An evil man seeks only rebellion, and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
We sometimes wonder at the persistent evil of other men. We watch men act in ways that seem deliberately foolish, deliberately self-destructive, deliberately and causelessly malicious. We find ourselves wondering at the sheer impertinence of the wicked, that men and women go through life defiling themselves with sins both vast and garish, with murders (of babies), mutilations, and all the rest which are part of modern life, suitably dressed up in terms like abortion, ‘gender-affirming care,’ and compulsory public education. How can men victimize the innocent? Sure, in some cases they have such elaborate excuses that we can believe them self-deceived, but after a certain point, the evil becomes so sickening we wonder that they dare consider their approaching death and damnation. It is, to the Christian, an alien viewpoint.
The simple fact of the evil man, as he succumbs to his evil, as he turns by his will further and further from God’s command, as he degrades the Image of God within himself, is that he delights in rebellion. To the wicked, sin is not merely pragmatic; it is not merely a means to an end. He does not murder merely because of the money to be gained or cheat merely because of the game to be won. No, to the wicked, evildoing has become a pleasure in itself. The desire of his heart is to spite God. Therefore men descend from vice to vice, seeking things ever more destructive and vile. This is how a woman can say in euphoria that she intends to get pregnant specifically for the purpose of ‘killing the baby,’ a scenario I do not fabricate- she was reveling at the chance on video.
The Lord, of course, has a verdict for those who do evil: “Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt. They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it” (Is. 13:7-9). The wrath of God is a ‘cruel messenger’ against those who do wickedness, against those who raise their hands against His son (Mark 12:1-11). On this earth, He gives a time for their evil to run its course- but, at first only in part in this life, in fullness after His return, His judgement comes, complete and total.
What does this mean for the Christian? There are two points I would draw out. First, this nature of sin and sin’s end should both explain the world’s evil to us and comfort us amidst its excesses, should motivate us towards enmity with all corruption in imitation of Him (1 Pet. 1:16). Second, we should consider sin in ourselves in light of this horror.
For sin in us is that same rebellion which calls forth a cruel messenger from the justice of God. To the Christian, sin has not that final terror of damnation, for its guilt has been, before the judgement throne of God, placed upon the cross of Christ (Is. 53:12). Sin, however, is still a part of our lives on this earth (1 John 1:10). We must take care that we do not rebel against Him, against the authorities anointed by Him (Ex. 20:12), though never farther than their authorities extends (Acts 5:29). Wickedness is habitual in us, a groove worn into our lives down which we all too willingly walk, and it is the calling of the Christian to rend that ill path from himself, lest he seek rebellion and fall, even if only for a time, into desperate sin.
We as Christians should be aware, too, of the consequences of sin. For His children, this consequence is discipline, suffering for a time that the sufferer may be benefited (Heb. 12:1-6); for the damned, it is death (Rom. 6:23). In ourselves, therefore, we should consider the kind messenger of pain and grief which is His discipline. The motivation of discipline is not merely that righteousness avoids pain; discipline is a testimony also to His lovingkindness (Ps. 136) which should turn our hearts towards Him. As to our brothers in Him, this should motivate us to seek their good, to seek ever to aid them in righteousness, building them up towards Him (Rom. 15:2). As to the world, finally, towards those who know not God as Father, this should be a motive for an urgent good-will; we should seek ever to bring them to Him, that they may not be consumed by the just judgement of their sins, being saved by the just mercy of Christ (Matt. 28:18-20).
In the end, this verse from Proverbs is an aspect of the fulfillment of John 3:17, where Christ states that “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” The focus of the passage, of course, is on the redemptive work of Christ, who comes to redeem the world of its sin by mercy (John 3:16), but Christ came bearing also a sword (Matt. 10:34). Creation, the world of His making, groans beneath sin, and that sin which He did not bear on the Cross, the sin of those who have not faith, it remains. Therefore His judgement comes: those who rebel against Him are condemned, for “What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others” (Mark 12:9). Thus He makes the world anew, that Jerusalem may be a joy and her people a gladness (Is. 65:18-19), for He loves the world He made and shall therefore remake it in holiness.
God bless.
Written by Colson Potter
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
