Many live in a state of denial. Some are believers some are not. There are two types of people that exist. We must face it: “Wicked” (7563) people exist. It is unpopular to admit the existence of evil, but it is real. If your child has attended a public school he has been indoctrinated in the goodness of man. People are not evil, just misunderstood. The problems can all be solved if we can deal with the social issues involved, but sin is a concept for the superstitious people who believe in God. Too many people in the church agree with this.
Fear and suspicion are the foundation for the wicked. They “flee” (5127) when no one is “pursuing” (7291). What must it be like to live in fear all the time? This person is looking over their shoulder constantly. Someone once said, “You can’t cheat an honest man.” Or maybe it said it is hard to cheat him. The point is that honest people don’t comprise on business deals because they are willing to take unfair advantage. Take for instance the internet scams that have been going around. Someone claims they can get you a lot of money that you know you have no right to have. All it requires is some seed money on your part. The “victim” sends the money and that is the end of it. Their lack of honesty cost them.
But the emphasis of this verse is the person who is always looking over their shoulder. They are aware of all the laws they have violated. They know the lies they have told. They know the gossip they have spread. They live in constant fear that someone will find them out. What a way to live.
We also need to admit that the “righteous” (6662) exist. This is harder for some than admitting the existence of evil. This is a problem in the church. I have heard about our righteousness being as rags until I want to scream. Actually I believe it is “righteousnesses”.
(Isa 64:6 KJV) But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.The quote refers to the games that we play not to the ability of God to do what He says He will do. Read the verse again. It assumes that the righteous exist. Don’t you want to be one of them? Or would you rather hide behind a theology that ignores what the Bible says?
Being “righteous” (6662) makes us “bold” (982). What could be more threatening than coming into the presence of the Most High God? One force overcomes the other. How about a physical example. On the surface of the earth we are traveling about 1,000 miles an hour because of the rotation of the planet. If you were on the end of a rope swinging this fast you would feel the centrifugal force trying to throw you into space. You feel nothing. Why? Because the attraction of the mass of the earth, gravity, cancels out the other force. We walk on the surface with boldness. God’s power allows us to walk with boldness amidst the forces of evil.
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