Definition
What is wickedness?
1- Treacherous ungratefulness / adultery
Gen 39:9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?
2- Gross ungratefulness / evil for good
1 Samuel 25:39 And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head.
3- Idolatorous practices
2 Kin 17:11And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger: 12 For they served idols, whereof the LORD had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing.
4- Incestous relations
Lev 20:17And if a man shall take his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity
5-false accusation / emotional abuse when one is down
1 Kin 2: 44 The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the LORD shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head;
6- rebellion against God(verse17)
Jer 4: 18 Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.
7-thinking to purchase the gift of God with money(v20)
Acts 8: 22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
Who are the wicked?
1-those who in pride persecute the poor
Ps 10:2 The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined
2- those who regard not the cause of the poor
Prov 29:7 The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it.
3-whose counsels are deceit
Prov 12:5 The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit.
4- those who hate instruction, consent with the thief, partake with adulterers, frame deceit
Ps 50:16 But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?
17 Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.
18 When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers
19 Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.
5- those who work a deceitful work
Prov 11:18 The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.
6-those who heed false lips
Prov 17:4 A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue
7- those who refuse to do judgement
Prov 21:7 The robbery of the wicked shall destroy them; because they refuse to do judgment
8- those who deal unjustly among uprightness.
Isa.26:10 Let favour be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD
9-seek not His statutues
Ps 119:155 Salvation is far from the wicked: for they seek not thy statutes
10-those who set trap for men, overpass the deeds of the wicked, judge not the cause of the fatherless and the needy
Jer 5: 26 For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. 27. As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich. 28. They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. 29. Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Chararacteristics
How do we recognize wicked people? What are their characteristics?.
1-no rest, no peace
Isa 57:20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. 21There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
Isa 48:22 There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked
2-fleeth when none pursueth
Prov 28:1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.
3-It shall not be well with the wicked
Eccl 8:12 Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: 13But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God..
4-doeth wickedness
1 Sam 24:13 As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.
5- is hated
Prov 14:17 He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated.
6-boasteth desires, blesseth the covetous, full of cursing, deceit, fraud, mischief, vanity, secretly murders, fells the poor…..
Psalms 10
3 For he wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.
7His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.
8He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor.
9He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.
10He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.
7-set to do evil because of slow judgement
Eccl 8: 10 And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity. 11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
Gods attitude
What is Gods attitude to the wicked?
1-abomination
Prov 17:15 He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.
2- I remember all their wickedness
Hos 7:1 When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers spoileth without. 2And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before my face. 3They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.
3-I hated them, I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more…
Hos 9:15 All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes are revolters.
4-His soul hateth
Ps 11: 5 The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
5-shall deliver / save from the wicked those who trust
Ps 37:40 And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.
6-puttest away all the wicked
Ps 119: 119 Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross: therefore I love thy testimonies.
7-sacrifice and way of the wicked is an abomination
Prov 21:27 The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind?
Prov 15:8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight 9. The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD: but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness .
8-thoughts of the wicked are an abomination
Prov 15:26 The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant words
9-shall I not visit injustice? Shall not my soul be avenged?
Jer 5: 26 For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. 27. As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich. 28. They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. 29. Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? 30. A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; 31. The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
10-What hast thou with my statutues and covenant?
Ps 50:16 But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?
17Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.
18When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.
19Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.
11-warn the wicked
Ezek 3:18When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
12-not slay wicked with righteous
Gen 18:23And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? 25That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
13-not justify wicked
Ex 23:7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
14-stone them (Idolators)
Duet 17:5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.
Our attitude
What should be our attitude to the wicked?
1-prayer to condemn the wicked, justify the righteous
1 Kin 8:32 Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.
Job 10: 7 Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand .
2-put away
1 Cor 5:13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
3-wrestle against spiritual wickedness in high places
Eph 6: 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.(worship places)
4-not good to accept
Prov 18: 5 It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment
5-lose the bands of wickedness, release, lighten, break yoke…
Isa 58: 6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
7. Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
8. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. 9. Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
6- warn the wicked lest his blood be upon you
Ezek 3:19Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. 20. Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 21. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.
7-condemn the wicked, justify the righteous
Duet 25:1 If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, that the judges may judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked
Isa 5:23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
8-not sit with
Ps 26: 5I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked.
9-not know / cut off
Ps 101: 4 A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person.
5Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer
10- destroy / cut off
Ps 101:8 I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the LORD.
11-not to support
Ezek 13:22 Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:
12-rebuke him
Prov 24:24 He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him: 25. But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.
13-judge justly, do justice, defend the poor..
Ps 82: 2 How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked?Selah
3 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
4 Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.
14-contend with
Prov 28:4 They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.
15-an abomination
Prov 29:27 An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.
16-Job’s example
Job 29:17 And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.
Judgement
What is going to be the future of the wicked?
1-reserved for destruction / wrath
Job 21:7 Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? 30. That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.
2-to be destroyed forever
Ps 92:7 When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever:
3-day of evil
Prov 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
4-snared in his own hands
Ps 9:16 The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Selah
5-Hell
Ps 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
6-desolation/ Evil
Ps 34: 21 Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.
Ps 119:155 Salvation is far from the wicked: for they seek not thy statutes.
7-fall by his own wickedness
Prov 11:5 The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness
From the above verses it is very clear that the churches’ teaching to forgive, tolerate, be patient and to love the wicked is not only totally unscriptural and anti biblical but also smacks of better-than-God attitude.
The clergy would like to have us think that there is no difference between the sinner and the wicked but their difference is very clear as seen below.
The Wicked | The Sinner/The righteous* | |
1. | Wicked persecute the poor. Ps 10:2 | Job delivered poor. Job 29:12 |
2. | Wicked regardeth not the cause of poor. Prov 29:7 | Considereth the poor. Prov 29:7 |
3. | Counsels are deceit. Prov 12:5, Ps 50:19 | Thought are right. Prov 12:5 |
4. | Hatest instruction, castest His words behind. Ps 50:17 | Trembleth at my word. Isa 66:2 |
5. | Consentest with thief, partaker with adultress. Ps 50:18 | Shall judge them after manner of adultresses. Eze 23:45 |
6. | Worketh deceitful work. Prov 11:18 | Mouth was found no guile. Rev 14:5 |
7. | Heeds false lips. Prov 17:4 | Psalmist chose the way of truth Ps. 119:30 |
8. | Refuse to do judgement. Prov 21:7 | Abraham commands judgement. Gen 18: 19 |
9. | No peace for wicked. Isa 48:22, 57:21 | Great peace for those who love the law. Ps. 119: 165 |
10. | Fleeth when none pursueth. Prov 28:1 | Is bold as a lion. Prov 28:1 |
11. | Does not learn righteousness by favour. Isa 26:10 | Goodness of the God leads to repentance. Rom 2:4 |
12. | Boasteth desires. Ps 10:3 | God gives the desires of those who delight in Him. Ps. 37:4 |
13. | Blesseth covetous. Ps 10:3 | Not to keep company or eat with covetous. I Cor 5:11 |
14. | Lord hateth. Ps 11:5 | Lord loveth that followeth righteousness. Prov 15:9 |
15. | Lord putteth away all wicked. Ps 119:119 | God upholdeth righteous. Ps. 37:17 |
16. | Sacrifice is an abomination. Prov 15:8 | Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy unto God. Rom 12:1 |
17. | Way is an abomination. Prov 15:9 | Upright in way is His delight. Prov 11:20 |
18. | Thoughts are abomination. Prov 16:26 | Thoughts of the righteous are right. Prov 12:5 |
19. | Overpass deeds of wicked. Jer 5:28 | Righteous prays give them according to their deeds. Ps. 28:4 |
20. | Judge not the cause of fatherless. Jer 5:28 | I delivered the fatherless. Job 29:12 |
21. | Judge not the right of the needy. Jer 5:28 | He (forefathers) judged the cause of needy. Jer 22:16 |
22. | God will not justify the wicked. Ex 23: 7 | My righteous servant justifieth many, whose sins he bears. Isa 53:11 |
23. | To put away the wicked. I Cor 5:13 | He shall never suffer righteous to be moved. Ps. 55:22 |
24. | Wicked reserved for destruction/wrath. Job 21:7, Ps 92:7 | Salvation of the righteous is of the Lord. Ps. 37:39 |
25. | Wicked into hell. Ps 9:17 | Righteous into life eternal. Mat 25:46 |
* A Righteous man is a sinner who is cleansed by the blood of the lamb.
WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?
In all His life time on earth He made His stand very clear- He was a “friend of sinners” ( Matt 11: 19, Luk 7:34) but repeatedly “warn”ed His disciples against the Pharisees and the Sadducees (Mk 8:15, Lk 12:1, Matt 3:7)who would have our support and who would like us to condemn the poor sinner- the tax collectors, winebibbers, adulterers, etc.
WHY DID HE DO LIKE THAT?
Because the wicked people are the ones who “would neither go in nor suffer” others to enter in the kingdom.(Matt 23:13)
WHAT WOULD YOU DO ?
Would you support the wicked just because he is wearing a cassock?
Would you be fooled into a behaviour of being better than God?
Would you be on the side of those who would destroy His sheep?
You who claim to be SOLA SCRIPTURES, Where do you stand?
You who claim to FOLLOWING HIM, What is your way?
You who claim to love HIS BRETHREN, Who do you affect?
Answer these from your heart today truthfully
OR
Answer the same on the judgement day shame fully.
