April 26, 2023

John 3: 19, 20 “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will be exposed.” (NIV)

Unconfessed sin in the heart defiles the whole body.*

On the television show, Law & Order, stalwart lover of the law ADA Jack McCoy often points to a person’s attempts to cover up his crime as proof that he knew it was wrong. Jack probably isn’t aware that Jesus said it first: men love darkness because it hides their evil deeds. 

As Christians, we still sin but we shouldn’t fear having our sins exposed. In fact, we should welcome the illumination – the spotlight – on our transgressions. We confess that we are sinners but we are often oblivious to our specific sins. Repentance is a much more effective process if you know what it is you are repenting from. Paul offers some good advice for shining the light on evil: “Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” (I Thessalonians 5: 21, 22) 

We don’t like to think of our “little” sins as evil. Evil, we believe, is mass murder and child abuse. In fact, the Bible documents some of the more heinous iniquities: idolatry, rebellion, adultery, rape, sacrificing children, consulting mediums; but other behaviors that are surprisingly labeled as evil include: 

· asking for a king (see I Samuel 12: 17-20 for extenuating circumstances) 

· not following the Lord completely (I Kings 1: 6) 

· not setting the heart on seeking the Lord (II Chronicles 12: 14) 

· frustrating the plans of the poor (Psalm 14: 6) 

· speaking cordially with neighbors while harboring malice (Psalm 28: 3) 

· injustice and mistreatment of the poor (many references) 

In Mark 7: 21-22, Jesus lists behaviors and attitudes that come out of a man and make him unclean. We would expect him to include evil thoughts, sexual immorality, murder . . . but what about envy, slander, arrogance, and folly? They are bad but are they evil? Turns out, evil is not just the really bad sins. It is not even the opposite of good – it is the absence of goodness. If God isn’t in it, it isn’t good.

At the end of the day, all sin is satanic.*