Listen: 49 Question 6

Let’s look at a word from the Lord to His people in Isaiah 1:16, “Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil.”  Now let’s read Romans 12:9, “Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.”  We can see that the Lord’s will for His people is that we stop doing the things that are evil and do those things which are good.  Galatians 6:10 says, “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”

Knowing this is the will of God, why is it that some people do wrong?  First of all, people who have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior are susceptible to the influence and leading of Satan.  What is so worrisome is that many Christians resist the opportunity to do right and will choose to do the wrong things.  As we read before in Romans 12:9, we are told to hate evil and hold on to that which is good.  Let’s read Zechariah 8:16-17, “These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the Lord.”  True Christianity consists in conforming to the Lord’s nature, so we should love the things He loves and hate the things He hates.

Sin is a choice.  We are told in Amos 5:15 to, “Hate the evil, and love the good.”  May the Lord strengthen us through His Word and His Spirit to do those things which honor and please Him.  May our hearts be even like the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ when he said in John 8:29, “…I do always those things that please him.”