Beware of Calling What is Evil, Good!

Beware of Calling What is Evil, Good!

"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;

Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!" Isaiah 5:20 NASB

"Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many parts in one body and all the body’s parts do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually parts of one another. However, since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to use them properly: if prophecy, in proportion to one’s faith; if service, in the act of serving; or the one who teaches, in the act of teaching; or the one who exhorts, in the work of exhortation; the one who gives, with generosity; the one who is in leadership, with diligence; the one who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Love must be free of hypocrisy. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor, not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never repay evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all people. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12 NASB 

"For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths." 2 Timothy 4:3-4 NASB 

There's much to be said about the dangers of conformity.  Yet here we are in a global, not merely a local, society that's pushing conformity to the acceptance of that which God has called evil. 

From everything from gender to relationships this world, and indeed within the so-called churches of this world, the embracing of that which God calls evil is happening.  It's celebrated rather than shunned. It produces no remorse nor repentance.  

It's also written "It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Hebrews 10:31 NASB. 

The terrifying part is both what happens in this world and after we die.  For some it's only after they die.  They come face to face with Jesus. 

Reading in Romans 12 we read about detesting evil.  To embrace as normal that which God calls an abomination is sin. It matters not your intentions.  You don't dive into sin to save someone, it indeed will trip you up. 

As God is repulsed by sin, so should we be. We cannot love this world nor the things in the world.  1 John 2:15.

We cannot make excuses for sin or sinful practices either.  We are instructed to flee evil. 

Those who promote evil within the Church and without it will incur a harsher reality when facing Jesus. 

Those that mislead people in regards to God's Word.  Those who harm children, widows and orphans. Those who teach others as doctrine the ways of demons.  

Conformity to the world is evil in and of itself going to lead you away from God.  

Calling that which God says is an abomination acceptable is also evil.  

Just because the world says its to be embraced doesn't mean it is right to do so.  

I can get into specific sins but you know what God's talking about.  

We are to indeed hate the sin but not the sinner.  This is to also say we should be encouraging them away from sin, not to leave them wallowing in it.

We should never encourage anyone to go on living life as if their sin wasn't sin.  That they don't have an old self to take off and a new to put on.  Let's look at Ephesians 4:17-32 NASB "So I say this, and affirm in the Lord, that you are to no longer walk just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their minds, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves up to indecent behavior for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former way of life, you are to rid yourselves of the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

Therefore, ridding yourselves of falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, because we are parts of one another. Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. The one who steals must no longer steal; but rather he must labor, producing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with the one who has need. Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but if there is any good word for edification according to the need of the moment, say that, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. All bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you."

This in Ephesians ties in directly with Romans 12. 

We shouldn't stay in the sins we came to Christ to escape!  We should never encourage anyone else to do that either. 

Beware of any so-called church that embraces things such as homosexuality as if it were ok. 

Beware of any so-called church that places people in roles they are not to be in according to the Scriptures.  Some may not agree with this but your argument is with God, not me. I write what I am told to write.  There are to be no homosexual pastors.  There are to be no women pastors.  There is to be no acceptance as normal what God has said isn't to be allowed. 

Evil is deceptive by its nature.  Evil will do whatever it can to thrive and be accepted. 

Evil will even attempt to make you feel guilty for doing that which God says is good.

Be careful of your walk in this world. We have God's eternal Word to live by and to guide us. We should never make excuses for sin. We are told what to do should we encounter someone caught in sin. Point them back to Jesus.  

Galatians 6:1-5 NASB "

"Brothers and sisters, even if a person is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual are to restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you are not tempted as well. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks that he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting, but to himself alone, and not to another. For each one will bear his own load."

Self examination is a good thing.  Making sure what God's Word says is obeyed is paramount. 

Making sure we aren't in sin or encouraging others to stay in sin is paramount. 

I have a shirt that says that I would rather stand with God and be judged by the world than stand with the world and be judged by God.  We put ourselves in a bad situation when we accept as normal what God's said isn't. 

He is the author and perfector of our faith. The Spirit is to teach us all things, but we need to listen to Him.  If God says something was evil, or sin, or an abomination in the Bible when it was written, it still is true today.