How the Wicked Behave. By Dr. Dave Madenberg
THE PROBLEM
Proverbs 17:15 speaks about how evil men justify, or support the wicked and
condemn the just:
Even Israel's prophets in the time of Jeremiah justified the wicked and their
wicked behavior by prophesying falsely to the people:
Lamentations 2:14, "Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions;
They have not uncovered your iniquity, to bring back your captives, but have
envisioned for you false prophecies and delusions." (Ex) Prophets in the Book of
Jeremiah.
Question #1: How many portions of scripture warn us of what God will do to a
nation filled with wickedness and wicked people?
Question #2: When God's cup of iniquity becomes full, regarding a nation, or a
people, or the world ... what does God do?
Answer: What He did to the people living in the times of Noah; what He did to
those living in Sodom and Gomorrah; and what He did to His people Israel who
continued in disobedience and wickedness.
Ezekiel 14:13 tells us, "Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent
unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of
bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it."
---Is the United States exempt from this punishment?
--What are the prophets of today saying about a coming famine?
Have we ever noticed how some wicked clergy deliberately twist and manipulate
the meaning of scripture to their own advantage? And how wicked politicians do
the same with some of our laws?
In 2 Peter 3:16-18, where Peter refers to how sometimes Paul's writings were
difficult to interpret or understand:
"... and consider that the long suffering of our Lord is salvation - as also our
beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,
as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some
things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people TWIST to their
own destruction, as they do also the rest of the scriptures." "You therefore,
beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own
steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked ..."
Remember in Hosea 4:6, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge."
THE FOLLOWING THREE EXAMPLES DESCRIBE HOW THE WICKED OR BIBLICALLY
UNEDUCATED TWIST THE MEANING OF SCRIPTURE:
(1) The wicked or those who don't know the full meaning of scripture, may
quote: "Well, GOD is LOVE, He will forgive me if I cheat on my SPOUSE once or
twice. So, it's not such a big deal because He is love and I will be forgiven. "
In the above statement, is scripture being twisted?
1 John 4:8 "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
So, how can someone say he or she loves, or loves God, yet break the marital
covenant by cheating on his or her spouse?
(2) Someone from an organization like Antifa may kill, steal and destroy during
one of their peaceful protests, then quote something from scripture such as:
"We must love our enemies."
But does that mean we must love or tolerate their wicked actions?
In Rom 11:22 "Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: On those
who fell, severity, but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness.
Otherwise you also will be cut off."
(3) Or, how Satan twisted and manipulated scripture while tempting Jesus:
Luke 4: 9-12, Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the
temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from
here. For it is written;He shall give His angels charge over You, to keep You;
and in their hands they shall bear You up, lest You dash Your foot against a
stone."
But, in this passage, was Satan deliberately twisting and manipulating
the meaning of that portion of Psalm 91 he quoted to the Lord?
In Matthew Henry Concise Commentary, it addresses the meaning of the
portion of Psalm 91 as to what the devil quoted back to Jesus:
Psalm 91:9-16 "Whatever happens, nothing shall hurt the believer; though trouble and affliction befall, it shall come, not for his hurt, but for good, though for the present it be not joyous but grievous.Those who rightly know God, will set their love upon him. They by prayer constantly call upon him. His promise is, that he will in due time deliver the believer out of trouble, and in the mean time be with him in trouble. The Lord will manage all his worldly concerns, and preserve his life on earth, so long as it shall be good for him. For encouragement in this he looks unto Jesus. He shall live long enough; till he has
done the work he was sent into this world for, and is ready for heaven."
In this passage, does God promise He would respond to deliberately irresponsible
behavior like jumping from the pinnacle of the temple?
Isn't this why Jesus responded to the devil with: "It has been said, You shall not
tempt the Lord your God." And in Deut 6:16 "Do not put the LORD your God to
the test ..."
B. THE SOLUTION
Now that we have reviewed the actions of the WICKED, what manner of persons
ought WE to be?
In 2 Peter 3:10-14 "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night ...
Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought
you to be in holy conduct and godliness ...Therefore, beloved, looking forward to
these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless
..."
WE MUST LIVE GODLY LIVES.
1. We must be imitators of Christ:
-Jesus obeyed God, the Father, in all His ways.
-Jesus went about His Father's business. (preaching, teaching and healing)
-Jesus displayed His Father's character (mercy, love, compassion; Jesus healed, He
fed, He comforted, He delivered, Jesus prayed for God's will above His will.
-Jesus died for our sins, while we were yet sinners.
-Jesus displayed the attributes of God, the Father:
Jehovah Tzidkenu - The Lord our righteousness
Jehovah M'Kadesh - The Lord Who sanctifies (makes holy)
Jehovah Shalom - The Lord Who is our peace
Jehovah Shammah - The Lord Who is there for us
Jehovah Rophe - The Lord our Healer
Jehovah Jireh - The Lord Who sees and makes provision for us
Jehovah Nissie - The Lord our banner and standard
Jehovah Rohii - The Lord our shepherd and our friend
2. We must be willing to die for Him.
-Christians are called to be witnesses. In Greek, the word "witness"is translated
"Martus"or Martyr.
3. As we wait for His return, we must live godly lives --- so all can see Christ in us
and through us. We may be the only representative of Christ an unbeliever may
see in their lifetime.
So, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, how then should we behave?