Few if any will heed what I am about to say. That is a given. The cost is far too great for most. Nevertheless, these truths are essential for us to come to terms with since they lie at the heart of the human condition. How do we develop a far more sophisticated idea of what constitutes evil since what we are witnessing today is evil on a global scale for perhaps the first time in human history? The evils of the First and Second World Wars and the subsequent conflicts of the twentieth century were the result of ideologies colliding which cannot peacefully coexist. But at the heart of those ideologies lays something far deeper, a sense of what constitutes the fallen nature of man. To understand this, we must first understand our own fallen nature. To many if not most the concept of original sin will seem archaic and outdated. And this is the great dilemma humanity faces. For 1500 years the idea of original sin resided at the very heart of Western philosophy which in turn defined our need for redemption. In the case of the West that redemption was to be found at the Cross where the blameless offered Himself up for the sin of the world. This was not to save the world collectively but rather to save every individual who became aware of their sinful nature to find salvation in Christ through a revelation of the finished work of His Cross.
But therein lies the problem today for to develop a more sophisticated idea of evil we must first confront our own wickedness. In this sense everything that happens is in some way my fault since the sin which others commit are the same sins which reside in me. Arrogance, ignorance of our own failings, false pride, narcissism, covetousness, lust, envy, projection, malice, the carnal desire for power and control, laziness which are summed up by the seven deadly sins of pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth. These sins stand in opposition to the seven capital virtues of chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility. Church teaching focused particularly on pride since it is believed to be the root of all sin because pride turns the soul away from God; and, on greed and covetousness as both of these underpin all other sins.
And so, I must tell you something which few will wish to hear. You will come to understand the depths of your own sin upon having a revelation of Christ crucified and resurrected. When Saul of Tarsus was on the road to Damascus, he was knocked off his ass when he had his revelation which sent him into repentance, fasting, and prayer.
From Acts 9 King James Version:
1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
9 And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.
10 And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,
12 And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.
13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:
14 And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.
In Chapter One of Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians describes Paul’s conversion as a divine revelation.
Galatians 1 King James Version
1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)
2 And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:
3 Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
5 To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
13 For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:
14 And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.
15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace,
16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:
17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.
18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.
19 But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother.
20 Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.
21 Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia;
22 And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ:
23 But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.
24 And they glorified God in me.
You see, to have a revelation of Christ crucified and resurrected disabuses us of any misapprehension about how good we are since Paul had more reason than most to think of himself as being good. Prior to his conversion he lived according to Hebrew law which had led him to persecute the Church whose existence was the very fulfillment of the law which Paul claimed to follow!
The result of revelation is an overwhelming awareness of one’s own sin!
From Isaiah 6: King James Version
6 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
12 And the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.
So, the price you will pay for developing a more sophisticated concept of evil comes at the certain knowledge of our own carnal nature. And out of it a coal from off the altar of God will change forever our conversation to focus on our Redeemer. Once we see ourselves in the blinding light of God’s Holy presence, we will know who and what we really are. In this revelation we will also discover why those is power today are completely unaware of the depths of their own prideful wickedness. They have rejected the need for the Divine and in doing so emulate the false pride and vanity of their father who claimed that he would make his throne ascend above that of God’s. And the Western Church today is largely failing in its Divine mission to lead mankind to repentance even as it adopts apostate false doctrine in complete contradiction of Scriptural truths. And so the West falls to the very toxic ideologies which make man his own god.
And the result of this Apostate ideology can be found in the book of 2 Timothy 3:
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. 9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.
This is a pretty accurate description of the world today; lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, and despisers of those that are good. The West has entered very dark times indeed and who among you are willing to pay the cost of discovering your own fallen nature in the light of the redemption of Christ which would allow you to understand why we are here and what can be done to solve our cultural crisis?
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