Refuse the Counsel of the Wicked

[Christsfreeservant]

“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? They are all who make sin their practice. They delight in doing evil. They are all who deliberately and habitually commit sinful acts of rebellion against God, and against their fellow humans, who do not honor God as holy and as righteous and as Lord (Owner-Master) of their lives. Their lives are not surrendered to the Lord to do his will, but their lives are surrendered to their sinful flesh to do its will. And they will feed their flesh regardless of who gets hurt in the process, because the flesh is their god.

Are the wicked always obvious? No, they aren’t. Many of them are very skillful liars and deceivers who craftily manipulate the truth to make it look as though they are righteous and good and upright, and in order to deceive others into believing them and following them. For many of them are “wolves in sheep’s clothing” disguised as followers of Jesus Christ so that they can convince Christians (or professers of Christ only) to follow them and their teachings. So, we are to be discerning people.

Also, the Scriptures teach us that we are not to be followers of human beings. We are definitely not to be minions (clones, robots) who just do what other people do and who just repeat what other people say, especially without thought, and without careful consideration as to the legitimacy of what they are saying and doing, which may be a lie. We are not to be conformed to the patterns and thinking of this world, but we are to be being conformed to the likeness of character of Jesus Christ, by the Spirit.

So, just because some famous person says something, it doesn’t make it true. Just because someone is a doctor, lawyer, pastor, elder, government head, book author, or newscaster, etc., it doesn’t mean that what they are telling you is the truth, or that it is what is best for you. That does not make them right just because they have a particular title in front of their names, or because they are famous, or they are the child of someone famous.

So, be careful that you don’t end up following human beings, thinking that they are going to lead you in the right direction, or that you can believe everything that they tell you. Be people of God who ask questions, who test what you are hearing or reading, regardless of who says it. And especially be careful that you don’t accept teachings on the Scriptures without knowledge of what the Scriptures really teach, if taught in the appropriate context. For many lies are being spread via Scriptures being taught out of context.

So, the point here is that it is possible to walk in the counsel of the wicked unknowingly because you think that someone is not wicked and therefore you trust him/her. But if we read what the Scriptures teach about these last days before the return of Christ, we will realize that many liars and deceivers exist among us, and many of them are government heads and pastors of “churches” and doctors and newscasters and famous book authors, etc.

So, we need to be people of God who are serious students of the Scriptures who study them in their appropriate context, and who compare Scripture with Scripture to get a fuller understanding of what the Scriptures teach, as a whole, on any particular subject. And we need to be true followers of Jesus Christ who listen to him speaking truth to our hearts, and who follow him in obedience, in practice, and who are no longer walking in sin, so that we are in the right relationship with the Lord in order to hear from him the truth.

And then we will do well in our walks of faith and obedience to our Lord and in living for him and for righteousness. And we will be those who are bearing much spiritual fruit for the kingdom of heaven and who are sharing with others the true gospel message so that they can come to know him, too. And please be aware that not everything called “the gospel” is the gospel. A false gospel is permeating the church here in America, and perhaps in other parts of the world, too, and many are buying into its lies and deception.

So, if you want the true gospel, read Luke 9:23-26 especially, where Jesus teaches that if we want to come after him that we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in walks of obedience to his commands. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity, regardless of what our lips profess. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience, then we have the hope of eternal life with God. For if we deny him and his word, he will deny us when he returns for his bride.

[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 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; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

Pie Jesu

Songwriter: Andrew Lloyd-Webber

Merciful Jesus,
Pie Jesu,

Who takes away the sins of the world
Qui tollis peccata mundi

Give them rest, grant them rest
Dona eis requiem, dona eis requiem

Lamb of God
Agnus Dei,

Who takes away the sins of the world
Qui tollis peccata mundi

Grant them eternal rest
Dona eis requiem

Forever
Sempiternam

Requiem
Requiem

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