Am I Supporting Evil?
1Tim. 1:9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 1Pe
3:12 For the eyes of the Lord [are] over the righteous, and his ears [are open] unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord [is] against them that do evil. 1John 2:29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is
born of him. 1John 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. According to the above read passages we see that the efforts of the Christian must be to live a life of righteousness and
oppose every evil way. Why even Paul wrote that we must be angry and sin not in verse 26 of Ephesians 4. That is, we should have a righteous indignation against evil and sin. One of the last things an individual who is seeking to live by what is right
would desire to do or even
want to be accused of doing is defending and upholding aid and comfort to the enemy. But, is it possible that we could be guilty of such support to the enemy who otherwise would never willingly and
purposefully do so?
Please examine carefully.
Ezekiel 13:22-"Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened
the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life." The danger and sad results of supporting evil or as this passage shows in strengthening the hands of the wicked is that he will not return because you have
promised him life. You say that it is just as good one way or the other. When you endorse and encourage wickedness then you encourage that person in it. You are not encouraging him to turn in repentance but you are encouraging him to remain in his error
because in effect, you are promising him life. Yes, even if one is indifferent and says nothing could be giving aid to the evil doer. Jeremiah 23:14-"I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies:
they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness; they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and t
he inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah."
Ways One Could Support
Evil
We may just go right ahead and commit sin with the wicked. Solomon warned in Proverbs 1:10-16-"My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood,
let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause; Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit; We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil Cast in thy lot among us; let us all
have one purse; My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path; For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood." Notice, when friends entice you and solicit your conduct..."consent thou not." Why? Because if you
go along with them you are supporting their evil (Look again at v.15). Don't give in to peer pressure which is a threat to all of us. Ex. 23:2-"Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to
wrest judgment;"
Another way that we might support evil is by upholding the sinner even though we ourselves do not act in it. It was said of Saul of Tarsus at the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7:58-"And cast
him out of the city, and stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul." Later on after the conversion of Saul in Acts 22:20, this bothered Paul for note what he said in this verse, And when the blood of
thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death and kept the raiment of them that slew him. "Now, have you ever stood by while a faction, with their fangs bare and with their teeth gnashing, stood by while elders were
railroaded out of the eldership or watched as someone ran off a faithful gospel teacher or a gospel preacher? You might say, "Oh I didn't sign any petition and I didn't go to any of their meetings and I didn't say anything and I didn't have any part of
it. Let me ask you something. Did you support the sin and uphold t
he sinner even though you yourself did not act??? Where does the Bible say that Saul threw one stone????????? But he was guilty of supporting the evil wasn't
he.
There are those that maybe will take part in all kinds of filthy debauchery, filthy jokes etc. and they say, "But I don't tell them" or someone will go and see the pornographic magazines and then say,
"But I wouldn't buy one." etc. You see friend, you support evil when you uphold it and support it even when you say, "Now I'm not a part of it" but friend you encourage it!! Solomon says in proverbs 24:1-"Be not thou envious against evil men, neither
desire to be with them."
Members of the church may uphold evil. One way to do that is by failing to confront sin and the sinner. We don't seem to mind a preacher who will tell us a few jokes and if he
condemns sin in someone else or concerning somewhere else but we don't want a preacher to tell us about our sins. In Ezekiel 3:17-21-"Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them
warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save is life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at
thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and
I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die; because thou hast not given him warn
ing, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul." Ezekiel the prophet is likened here to a watchman. A watchman would watch for
the enemy and if the enemy came they were to call or sound the trumpet and people would gather. This verse is in a figure! He was to go and give them the warning that is of God. It was the warning of God! This is saying then that we support evil if we
fail to confront sin and the sinner. That's why Paul could say in Acts 20:26,27-"Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of
God."
In I Corinthians 5 they had failed to confront the sin and the sinner. They had failed to discipline the incestuous brother. It does very little good to say we're out here fighting sin if we don't get
specific with the sinner. It takes both. What did they do in I Corinthians 5? They put him away to shake him so he would come home!! According to 2 Corinthians 2, doing God's will worked. Friends, apostolic preaching did not fail to confront the sin and
the sinner. (2 Timothy 2:16-18). When people come and hear a gospel sermon, in sin, in the world, that aren't living godly lives, when they hear preaching that doesn't make them uncomfortable either they've got a hardened heart or the preaching wasn't
distinct to the understanding!! (Galatians 2:11-14; I Timothy 5:20).
To conclude, we support evil and the evil doer when we apologize for the truth! None of us should desire to be a party to such. We can
support the hand of evil and wickedness when we fail to forgive the repentant. According to 2 Corinthians 2:6-8 which reads, "Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him. For to this end so did I write, that I might know the proof
of you, whether ye be obedient in all things. To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave anything, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;" you will hinder repentance. If brethren are willing to
repent of their evil and come home, we must receive them home in the spirit of Christ.
Let's never be a party to supporting evil and always with courage and commitment seek to do that which is
right!!
Rick Christian
(Outline for this article adapted from a sermon by Larry Hafley entitled, "Strengthening the Hands of the
Wicked")
October, 1997 Volume 3 Issue 4
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