I have heard a lot of discussion in the media and among people I meet in the past week about how a man like Stephen Paddock, the man who killed and wounded so many in Las Vegas could be so evil. I think this shows how very far from a Biblical World-view we are. The question we should be asking ourselves, is how is it that WE are not this evil?
A Biblical Worldview says that since Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden, we are all born with sinful, wicked hearts.
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5
This is before he destroyed the earth with a flood, saving only Noah. After the flood, as Noah worshiped God with an offering, God promised not to destroy the world again as He had just done, even though he acknowledged the innate sinfulness of man.
And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. Genesis 8:21
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Psalm 51:5
In fact, the Bible speaks of the evil of people over 500 times. Many times God warns His people to turn away from evil, to purge it from their midst. Others he speaks of those, especially Kings, who do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. And then he speaks of his judgment on evil.
Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men,
and has no compassion on their fatherless and widows;
for everyone is godless and an evildoer,
and every mouth speaks folly.
For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.
For wickedness burns like a fire;
it consumes briers and thorns;
it kindles the thickets of the forest,
and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts
the land is scorched,
and the people are like fuel for the fire;
no one spares another. Isaiah 9:17-19
As people reject God, their wickedness grows. This is more than evident as we hear the news today. Wars, oppression, murder, slavery and all sorts of evil abound. But thoughts of God are so far repressed, that many do not even think of this as the cause.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. Romans 1:18-21, 28-32
And I know that if God had not intervened in my life,I would have rejected Him too, and I would be just this evil. I might not have murdered people in cold blood, but my sin would continue to grow and I would have become just as evil in God’s sight. But this is not where he left me.
But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. Romans 6:17-18
God will deal with evil once and for all when He returns.
The nations raged,
but your wrath came,
and the time for the dead to be judged,
and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints,
and those who fear your name,
both small and great,
and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.” Revelation 11:18
But for those who have fled to Christ for refuge, there is no fear.
For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Thessalonians 5:9
I am convicted that I am not as grateful as I should be for God’s rescue of my heart from being inclined only to evil. Any good thought, word, or deed is all from Him. And this is glorious!
Soli Deo Gloria,
Diane