The evil, the terrible greed, the brutal lust, were in the hearts of the men. And hate, liberated, rampant, stalked out unconcealed, ready for blood.”
–Zane Grey (The Border Legion)
“For again I say, when righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and turn to evil, they will die.”
–Ezekiel 33:18 (NLT)
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Proverbs 6:12-15, brings to us a dire warning of danger. Almost the opposite of the sluggard, not the workaholic, but the one who rushes to do evil. Evil is his delight and it can be seen in all the actions of his body. It can be covert in his actions, but can also be very advert. We read that in these verses “this deceiver uses a lot of body language to distribute his poison.” (Beasley)
12 — A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth;
13 — He winks with his eyes, he shuffles his feet, he points with his fingers;
14 — Perversity is in his heart, he devises evil continually, he sows discord.
15 — Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; suddenly he shall be broken without remedy. (NKJV)
Paul sums up this individual, “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:17, NKJV) Paul is speaking of those whose “feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways.” (Romans 3:16, NKJV) John writes, “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” (1 John 3:10, NKJV) In this time when we want to speak of man having worth and the dignity of man there is type of person who the Bible describes here as “worthless” and “wicked.” He walks around with a “perverted heart” (ESV). However, he doesn’t realize it, but he is living a precarious life that at any time “will be broken beyond healing” (ESV).
Perhaps you have known individuals like these. People whose “every gesture is suggestive. Everything they say has a filthy connotation.” (McGee) They seem not able to control the filth that pours from their mouth, and this is not always in the form of obscenities, but gossip, slander, sowing discord, and maliciousness may be the purpose. J.L. Flores writes, “this man of wickedness makes his whole body a medium for the conveyance of his evil plans and desires.” His whole body becomes, “as instruments of unrighteousness to sin…” (Romans 6:13, NKJV) He is a conniver, one who can slip in unawares using flattering lips; he is able to conceal what he does with one of his innocent, yet evil, glances.
Evil is all around us. It is becoming more and more open and prevalent following the desires of their father the devil. Think of the man who was recently caught after stabbing seven people at WalMart. Evil plans, perverse heart, and he was caught and justice will come down upon him, both in this life and the next if he does not repent and accept the Lord Jesus. The term “walk” implies progression. They grow more and more evil and wicked. Their schemes become worse and worse not caring who gets hurt, in fact, they delight in hurting the innocent. They may be silent outwardly using silent gestures, but inwardly their heart is seething and devising more and more evil.
Going back to the words of Paul in Romans 6:13, “but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” (NKJV). With evil growing and seemingly running rampant so much more the Christian should be salt and light to those around them. In this darkened world, we are to be a light to show the way of Christ. It is time to quit compromising with evil and give ourselves over to holy living. “Be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16, NKJV) is not a suggestion. Now is the time to quit compromising and using legalism as an excuse. The CEV translates it this way, “That’s why the Scriptures say, ‘I am the holy God, and you must be holy too.’” Watch out that you do not find yourselves practicing evil, be careful in your walk with the Lord; it is to be steadfast and sure. J.B. Phillips in his translation puts verse 16 like this, “So brace up your minds, and, as men who know what they are doing… be holy in every department of your lives, for the one who has called you is himself holy. The scripture says: ‘Be holy, for I am holy’.”
———————————-
Proverbs 6:12-15, brings to us a dire warning of danger. Almost the opposite of the sluggard, not the workaholic, but the one who rushes to do evil. Evil is his delight and it can be seen in all the actions of his body. It can be covert in his actions, but can also be very advert. We read that in these verses “this deceiver uses a lot of body language to distribute his poison.” (Beasley)
12 — A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth;
13 — He winks with his eyes, he shuffles his feet, he points with his fingers;
14 — Perversity is in his heart, he devises evil continually, he sows discord.
15 — Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; suddenly he shall be broken without remedy. (NKJV)
Paul sums up this individual, “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:17, NKJV) Paul is speaking of those whose “feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways.” (Romans 3:16, NKJV) John writes, “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” (1 John 3:10, NKJV) In this time when we want to speak of man having worth and the dignity of man there is type of person who the Bible describes here as “worthless” and “wicked.” He walks around with a “perverted heart” (ESV). However, he doesn’t realize it, but he is living a precarious life that at any time “will be broken beyond healing” (ESV).
Perhaps you have known individuals like these. People whose “every gesture is suggestive. Everything they say has a filthy connotation.” (McGee) They seem not able to control the filth that pours from their mouth, and this is not always in the form of obscenities, but gossip, slander, sowing discord, and maliciousness may be the purpose. J.L. Flores writes, “this man of wickedness makes his whole body a medium for the conveyance of his evil plans and desires.” His whole body becomes, “as instruments of unrighteousness to sin…” (Romans 6:13, NKJV) He is a conniver, one who can slip in unawares using flattering lips; he is able to conceal what he does with one of his innocent, yet evil, glances.
Evil is all around us. It is becoming more and more open and prevalent following the desires of their father the devil. Think of the man who was recently caught after stabbing seven people at WalMart. Evil plans, perverse heart, and he was caught and justice will come down upon him, both in this life and the next if he does not repent and accept the Lord Jesus. The term “walk” implies progression. They grow more and more evil and wicked. Their schemes become worse and worse not caring who gets hurt, in fact, they delight in hurting the innocent. They may be silent outwardly using silent gestures, but inwardly their heart is seething and devising more and more evil.
Going back to the words of Paul in Romans 6:13, “but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” (NKJV). With evil growing and seemingly running rampant so much more the Christian should be salt and light to those around them. In this darkened world, we are to be a light to show the way of Christ. It is time to quit compromising with evil and give ourselves over to holy living. “Be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16, NKJV) is not a suggestion. Now is the time to quit compromising and using legalism as an excuse. The CEV translates it this way, “That’s why the Scriptures say, ‘I am the holy God, and you must be holy too.’” Watch out that you do not find yourselves practicing evil, be careful in your walk with the Lord; it is to be steadfast and sure. J.B. Phillips in his translation puts verse 16 like this, “So brace up your minds, and, as men who know what they are doing… be holy in every department of your lives, for the one who has called you is himself holy. The scripture says: ‘Be holy, for I am holy’.”