Cling to the Good

Today, we will consider our predicament in the world around us. As we understand from Ephesians 2, verse 2, Satan is the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, Paul wrote. And under Satan's influence, humanity has been largely and progressively, and I'll use that in several meanings, progressively throwing off the traditional morals and values, many of which were drawn from God's holy Scripture and law. Much of the world's new morality—it's called new. When we read the Bible, we know there's really nothing new. Much of the world's new morality, which upholds abortion, same-sex marriage, transgenderism, racism, and more, directly opposes God's law and way of life.

Generally speaking, people don't want to hear the truth. They certainly don't want to hear the truth from God's Scriptures. And whether they realize it or not, people prefer lies. They prefer lies rather than truth. And as Jesus told the Pharisees in John 8, verse 43—we can turn there. Won't we all turn there? John 8, verse 43 through 44. As Jesus told the Pharisees in John 8, verse 43 through 44, as He told them, I think we can apply this to the people of the world today who believe the lies of their Father, their Father being Satan.

Jesus said, Why do you not understand my speech, my words? Jesus said, Because you are not able to listen to my word. You are of your Father the devil, and the desires of your Father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not understand—does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in Him. When He speaks a lie, He speaks from His own resources, for He is a liar and the Father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Him. He told the truth, and they did not believe Him.

Verse 47—let's look there, too. Jesus added, He who is of God hears God's words. Therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God. And so much that we share with the world, you personally, in your own ways, and we do the Beyond Today program and various works in the Church of God, a lot of it is just not heard.

They're not ready to hear it. In this present age, we understand that God is not calling the vast majority of people. And so the vast majority of people cannot and will not hear and understand. God is revealed, though, through Scripture, that one day Satan will be locked away, he will be put away, and every human being will hear, and they will understand, because God wants all people to come to repentance and to choose eternal life.

And we should be eagerly looking forward to that day and time. But we have been called of God now. We who have committed ourselves to Him must not allow ourselves or our families to be confused or to be deceived by society's views about us, especially their views about what is good and what is evil. According to the world's ever-changing morals, many people today would condemn us because of our Biblical beliefs, because of our way of life.

They will be, if they haven't already started, to call us evil. So are we practicing evil? Are we practicing good? Inquiring minds should want to know that. Romans 12, verse 9. Romans 12, verse 9. You don't need to turn there right now. We will be turning to it later, though. Romans 12, verse 9 tells us what we're to be doing.

It begins saying, let love be without hypocrisy. Well, we focused on that sentence in a sermon a couple weeks ago. Today we're going to focus on the next two sentences. The next two sentences are, abhor what is evil, cling to what is good.

More than ever, we need the understanding from God as to what good and evil truly are. It's critical that we understand what God says about good and evil. We're not going to get the truth from the world. And we mustn't allow the views and opinions of those of the world to undermine our faith, in our trust, in our great God. God's holy scriptures must be our authority and our guide so that we will choose to abhor what is evil and cling to what is good. I've entitled today's sermon, Cling to the Good. Cling to the Good.

We'll begin by addressing a fundamental question. Why should we or any human being listen to God? I know I'd get a lot of answers if I allowed you to raise your hands right now.

Well, I'm pretty sure you sitting here know it's because God is our Creator and God is also our Redeemer and our Savior. If you turn with me to John 1, let's support that answer. John 1, verses 1-3, it tells us that God created all things. Now, I guess I should give this caveat. Whether you believe what I'm about to share with you today or not, that's up to you. But it is truth. And whether we believe it or not, it stands. It is not going anywhere. It will be proven true to all of us, any of us, in a very profound way one day. But in John chapter 1, verses 1-3, here's what we read. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God, and all things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. And so, very quickly, we can understand here that God created you and me and every other human being who has ever lived or will ever live. God did that. We all exist because of God. And more than merely existing this mortal flesh, every human being also has the potential for eternal life. And when Adam and Eve, of course, we recall how the procession events went, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, we were told in Romans 5, verse 12, that sin entered the world, and death entered through sin. And thus death spread to all people because all sinned. That's what you'll read in Romans 5, 12. But in Isaiah 44, verse 24, Romans 5, 12 gives us a nice summary. But in Isaiah 44, verse 24, Isaiah 44, verse 24, Thus says the Lord, Your Redeemer, Thus says the Lord's Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb, I am the Lord, who makes all things, who stretches out the heavens all alone, who spreads abroad the earth by myself, our Creator and our Redeemer. In Hebrews 2, verse 9 through 10, He ever told that God the Word, Yes, our Redeemer and Creator, was and is Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, the Captain of our salvation. Hebrews 2, verse 9. There we read, but we see Jesus, who is made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that he by the grace of God might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting, for him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, and bringing many sons to glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. Only God offers us the opportunity, the opportunity to all humanity, to become his sons and daughters in his eternal family. Only God can do that. And as 1 Timothy 2, 3-6 tells us, 1 Timothy 2, 3-6, Jesus did not die only for those called of God now. He did not call only for those called now. He died for those that have never even heard of the word Christian or salvation. 1 Timothy 2, 3-6, For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all. So humanity earned for itself death, wages of sin. But God offers the gift of eternal life through living faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In John 5, verse 25-29, here is what Jesus Christ himself had to say. John 5, verse 25-29.

He said, Most assuredly I say to you, speaking to His disciples, the hour is coming and now is. When the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, in those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also because He is the Son of man. Do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation.

So again, I ask, why should any human being listen to God? Pay attention. Why should we pay attention to His words? Well, we've heard the reasons. It's only because God is our Creator. He's our Savior. He's our Judge, and He is our hope. Only God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ have the authority, the power, and, yes, the right to tell humanity how to live, to tell us what is good and what is evil. And so it is most reasonable. When you look at these reasons, what God has done and is doing for us, it is certainly most reasonable that humanity willingly submit to God and follow His instructions. That's not what humanity has done or is doing. But without this basic knowledge in who and what God is, and who and what humanity is, and our potential for eternal life, I should say not without, but with this knowledge, shouldn't we all want to desire deeply to study God's inspired Word more and more, to drink deeply as it were? And shouldn't we all want to do what is good to avoid what is evil, even as God says? Without God's Word, neither can we nor anybody rightly define good and evil. And as a matter of our faith in Jesus Christ, we must hold then to God's Word in revelation, what He reveals to us about good and evil. And absolutely, we should never disregard, we should never scoff at the importance of God's inspired Scriptures. Never scoff at the Bible.

Now, what value or importance does God expect us in all humanity to place in His Word? What does He expect us, how does He expect us to treat His Word? We need to know these things. Let's turn back to Isaiah 8, verse 20. We begin to see the answer here in Isaiah 8, verse 20.

Here, Isaiah is inspired of God, and Isaiah wrote, to the law and to the testimony, for reference to the Scriptures. To the law and to the testimony. If they do not speak according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them. There is no light of God in them. Now, this Scripture is very important. It's one we should memorize and have our children memorize. It's one of those principles, anchor points, that will help us in life. These words establish the principle by which we must evaluate the things we hear, whether it's doctrines or teachings or ideas. What do we hear of? Whatever we might be told, we need to believe. And especially things as they pertain to our relationship with God and our relationship with other people, our neighbor, and especially our brethren. At times we may hear some alleged new or some better knowledge about how to worship God or how to practice His way of life. Well, then we need to evaluate carefully by going to God's Word, His law and testimony, and decide whether to evaluate whether or not those things we hear are supported by the authority of God's Scripture. Not by our opinion, or not by the opinion of others, but by the authority of God's Word. Let's also read Psalm 19, verses 7 through 10. In Psalm 19, verses 7 through 10, we learn more about what our regard, how we should value the Word of God.

Psalm 19, verses 7 through 10, here we read, this is David writing this psalm. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart, and the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever, and the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

And there more to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold. And they are sweeter also than honey in the honeycomb. David's ancient metaphors here tell us that we need to regard God's Word as being more desirable than any treasure we can possibly imagine, than anything we could possibly own. And His Word should be considered better than anything we might possibly eat, anything we might enjoy. That's how much we should value God's Word, His laws, and His testimonies. Of course, over in Matthew 19, verse 16, we can read how Jesus Christ Himself did not diminish the importance of God's law, the importance of our need to be keeping God's commandments.

In this well-known passage, I'm thinking I may refer to it every time I give a sermon, but that's okay. Matthew 19, verse 16 through 17, there we read how when Jesus Christ was asked, He was asked by the man, The man, what good things shall I do that I may inherit and I might have in eternal life? And remember what Jesus said. Verse 17, He said, if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. He didn't say keep just a few of them.

He didn't say think about it. He said keep them. Romans 7, verse 12. How much should we value the Word of God? The Word of God includes His laws, of course. Romans 7, verse 12. Paul echoes David's praise of God's perfect law and the commandments. Romans 7, verse 12. Paul wrote, Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just, and it's good. God's law is good. You see, God's law and commandments, they instruct us how to obey God, how to love God, how to love our neighbor.

And they're all about teaching us what is good and what is evil. We've got to know them. We've got to live by them. God's Word is the preeminent guide in our lives. We need many guides in our lives. The maps in our apps, our phones, our textbooks, the driver's manuals. We need those. But the preeminent guide in our lives must be the Word of God. 2 Timothy 3, 15-17. Again, we and our children need to understand these words.

This passage, 2 Timothy 3, 15-17. Here Paul is writing to Timothy, and in his thoughts to Timothy he wrote in verse 15, remarking, noting that how Timothy had been reared in God's way since childhood. He says, and that from childhood you have known the holy Scriptures. Of course, that would have been a reference to what we would call the Old Testament. That from childhood you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise, not just in human wisdom, but wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.

All Scripture, verse 16, is given by inspiration of God. Do we believe that? And it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Why? That the man of God, the person of God, may be complete and thoroughly equipped for every good work. For good works. Only God's inspired Scripture teaches us the way to salvation, how to live this life, and how to prepare for the next eternal life.

And yes, even the writings of Paul, the writings of Paul, who so many in the world, it's terrible the things you can read. Every so-called Bible critic will say about Paul. He's a misogynist. He's a homophobe. He promoted slavery. All these things they say about him are lies.

Even the writings of Paul are also Scripture, which we must heed. Look at 2 Peter, verse 3-14-16. So many of the world love to hate the things of God that Paul was inspired by God to write for our edification, for our need. 2 Peter, verse 3-14-16. Look carefully at what he wrote here. Therefore, beloved Peter writes, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by him in peace, without spot and blameless, and consider that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation, as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you.

As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction. Look at this last phrase. As they do also the rest of the Scriptures. Paul's epistles, even in Peter's time, they are Scripture. Be careful what you might hear from other people about. We don't need to pay attention to the words of Paul.

They, too, are Scripture. So, clearly, the verses we've seen so far tell us the immense value of God's inspired words. To emphasize this point, let's turn back to the book of John, John 6, verse 63. John 6, 63. We must not neglect what Jesus himself said about the words he spoke and the words that have been preserved for us here in Scripture. John 6, 63. Jesus said, These words of God instruct us and inspire us onward to true life. And if we wonder what Jesus meant, we can understand through Peter's words recorded a few verses down in verse 68.

When Jesus asked Peter if he no longer wanted to follow him, because people are starting to turn from Jesus, it didn't like what he said then either. When Jesus asked Peter if he no longer wanted to follow him, Peter answered Jesus and he said, Lord, Lord, to whom shall we go? To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. There are nowhere else in other words. And isn't that a wonderful answer? That's a wonderful answer. That's the answer we all need to remember and hold on to. It truly is.

You see, Peter right then and there chose to cling to what is good. That needs to be our response whenever we find ourselves struggling to do what is good. We have the same words of spirit and of eternal life right here in our Bibles. And God's Holy Spirit helps us to grasp God's meaning. We don't seem to get it all at once, do we? It's a process. We grow. We learn.

Now, despite what many might say in the world, good and evil do exist. We've already seen it, haven't we? It's talked about. Good and evil do exist. And that's what we find in God's Word. So let's turn now to Romans 12, verse 9. Let's turn to Romans 12, verse 9.

Romans 12, verse 9. We were told in Romans 12, verse 2, Paul was telling the Romans, who also are persecuted for their beliefs, and telling them, he continues to tell us today, Romans 12, verse 2, Do not be conformed to this world. Another warning while we really need to be careful what we listen to. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable, good and acceptable and perfect will of God. So again, as we continue to develop the topic here today, we are to be putting on God's mindset and way of life through Scripture and the help of His Holy Spirit. But further down now in Romans 12, verse 9, as I've mentioned before, to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, we must practice God's way of life. As Paul instructs us, he gives us some keys. And of course, he said, Let love be without hypocrisy. We've addressed that in a previous sermon. And then, Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. Now, we could just kind of skip over those words and go, Uh-huh, uh-huh, got it, boom, and we go. That's what I've done in the past. We're not going to do that today. Let's look at the words. Here Paul used the Greek word, look at the first sentence, Abhor what is evil. Paul used, and my apologies to those signing or anything in the back, we're doing a lot of Greek words today, but bear with me. They were warned. Paul uses the Greek word, poneros, it's spelled P-O-N-E-R-O-S, poneros. And it's translated, yes, as evil. According to Mounts' Epository Dictionary, poneros bears a strong ethical connotation of something or someone being wicked or evil. It says evil, that's what the Greek more or less means, evil. It's the same word Jesus used in the model prayer in Matthew 6, 13, where he said, do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from poneros, evil. Sometimes it's translated the evil one. I believe it's the King James version that says evil. Evil conveys the meaning of that which is contrary or opposed to God. That's a good, broad definition of evil. That which is contrary or opposed to God. Moreover, we're instructed to abhor or apostugale evil. I know you want to know how to spell that one.

A-P-O-S-T, apost, Y, gaio, G-E-O, A-P-O-S-T-Y, G-E-O, apostageo. Where to apostageo abhor what is evil. Now, to abhor means to feel excessive repugnance toward. It means to detest extremely, to loathe. I just love the English word loathe. It's so fun to say. To loathe. That's what it means to abhor. The Greek word, apostageo, is derived from two other Greek words. One of those Greek words means to stink. Does that help? And the other Greek word means to hate. So in the Greek, the idea is to stinks. It stinks, and we should hate it. So if you can recall the most repugnant stinking thing that has ever come across in your life, I can think of quite a few in mine. Diapers ranks up there pretty high.

Raw sewage. I grew up on a farm. You know what animal carcasses smell like. Or propane, if you live in the city. Natural gas. You get the idea. It's repulsive. It's repugnant. If you can imagine that, remember that, that stinking repugnant smell, then you can grasp the meaning of a poor.

That sort of revulsion is how we are to respond to what is evil, what is wicked, to what is opposed and contrary to God. I think that's a good idea to help our children understand how we're to respond to what is evil, to what is wrong and opposed to God. Such revulsion is the opposite, however, to how we're to respond to what is good. To good, we're to have the opposite response.

The next sentence here in verse 9. There we read, Cling to what is good. Here the word good is the Greek agathis, A-G-A-T-H-O-S, A-G-A-T-H-O-S, agathis, which broadly means good and useful and pleasant and excellent and upright. And I didn't have any more synonyms after that. You get the idea. This word is used in Matthew 19.17. We read it when Jesus declared, No one is good. Actually, we didn't read that sentence. But in Matthew 19.17, Jesus declared that no one is good but one that is God.

So agathis was used there in reference to God. Paul also used it in Romans 12 verse 2, what we just read a little while ago, in reference to God's good and acceptable and perfect will. Only God is good, pure good. God wants us to be like him one day. He wants us to be pure good, too. We're a work in progress. Only God is good. So God defines what is good, you see.

He is the one that defines good. And likewise, he is the one that defines evil, not us. Paul instructs us to cling or callao to what is good. Bear with me another Greek word. K-O-L-L-O, excuse me, K-L. Too many Greek words.

K-O-L-L-A-O, it helps if I don't look at it. Callao. Word of cling. Referring to Ginnemounts' dictionary, callao can mean to cling or stick to. Makes me think of those dryer sheets that stick to our clothes sometimes, coming out of the dryer.

Yeah. Cling or stick to. It's used in Luke 10 verse 11 in reference to the dust that clings to the fields. The state of the disciples. They're supposed to shake off the dust. That's the idea of cling in one sense. The word cling describes how we must firmly grip, take hold of what is good. Imagine how a small child clings to his mother when it's scared. Or how a kitten clings to your sweater when you're trying to make it let go. Nearly impossible to disconnect a kitten from a sweater. Or how you cling to someone's arm when you've slipped and are falling. These images convey how we're to cling to what is good. But now callao can also mean something more profound than clinging or sticking to.

There's a deeper, more powerful, perhaps, meaning to callao. The word can also mean to join, to unite closely. Sometimes it was used in reference to glue. To glue. Over in 1 Corinthians 6, 16-17, Paul applied this deeper meaning of the word callao to describe how followers of Christ must not be joined to a harlot. Or, if you take his meaning more figuratively, representing symbolically, should not be joined to the ways of the world. To work with the words of God. And then, in the next chapter, we'll be talking about how to join. And then, in the next chapter, we'll be talking about how to join.

And then, in the next chapter, we'll be talking about how to join. And symbolically, should not be joined to the ways of the world, to worldliness. Instead, they must join or unite closely with Christ as one. There, Paul wrote, Or do you not know that he who is callao joined to a harlot is one body with her?

For the two, he says, now he's quoting from a different scripture, For the two, he says, shall become one flesh. But he who is callao joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. Now, the model for unity Paul is referring to in that little quote comes from Genesis 2.24. Genesis 2.24, it reads, Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

By using callao to express how we are to be joined as one with Christ, Paul uses the illustration of the oneness that occurs in marriage. Now, why am I bringing this up? My point is this. Instead of the English word cling, that's what we have. I have my new King James version, and that's what's in a lot of Bible translations. Instead of the English word cling, a better word may be that old-fashioned word cleave.

It's not used much anymore. It's kind of become outdated. Cleave means to adhere firmly and closely, or loyally and unwaveringly. That certainly would match the meaning of callao. Cleave does describe how God wants marriage to be. In fact, the King James version, some of you still use the old King James version, it actually reads, Man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh.

There's an image, I borrow this image from C.S. Lewis, to kind of explain, give you a word picture of this idea. To cleave is like two raindrops. It's like two raindrops on a window pane, maybe on a windshield. They're both coming down. Have you ever noticed a smaller one tends to start coming closer to the big one? And then what happens? They become as one. Big cleave together. Maybe the next time we have rain, you can think about that as you drive down the road.

Now, the more modern word, clean, is a fine word, because it does bear that idea of gripping tightly to what is good. But that's certainly what we must be doing. But the older word, cleave, the older word, cleave, bears that idea of joining in unity with God. And I think that is also part of what we can draw from this exhortation, to cling or to cleave to what is good.

Romans 12-9, to abhor what is evil, to cling to what is good, it does begin to reveal to us God's perspective, that good and evil exist, that God defines what is good and evil. And God tells us how we should respond to what is good and to what is evil.

Yet there's much more. There's much more that Scripture tells us that we need to understand and know in order to guard ourselves from the world's wrong ideas about good and evil. You know, some people, you've probably heard it, some people do believe in good and evil, but they are persuaded that good and evil are two contending forces in the universe.

They're two contending forces in the universe. They're equal forces, but they are opposites, they claim. That is not what Scripture shows. Scripture reveals that true good and evil are opposites. But they are not equal. They are not equal. Scripture is consistent in urging humanity to practice good so they might live. But to practice evil, the opposite ultimately leads to the opposite result, which is death.

In Psalm 34, verses 12-14, we can see that David understood the vital contrast between life and death, between good and evil. Psalm 34, verses 12-16, David speaks very clearly here, very plainly. Psalm 34, verses 12, Who is the man who desires life and loves many days that he may see good? Well, keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.

Depart from evil and do good. Pretty much what Romans 12-9 says, isn't it? Seek peace and pursue it. Verse 15, The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. Clearly, David makes obvious to us that God blesses those who willingly choose to yield to him, to practice his way of life, to do good, to seek peace.

And God in turn cares for them. He loves them. He loves all people, but especially those who strive to seek him, to follow him. He cares for them. He hears their prayers. God, who is good, though, is against those who practice evil. And yes, ultimately, unless they repent, they will die, and they will be forgotten forever. Again, God, how good and evil, good and evil are opposites. They are not equal. God is superior by far, for only good is good, and good leads to life, evil only leads to death. Another way that good is opposite and superior to evil is revealed in James 1.

In James 1, James gives us the assurance that although our flesh is weak, and we can be tempted by evil and sin, God, who is good, can never be tempted into doing anything evil ever. We read in James 1, verses 13-14, Let no one say, when he is tempted, I am tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires, the own desires of our heart, and is enticed.

Clearly, God is good. Evil has absolutely no appeal to God. It's simply not possible for God to be tempted by evil. God is good. In verses 16-18, let's look down there. In the same chapter, James 1, verses 16-18, James likens God to the most brilliant, unwavering, and life-giving of lights.

He writes, verse 16, In every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Again, God is good, and God intends to make us good, as he is good. Scripture reveals that good and evil are opposites, just like light is to darkness, and just as light is superior to darkness, so also good is superior to evil. For good leads to eternal life for those who willingly choose to believe and to follow his instruction.

And with this understanding that God is good, and that we are to abhor what is evil, or to cleave to what is good, I think we can more deeply appreciate, I should say, we can more deeply appreciate why God warns against anyone intentionally denying goodness. He warns against anyone intentionally calling evil good. If all we've learned about God, what a perversion of truth it is to say something good, as God is good, is actually evil.

Let's notice, going back to Isaiah 5, verse 20-24, Isaiah 5, verse 20-24, here Isaiah calls out with the cry of impending disaster upon those who are living contrary to God. Isaiah 5, verse 20, Woe to those who called evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Of course, Isaiah anciently was addressing the people of Israel, who turned God's ways upside down. And the reason why they did that is revealed midway into verse 24.

Why was morality upturned? Breaking into verse 24, because they have rejected the law of the Lord of Hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah's words applied to ancient Israel, and they applied to Israel's descendants today, and really to the entire world.

Without proper reverence towards God for the authority of Scripture, people will totally overturn God's law, totally overturn His view of good and evil. And doesn't that help us to understand what's going on around us? It's been happening around us for some time now, and increasingly so as our society turns more and more away from God and His law. They've disconnected themselves entirely from God. In Luke 16, verse 13-15, Jesus also had to contend with this.

In Luke 16, verse 13-15, Jesus had to contend with those who claimed to worship God. They claimed to worship God, but they actually worshiped, or rather we should say coveted, riches. That's not a not so unusual reason for rejecting God in His way. Let's look at Luke 16, verse 13. Reading in verse 13, Jesus had just finished His instruction. He just finished His instruction, and He said to conclude, No servant can serve two masters.

For either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon, He declared. Continuing in verse 14. Now the Pharisees, just to be clear, who are lovers of money, they also heard these things. They heard what He just said, and they derided Him. Now we can read right over that word. The Greek word for derided means turning, it literally means turning up the nose. Has that ever happened to you? I know you would never do that. Maybe to the stinky diaper. I don't know. But these Pharisees derided Him. They turned up their noses.

They sneered at, they scoffed at Him. Not necessarily well at Him, yes, but they scoffed at what He said. These Pharisees so loved their wealth and power, and so little feared God, that they sneered at Jesus with contempt. They thought He was an absolute fool. Why? Because He taught that the things of God, like goodness and eternal life, should be more important than gaining riches in this present world. Do you see what they did? They had turned things upside down. How many people today still have the same views and approaches as these Pharisees?

I wonder. Verse 15, Jesus said to them, You are those who justify yourselves before men. We hear a lot of coming from the world. But God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. You see, they could not see that they had turned God's order upside down, and that they were simply justifying their own covetousness, while pretending to be good and righteous worshippers of God, defenders of the faith. That's what they thought they were doing.

We mustn't do that. That's an evil we should abhor. That should be a stinking mess to us. That's how we should react to that sort of attitude. We must stay anchored steadfast in the Word of God. Because the fact is, if we don't stay anchored steadfast in God's Word, we will just as foolishly reject God and come to term evil good and good evil. We will fall the same path. That's the way of human nature. Now, at times, we may also hear people say, it's not nice to call someone bad. You shouldn't call people evil.

People were shocked a few years ago. I think several times over the past few years. Not shocked at what they should be shocked at. But they were shocked some years ago when an American president called another nation's leader evil. The evil empire.

To call someone evil is not considered to be politically correct today. After all, many will claim no one is really evil. Good and evil are all relative. We get to decide for ourselves what evil to use. Not evil to me. It's good. It's okay. We get along. Peace. That's not what God's Word tells us. Good people and evil people do exist. We've already noted examples about that from Scripture. But more specifically, let's look at Matthew 5.45.

Just one Scripture here. You want to bother turning? Great. If not, I may be done reading it by the time you get there. Matthew 5.45. Here's what Jesus said. Just to be specific, this statement, good people and evil people do exist.

Jesus said in Matthew 5.45, God makes His Son rise on the evil and on the good. And He sends rain on the just and on the unjust. Again, God's Word reveals where the views of many are simply wrong. But then our next question might be, well, what makes someone good or evil? Where does evil come from? The world has differing ideas about that, too.

Luke 6.45. In Luke 6.45, of course, we can give many sermons on many of the things I'm talking about today. But in Luke 6.45, God reveals, God says that good and evil comes from within one's heart, one's mind. And it's expressed by our thoughts and our words, our actions.

Jesus said, Luke 6.45, A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good. And an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. It's our conscience, our mind, our heart, our motivations, or do you want to call it? The source is often, well, it's either the source of good or evil, we do. But with God's guidance, the guidance of his word and the help of his Holy Spirit, we can change that for the better.

We know that God will help us to judge ourselves using his word, and he will also help us to repent of sin and any evil that we might find lurking in our hearts or our minds. And thankfully, as Isaiah 55 6-7 reveals, God allows us to have that change of heart for the better. That's profound blessing from God. Profound Isaiah 55 6-7. Through Isaiah, God tells us, seek the Lord.

We can do that. It takes action. Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way. Stop being wicked. You have the choice. You can stop it. You are not helpless. You can stop it. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord, and he the Lord will have mercy on him and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways my ways, says the Lord. So, once again, God and his scriptures, his authority, God reveals himself to be just and to be merciful. Those who repent from the heart will receive his mercy and be forgiven. And again, because of this, we find another fact. This fact is evidence that God is good and is by far infinitely superior to evil. Well, then how can we discern who is good and who is evil? How do we figure that out? How do we know who the good are? How do we know who the evil are?

We know better than judge people by appearances, right? We can't judge people by appearances. Not all bad guys wear black hats anymore. Neither are all bad guys' guys anymore. Not all good guys wear white hats.

So how do we know? We can't go by appearances. Well, God's Word tells us to pay attention to their fruits. We have to pay attention to people's actions. Matthew 7, 15. Matthew 7. Matthew 7, 15-20. Jesus instructs us about discerning true prophets from false prophets here. But that principle would also apply in determining who is good, who is striving to be good, who is evil.

Jesus said, Matthew 7, 15-20. Be aware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing. They look good. But inwardly there are ravenous wolves ready to devour and tear us apart. You will know them by their fruits. He makes this hypothetical. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Therefore, by their fruits, you will know them. And then if we continue in verses 21-23, Jesus added more warning, more emphasis for those who say the right words. They say good words, per se, but then fail to follow through with good and appropriate actions. So he says, verse 21, practice lawlessness. They weren't actually living according to what is good. And so again, that old adage I think we are familiar with, actions speak louder than words.

That's a good key to discerning the motivations from people, the true motivations from faults, whether they're good or evil. Just saying the right words is never enough. And it's helpful to teach our children that when they're young.

If someone's actions or fruit are evil, then we best avoid that person. We best avoid that organization. We best avoid company with those people. We and our children need to understand this godly principle. So now that we've considered these things, we must ask, how do we live a good life? How do we live a life of whoring what is evil and clinging to his good? To do good means to faithfully strive to do what God expects.

It means to submit to him, to his instruction, to his way of life. You can jot down Psalm 115. Psalm 115 verse 115. I'm just going to read one scripture here. Psalm 119 verse 115. Here the psalmist rightly expresses what our approach to God and what is evil should and must be.

The psalmist wrote Psalm 119, 115, Depart from me, you evildoers. Why? Because the psalmist writes, I will keep the commandments of my God. The people who plague us, around us in the world today, in our hearts and minds we might think, Depart from me, you evildoers. I am keeping God's commandments. So yes, the good and faithful of God will be keeping his commandments. That's what God expects us to be doing, to be living every day. No matter what, in good times, in difficult times, and I know we've been going through a lot of difficult times, we must be doing God's will the best of our abilities.

Of course, the entirety of the Holy Scriptures instructs us how to do that, and that's why it's so imperative that then we study God's word every day. We have to keep eating of that bread of life.

And then from Titus. Titus 2. And this is the last set of Scriptures we'll turn to today. Titus 2, verses 11-14.

It may have been a while since you've read from Titus. In Titus 2, verses 11-14, we find what could be seen, what we could read, is somewhat of a summary statement from Paul. Of how God wants us to live a good and faithful life. Many Scriptures we can turn to. But Titus 2, verses 11-14 gives us a really good direction. Verse 11, For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. All men will understand this one day. In teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age. There you go. That's what we're going to be doing. And looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. He asks for us to be zealous, eager, the best of our ability of whatever we can be doing. We should be doing good works. And so Paul aptly describes a life, then, that we're to be living, faithfully practicing good, while refusing to conform to the world. That's what we're to do. Now, I know we've considered a lot today about God's view of good and evil, but you and I both know there's a whole lot more that's to be found and said in His Scripture. But here are some of the key points I'd say to take home with us today. Remember this. God and His Scripture must be our guide in life. If you have trouble with that, ask God to help you believe it and to live it. God and His Scripture must be our guide in life. Also, we must never think differently, but God defines good and evil, not society, not our family and friends, and certainly not ourselves. God defines good and evil. And be assured of the fact that God is good and is infinitely superior to evil.

And the last point, we must do what is good and bear good fruit. Again, if we have trouble with this, that's why we seek out God. We draw near to God and let Him help us do these things. And so we must remain steadfast with God and do His word no matter what the world says, no matter what the world does to us now or in the future. I've tried to lay out clearly for us today where we stand with the world and where we stand with God. We need to stand with God. Where else can we go? Who else has? Who else has eternal life but God? He wants us to be part of His eternal kingdom, to be part of His family. And if so, every day we need to be choosing to abhor what is evil, to cling to what is good. What will you do? What will you do? That's up to you.