Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Woe to those who ae wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!

Isaiah 5:20-21, ESV

 

One of the ways that you can tell if something is no longer a benefit to God is when it starts getting its virtues and vices mixed up. Whether it be something as small as an individual or as large as an entire nation, virtue will always win and vice will always lose in the end. We know that this is true because we read of example after example of individuals and of nations that went bad. God always gave them a chance to repent, but in the absence of that required change He would bring punishment. And the reason for this punishment was clear: When people, be they individuals or a society, exchange their virtues for vices, what they are doing in realty is changing God for Satan as their lord and master.

 

And God will not permit this for very long.

 

We see this exchanging of whom we serve all the time. People sometimes will just give themselves over to evil but they don't want to be considered evil, so they will say something along the lines of "don't judge me". Many of our major universities have also switched their allegiance from God to to the evil one and will no longer tolerate anybody who tells them that they are wrong. These once great places of higher learning have turned into brain washing facilities for cultlike thinking, and as a result do far more harm than good. And don't even get us started on our society, for our once virtuous nation has exchanged many of its virtuous laws for ones that support evil. Our leaders say idiotic things like "you cannot legislate morality" and then turn around and pass laws that legislate vice.

 

And whenever you see such exchanges of right for wrong, whenever people begin to call good evil and evil good, you know that the end of such a people is close at hand. So, what can we do?

 

The solution is not complex, but it is hard. It can only be accomplished by individuals turning away from their mad behavior and turning to God in repentance. It must be a return to virtues such as honesty, integrity and decency. It requires a separation from anyone who admires and praises vice. This is hard because we often find this means a separation from our friends, our churches, our universities, and (dare I say it) our political parties. It is insane for us to be in close alignment with people who love and admire sin, or to remain with a religious group that opposes the very teachings of Christ. It is crazy to spend hard earned money or weigh ourselves down with debt in order to send our children off to universities that love evil and hate good. And it is madness to vote for people who say they will continue to support evil, and then expect that good can somehow come from this behavior.

 

God calls such behavior "depravity" and He tells us that He will give those over to it that continue to reject good and embrace evil. And we read of these passages in the Bible and we nod our heads in agreement, but then we are utterly shocked when we find out that they are true. There must come a point that we cease going in that deadly direction before it becomes fatal and permanent. So, again, what can we do?

 

We can repent! We can be sorrowful for our part in the destruction of these institutions that we once held dear, and we can become determined to do something about their destructive paths before it is too late. It will require us giving our lives over to God and then returning to the things that He declares are virtuous. It will require us to no longer put up with bad behavior and insist that those whom we associate with cease from their evil behavior or have their relationships with us severed. And this is true not only for our closest friends, but also for our schools, our churches, and our favorite political affiliations,

 

Why is this so important?

 

It is because we have gone too far. We have become comfortable with wickedness but we don't want to be considered wicked. So instead of changing our behavior, we have simply changed our definition of good and evil. The thing we need to understand is that God has not changed His definition, nor has He changed His standards. Godliness is still the primary ingredient in virtue, and ungodliness is still the main factor in vice (sin) and this will never change regardless of how much we claim to the contrary. And if something does not change, we are going to lose those things that we cherish most. 

 

The good news is that we can turn things around with God's help. For as Word of God points out, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" 

 

And one more thing we should know. It is what Jesus said to a church in the first century that had exchanged good for evil, and it is just as pertinent today as it was 2,000 years ago:

"I know your works. You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of My God. Remember then, what you have received and heard. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come against you. Yet you still have a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy."

 Revelation 3:1-4, ESV