Today we are going to look in the Bible to see a few reasons why God describes His Word as a “sharp twoedged sword.” God likens His Word to having two edges. We read a verse like this in Hebrews 4 that we are all familiar with. In Hebrews 4:12, God says:
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
There is no other book in the world that compares to this. What a description for the Word of God, for the Bible! It actually can discern the “thoughts and intents of the heart.” Nothing else can even come close to this. The Lord Jesus is the Word that was made flesh, we read in John 1. If you read through the Gospel accounts, I think on a couple of occasions, you will read about how the Jews would be murmuring amongst themselves and it will talk about how “Jesus knew their thoughts.” He would say, “Why reason ye these things in your hearts?” He knew their thoughts. He knew the intents of their hearts.
Jesus is the Word made flesh and He has given us this written Word whereby we can learn so much about ourselves. It truly is like looking in a mirror when you read the Bible. It really shows you where you are. As you read this Bible and you read God’s commands, I know for myself, when you read it and see a lot of things, you say, “Wow, I do not measure up here. What about this? Why am I not doing this? Here God is commanding me to do this and I am not doing it—on many different subjects.”
There is nothing in the world like this Book, and God likens it to having “two edges.” It is “sharper than any twoedged sword.” There is a picture of Jesus in Revelation in a couple of places where it talks about “out of His mouth went a sharp twoedged sword,” and it is a reference to the Word of God.
One of the reasons that God describes His Word with two edges is because it can cut both ways. It can cut you to salvation, or God can use it to cut you to damnation. This is the power that is in the Word of God.
First, let us look at salvation as God talks about it in His Word in Acts 2. On that day of Pentecost when Peter preached to the people, he was preaching the very Word of God as we have it recorded here for us. What an impact it made on those people who were listening to him there—on “about three thousand” of them in fact. We read in Acts 2:37-41, and this is after Peter brought the Gospel to them:
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
As you can see, there was an impact that the Word of God had “when they heard this.” Notice that language, “Now when they heard this.” They were hearing the Word of God. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart…
It really made a big impact on them. “What shall we do?” They started to worry about their sins and about salvation and God’s judgment and the whole thing that the Bible talks about. No other book does this.
You can see this in your own lives as you share the Word of God with people. What an impact the Bible has! When you start to bring up God, when you start to bring up the Bible, how sad it is that when you start talking about the Bible, people start getting nervous. “Uh oh, he’s talking about God. He’s talking about the Bible.” Many times people have this kind of reaction.
Why? Why does the Bible bring such a reaction to people? It really does. Here, what a great reaction! They started getting troubled over their sins, and hopefully that is the way it is for each one of us. When you hear the Bible, do you really take it to heart? Are you really realizing that this is God talking to you? Has it made an impact in your life? Or has it made a negative impact where you do not want to hear it and you just cover your ears? Many people do that as well.
Let us turn to Luke 2 where we see how God talks about how the Word of God was to pierce Mary’s soul. Mary here is a picture of the believers, as God does this to all of His children. We read in Luke 2:34-35:
And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
This is what happens as God is going to save one of His people. He brings the Word of God to them. They come under the hearing of the Word of God and it is like a sword piercing through their soul. Another aspect of why God likens it to a sword that cuts our hearts is because God uses the figure of circumcision, circumcision of the heart. He talks about this in Romans 2:29:
But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart…
Turn to Joshua 5 where we will see how Joshua had the Israelites physically circumcised and it was to be a picture of how we need our sins cuts off. This is why God has to circumcise our hearts—because we have all of this spiritual foreskin, so to speak. God says, “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart.” It is all of these sins. It is that stony rebellious heart that we have by nature, and God takes His Word, like a sword, and cuts off all of those sins and gives you a new heart. This is spiritual language and it is a great picture of just the power of God’s Word.
We read in Joshua 5:2-3, this is after they had passed over into the land of Canaan and had crossed the Jordan River:
At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives…
This word “knives” is the same word as the word “sword.”
…and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.
So we see this picture of circumcision. God talks about “circumcision of the heart,” which is done by the sharp sword of the Word of God, and may this happen to each one of us. May God have circumcised our hearts and cut away all of our sins.
Turn to Deuteronomy 6 where God will talk to us about how we want to bring the Word of God to our children. As parents, our constant prayer to God and hope is, “Could it be that God might save our children?” These are precious children that God has given us. As we think about them, they are sinners, too, just like their old man. They are under the wrath of God, if they are not saved, and they are heading for Hell for all eternity—your own children, your own flesh and blood. So here is the command of God to us, to bring the Word of God in the hope that it might cut their heart that they might be cut unto salvation. Here in Deuteronomy 6, God tells us very clearly to bring the Word of God to them. We read in Deuteronomy 6:6-7:
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
The word in this verse that is translated “teach” and “diligently” is actually the Hebrew word for “sharpen.” So it is really saying, “sharpen them unto thy children.”
As you bring the Word of God to your children, you want to bring the sharp Word of God in the hopes that it will prick their hearts. It is actually also translated “prick” in Psalm 73. If you remember, the psalmist was “envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” Then when he “went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.” Then we read that his “heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins.” He realized, “What am I thinking? They are going to end up in Hell. Why am I envying them?”
This is the same word here for “teach” and “diligently.” You sharpen or whet your sword. This is what we want to do for our children. We want to bring them the sharp Word of God. We do not want to sugar-coat the Bible. We do not want to bring smooth words, the flattering words of the false gospels.
If we turn to Proverbs 5, we will see this contrast between the smooth words of the false gospels and the sharp word of the true Gospel. In Proverbs 5:3-5, we read:
For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: but her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
In the Proverbs, this “strange woman” is a picture of the false gospels of the world—the gospels that are so prevalent today. Many of the churches are telling the children in the churches, “Jesus loves you. Do not worry about your sins. You have a wonderful life with Jesus. As you come to our church and come to Sunday School, this is wonderful for you. God is a God of love. He is not angry at you. If you do wrong, it is okay. Do not worry about it.”
This is a big, fat lie. They are lying to children! How terrible this is! God wants us to bring the sharp Word of God, the true Gospel, and tell them honestly, “Hey, look, you are in this world. You are a human being. You are a sinner just like me and you need salvation. So you had better take the Bible very seriously and pray to God for His mercy. Maybe He will save you.”
Notice the contrast in these two verses. We read in Proverbs 5:3:
For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb…
Do you remember the riddle in the book of Judges that had been given by Sampson? The riddle was, “Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness.” Their answer was, “What is sweeter than honey?” We know that honey is very, very sweet.
Notice Proverbs 5:4, though:
But her end is bitter as wormwood…
It is the complete opposite. Their words are so sweet, but in the end, since it is false, it is not true. They are not really saved, so the “end is bitter.” The end is judgment.
Then the second part of Proverbs 5:3:
…and her mouth is smoother than oil:
Her mouth is very smooth, but what is her end? In Proverbs 5:4, her end is:
…sharp as a twoedged sword.
Again, we see the contrast. Her mouth is “smooth.” It is so flattering. The false gospels sound so lovely, but in the end, it is “sharp as a twoedged sword.” This is what we read in John 12:
…the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
Again, that “twoedged sword” is the Word of God that is going to cut unto damnation on that Last Day.
May we not do this with anyone, not just with our children but with anyone. We do not want to bring just the smooth words. No, we want to bring the sharp Word of God. Not in the hopes that it will cut them unto damnation. No, but praying that God will cut them unto salvation. But if you bring them just smooth words, that is not going to cut their hearts, that is not going to prick their hearts, that is doing them no good. You are actually hurting them. You are actually lying to them and bringing them down a wrong path—one that leads straight to Hell. So may we bring the true Word of God.
Let us turn to Acts 7 and take a look at how the Bible can cut people unto damnation. We saw in Acts 2:37:
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart…
Then they wanted to repent, as God was working in them, and they said:
…what shall we do?
And “about three thousand” had become saved.
In Acts 7, this is where Stephen is giving his message to the Jews. He brings the Word of God to them, so let us see their reaction—the reaction of the Jews when they heard the Word of God. We read in Acts 7:54-60, it says:
When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, 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. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
What a reaction this caused! That Word of God really cut them. “They were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.” Then they ran at him and covered their ears; they “stopped their ears” and then they stoned him. They did not want to hear this at all. They really did not like what they heard.
Sometimes this is what happens. I am sure that you have had those experiences where you gently try to share the true Word of God. You know that it is sharp. You know that it is going to cause a reaction and sometimes you see this when people get violent—they get angry with you and they tell you, “Do not talk to me about this. I do not want to hear this.” Okay. Fine. God says to move on. As the Bible says, “Neither cast ye your pearls before swine.”
So here in Acts 7, we see the exact opposite reaction, but notice that it is the same language:
When they heard these things…
Just like in Acts 2:
Now when they heard this…
But this time, it cut their hearts and they were just so angry. It just shows that they were not saved at that time.
This is the way the Gospel is. Turn to 2 Corinthians 2 where God tells us that it is the “savour of life unto life” to some. To others, it is the “savour of death unto death.” We read in 2 Corinthians 2:14-17:
Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: to the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
So we see here that it is “in them that are saved, and in them that perish.” To the one, it is the “savour of death unto death;” to the other, it is “the savour of life unto life.” This is just the nature of the Bible and the nature of this world. This is the way it is.
Let us turn to Psalm 149. As we bring the Gospel, as I said, we are bringing this sharp Word of God—not in the hopes that it will judge anyone and that they will have a similar reaction to the Jews in Acts 7, but in the hopes that they will see their sins and that God might apply His Word to their hearts and save them.
But on the Last Day, then things change. On the Last Day, God says that there will be no more mercy because that is Judgment Day. Then as it says in 1 Corinthians 6, (Note: the audio record mistakenly says “2 Corinthians 6”) the believers will be judging with Him in some way. I do not know how all of this will be, but this is what the Bible tells us—that the believers will actually be judging with Christ. Then it is a different time.
In Psalm 149, we will see how the believers will execute judgment. In Psalm 149:5-9, we read:
Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand; to execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.
These are some strong verses here where we see that the saints have the “twoedged sword in their hand; to execute vengeance,” and “this honour have all His saints.” This is what will take place on that Last Day as the believers judge with God.
Let us turn to Luke 12. Another reason why God likens His Word to a “twoedged sword” and having two edges is because it brings division. The Bible brings division. It divides the sheep from the goats—the wheat from the tares. This is the language of the Bible.
When you get into the Bible and you start to share the Bible with others, you are not going to have everyone loving you and giving you hugs and kisses and saying, “Oh, what a wonderful person you are! We love to hear these things.” You are not going to be gathering to yourself a whole lot of friends. The Bible divides people. This is what Jesus said. These are the words of Jesus. He says in Luke 12:51-53:
Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: for from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
This is sad. Within our own families, God’s Word divides—“three against two, and two against three.” Mother and daughter, father and son—divided—over the Scriptures, over the Bible, over the Lord Jesus Christ.
We see this with Jacob and Esau. Turn to Genesis 25 where we have two brothers—twins. You can not get much closer than twins. In Genesis 25, God will tell us, although they are twins, they are going to be divided. They are going to become “two nations,” two separate people. In Genesis 25:21-23, it says:
And Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the LORD. And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.
So we see that “two nations” were in her womb, “two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels.”
Turn to Romans 9 and we will see that Jacob and Esau typify groups of people. Jacob typifies the elect of God—those whom God will save. Esau typifies the ones whom God will not save—the unsaved. In Romans 9:10-13, we read:
And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; (for the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
We see here that as God looks at mankind, He sees two different people, two separate people—the Jacobs who typify God’s elect whom He loves, and then there are the Esaus who typify the unsaved whom He is not going to save and whom He hates because of their sin.
This is righteous with God. He is righteous in all of this. This is not the way that we would maybe have it in our own minds, but this is the way that God has it. He has separated people into these two nations, “two manner of people.”
All of us are actually in the kingdom of Satan. We are under God’s wrath—all of us by nature. This is not like, “Oh well, I am one of God’s children. You know, I am one of God’s elect. He loves me—too bad that He does not love you.”
Not at all—this is not the way it is at all. We do not deserve anything. All that we deserve is God’s wrath in Hell. All of us, by nature, are in the kingdom of Satan and under His wrath.
Turn to Acts 26. This is the great love of God—that He would save any one of us. It is just, “Why me? Why would God save me? Why in the world do I read the Bible? Why am I interested in the Scriptures?”
There so many people that you walk by and see every day at work or at school—none of them really want to talk about the Bible. They could care less about God. So why are we interested in the Bible?
It is God’s mercy that is working in your life. It is not anything of you. If God left you to yourself, you would be just along with everyone else, going down the path to Hell and in your sins. This is the great love of God, what He does to people as He intervenes in their lives.
Look at Acts 26:18. This is where God is speaking to Paul. Paul is recounting how he became saved. This is where the Lord was talking to him and telling him what he was going to be doing—that he was going to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles. In Acts 26:18, it says:
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
You see, this is the great love of God that He can do this to you. He can take you from the “power of Satan unto God.”
You can not get farther apart than this: these two kingdoms that are in the world—the kingdom of Satan and Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus. They are a complete opposite, and God can take us out of that pit and bring us over into His Kingdom. This is the way it is. We are either in one or the other. There is no middle ground.
Sometimes when you bring the Word of God, you do not always get that angry reaction. Not everyone is so angry with you, but yet they do not respond, “Oh, this is great! I want to read the Bible more. Tell me more!” They do not respond at all. They could care less.
There you are, telling them about what the Bible says about our sins and that we are under God’s wrath and that we need the Lord Jesus to save us, and it is like you did not say anything at all. It just goes over their heads or they just completely ignore it and say, “You are just crazy. Get out of here!” They just do not care, yet they are not on the Lord Jesus’ side. They are still in Satan’s kingdom.
This is the way I used to be when I first heard the Gospel. It did not faze me at all. Yet just because we do not have that negative reaction, this does not mean that we are with God. In Matthew 12:30, Jesus said:
He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
You can not say, “Well, I am on the fence. I am undecided. I do not know what is true. I do not know what is right, so I will just walk that fine line.”
No, there is no middle ground. If you are not gathering with Christ, you are scattering. If you are not trying to share the Gospel with people to bring them into the Kingdom, well then you are actually scattering people. You are keeping people away from Christ because you are not telling them about Him. You are just telling them, “No, let us just live our lives. Let us just forget about the Bible. Let us just live life and enjoy it.” Well, you are actually scattering people even though you think that you are not against Christ.
Most people, they do not think that they hate God. I did not think that I hated God, but you really do if you do not love Him, if you are not serving Him. If your whole life is not about the Lord Jesus Christ and His Kingdom, then you are scattering people. You are showing hatred to God. Jesus said, “He that is not with Me is against Me.”
Turn to 1 John 3 where God will tell us about how we are either a child of God or a child of the devil. In 1 John 3:10-12, it says:
In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
You see, here God tells us about the children of God and the children of the devil, and He gives us this example of Cain and Abel—“not as Cain, who was of that wicked one.” Cain was a child of the devil.
What strong language—a child of the devil. This is what we are if we are not saved—we are a child of the devil. This is the language of the Bible. These are not my words or anybody else’s words—these are God’s words. This is His assessment. If we are not in His Kingdom, if we have not been born again, we are a child of the devil. We do not realize this before we are saved.
People do not think that they are a child of the devil. Go talk to someone at work and ask them, “Are you a child of the devil or a child of God? Are you saved?” Their response will be, “I am not a child of the devil. What are you talking about?”
This is just such strong language, but this is God’s language. This is the serious nature of life that we all like to put the blinders on and forget about, but this is what life is. This is the way it is.
Turn to Exodus 11. In Exodus 11, God tells us how He puts a difference between these two people. He puts a difference between His people and the people of Satan. Although, of course, again, we always have to remember that we once were children of the devil. Again, this is the great love of God. He is stronger than Satan and He can take people out of his kingdom.
Exodus 11 is where God was bringing that plague of the firstborn, where He was killing the firstborn of Egypt. Exodus 11:4-7 says:
And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.
You can see how God puts “a difference between the Egyptians and Israel”—the unsaved and the saved, God’s people and the people in Satan’s kingdom. God makes the difference. He saves one and not the other, and this is God’s business. If He passes over someone and does not save them, that is His business. He is God. We are not God. It is His salvation plan.
Let us turn to Ecclesiastes 3. Another reason why God describes His Word as having two edges is because it always presents us with two edges; it always presents us with two sides. There is good and evil, light and darkness, sweet and bitter, wisdom and folly, mercy and judgment. You can just go on and on about these opposites, and this is the way that the Bible is presented to us. He always describes life and death, blessing and cursing.
In our lives, there are always going to be these two edges. Many of us would love to have it with only one edge. We would love to have it where it is always good and it is always sweet, where it is always life and it is always blessing, but this is not the way that life is. Our lives are not this way. Sometimes it is like this: there is blessing and love and good. But then the next day will come and it will be a bad day. It will be a cursing and darkness and trouble.
In Ecclesiastes 3, we see here how there is a time for one and there is a time for another. We read in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8:
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
You see, this is what life is. There is a time for the one and there is a time for the other. A lot of this, of course, is spiritual language about God’s mercy and God’s judgment. This is the way life is. God has mercy on people and He brings judgment on people. This is who He is. This is His plan for this world and we can see this in our lives.
Turn to Ecclesiastes 7. Why are there these two edges in life? Why is it not always blessing and love? Of course, it is a result of the sin. When Adam and Eve sinned and this whole world was plunged into sin and the whole world was cursed, this is what brought all of this evil into the world. It is all as a result of our sin.
It is this way even in the children of God. Even in God’s people, in their lives, they also see these two edges and these two sides. I tell you, it is to keep us very humble because we do not know what will happen next. One day can be so great and we are just flying high, “Praise the Lord! Everything is going so great!” Then the phone rings and we answer it and all of a sudden your life is changed. Something can happen drastically and your whole life can be changed, just like that. I tell you, it just keeps you so humble and you just have to trust in the Lord—day-by-day. Jesus said, “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof”—one day at a time, just continually trusting in Him and crying out to Him for help and for guidance.
In Ecclesiastes 7:13-14, it says:
Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked? In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.
You see, He has set the one over against the other, to the end that we can find nothing after us. We do not know what is going to happen next. We do not know if it is going to be a good day or a bad day. We do not know, so it keeps us humble and just trusting in the Lord. The only way we can go through this life is to be trusting in the Lord and praying to Him for guidance.
These words “prosperity” and “adversity” are the same words as “good” and “evil.” In the day of good, be joyful. That word “joyful” is also the word “good.” In the day of good, be good, but in the day of evil, consider. This is the way life is. There is good and evil. God always sets these both before us.
Turn to Deuteronomy 30 where He sets the good and the evil before us. We see that there are two ways in life. In all things in our lives, there are things that come up and we have to make a decision, “Do I go one way or do I go the other? Do I do this or do I do that?”
Sadly, we always choose the wrong way by nature. We always go down the wrong path, if God is not guiding us and if God is not helping us out, because we have this sin nature that we lust after by nature.
In Deuteronomy 30, we will see how God puts these both before us. In Deuteronomy 30:15-20, it says:
See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; in that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: that thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
So here we have it. We have life and good and death and evil, so choose life and live! But we do not do this. We do not choose life. By nature, our sin has blinded us. We are spiritually dead in our sins.
God can tell us this, “Choose life!” He says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” And we say, “No thanks. I have my own life. I have my own things that I want to do.”
We love our sins. We do not want that light to shine on us. We love the darkness, so we always choose the wrong way—and how sad this is. How sad that this is the way that we are. May we cry out to God to change our hearts so that we can truly love life, truly love Him and walk in His ways.
Turn to 1 Kings 3. We will see that this is what Solomon did. He cried out to God to help him so that he could discern between the good and the bad. We do not know sometimes which is the good way and which is the bad way, so we can pray to God that He will give us wisdom.
In 1 Kings 3:5-9, it says:
In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said, Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
So we see this cry from Solomon for God to help him to discern between good and bad. We can pray to God for this. We can pray to God for wisdom and He will guide His people. Not only do we pray, but we want to study the Bible to learn what is good and bad.
Turn to Hebrews 5 where we will see a similar thing about how if we study the Bible, as God opens our spiritual understanding, He will show us. As we grow in grace, we will be able to discern between good and evil. We will be able to see what is the right way in life and what is the wrong way. In Hebrews 5:13-14, it says:
For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
You see, this is how the discernment comes: as we pray to God and as we study the Bible, “by reason of use,” by habit, by continually doing it, by continually going into the Bible and studying the Bible.
If you are not reading the Bible, if you are not letting God talk to you, how are you going to know what is good and evil? You are only going to have your own mind to guide you, and I will tell you right now that you are going to go down the wrong path because our minds are not trustworthy. Our minds are tainted by sin.
The Bible tells us what is good and what is evil—not our minds. We do not come up with, “Oh, I think this is right and I think that is wrong.” This is not the way it is. God tells us what is good. God tells us what is evil, and so it is “by reason of use.”
If you are not in the Bible daily and studying God’s Word and praying to Him, all you have is your own mind. Do not trust your mind. I know that I do not want to trust my mind; it is so deceitful and untrustworthy. But God is trustworthy. God knows what is truth and God can show you through the Bible.
Turn to Isaiah 5, if you want to use your own minds, and that is what the world does. They love their minds. We love ourselves before we are saved. Of course, we all have a certain love for our self. We do not want to get hurt. We want to take care of our self and nurture ourselves. But before we are saved, we think that whatever we think is the way it is: we know what is going on; we know what life is all about. In fact, we have the two sides backwards. We have things upside down.
In Isaiah 5:20-24, God says:
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
God says, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil.” We have these two sides backwards before we are saved. You may share with someone something from the Bible that is good and righteous and holy. They will say, “No, that is not right. You are being too strict. You are narrow minded. You need to open your mind and see that this is just a different lifestyle. This is just a different way of doing things.” But what they are doing is calling good “evil” and evil “good.”
I know that this is the way that I used to be. This is because we have turned things upside down from the way that God originally created everything. When God created the world, He looked at everything and what did He say? The Bible says, “God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.” It is good, but yet, when Adam and Eve fell into sin, now the evil entered in. This is what God says in Ecclesiastes 7:29:
…God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
In the beginning, God made everything good, but we have turned things upside down.
Turn to Isaiah 29 where God uses that language of how we have turned things upside down and that we have everything backwards. In Isaiah 29:15-16, it says:
Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?
You can see just the utter foolishness of this, and this is the way that I used to be. I used to agree with evolution and believe in that. But here it is, “Shall the work say of Him that made it, ‘He made me not?’” This is what you are doing. You are saying, “No, God did not make me. I came from monkeys. I came from something else.”
Once your eyes are opened, you see the foolishness. Before, you could not see it at all. It is just amazing just how blind we are. We have these blinders on. We can not see anything because we are spiritually dead and we have turned things upside down. We can actually say to the One who made us, “No, You did not make me.” This is the way that our wicked hearts are. Praise God, though, that He can change our hearts.
Turn to Acts 17 and we will see that when God does save you and He does change your heart and He turns you right-side up—because remember, by nature, we are upside down; we are against God—when He saves you, He makes you upright again.
Now when the world looks at you, remember that they are upside down and you are upright, what do we look like to them, so to speak? They think that we are upside down. They think that the believers are upside down, when in fact it is actually the exact opposite.
Here in Acts 17:5-7, it says:
But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.
If you are a believer, this is the way that you look to the world. They think that you are turning things upside down when you bring the Gospel and you talk about another King, the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings. As you bring His message and the truths from His Kingdom, they think that you have gone haywire. They think that you have things backwards.
Let us just close with one more verse. Turn to Psalm 146 and we will see how, in the end, God is going to restore everything to its proper place. God is going to bring His people up into Heaven forevermore into the glorious Kingdom of God, and the unsaved will go down to Hell forevermore. Praise God that there is great hope in God’s salvation. In Psalm 146:8-10, it says:
The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous: the LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down. The LORD shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the LORD.
You see, on that Last Day, God is going to turn the way of the wicked upside down. He is going to bring Judgment on those who are not His.
May we cry out to God that He might turn us upright, because all of us by nature have all things backwards. This is how our lives are, especially before we are saved. We have all our priorities mixed up. What we think is so important in life actually means almost absolutely nothing. Until we become saved, then we realize what life is all about. It is all about the Lord Jesus and His Kingdom and His ways and His Gospel.
May that be our lives today. May we start to serve the Lord and give our lives wholly to Him and not go after vanity, because, in the end, the way of the wicked, He is going to just turn it upside down—and down to Hell you go if you are not saved. This is just the way life is.