Degrees of Wickedness
- Michael E.B. Maher
- 2 hours ago
- 6 min read
1 Timothy 4:2 “speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron.”
We have seen that everyman has a conscience, believer and unbeliever alike. We have also seen that the conscience only plays one role in the lives of men, howbeit a very important role, which is to convict them to do that which is good and reject that which is evil. So how does the conscience impact the lives of unbelievers? To the extent that the unbeliever chooses to either obey or ignore their conscience, that will determine just how noble or how wicked the unbeliever will eventually become. The above quoted passage of scripture talks about those whose consciences have become seared, and although this passage is specifically referring to believers, the same principle applies in the lives of unbelievers as well. And so, it is possible for the consciences of unbelievers to become completely seared, i.e. completely ineffective in influencing the life of that person. Each time the unbeliever ignores their conscience and continues in sin, it does that much more damage to their conscience. And so it is possible for unbelievers to reach the point where their consciences become completely seared or hardened, and they are then able to freely commit sin to their evil heart’s desire. This explains why some unbelievers become more wicked than others, for some choose to ignore their conscience, while others choose to obey their conscience. Now we can also understand why sometimes we can look at the lifestyle of some unbelievers and compare them to the lifestyles of some believers and, on the surface, the unbeliever seems to be living a more blameless life than the believer. The reason is because some unbelievers are more obedient to their conscience than some believers are. This should not be the case, but sadly it does happen.
Luke 13:1-3 “There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. (2) And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? (3) I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
We need to clarify however, that the degree of blamelessness or wickedness that unbelievers attain to in this life due either obeying or disobeying their conscience does not determine who will and will not be saved, for all unbelievers (noble and wicked alike) are condemned to eternal punishment. For the only sin that condemns those in the world, is the sin of rejecting Jesus as Lord and Saviour (John 16:8-9). Our Lord Jesus taught us that truth in the above quoted passage of scripture when He stated that the degree of righteousness or wickedness attained in this life was not the issue, for all would likewise perish and only those who repented would be saved.
Genesis 6:5-8 “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (6) And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. (7) So, the Lord said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them." (8) But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”
The bible teaches us that if mankind continually ignores their conscience that they have the potential to become altogether wicked. The above quoted passage of scripture reveals that particular truth to us, for in this account we see the wicked and evil condition of man before the Lord destroyed the earth by flood. That generation started out with Adam and Eve and grew to a total population of roughly one million people just prior to the flood. It is estimated that from the time Adam came into the earth until the flood occurred, that approximately ten thousand years elapsed. And so we see that it took mankind roughly ten thousand years from Adam to the time of the flood, to degenerate to the point where they had become altogether wicked and only one righteous person remained among them i.e. Noah. Noah was truly one in a million, as the saying goes. Nevertheless a truth is revealed to us from this account, which is that mankind will ultimately become altogether wicked even though God gives them a conscience, and they will inevitably end up having to be destroyed because their wickedness will continue to grow as they continue to override their conscience.
Luke 17:26-29 “And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: (27) They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. (28) Likewise, as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; (29) but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.”
There have been many nations and peoples since the flood that God has destroyed because of their wickedness. Some biblical examples would be the Babylonian Empire, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, the Jebusites, Sodom and Gomorrah. God destroyed some of these societies through war and some in a more spectacular fashion, i.e. Sodom and Gomorrah being destroyed by fire from heaven. In each case scripture declares to us that the nations destroyed had reached the fullness of transgressions. In other words they had become completely wicked. So what does a society look like, that has reached a stage of wickedness that the Lord deems necessary to destroy? In the passage of scripture quoted above our Lord Jesus reveals to us that they were societies where normal business practices were taking place, and as agriculture was the main industry of the day, farming practices continued as normal. Development was taking place, as people built homes and infrastructure. Marriages were taking place and family life continued as normal. Their economies were in sound shape and food was plentiful. They were societies that enjoyed times of relaxation and leisure. And so on the surface, these were prosperous societies that had no sense of the impending doom about to overtake them.
2 Peter 2:4-10 “For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; (5) and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; (6) and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; (7) and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (8) (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)-- (9) then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, (10) and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries.”
So what was different about the societies mentioned in this section that made them so wicked compared to other societies? Although on the surface these societies looked normal in that they continued to conduct their normal day to day lives, scripture reveals to us that these societies had similar traits. In the passage of scripture quoted above we see three main traits in these societies that placed them in the category that heaven classifies as being exceedingly wicked and sinful. Firstly, these societies were completely ungodly. They were religious; as they practiced their own religions, but they were ungodly in that the God of Heaven and Earth had no place in their lives and they no longer had any fear of God before their eyes. Secondly, their lifestyles reflected a complete tolerance for all manner of sexual immorality and uncleanness. And then thirdly, they rejected and despised all forms of authority, knowing that the authorities that exist are appointed by God (Romans 13:1-5). And so when we look at society today we can clearly see that the earth is once again on the same path. And although on the surface things look as if life is continuing as it always has, the wicked are once again becoming increasingly wicked and increasing in number. It has been approximately ten thousand years that have elapsed since the flood, and the population of the earth is fast approaching the point where wickedness will once again consume the peoples of the earth and their consciences will become completely seared. And so there will come a time when once again our Lord will judge the earth. This time however the judgment will be final.
Michael E.B. Maher
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