The Wickedness of Man
In the Bible, a wicked person is often seen in two perspectives. In the first instance, he is simply a sinner or an unrighteous ungodly person with an unregenerate heart. According to Ezekiel 33:8,
”When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, you shall surely die. If you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at your hand.”
Another Biblical description or interpretation of wickedness bothers on cruelty, evil and outright heartlessness. Proverbs 34:13-14 says,
”Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking guile (deceit). Depart from evil and do good…”
From time immemorial, wickedness has always been in the heart of man. Genesis 6:5-6 says,
”And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that he made man on the earth, and it grieved him”
In light of this, the wickedness of man was so terrible that the Lord regretted ever creating humanity! Can you imagine that?
The wickedness of the Heart
Unfortunately, the wickedness of man in our contemporary time seems to be increasing in number and magnitude almost on a daily basis. This should not be a surprise to anyone. Jeremiah 17:9 says,
”The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?”
The heart is the engine room of the body, hence different aspects of wickedness are often brewed there before their eventual manifestation, in form of cheating, deception, rape, slander, cruelty, envy, betrayal, to mention a few. In other words, there is a direct connection between the heart and wickedness. According to Mark 7:21-23,
”For from within, out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile the man.”
No human being ever commits any crime or sin without initially conceiving it in his heart. For instance, a man who wants to steal, defraud, rape, abduct, betray, slander, cheat or even murder another person, will definitely plan and rehearse it well before finally carrying out his evil act. That is to say, none of these acts of wickedness or criminality happens by accident. Rather, they are the end-products of strategic cum conscientious planning and intrigues.
Read: Have You Been Avoiding Jesus?
Wickedness transcends age, gender, race, and culture, even though the environment can be a contributory factor. After all, we have had instances of little children shooting their mates dead in schools. We have also had cases of people of different races and cultures, indulging in wicked acts like rapes, abductions sorcery, terrorism, and so on. Of course, September 11 is still very fresh in our minds!
It must be pointed out that the devil is the brain behind every kind of wickedness. John 10:10 (a) says, ”The thief (obviously the devil) comes not, but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy..” In the other part of this same verse, the Lord Jesus Christ says, ”I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Here, you will see a very sharp contrast between the ministry of Satan and that of Jesus Christ.
God’s Anger with Wickedness
Meanwhile, God hates every kind of evil. As a matter of fact, God is angry with the wicked every day (Psalm 7:11). Thus, there is no respite or peace for the wicked (Isaiah 48:22), as they will never go unpunished (Proverbs 11:21). That is to say, a wicked person cannot make heaven, should he die in his wickedness (Ezekiel 33:8). Only the Lord Jesus Christ has the power to purge the heart of every stronghold of evil and wickedness.
Needless to say, every wicked or evil person is a child of the devil, as evil must always beget evil. This was what played out in the life of King Ahaziah who followed the wicked footsteps of Athaliah, his mother (2nd Chronicles 22:2-4).
Therefore, it is very important for every wicked person to immediately leave the camp of the devil and cross over in repentance to the camp of the Lord Jesus Christ, for eternal refuge. As you do this, the Lord Jesus who is merciful and compassionate will abundantly pardon you (Isaiah 55:7).
Charles is a minister of God, teacher, author of Christian books, ghost-writer, and editor. One of his books titled, ‘Wisdom: the pathway to greatness‘, is available on Amazon.
This is very good and helpful especially to those who desire to change their lives for the better. I fear that most people who want to repent are delaying because they will perish.