Scripture Reference: Psalm 36

1. The Futility of Sin – Continued

Please read Psalm 36:1-4 for the background to this section.

God speaks. He is to be obeyed, to be loved, and to be enshrined in our hearts. In the sinner’s life, though, the devil says, “Wickedness is to be enshrined and to be obeyed. Rebellion should dictate the pattern of life.” The wicked person has pushed God away from his life, and thus “there is no fear of God before his eyes.” That speaks of sheer arrogance toward God.

That attitude is absolutely foolish for there truly is a God, and there are biblical absolutes. These spiritual standards are true. When we disregard these standards, we will not escape the judgment springing from violating them. This man assumed that God somehow was not going to interfere with his life. That is total folly and madness. This wicked man had made his own evil desires and perverse tendencies a god in his life. Today, and very sadly most notably in America and the Western world, society as a whole has abandoned the Bible and the God of the Bible, bypassing the standards of the Word. Our world has forsaken God’s absolute principles and standards. There is something called right and something called wrong. What we are reaping in America is the payment for our infatuation with sinful man’s ideas and ideals, resulting in chaos. The moral breakdown in our day means that one out of ten of us can expect to spend time in a mental hospital according to several surveys.

People have disregarded God’s Word to the extent that we still face an AIDS epidemic of worldwide proportions. Even though we hear very little about it today, health care professionals and those who follow the trends are anticipating an ever-increasing number of cases that will still have to be treated, despite the advancements made concerning the disease. At it’s continuing rate, it will still be millions of people whose lives will be permanently altered. Man’s rebellious ideas make God seem irrelevant, and our arrogant attitude toward Him is an effort of sinful people to discover meaning and purpose. It is most definitely a seemingly frantic rat race.

The psalmist writes that those who live the life which excels understands that man’s way is futile. Sinful human concepts just don’t and will not work. The excelling life deals with attitudes, as well as with actions. The words of the wicked person are iniquity and deceit. He has left off wisdom and goodness. One translation states that he ceases to act circumspectly and to do good. He devises mischief upon his bed and lies awake at night thinking of filthy devices. He has no sense of ethics or morality.

His attitude was disruptive and futile because it did not allow for God in his life. He acted upon his sinful mind-set. A person’s attitude of independence from God will soon express itself in one’s activity. Note the text declares that his words are “trouble and deceit.” One who rejects absolute moral standards will see nothing wrong with lying. Lying in high and low places results from rebellion and irreverence toward God. People with trouble in their heart and a deceitful attitude will look you right in the eyes and lie to you.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved