Three thoughts about evil:
1. The Proverb writer wrote: “The fear of the Lord turns one away from evil.”
2. The Prophet Jeremiah says: “It is evil to abandon the Lord.”
3. Jesus prayed, “And deliver us from evil.”
What was Jesus saying? Deliver us from the sins of the world? Deliver us from the devil? Deliver us from the evil in our hearts? Perhaps, but what if Jesus was saying, “Deliver us from our lack of fearing God, and deliver us from abandoning Him?” Both statements tell us we choose to live without Him.
The world lives for evil because it loves darkness rather than light. Evil has many faces and applications, but the basis of all evil is the absence of God. I think that definition of evil has some implications and defines our culture today. Because of the multicultural emphasis today, more and more Americans do not want to offend anybody, so our culture has pulled back on nativity scenes, Ten Commandments displayed in public places, and in neighboring Canada they have legislation that censors the Church on messages condemning homosexuality. I don’t think it will be long before legislative action is put forth in America to protect specific groups through the broad interpretation of hate speech.
Countries around the world have become more secular, giving way to endorsing abortion, transgenderism, and homosexuality. We know Americans are becoming less religious, and we’ve seen Europe steadily move further and further away from God over the past decades. A University of Michigan political scientist found that 43 out of 49 countries he examined became less religious, and this trend is found in most countries regardless of their size and wealth. What that tells me is that we are experiencing a revival in secularism, which is taking us further away from the idea of the existence of God. The Bible predicted that this would happen:
Thessalonians 2:3 “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that day shall not come, except there comes a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.
Evil is the absence of God, and anywhere on the earth where there is no God consciousness there will be evil of every kind. Before missionaries came to the Amazon jungle, tribes practiced killing people and shrinking their heads. This evil was confronted by the missionaries, and the practice stopped. In Britain, William and Catherine Booth started the Salvation Army where they confronted poverty, drunkenness, and child labor. The Apostle Paul prophesied about our day:
2 Timothy 3:1-5 But mark this. There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
These conditions are a result of the absence of God in the culture. Some Christian leaders have said that there will be a great revival in the Last Days, but I think not. I do believe God is still working, but this great revival is not mentioned in any of the Biblical literature. Even in the Church, I believe God is moving to expunge those who act religious but deny the power of God through a changed life. The messages that come from many of pulpits are weak and inept in bringing about conviction and repentance. Changed lives must start with the confrontation of sin, and the negligence of following Jesus. This is not a popular theme, and most people want to be told of the goodness of God and the benefits of following Him. I get that, however, people can be wooed to believe in a false salvation, where we live with a religious presence, but deny the power of a transformed life. “Having a form of godliness but denying it’s power.” What does this mean? It means one has religious intentions, traditions, and doctrine … but do not know Jesus, the power behind knowing God.
Let me be perfectly clear. There are no Baptists, Lutherans, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, Methodists, Church of Gods, or any other denomination in the Bible. You can cling to your traditions and your doctrine, but still not know God. The Book of Matthew tells us this is possible:
Matthew 7:21-22 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?”
If you are in a church that does not accent 100% on Jesus every Sunday, you need to leave. The darkness that is coming on the entire world is the darkness of God’s absence. It is having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof … and the thereof is Jesus Christ. I have a new tagline that I love and will defend to anyone, it is simply this, “I am not religious, but I take Jesus seriously.”
You might consider that tagline for yourself, because darkness is coming to engulf the entire world and it is a false religion, and it denies Jesus. Be warned.
Challenging the Culture with Truth … Larry Kutzler