Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”
As we approach the American traditional holiday of Halloween, images and imaginations gravitate to evil witches (by definition, a woman who by compact with the devil, practices sorcery or enchantment), spooky ghosts and ghouls (by definition, the soul or spirit separate from the body; an apparition), but what does the word “evil” truly mean? Webster's 1828 Edition of the American Dictionary of the English Language states that Moral evil in a person is any deviation of a moral agent from the rules of conduct prescribed to him by God, or by legitimate human authority; or it is any violation of the plain principles of justice and rectitude. Having sinful qualities of a moral kind; wicked (departure from the rules of the divine law; evil disposition or practices; immorality; crime; sin; sinfulness; corrupt manners. But wickedness expresses also the corrupt dispositions of the heart); beliefs, words and actions which are corrupt; perverse; wrong; as evil thoughts; evil deeds; evil speaking; or an evil generation. All wickedness, all crimes, all violations of law and right are moral evils. Divine Creator God determines what is right or wrong and his Moral Law, his holy Word, his perfect Will and his righteous Way is the standard of life and by which all is measured – our heavenly Father and His Word is our moral compass to keep up on the right heading.
Deuteronomy 30:14-16 tells us, “the Word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you.” Free will given by God working with the knowledge of good and evil means that we have a choice in life to do that which is right in the eyes of the Lord and walk in the Spirit in light and life or to do wrong in the eyes of God and walk in the darkness of sin, self and waking according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, conducting themselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, which means death (Ephesians 2:1-3). Evil is only one letter short of devil.
Job 28:28 says, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.’” Proverbs 9:10 confirms, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. A fallen world has strayed from our Creator God’s Moral Law results in chaos, broken relationships and heartache. But, our eternal and almighty Maker is sovereign, His grace is real, restoration is His goal and transformation is what He does. This transformation begins with seeing sin as evil which leads to true repentance, heartfelt regret and real penitence; a genuine sorrow or deep contrition for sin, as an offense and dishonor to God, a violation of His holy Law, and the basest ingratitude towards a Being of infinite benevolence, and is accompanied and followed by accepting Jesus Christ by faith as their person Savior and Lord, being born-again of the Holy Spirit, obtaining eternal life and receiving a transformed heart, mind and soul for an amendment of life.
Then we can say with the Psalmist in Psalm 23:4, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
In Christ, Brian
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