Category: Satan and Policy of Evil

I Just Wanted to Get Away! #7

Tuesday, September 16, 2025

“And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10 KJV).

Will sinners “get away” from accountability before God?

Keep reading chapter 2 of Romans: “[11] For there is no respect of persons with God. [12] For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; [13] (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. [14] For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: [15] Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another; ) [16] In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.”

Whether a sinning Jew or a sinning Gentile, one falling short of His glory, God does not play favorites. Neither one will escape His justice that enforces His offended righteousness. In time past, the Law of Moses was given to the nation Israel, not the Gentiles. Lost Israelites will be judged according to that Law at the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15. The Gentiles had conscience, an internal system of standards and norms that gave them some sense of right and wrong. God will judge lost Gentiles according to this when they face Him at the Great White Throne Judgment.

In Romans 2:16, Paul announces how God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to his (that is, Paul’s) Gospel. No matter what they did or believed in religious or philosophical circles, it did not have the spiritual value of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as sufficient payment for their sins. Since they failed to believe the words of God to them (whenever they lived on Earth), God’s righteousness was not imputed to them by personal faith, which is what led to the doom and sentencing they now face in Revelation chapter 20….

I Just Wanted to Get Away! #6

Monday, September 15, 2025

“And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10 KJV).

Will sinners “get away” from accountability before God?

“Busy in ministry” in early Acts, Saul of Tarsus was a Hell-bound, self-righteous Jew, obsessed with his own “goodness.” Filled with religious pride, he nonetheless finally gave up his “dung” and “filthy rags,” and came to faith in Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour (check Philippians 3:1-9). Through his subsequent years as an Apostle, Paul encountered many other such lost Jews in synagogues in the Roman Empire (Acts chapters 9–28). These were the very Christ-rejecting Jews about which he wrote in Romans chapter 2 (the same sinful Jews who looked down upon the “sinful” Gentiles of chapter 1).

Romans chapter 2: “[1] Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. [2] But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. [3] And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? [4] Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? [5] But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; [6] Who will render to every man according to his deeds: [7] To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: [8] But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, [9] Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;….”

Try as hard as they might, the Bible thunders how no one without the righteousness of God will “get away” from the righteous judgment of God….

I Just Wanted to Get Away! #5

Sunday, September 14, 2025

“And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10 KJV).

Will sinners “get away” from accountability before God?

Another useful method of evading culpability before God is known as “relative righteousness.” In this scenario, someone points to another and declares, “I am not as bad as that person.” They, of course, are probably referring to people such as inmates confined to the cells of maximum-security prisons—prostitutes, drug dealers, pedophiles, murderers, rapists, thieves, and so on. We can summarize their boast with the ditty, “I neither smoke nor chew, nor run with the girls who do!” They puff out their little chests and lift their noses up high. Many such goody-goodies could be found in ancient Judaism.

The classic Biblical example of this is Luke 18:11,12: “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican [tax collector]. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.” Unfortunately, there are people who are better than we, so, our bragging must cease when they come into the picture. Moreover, the fact of the matter is, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). No one is as good as He is or sinless like He is!

I once had an “intellectual” friend and college classmate who joined a strange Eastern religion. The topic came up as we were eating lunch in the school cafeteria one day. I had never heard of this philosophical system before, so I asked him quite bluntly an extremely simple question, “What will you do with your sin?” After a brief pause to think, he replied, “I will get back with you on that.” Some 15 years later, I am still waiting for an answer from him—and I know one will never be forthcoming. To my knowledge, he is still dodging accountability before God, trying to achieve a state of “spirituality” without coming through Calvary’s cross.

Alas, time is running out for him and all lost sinners, and they will not get away….

I Just Wanted to Get Away! #4

Saturday, September 13, 2025

“And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10 KJV).

Will sinners “get away” from accountability before God?

Perhaps the simplest way to avoid accountability before God is just to deny His existence. This is the atheist’s preference. If there is no higher authority beyond the sinner, the sinner can believe and do as he or she pleases without fear of ultimate scrutiny or eternal punishment. In that case, “being good without God” is as self-righteous as those who attend church and boast of their religious rites, rituals, ceremonies, and commandment-keeping (“I am good enough! I do the best I can!”). Both classes are struggling to “get away” from answering to God.

Let us go over to John 3:16-21 now: “[16] For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. [17] For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. [18] He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [19] And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. [20] For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. [21] But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

Did you notice how sinners avoid the light? They do not want their deeds to be “reproved” (criticized), so they hide in darkness, where they think no one can see them and their evil activities. This matches what Adam and Eve did when they “hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8). Like their parents, they will either blame God or blame Satan when the light shines upon them and their nakedness….

I Just Wanted to Get Away! #3

Friday, September 12, 2025

“And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10 KJV).

Will sinners “get away” from accountability before God?

Recall that amusing—but true—story. The police forced a robbery suspect, speeding down the interstate, to stop. As they placed him in handcuffs, that adult wept and whined, “Man, why did y’all do that to me?! I was just wanting to get away! I was just trying to get away!” Study those words carefully, friend, for they are a glimpse into the sinful human heart and mind. At no point did he admit any wrongdoing. Instead, he carefully shifted the blame over to the police: the authorities were “at fault” because they prevented his escape! Like almost everyone else being taken to jail, he was “innocent.” Yet, if he were guiltless, why did he run… and for so long?

The parallel is striking. Sinful man supposes he can “get away” from accountability before a holy, righteous Creator God. Adam and Eve repeatedly tried this method in Genesis chapter 3, failing miserably. Religious people have done it through all these subsequent ages too. They presume they can cancel their sins by doing various good works—obeying commandments, helping the poor, getting water baptized, confessing sins, praying faithfully every day, giving money to a denominational institution or theological system, joining a church, eating communion wafers, teaching religion classes, and so on.

So infatuated with their “goodness,” so in love with self and their religious busyness, they show absolutely no interest in hearing about Christ’s finished crosswork on Calvary. As they rattle on and on (brag ad nauseam!!!) about how they have “done this” and “done that,” they sidestep accountability before God—and are therefore like our first parents, Adam and Eve. They respond, “No, I am not ‘that bad!’” Bearing a serious facial expression, some have even announced to me how they are truly sinless. They believe they have done no wrong at all. Ironically, if you point out their sin problem in an effort to lead them to Christ the Saviour of sinners, they accuse you of self-righteousness (!).

Indeed, they “just want to get away….”

God’s Offer to the Nations

Thursday, September 11, 2025

“…[T]hat God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is God’s offer to all the nations of the world today.

September 11, 2001 was a day that changed our nation forever. It was the worst terrorist attack in our two-century national history. Afterward, many Americans began to talk about “God Bless America” and “God Save the United States.” These phrases are not as commonplace as they used to be.

In the 24 years that have passed since that awful day, it is a sad commentary that “God” is now the least of our nation’s concerns. With the redefining of marriage, controversial political arena, moral decay, skyrocketing national debt, and the uncertainty as to what constitutes a human life and what does not, obviously, the God of the Bible has been largely pushed out… until we need His help, and then we cry out to Him. Unless we need Him, we rather not think about anything He has to say.

While many argue that God is judging America today for its sins, the Bible does not support such an idea. Certainly, God dealt with Israel in that manner—“Do good and I will bless, but disobey and I will curse” (Leviticus chapter 26; Deuteronomy chapter 28)—but we have no relation to that Old Covenant of Law.

For the last 20 centuries, God has offered His grace to all the world’s nations, to have a right standing before Him by trusting Jesus Christ. People still die and go to hell, but today’s Scripture says that God is not judging nations for their sins. Through Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork, God offers reconciliation to sinners, whether here or around the world. However, that grace is exhaustible, and one day, it will be replaced with His wrath (Romans 2:1-16). Still, we believers are not appointed to God’s wrath; we are saved from all wrath through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:9).

The only hope for America—yea, for any nation—is faith in Jesus Christ alone!

*You can also see our 2011 Bible study commemorating the 10th anniversary of 9/11. It can be watched here or read here.

I Just Wanted to Get Away! #2

Wednesday, September 10, 2025

“And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10 KJV).

Will sinners “get away” from accountability before God?

In Genesis 3:1-6, Adam and Eve chose to live outside of the sphere of existence their Creator God had ordained for them. It was activity contrary to how He designed their life to work. Eve was deceived, but Adam was not (1 Timothy 2:11-14). Adam failed to function as his wife’s Bible teacher, and Eve was negligent by not asking her husband for spiritual counsel.

Their first response to their sin problem was to sew fig leaves together to make clothes to cover their nakedness (Genesis 3:7). Here is works-religion. Instead of asking God to intervene, they took matters into their own hands and attempted to make themselves acceptable in His sight. Man sidesteps accountability for the first time. He is too proud to confess his inadequacy. Adam and Eve knew their manmade coverings of fig leaves were not enough, so they hid from the LORD God when they heard Him approaching (Genesis 3:8). Man avoids accountability for the second time.

Read Genesis 3:9-13: “And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” God calls Adam, the spiritual leader, to confession and accountability—but Adam blames his wife and God (!) for his eating of the forbidden fruit. Man avoids accountability for a third time. Eve then shifts her blame over to the Devil! Here is man’s attempt to justify himself yet again.

While some view Genesis as nothing more than fairytale or legend, they betray their spiritual ignorance. These reactions of Adam and Eve have been played out in every human’s life every day for thousands of years….

In order to bring you a special study tomorrow, we will temporarily break away from this devotionals arc….

I Just Wanted to Get Away! #1

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

“And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10 KJV).

Will sinners “get away” from accountability before God?

A robbery suspect once led police on a high-speed chase down the interstate. With his vehicle forced to stop after some minutes, officers got him out and onto the ground. As he was handcuffed, the adult man sobbed like a little child and cried out, “Man, why did y’all do that to me?! I was just wanting to get away! I was just trying to get away!” It is human nature to evade accountability. This goes all the way back to the literal events of Genesis 3:1-8, when our parents, Adam and Eve, hid from God because of their guilt.

“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.”

Let us see if they “got away….”

The Thing Which is Good

Monday, September 1, 2025

“Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth” (Ephesians 4:28 KJV).

On this Labor Day, we talk about work, “the thing which is good.”

In this day and age of increasing “government assistance,” people are becoming less and less aware of our hard work being the Lord Jesus’ preferred method of the source of our incomes. While the physically and mentally disabled are obvious exceptions, the God of the Bible expects all of us to contribute labor in order to provide for ourselves. For children and young adults, even being a student in school is work enough!

Observe the doctrine being communicated in today’s Scripture. The grace life does not merely teach us to quit doing bad things, but it also instructs us to start doing good things (Titus 2:11,12). Once a thief trusts the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished crosswork as sufficient payment for his sins, then God expects that thief to quit stealing and find a job so he can provide for his needs!

The God of creation calls work “the thing which is good” (today’s Scripture). Work is not something to be avoided; it is something to be embraced for the Lord’s glory!

When the Lord Jesus Christ put the first man, Adam, on earth, that man had a divine commission. Adam was not to simply loaf around and do nothing: “And the LORD God took the man, and put him in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it” (Genesis 2:15). Adam was to protect that garden, to till its ground, to prepare it for Jesus Christ to come down and dwell in with he and Eve (because of sin, that earthly kingdom over which Jesus Christ will rule is still awaiting fulfillment!).

Saints, may we work to provide for our families (1 Timothy 5:8), and may we work to help those who truly are needy (today’s Scripture). In the words of God the Holy Spirit, that is “good!” 🙂

You Builders! #4

Friday, August 29, 2025

“This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner” (Acts 4:11 KJV).

Who are these “builders?” What have they done—and not done?

After Peter healed the lame man who had laid helplessly at the Jerusalem Temple’s “Beautiful Gate” for years (Acts 3:1-11), a Jewish crowd gathers and Peter preaches Jesus Christ to them (verses 12-26). The lame man represents incapacitated national Israel, whose sin problem prevents her from entering into God’s blessings (Millennial Kingdom). In his sermon of chapter 4 (the context of today’s Scripture), Peter refers to that same impotent man (verses 9,10; cf. verses 14,22).

Read Peter’s words in verses 9 and 10, just before he spoke today’s Scripture: “If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole [healthy].” Here are the facts. The resurrected Jesus Christ, whom Israel rejected and crucified weeks or months earlier, is really responsible for the lame man’s healing, which insinuates Jesus Christ alone can save and bring Israel into a position of kingdom blessings. They must therefore stop resisting Him and trust Him as their Messiah-King!

Today’s Scripture and its next verse: “This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” As the Holy Spirit speaks to Israel through Peter, the Apostle declares how the Lord Jesus Christ is “the stone, the head of the corner,” the very same individual whom the “builders” rejected (“set at nought” means “made nothing of, despised, considered worthless”). Israel’s religious leaders whom Peter now addresses, are these very “builders!”

How are these religious leaders “builders” though? Along with the terms “stone” and “the head of the corner,” we recognize the metaphor is taken from a construction site….