words. But we are not to fear what others might do to us or say about us to others. We must trust the Lord.
[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
Through It All
By Andraé Crouch
I've had many tears and sorrows,
I've had questions for tomorrow,
There's been times I didn't know right from wrong.
But in every situation,
God gave me blessed consolation,
That my trials come to only make me strong.
I thank God for the mountains,
and I thank Him for the valleys,
I thank Him for the storms He brought me through.
For if I'd never had a problem,
I wouldn't know God could solve them,
I'd never know what faith in God could do.
Through it all,
through it all,
I've learned to trust in Jesus,
I've learned to trust in God.
Through it all,
through it all,
I've learned to depend upon His Word.
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“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 all who make a practice of sinning, of doing evil, who deliberately and habitually and even premeditatedly sin against God and against other humans, without conscience, without compassion, and knowing full well that their actions are doing harm to others, even doing harm to their spouses or children or neighbors or friends or co-workers, etc. And they can even be those who make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ but who do not honor God with their lives, for their faith is lip service only.
Some or many of them do their sins in secret. And this includes secretive from outsiders, but it may include willful and deliberate sins against those of their households, but in ways that can’t be seen by people on the outside, and thus cannot be proven. Some of them have the character traits of what psychologists have termed “narcissistic.” Now I am not a follower of modern psychology, but the description of a narcissist does describe one who sins against others in secret to where their sins cannot be discovered by others.
Some of those character traits are: lies, cheating, smear campaign, silent treatment, gaslighting, constant drama, creates confusion, emotional abuse, lacking empathy, no remorse, no conscience, lacking boundaries, violates boundaries, not accountable, addiction, self-serving, chameleons, faking ignorance, blame shifting, immoral, abusers, users, manipulation, seduction, enticement, brainwashing others, mask wearers, fakery, pitting others one against the other, false accusations, laying traps, and playing mind games.
They are those who plot evil against others, so this is often premeditated sin against others, hoping to find cause to accuse others of wrongdoing, or to lay an emotional or mental or spiritual trap for them, hoping they will fall into it. It is a plan made in secret with the willful intent to do others harm. And this plan is obviously not of God but of the flesh of man, and if successful, in some cases, it can impact people’s future and their destiny. And it may be acted out in some sort of theatrical presentation, too.
For this plot may include putting on a performance or an act, in other words, in order to deceive others or in order to try to trap some people in their net of deception. And it can have to do with theology or some argument or opinion on a particular subject of controversy. But the basis or the foundation for this argument, opinion, or theology is not safe, secure, justified nor in a good position with regard to the truth and with regard to the teachings of the Scriptures. For it is unfounded, in other words.
But those who are plotting the evil against others, and who are trying to persuade or to manipulate them into agreeing with or succumbing to a particular argument, opinion, or belief system, are conniving, unfair, and dishonest, in order to gain advantage over other people. So the steps that they are taking to gain that advantage are also lowdown dirty, i.e. shady, sordid, and nasty. And their purpose is to move people away from “solid ground” to what is unsafe, unsecure, and not in a godly or moral position.
For this isn’t just about trying to lead people (especially the righteous) into sin or into some kind of trap in order to accuse them falsely of wrongdoing, and it isn’t just about abuse and meanness and doing others harm on purpose in order to hurt them, out of hate. But this is about trying to trick people into believing lies and a false gospel so that they will not surrender their lives to Christ, and so they will continue living in sin. So this is about leading them to a false church and to a false gospel of men, not of God.
For this gospel that many are teaching today is not accidental. It was plotted out by the wicked in order to bring the righteous down and in order to keep the sinners from true repentance and obedience to Christ. And this was plotted by people in high positions of power and authority over the universal church regardless of church denomination, for it is across denominations and it is spread wide and far across America, and perhaps in other nations, too. For it makes no requirements for genuine repentance and obedience to Jesus Christ. And so it leads people away from pure devotion to Jesus as Lord.
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!”
Now what was just talked about in the previous section here should grieve the hearts of those of us who are of true faith in Jesus Christ, who have died with Christ to sin, and who are now living to God and to his righteousness. It should sadden us deeply that there are so many liars out there deceiving people by the masses to believe that they can “believe” (not explained) in Jesus Christ, have their sins forgiven, and be guaranteed heaven when they die, but that it doesn’t have to alter how they live on this earth.
Some of these liars and deceivers are telling their people outright that all that is required of them is for them to “believe” (not biblically defined) in Jesus and that they are good to go, and that nothing can take away from them their salvation regardless of how much they sin from this point forward. And they are telling them, too, that God no longer requires repentance and obedience, for they call those “works salvation” which is to be discarded. And so many professers of Christ are still in slavery to sin.
Other liars don’t go so far as to say that we don’t have to repent or obey the Lord, but they minimize them, and they present them as optional, like something we should do but if we don’t do them that it will not impact our eternal security. For they teach that once you pray the prayer that you are good to go and that nothing can take it away from you no matter how you live your life on this earth. But those are lies, too, for that is not what the Scriptures teach. They teach the opposite of that.
So, those of us who know the truth, who believe the truth, and who are walking in the truth should not let this unsettle us. We should not fret and worry over this. But we should be diligent in getting out the truth of the gospel, and in exposing the fruitless deeds of darkness and these lies of the flesh of man which so many people are buying into these days. And then we should be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him to act, for God is still sovereign over all that he has made. So we need to trust him.
Now the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that Jesus died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. It is that he died to free us from our slavery (addiction) to sin and to empower us to live godly and holy lives, to the glory and praise of God. And it teaches us that if we continue living in habitual and deliberate sin, and not in walks of obedience and righteousness, that we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips have professed.
And if this is what we are living and teaching others, we are going to have evildoers coming against us, plotting evil against us, trying to trip us up with our words, trying to get us to fall back into sin, accusing us falsely of what we did not do, bloodying our reputations, trying to make us look bad in front of others via trickery and deception, etc. We will be treated just like Jesus was treated by his enemies, in other words. But we are not to fear what others might do to us or say about us to others. We must trust the Lord.
[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
Through It All
By Andraé Crouch
I've had many tears and sorrows,
I've had questions for tomorrow,
There's been times I didn't know right from wrong.
But in every situation,
God gave me blessed consolation,
That my trials come to only make me strong.
I thank God for the mountains,
and I thank Him for the valleys,
I thank Him for the storms He brought me through.
For if I'd never had a problem,
I wouldn't know God could solve them,
I'd never know what faith in God could do.
Through it all,
through it all,
I've learned to trust in Jesus,
I've learned to trust in God.
Through it all,
through it all,
I've learned to depend upon His Word.
