Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications; in Thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. And enter not into judgment with Thy servant; for in Thy sight shall no man living be justified.

For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.

Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate. 

Psalms 143:1-4, KJV

 

One of most trying things we will ever experience is when wicked people succeed. David writes of just such an occasion in his life, when evil people had seemed to have won in their wicked schemes against him, against his nation, and even against the LORD. He brought his plea before God, confessing to Him that his spirit was overwhelmed to the point that his heart was filled with desolation. I believe that America and in many ways the rest of the world have experienced such a period in our own lives. In recent days we have witnessed a righteous man. who not only loved God but who also loved others enough to try and convince them that their wicked ways were wrong and in need of repentance, was struck down by an assassin's bullet.

 

And while his family and friends grieved, many wicked men and women rejoiced. 

 

This should come as no surprise to those who are familiar with the Bible. The history contained within its pages shows wicked people exulting in the wickedness time after time. It often shows the righteous mourning because of these temporary "victories" that evil men and women sometimes achieve. So, when we come across teachings such as the one Jesus gives in the Sermon on the Mount wherein, He commands us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, we are often taken aback. How, after all, do you forgive wicked people when they have harmed you and your loved ones to such an extent? How can we pray for such evil at times when they are actually in the process of gloating over their vile behavior?

 

While it is never easy, this is exactly what we are commanded to do. Having said that, did you know that God's Word not only teaches about repentance and forgiveness, but also about consequences and justice?

 

Just because God expects us to forgive our enemies and even pray for them to repent so that they will not suffer the eternal judgment that will otherwise be coming their way, God has not suggested that the wicked not be physically punished for their conduct. While it is true that we are not to seek vengeance (for like judgment, this is the sole realm of God) we are required to exercise justice. It is true that while the righteous are to bring justice in such a way that it is tempered with mercy, we are indeed responsible for making sure that justice is carried out. 

 

This is why God's people have always lived under law. During the Mosaic dispensation when men were under the Old Law, public executions were commanded by God when a man or a woman had committed an intentional murder. Such punishment was swift, and it was done in a very public way, often by stoning the guilty party. Such justice was done under the law, and it was carried out swiftly, for God understood far better than men that in order for justice to be just, it had to be done without unnecessary delay. Such justice had a two-fold effect: The guilty were brought to justice, and the innocent were protected. It also had a very sobering lesson for those who might consider such evil conduct themselves.

 

Early American justice was not all that dis-similar. Though under the Christian dispensation (under a new law, for the Old Law had been nailed to the cross) our ancestors not only understood the New Testament teaching concerning the government's right to "bear the sword", but they also understood its responsibility to do so. Because of that understanding, justice was not only carried out, but it was carried out swiftly. Once found guilty of murder, the convicted person was rarely given more than a few days before his sentence was carried out. As under the law of Moses, executions were often public. Such a display was to show that justice would be served, and it provided that familiar, sobering reminder that such a penalty awaited all who would imitate such wicked behavior.

 

Now, back to our present circumstances. We find ourselves living in an era in which we have blurred the lines between righteousness and unrighteousness, and we are now paying a heavy toll for such conduct. We have pretended that God's commandments pertaining to sexual immorality and perverse behavior are old fashioned, intolerant, and even hateful. We have sat in judgment of the Righteous Judge and have deemed ourselves superior to God and His ways. We have even passed new laws in our "justice system" proclaiming that anyone who "discriminates" from our self-proclaimed righteousness be penalized to the full extent of our laws. We have invited people who are openly defiant of God's commandments into our public schools, libraries, and parks to "educate" our children.

 

Do you remember that Jesus said it would be better to have a millstone tied around your neck and be cast into the sea, rather than to cause one of these little ones who believe in Him to sin?

 

But we live in a society that fancies itself more compassionate than Jesus and wiser than God, and we have taught our children that right is wrong and that wrong is right. And we are surprised when these little ones grow into hateful adults and begin to exercise that hatefulness by killing anyone who would remind them that God has forbidden certain types of conduct.

 

Sometimes, we are even more surprised when some of the men and women we have chosen to be our teachers, our news sources, and even our elected leaders respond to such murderous activity with open approval and audible cheering.

 

There needs to be a turning back to God and His ways if we are to ever get out of the circumstances that we find ourselves in at the present. We must ask ourselves if we like what is going on today. We need to determine if we are going to accept the nonsense that is often falsely taught on behalf of Christianity that somehow, we are required to let the most innocent among us remain at the mercy of the most wicked among us. We do need to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us - this has never changed! But we also need to bring back righteousness and justice in America if we are to meet that portion of Christ's teaching as well. And, we are going to have to stop going along with wicked men who call right wrong and wrong right. 

 

More than anything, we are going to have to repent of our cowardly behavior that permitted the wicked to take charge in the first place. We were indeed deceived when we decided that God would not allow us to reap what we had sown, despite the wicked seed that we had all so carefully planted and then nurtured into maturity. We live in a nation that is at a crossroads, and her people are going to have to decide whether they will follow God or follow men and women who are ruled by Satan. 

Understand that if we fail to make a decision now, it is likely that we will never do so. And by that lack of decisiveness, we will be condemning our children and grandchildren to a world that is ruled by evil instead of righteousness. I for one am sick and tired of witnessing evil men go about unfettered and then listening to their evil companions cheer them on. I for one am more than willing to love these enemies and pray for them - this is commanded - but I am also ready to insist that we also begin to live under God's righteous commands that result in a justice system that protects the innocent and brings the guilty to a swift justice. 

 

I am determined to start living that way, to start praying that way, and to start voting that way. Furthermore, I will start praying that God will bring to His justice any who would stand in His way! I hope that you will join me in that commitment