Good and Evil

Isaiah 5:20

"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil..."

These words have been on my mind the last couple of days. So I looked them up and found them in the Old Testament book of Isaiah. As I think through these words I am overwhelmed that the message and truth found in this passage was relevant in Isaiah's time and continues to be relevant today.

Inwardly I am convicted by these words because I am capable of calling evil good when I ignore the teachings of the Bible and the leading of the Holy Spirit to act according to my own selfishness and pride. I, more than anyone, am able to justify my sin and in the process deny the power of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I am also capable of calling good evil when I become hard-hearted and critical of my fellow Christians and the church. With Jesus Christ as the head of the church, who am I to think that any part of the body of believers is evil.

Outwardly when I observe the world it is very easy to see good and evil as starkly as black is distinguished from white. Those who are in the world claim that life can be lived in the grey and that all things are acceptable as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. How my heart should break for them! God's word is very clear that life is not grey and that we choose between good or evil; to live according to God's word fully covered in the blood of Jesus Christ or to live in opposition to God as His enemy.

Later in the passage Isaiah points out that people who reject the law will be like a plant with a rotten root system that dries up and blows away. Rejecting the truth of God's word means living outside of God's plan for a life covered in the blood of Jesus Christ. Meaning that they will experience the full punishment of God's righteous judgment.

Praise God that His mercies are new every morning and that it is always possible to begin or renew a relationship with Him. Anyone can have freedom from evil things and be able to pursue good things, and it can begin by simply trusting in God's promises found in the Bible.