Something I love to do is lead worship at my church. It does take some physical effort to play sing, play guitar, and drums with my feet at the same time. I came to the unfortunate realization (fortunate long-term) that when I jog during the week it becomes a lot easier to have the "air" to sing on Sunday. This allows me to focus more on worshiping. Jogging tears down my muscles and makes it harder on me to breathe!
DOCTRINE #27: EVIL
Evil is the effect of wrong and unjust. Evil means something of value is being destroyed.
Question: Do you believe people choose to be evil?
Next Doctrine: Doctrine #28
Table of Contents
If you need it, here is the support from the Word of God...
SCRIPTURE
"20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, An evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams." (Genesis 37:20)
(This evil beast was equated with something that would devour. Listen to the way these people talked, this was a perfect example of Animal Thinking. All of these brothers were focused on the WHAT (they had one perspective) and they even were trying to justify themselves by saying a beast devoured Joseph.)
"9 If evil come upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and before thee, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, and thou wilt hear and save." (2 Chronicles 20:9)
(Along with evil comes the sword, pestilence, famine, and affliction. All of those things destroy. But, the only way for the children of Israel to be saved was if they cried out in their affliction. They were being broken, and the only one who can save and create something out of affliction is God.)
"17 Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day?" (Nehemiah 13:17)
(Evil was equated with breaking the Law in this passage. The sabbath day was a holy day that was set apart: pure, clean. To profane the sabbath was to profane the Holy.)
"5 And she said, If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews that are in all the king's provinces:
6 for how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?" (Esther 8:5-6)
(Esther did not want to see evil come unto her people. Haman wrote an evil letter in regards to the Jews. What did the letter request? That they would be destroyed.)
"16 The face of Jehovah is against them that do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth." (Psalm 34:16)
(God sees the effects of those that do good and those that do evil. God is Just, and will not give mercy to those who do evil. It would be a contradiction if he allowed them to continue to destroy forever on earth. God will destroy these people through justice, because it was their decision to be evil. This was repeated throughout the Bible. For example, here were two more verses...)
"15 And it shall come to pass, that as all the good things are come upon you of which Jehovah your God spake unto you, so will Jehovah bring upon you all the evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which Jehovah your God hath given you." (Joshua 23:15)
(God responds to us through justice. Many people think God is only a hammer and they are a nail. Many people only think that God is loving and merciful. God is Just and Right, He will do good in response to justice, He will do evil in response to justice. God IS NOT evil, however, He has the ability to destroy! That is why he can "DO" evil!)
"15 Whithersoever they went out, the hand of Jehovah was against them for evil, as Jehovah had spoken, and as Jehovah had sworn unto them: and they were sore distressed." (Judges 2:15)
(God is not always completely merciful. God is against you if you are destructive, because it would mean that you are on the wrong side of justice.)
"4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful on the sabbath day to do good, or to do harm? to save a life, or to kill? But they held their peace." (Mark 3:4)
(Some versions of the Bible translated "harm" as evil. Jesus equated evil with harm and killing. There were other verses that used good and evil together...)
"16 And Jehovah God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17)
(Adam and Eve didn't have knowledge of good and evil. Good and evil are effects, effects are WHAT's. Adam and Eve didn't have knowledge of the effects, because all they did was what God said for them to do (i.e. Adam naming the animals and tending to the garden))
"6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons." (Genesis 3:6-7)
(Once they ate of the tree, they instantly had knowledge of the effects (they were naked) and covered themselves. Then Adam made the decision that it was "evil/ destructive" for him to be naked. He decided what was good and what was evil at that point.)
"63 And it shall come to pass, that, as Jehovah rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so Jehovah will rejoice over you to cause you to perish, and to destroy you; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest in to possess it." (Deuteronomy 28:63)
(Good is to create/multiply. The opposite (evil) is to perish and be destroyed. This passage is really important. God was rejoicing over two different instances, the effect was the same, God rejoicing. God will rejoice over you when you do good because He responds to you with Good. God rejoices over you because He will cause you to perish when you are destructive. Why would God respond the same way when one outcome is good and another is evil? Because God is JUST! He responds to us through Justice! Why do people have such a hard time considering that God is punishing them? How often are you asking God if you are on the right side of justice?)
"1 A wise son heareth his father's instruction; But a scoffer heareth not rebuke.
2 A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth; But the soul of the treacherous shall eat violence.
3 He that guardeth his mouth keepeth his life; But he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction." (Proverbs 13:1-3)
(Again, good is equated with fruit (something created) and evil with destruction. Words are the causes of good and evil. If you are conscious of the words you use, you will keep your life! When you are unintentional, and believe that words aren't important, your mouth is wide, and you shall have destruction.)
"10 The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep." (John 10:10-11)
(Jesus spoke of being the good shepherd providing abundant life, even laying his life down for the sheep, while the enemy was going to steal, kill, and destroy. Jesus spoke about the difference between the effects of following Him or the devil. What were the causes?)
"5 I am Jehovah, and there is none else; besides me there is no God. I will gird thee, though thou hast not known me;
6 that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none besides me: I am Jehovah, and there is none else.
7 I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil. I am Jehovah, that doeth all these things." (Isaiah 45:5-7)
(God created everything, even EVIL! In order for God to create in the long term, He has to be able to destroy in the short term. Just like God pruning back all the branches that produce fruit. God cutting down branches that do not produce fruit is short term evil! The difference between the enemy and God is the enemy appears to create in the short term in order to destroy in the long term.)
"5 And Jehovah 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." (Genesis 6:5)
(God flooded the earth because everything the people thought about was destruction. These people thought like animals, which led to them becoming evil. The only thing that they thought about was their own survival which leads to destruction long term.)
"21 For from within, out of the heart of men, evil thoughts proceed, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,
22 covetings, wickednesses, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, railing, pride, foolishness:
23 all these evil things proceed from within, and defile the man." (Mark 7:21-23)
(Evil thoughts are the cause of our actions. The cause is our HOW and our WHY. It seems as though we have a choice to think as the devil thinks.)
"35 I, Jehovah, have spoken, surely this will I do unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.
36 And the men, whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up an evil report against the land,
37 even those men that did bring up an evil report of the land, died by the plague before Jehovah." (Numbers 14:35-37)
(Israel wandered the desert forty years because ten of the twelve spies told the people they couldn't take the land like God said. The ten spies said that God was WRONG! They had a report that was destructive to the faith of Israel. God called their report "evil" and God's response to this evil was to kill them...Justice.)
"10 But these rail at whatsoever things they know not: and what they understand naturally, like the creatures without reason, in these things are they destroyed." (Jude 1:10)
(Jude stated that those who follow man's thinking, what they understand naturally, were like animals without reason (animal thinking) and the result was they are destroyed. The only thing that would differentiate between this animal and man would be the fact that a man can use his words. But as we saw earlier, our evil words can be the most destructive ability we have. We are judged by our words.)
"29 And when the multitudes were gathering together unto him, he began to say, This generation is an evil generation: it seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of Jonah." (Luke 11:29)
(Jesus said the generation that asked for a sign so they could believe was EVIL. Why? Do you ever feel like you want to SEE a sign? Notice, the people wanted to have belief like the demons by seeing, instead of faith; belief without seeing. These people chose not to have faith and Jesus called them evil. Belief by sight is simply knowlege and experience, the same as an animal has.)
"19 Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto the wrath of God: for it is written, Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord.
20 But if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him to drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head.
21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:19-21)
(Taking out your own revenge is the same as taking out your own justice. It is actually a lack of faith and a statement that God is not just. Paul said we ought to overcome destruction by creating, NOT by destroying. You are not always and completely Just. If someone punched you in the face, would you know exactly how to punch them back, so that things would be even?)
"14 And we exhort you, brethren, admonish the disorderly, encourage the fainthearted, support the weak, be longsuffering toward all.
15 See that none render unto any one evil for evil; but always follow after that which is good, one toward another, and toward all." (1 Thessalonians 5:14-15)
(Paul said that responding to destruction with destruction was a lack of mercy. Rendering evil for evil only makes things worse... it's the reason why we have prisons. When God executes Justice He brings things back to even, not further into the negative.)
The next Doctrine is going to be a total blast. We are going to take everything we have learned so far and equate it with one definition.
There have been thousands and thousands of scholars who seek "truth." They bleed over their studies to seek out answers. They search and quote passages of scripture or philosophy fluently, have degrees from the top academic institutions in the world.
In the next Doctrine, we will learn the definition of TRUTH!
