The big news this week continues to be the tragic and senseless murder of conservative speaker Charlie Kirk and the reactions from both sides of the political aisle. First off, I want to emphasize that Kirk’s assassination is an evil act of spiritual warfare; it should never be twisted or painted as a political assassination.
Mr. Kirk stated his focus was on his faith and how it shaped the other aspects of his life. The Bible warns us any time we take a stand for God, Satan and his angels will attack us (2 Timothy 3:12, 1 Peter 5:8).
Personally, I have been shocked by how many in the Christian community have reacted to Kirk’s death; the lies, hatred, and division are just as wrong as any action of someone not within the Christian community.
Part of living in a fallen kingdom is it is corrupted by all sorts of evil (Genesis 6:5, Proverbs 6:16-19). Despite what many conservatives believe, “liberals” aren’t the only ones capable of evil acts (Romans 3:23):
- Revenge
- Greed
- Deception
- Pride
You don’t have to be a theologian or Bible scholar to understand that evil comes in many forms. Evil is contrary to the good nature of God and His purpose. None of us should forget that only God is good and just (Deuteronomy 32:4, Psalm 145:17, Mark 10:18).
The Bible is clear we live in an evil, fallen world (Genesis 6:5). Evil is a spiritual problem, and sin is a human problem, not a political one, despite how many conservatives try to make it to be lest they forget that even God’s people have evil hearts (Jeremiah 17:3, Matthew 15:18-20).
What Is Evil
Unfortunately, most of us believe we have a handle on what is good and what is evil, but that is our prideful hearts puffing us up (1 Corinthians 4:6; 13:4). And as every child of God should know, pride is a sin because it is evil (Proverbs 16:18, Romans 12:16).
Evil is defined as “Morally reprehensible, causing harm: sinful.” I don’t think anyone reading this has never sinned or hurt anyone else, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Even God’s people must fight the evil within themselves (Romans 12:21).
As long as we are in the flesh, we will battle evil (James 4:7, 1 Peter 2:11). That is why the Bible has a lot to say about evil, and not just the evil of this fallen kingdom (Psalm 23:4, Ephesians 6:12).
We have all fallen short of God’s glory because of our sinful nature (Ecclesiastes 7:20, Romans 3:23). That is why it is both foolish and prideful for any child of God to throw stones at anyone else, especially those who are still lost in darkness (Matthew 7:1-29).
We too once walked in darkness and followed our evil ways, and many still do after they come to Christ (Acts 26:18, Ephesians 5:8, Colossians 1:13, 1 John 1: 5-7). The apostles remembered their Jewish education about evil and where it comes from.
Raʿ
The Torah tells us God created everything in the beginning, and it was good (Genesis 1:1-26). That is, until Satan deceived Adam and Eve with what they wanted, and sin entered the creation. Satan actually twisted God’s perfect words to promise the first Adam more than God’s goodness.
After sin entered the world, the creation became corrupted by evil, the hearts of all mankind were utterly evil in God’s eyes, not man’s eyes (Genesis 6:5). Because of sin, only God is good and only He can define what is evil, not a preacher, apologist, or politician.
The Hebrew word in the Old Testament for evil is raʿ, and it can also mean “Mischief, wicked, harm, or affliction,” depending on the context it is used in. Our Jewish forefathers were called and commanded to speak out and fight against all forms of evil (Exodus 19:5-9, Deuteronomy 14:2, Psalm 82:3-4, Proverbs 6:18-19; 31:8-9):
- Haughty eyes
- Lying lips
- Murder
- Evil hearts
- False witness
- Rushing to do evil
- stirring up conflict/division
Our Lord puts lying, pride, and division on the same level as murder, because all are forms of evil according to God. While Jesus conducted His earthly ministry, He also made no distinction between evils or where they came from (Matthew 15:19-20).
Even Jesus refused to be called good because He understood only our Heavenly Father is good (Luke 18:19). So how can any Christian 2000 years later believe they are somehow good or better than anyone else alive today?
That is why Jesus had to confront the religious leaders of His day about them doing the works of Satan themselves (John 8:44). Once again, we see Jesus putting lying on the same level as murder in God’s eyes.
Israel
In other big news this week, the United Nations declared Israel was guilty of genocide in Gaza. Despite the international fallout over Israel’s evil campaign for revenge, violence, and control, the IDF launched a larger ground assault in Gaza City, burning it up.
The IDF launched more ground forces into Gaza City to help Israel gain control over the region. God’s people are oppressing their neighbors and slaughtering innocent people in their hunt for revenge.
Israel has forgotten to be God’s holy people and the remedy to the evil ways of this fallen kingdom (Exodus 19:5-6). God’s people are hell-bent on being evil like this fallen kingdom, instead of holy like God:
- Violent
- Vengeful
- Unloving
- Greedy
God’s people have forgotten that evil comes in many forms and ways because we live in a fallen kingdom (Genesis 6:5, Job 2:1-3). God’s chosen people must live differently from this fallen world (Leviticus 26:3-12, 1 Peter 2:9-10).
As God’s people we are called to be the light and not practice the darkness of this world (Matthew 5:14-16, John 8:12, Ephesians 5:8) we each must look at ourselves in the mirror, if we think we are better than anyone else with our own evil hearts (Romans 12:1-21, Philippians 2:3). We cannot only condemn the evil we choose to condemn like Charlie Kirk. We cannot only condemn murder when God Himself warns us about other raʿ (Proverbs 6:16-19).
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