THE CONSEQUENCE OF EVIL

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“... but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

1 Peter 3:12b

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Righteousness or wickedness is just a scriptural way to say good or evil and as we saw in yesterday’s message, the first half of this two part series, we all make choices every day that will fall into one of these two categories. This is why we find the Word of God addressing the matter throughout the Bible and one of those places is in the third chapter of 1 Peter.

In the first message, The Benefits of Rightousness, we examined the first part of verse 12 which framed two major benefits one receives from being obedient to the Lord’s will and way, a will and way that will always lead someone to doing right and righteous things.

The first of those blessings came in the assurance that God watches over those who allow Him to guide their every thought, spoken word, and action. Like a parent keeps a keen eye on their children with a concern for their safety and well being, so too does the Lord love and care for us, ever ready to bring His direction and protection to bear.

The second benefit that comes from a commitment to righteousness is found in the matter of prayer, our ability to communicate with the all powerful God of all creation. For Christian believers who seek the leading of the Lord can come to Him with the blessed assurance that He will hear them, be attentive to their petitions, and supply their needs when those needs are aligned with His will. You may recall that we went to 1 John, chapter 5, verses 14 and 15, where this truth is reinforced.

So there are benefits and blessings connected to a Christian believer allowing the Lord to guide what they do and there are also consequences for anyone who chooses to reject the Lord in their life. This applies equally to Jesus followers and those who have refused to believe in Him.

What are the consequences?

We find them summed up in the second half of 1 Peter, chapter 3, verse 12 where we read this:

“... but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Now, it might be difficult for us to interpret what it means to have the “face of the Lord against” someone who does evil but that confusion can be cleared up by looking at how this half verse is interpreted in another Bible translation. Look at what we find in the Contemporary English Version and Good News Translation:

“...but He opposes everyone who does evil.” CEV GNT

This gives us a clearer understanding of the consequence of behaving in ways that satisfy every other desire except the desire of the One who matters most. Note here that the Word of the Lord makes it clear that everyone who chooses sin (aka evil) over righteousness is living in opposition to God. Period.

Think about that for a moment and it should be the scariest thought you could ever conjure up. For God has no rival. No one. He reigns in absolute supremacy over all created things and, of course, this includes all mankind.

God’s power is unfathomable and immeasurable. It is infinite in its ability to overcome any and all adversaries as we see over and over and over again in the Bible. No empire has ever stood apart from God. All who have opposed Him have fallen mightily and all nations of the world today had better take notice, lest they feel they are somehow superior to Him and have the license to conduct themselves however they please in His sight.

Indeed, being in a place of opposition against the Lord God Almighty is a no-win scenario. He holds an undefeated record in all conflicts since the dawn of creation and He will ultimately have the victory when the heaven and earth we know passes away (Revelation 21).

And yet, millions upon millions of people every day willingly and willfully choose wickedness over righteousness, evil over good, and place themselves squarely in the crosshairs of God’s judgment.

If you’re reading this today and into that category, make today the day of change. Repent, turn from your sinfulness, and dedicate yourself fully to doing only what the Lord endorses in your life. If you’re a non-believer, this includes placing your belief in Jesus right away and receiving the free gift of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate and Counselor who will always provide you the right guidance as long as you submit to Him.

When it comes to our life, God always has everything we do in view. Nothing is hidden from His sight and there is never a time when we aren’t accountable to Him.

Given this, we all will either experience benefits or consequences based on every thought, word, and deed. Let’s strive today and every day to make sure we always come out on the side of His favor and dismissed from His punishment.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.