Truth is essential to any successful human relationship, but it is widely recognized that truth is the ingredient sadly lacking in today's world. What is not understood, and very seldom addressed, is the direct connection between the abandonment of truth and the embracing of violence and evil.
The Apostle Paul made a sweeping statement concerning God's wrath against those "who hinder truth in unrighteousness," (Romans 1:18), explaining that they who refused to glorify God and give Him thanks, "Became vain in their reasonings and their senseless heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise they became fools (Romans 1:21‑22)...and exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator." (Romans 1:25). Then follows a list of evil actions, including homosexuality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness...murder, strife, deceit, malignity, haters of God, etc." (Romans 1:24‑31)
Jesus explained why men refuse to have God in their knowledge and give Him thanks. They "loved the darkness rather than the light," He said, "for their works were evil." (John 3:19‑20)
That they "neither gave thanks" (Romans 1:21) is significant. Such thanksgiving would be an admission that they are indebted to God and therefore accountable to Him for their evil works. This fact was expressed years ago by the famous humanist Aldous Huxley, in explaining why he and his contemporaries rejected the Christian world view. He said that his philosophy (of unbelief) was "a matter of liberation. The liberation we desired was simultaneously a liberation from a certain system of morality. We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom."
This philosophy has permeated the colleges and universities of this country from early in this century, and goes a long way in accounting for the gross immorality which is now evident in abortion, homosexuality, pornography, child and spouse abuse, corruption in business and government, and violence which has made our citizens prisoners in their own homes.
Evil Denied. With the unbelievable growth of crime, people on all levels claim to be seeking its root cause, but seldom does anyone in the public light put the blame where it belongs; the fact that individuals who commit wicked acts do so out of an evil heart. A corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit. (Luke 6:43‑44) Under the influence of pagan humanists, who categorically deny the existence of an absolute moral standard, the media, the school and the government choose to ignore the fact that evil acts are the results of evil minds.
One may read dozens of newspaper reports of murder, mutilations, torture of children, corporate crime in which business careers are ruined, and of government officials covering up gross scandals of theft and treachery, but never come across the term "evil." According to an article in the London Times, "Perhaps no science has been a more powerful source of forgiveness than the psychoanalysis of Freud.
The sinner becomes a patient. And if he seems to do wrong, it is not really he who does it but a subconscious whose machinations are unknown to him." (Is Anything Wrong Anymore?, David Hulme) Evil acts are the product of some unknown influence, so that the person committing them is never considered evil, but is excused as a victim of that mysterious influence (this is where the term that God loves the man bu hates the sin came from. This is false teaching because it is the person who commits evil or sin, not some other entitity). The serial killer, who tortures and rapes his victims, is not identified as an evil person, but one who must be pitied, treated to tax paid room and board, waited on by a host of attendants and coddled by a team of psychiatrists.
Evil masquerades as sickness. A killer like Jeffry Dahlmer, said to have killed as many as 17 people, was a victim of "disconnection, lack of community, loneliness." What used to be called living in sin is now called a "meaningful relationship," that the disgusting sin of sodomy is only an "alternate lifestyle." God has a warning for those who call evil good and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness." (Isaiah 5:20)
Some may object, and argue that we all are evil since "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) But scripture makes a distinction between the evil and the good. While the best makes a distinction between the evil and the good. While the best of us is not perfect, and has not attained the goal of perfection, there still is a vast difference between the person whose goal and desire is evil, and the one whose greatest desire is the righteousness of God. Evil begins in the heart, as does purity, "For out of it are the issues of life." (Proverbs 4:23) One whose heart is set on God loves the light of truth, but the one whose heart is evil hates that light and stays as far away from it as possible.
An Evil Strategy. Presently the Ad Council, in cooperation with various other organizations, is using radio and television to persuade the public that the strength and wealth of our nation is in having a variety of cultures, and that it is bigotry to suggest that one culture is in any way superior to another. Yet a study of history proves this to be a lie. In fact, every civilization that has turned into a multi cultural society has been destroyed. They would have us ignore the fact that with each culture comes its own moral code, and according to God's moral standard some of these cultures are evil.
The strategy is simple: First the evil seeks tolerance, then by using the smear words such as "bigot," "hate," "cult," "anti‑Semantic," �neo-Nazi� and "fanatic," they press people into accepting the evil. For example, the Boy Scouts are taught to tolerate the sodomite in society, then they must accept him as a scoutmaster! Finally, the government gives special rights to all who practice these evil works. To our great shame, there are enough corrupt men and women in Congress to allow such evil to prevail.
As Paul wrote, they have become vain in their reasoning and darkened in their hearts, "They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator." Such is the case with the environmentalists who worship Mother Earth as the Goddess Gaia (Greek for earth). "America is tapping into the occult forces that blind people to God's truth...When people reject truth as a standard and embrace seductive spiritual alternatives ‑ the culture crumbles." (Under The Spell of Mother Earth, Berit Kjos, quoted from The Torch, 10/93)
Christ Hated. The enemies of truth do not stop with creating their own false gods. They see the true God as their competitor, whose morals and judgments must be eliminated. Christians are seen as a threat to their evil plans of a New Age and a New World Order. "Christians block the global movement� toward the one‑world religion needed to unify people and save the earth," says Lynn White, Jr. (The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis, from The Torch, 10/93)
As these workers of evil hate the light, they also hate Christ, the source of that light. He said, "The world hates me because I testify that its works are evil." (John 7:7) He then warned that this same hatred would be aimed at His disciples. "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you." (John 15:18)
This hatred is already beginning to result in overt action designed to silence and eventually eliminate the Christian faith, as indicated by columnist John Lofton: "The war against God in this country, specifically against Jesus Christ, is getting uglier, much uglier, much more explicit. And make no mistake about it, please. THIS WAR IS AGAINST CHRIST." (The Christian World Report)
How can one explain the intentional portrayal of gross filth and the glorification of ugliness through movies and television, other than the fact that it is the product of evil minds who love darkness? The organized effort to destroy the Christian culture and replace it with a savagely violent and unspeakably immoral way of life can only be explained as the work of evil people who despise the truth of Christ and hate all those {Christians} who seek to live by it.
This hostility toward Christ and truth not only has its reaction in the persecution of Christians, but it has a devastating effect upon the unbelievers themselves who are in rebellion against God, leaving them frustrated, insecure, burdened with guilt and struggling against fears.
Often they are further confused with "self‑help" exercises, such as self‑actualization, self‑healing, self‑love, etc., seeking the solution that can come ONLY WHEN THEY SUBMIT TO THE CREATOR'S TRUTH AS GIVEN THROUGH JESUS CHRIST HIS SON.
We are created to be in God's image, to think the thoughts He has revealed and live as He has directed. Those who love God love truth, and the more one lives in that truth, the more he loves it. "He that is of God, hears the words of God." (John 8:46)