Choosing good or evil

 

1.    A well-known man once said:

2.    “If you step on people in this life, you’re going to come back as a cockroach.”

3.    If this thought intended to be literal, it is wrong (reincarnation is a false idea).

4.    If the point is related more to the idea that people can make choices, it is right.

5.    God puts before each person two simple but very important choices:  good or evil.

6.    We all make one of these choices as we live our lives.

7.    Choosing evil can be a deliberate choice, or it can come by neglecting to choose good.

8.    If we choose good, that means we are “good” in the eyes of God.

9.    We can only be good if we obey God and do so on His terms.

 

IN THE BOOK OF PROVERBS WE ARE GIVEN A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT MAN’S TWO CHOICES.  WE WANT TO LOOK AT PASSAGES FROM JUST PROVERBS THAT DESCRIBE MAN’S TWO OPTIONS.

 

a)      Our study will begin with man’s worst possible choice (evil).

b)      Prov. 4:17 is our first text and we might be surprised at what it says.

c)      Those who select evil “eat the bread of wickedness” and “drink the wine of violence.”

d)     Evil is portrayed as food; it is as if people use it for nourishment.

e)      Evil can be a choice that literally overwhelms someone.

2)      We live in a time when news organizations have broadcasters asking “why” bad things happen.

 

3)      Why do people go on shooting sprees at college campuses?

4)      Why are people savagely attacked in other ways?  What is the basis for crimes that seem senseless?

5)      Our world wants to engage in studies and psychoanalyze things to figure out evil.

6)      We could save a lot of time and money by looking at the word of God.

7)      Men have the option of choosing evil and that is precisely what some select.

a)      OF course, not everyone chooses the same level of wickedness.

b)      Most would agree that there are degrees of evil.

c)      At least some select the degree of evil described in Prov. 4:17 and we see how bad that choice is.

 

8)      Another key passage about evil in Proverbs is Prov. 15:28.

a)      This text talks about speech.

b)      The writer says a wicked person’s mouth “pours out evil things.”

c)      Here is the exact wording in the passage – READ Prov. 15:28.

 

9)      In many ways our world encourages people to be evil.

10)  It tells people they ought to be able to say whatever they want.

11)  Society does not really mean that.

12)  In our world there are some things that are off limits; most of what is evil is permitted.

13)  Speech is one of the greatest examples of evil we can cite.

a)      When we say speech I am not limiting the point to voice communication.

b)      It is possible to speak using the print media (a newspaper article).

c)      Speech is also possible through things like television, radio and the Internet.

d)     Evil speech abounds.  We hear it, see it, and read it on a regular basis.

e)      If we have decided to choose God and Christianity, we need to look at our speech.

f)       We need to examine whether or not our communication is evil or righteous.

g)      It is not enough to say that our speech in some places and forums is “clean.”

h)      Righteous people are concerned about their speech in all places and at all times.

 

14)  Do our words associate us with God and righteousness or things that are sensual and sinful?

15)  Jesus said His people are to be different—the salt and light of the world.

16)  If our verbal and written speech are like what we find in the world, we are like wicked men and women.

17)  Speaking like the wicked is a bad choice for all involved.

18)  When a person is evil, the Bible says corrupt speech pours from their lives.

19)  God’s people use words of grace and goodness wherever their presence is found.

20)  The more we learn about evil people the more we see how they a blight on society.

a)      The wise man illustrated this point in Prov. 28:15.

b)      In this text he pictured two animals:  a roaring lion and an attacking bear.

c)      Not many of us would want to face an attacking bear or a lion ready to pounce on us.

d)     The writer said we can have that type of experience.

e)      Hear his words – READ Prov. 28:15.

f)       A “wicked ruler” (especially when poor people are involved) is just like a large, angry animal.

 

21)  Wickedness not only affects the person who is evil, it has an impact on the lives of others.

22)  When a ruler is evil, things are especially bad.

23)  Our nation has an election coming up in about a year.

24)  One of the things that should concern us is the character of those being elected.

25)  From local elections to the highest office in the land, we should care about the character of politicians.

26)  We cannot see into the heart of people.  We will probably never know many or any of these people personally.

27)  We can try to determine if any of them seem to be wicked and realize what the Bible says.

28)  A wicked ruler is like facing a big and dangerous animal. 

29)  Choosing evil turns someone into a very unpleasant individual.

30)  Evil people are so bad they have nothing but hate for those who are unlike them.

31)  Prov. 29:27 says that to a “righteous man,” an “evil person is an abomination.”

32)  This is one truth.  A second truth is at the end of that verse.

33)  Wicked people hate the righteous.

34)  God says there is little fellowship between good (the righteous) and evil people.

a)      If we consider ourselves a godly person and the world thinks we are just fine, something is wrong.

b)      Either we are not nearly as good as we think we are, or the world does not know who we are.

c)      Righteousness and evil go together about as well as daylight and dark—there is no fellowship.

d)     Prov. 29:10 says evil people hate the righteous so much they may try to kill them.

e)      If this is how evil people act, God is probably not going to regard them too highly.

f)       This is precisely what we find.

 

35)  In Prov. 15:9 we are told that God despises the “way of the wicked.”

36)  If we follow the path of unrighteousness, we will be condemned (eternally separated from God).

37)  At the end of this text we are informed that “God loves those who follow righteousness.”

38)  An evil person may try to worship God; they may appear to be a religious person.

39)  God tells us in Prov. 15:8 that He hates their sacrifices.  Evil people may worship, but God rejects it.

40)  Choosing evil will put us on the site of Satan, not God.

41)  Wicked people often have many hopes.  Prov. 10:28 says their hopes are vain (they will perish).

42)  The “curse of God” is in the house of the wicked” (Prov. 3:33).

a)      Think about these four words:  the curse of God.

b)      If we had an employer who opposed us, we could find a new job.

c)      If friends turned on us, we could find new ones.

d)     If family turned against us, that would eventually be meaningless in eternity.

e)      The curse of God can begin in this life and will be eternal for those who do not repent.

 

43)  Prov. 24:20 says the wicked will be “snuffed out.”

44)  As we may blow out a candle or match, so all who are evil will one day be rubbed out by God.

45)  Evil people listen to evil talk (Prov. 17:4) and plot evil (Prov. 16:27).

46)  Most of the world will pursue this course and most of the world will be thrust away from God.

47)  Pursuing evil, whether a little or a lot, is a very bad choice.

 

48)  A second choice is available to all people.

a)      This way is taking a straight path; it directs a person’s way (Prov. 11:5).

i)        This straight path is mocked by the world.

ii)      If we believe in God, good, and His word, society will often make fun of us.

iii)    It looks like there may be some serious persecution in the future for Christians in America.

iv)    This would certainly be consistent with what we find in the book of Proverbs.

v)      When a person chooses to be a committed Christian, he is bucking the system.

vi)    We refuse to do as the world does and believe as the world believes.

vii)  By not believing what the world believes, we stick out in the crowd.

viii)            Yet, being good in the sense that the Bible uses the word is the wise choice.

 

49)  Prov. 13:6 says that “righteousness guards a person.”

50)  Our world knows the importance of protection.

51)  Police officers wear bullet proof vests; cars have armor plating.  There is bullet proof glass.

52)  When a person clothes himself with God and good, he has a special type of protection.

53)  His life is guided by a system of values that leads him to the best possible life.

54)  This protection will be attacked by the world (we already showed that evil hates good).

55)  When the attacks come, they can be withstood.

56)  Prov. 24:16 speaks of righteous people “falling several times.”  This is a very that needs read.

57)  Christianity is not always the easiest course to follow.  Listen to what this verse says – READ

58)  God’s people may fall many times.  The text tells us they will “get up.”

a)      God’s people can be cast down but not destroyed.

b)      Such a fate is not going to be the ultimate end for the wicked.

c)      Ultimately the wicked will fall and fall so far they cannot recover.

d)     Our choice is being on the side that wins or the side that loses.  Most will be losers in eternity.

 

59)  Prov. 12:3 says the “root of the righteous” shall not be moved.

60)  Sometimes a force like a tornado will literally uproot trees.

61)  Imagine a tree that is rooted so securely it cannot be uprooted.

62)  A tornado may surround it and pull and pull, but the tree stays put.

63)  Such is the image that we get of a godly person in Prov. 12:3.

64)  Righteousness means people have and maintain integrity, righteousness and innocence.

a)      Our world laughs at these things.  Our world says these things are long gone.

b)      Who expects integrity?  The least to the greatest are found committing crimes and being deceitful.

c)      Who expects righteousness in a cesspool of sin?  The world says that is reserved for crackpots.

d)     Who expects anyone to have innocence in a world filled with transgression?

 

65)  Prov. 11:3 says righteous people have “integrity that guides them.”

66)  Most in the world may not possess it, but it is available to all and it is necessary to please God.

67)  Prov. 11:6 speaks about the “righteousness” of the upright – this too can exist in people’s lives.

68)  Prov. 21:8 speaks of the “pure” (the innocent).

69)  A person who is truly upright will show that in their speech – Prov. 8:6.

a)      The writer said he would speak “excellent things.”

b)      His “lips” would only tell of things that were “right.”

c)      From a man’s words to all his other actions, a truly good man makes an impression.

 

70)  From all these Proverbs (and more we did not mention), we see two clear choices.

a)      We can blend in with the world to one degree or another.

b)      We may not choose to do all the things the world does, but we can be enough like them to be accepted.

c)      Our other choice is to reject the world; we tell it no.

 

71)  Long ago a very brave man said:  choose you this day who you will serve (Josh. 24:15).

72)  Only two choices were available way back when

73)  One choice was righteousness, the choice that requires absolute faithfulness and dedication to God.

74)  This is the life where self is put last; God is put first, we seek righteousness in every aspect of our lives.

75)  The other way is live life any way we see fit.

76)  Which choice have we made?