Looking out for evil

"...Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good." -Romans 12:9b.

Do you recognize evil when it presents itself? Can you see it in yourself? What are your feelings about it when you do? If there is anything that our enemy (Eph. 6:12) will attempt to do, it is to blur the lines between good and evil. This is where the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit are so vitally important. In our natural state, we tend rather to cling onto the evil, and despise good- even long after the work of regeneration has been done within us. Thus, we have the need to crucify the flesh on a daily basis; the Bible reminds us of this (Luke 9:23; Rom. 8:13; Col. 3:5).

Spotting evil within ourselves, however, does not come easily or naturally. We are inclined to justify what we do (Prov. 1:21; I Cor. 11:31), even as King Saul did in I Samuel 15 regarding the Amalekites. The Bible specifically takes time to mention evils which may not be directly spoken against;

"Abstain from all appearance of evil." - I Thess. 5:22.

How does your life appear to others? There are many, many unsavory things that we do in ignorance. Leviticus chapters 4 & 5 talk about this phenomenon; John 9:41 also briefly mentions it. The conclusion of this matter, is that when we sin ignorantly, we are not accountable for the deed. And yet it is still a SIN; God hates it! When we can see that what we have done is a sin, or at least is not pleasing in God's sight, we must repent before Him (I John 1:8-10). God loves us, but He never approves of our sin, and will not allow us to continue in it; He will attempt to correct us (Heb. 12:5-11).

The Lord gave me greater light concerning this topic (I still have much to see!) through Psalm 19:12 & 13;

"Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression."

Verse 12 calls for cleansing from secret faults. The very fact that they are secret, i.e., not known of, shows that they are not yet considered blatant sin. Yet they must still be dealt with, for they displease God.

Verse 13 speaks of presumptuous sins. These I think of as sins which we ought to acknowledge as such, but have somehow been deceived into justifying them. In my life, 2 distinct examples arose...

First, we occasionally received 2 sets of very good coupons to a local grocer; one at our residence, and one at a P.O. box. Typically, we availed ourselves of getting double bargains; we did so by having two orders rung up separately, when in fact we were together! Even this may not have been so bad, but the coupons specified; "One coupon per household." Yes, almost everyone does it, so that I was not even thinking of it as sin. We repented of this secret fault, which had become sin for us (James 4:17), and do it no longer.

Second, I was routinely breaking the posted speed limit. There were many ways to rationalize this behavior! I Peter 2:13 tells us to submit to the ordinances of man, and the posted speed limit is certainly one of those. What I was doing was presumptuous sin, believing that for some reason my behavior was justifiable.

This past Sunday was the Super Bowl, and many professing Christians watched it (as I once did). There is a great evil in professional sports, and you may view this linked article, Sports Deception, at your leisure. It was through an alternative media source that I became aware of the "Halftime Show" put on by Madonna.
I really hope that if you saw this thing, that it was offensive enough for you to give up the Super Bowl altogether. Whether you watched the show or not, you support it by watching the game.

Please take time to watch this video link, though the title is about Bill Gates. The whole thing is just under 15 minutes, but what you need to see is in the last 5 minutes. I apologize for the extra time it takes, but I have seen no other way to separate the analysis of Madonna's performance. Brethren, we are in the spiritual fight of our lives, and we must take our steps carefully.

We need to take offense at what our Father finds offensive! To see the iniquity around us, and within, should cause us distress when we become aware of it. Ask the Lord to "search your heart", along with the Psalmist in 139:23,24. He will!

"But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." -I Cor. 9:27.