[411 words]
“I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men” (Revelation 2:2).
Modern philosophy suggests that there is something good in everyone. Thoroughly “bad” or “evil” persons are not even considered to exist.
Everyone who commits particularly heinous deeds do so because they are innocent products of their environment. The young man who disobeys the police and is shot suffers not because of any wrong doing on his part but because of racism. The woman who kills her children is mentally imbalanced. The drunk driver who strays into an oncoming car is the victim of a disorder.
One truth taught by the rise of ISIS as a terrorist organization is that these people are very easily recognized as evil. There is no doubt. Anyone who beheads innocent people is evil. Anyone who kills others simply because they disagree religiously is evil. Anyone who teaches children that murder and propagating terror is virtuous is evil. We are on target when we say, “ISIS is evil!”
The Bible also is clear that some people, by their behavior, should be classified as evil. This is why Jesus commended the church at Ephesus, “You cannot tolerate evil men.”
There are some necessary implications one can draw from this statement in the verse above.
First, it is possible to know when a person is evil. A determination can be made. It is a judgment that is based upon the evil doer’s deeds and absence of remorse. Everyone will sin, but an evil person does not care that he sins. A truly evil person only feels the regret of getting caught.
Second, there is an appropriate response of the righteous toward evil. Regarding the atrocities of ISIS and the depth of evil they have embraced, I personally have no problem with military force exterminating them like one would a disgusting cockroach. This is one of the God-ordained, primary functions of government, to “bear the sword” for a purpose (see Romans 13:1-4).
In these particularly uncertain times when evil abounds and some think that evil can be reasoned with, it is important for Christians to know that while we should offer the gospel of Christ to all men, not all are going to accept it. While the gospel is a deterrent to sin for us, for many, it will not matter.
Some around us are evil and will not change but will simply go from bad to worse.
Floyd Kaiser
Southwest Church of Christ
Ada, OK