“The wicked man earns deceptive wages, But he who sows righteousness and lives his life with integrity will have a true reward [that is both permanent and satisfying]. 19He who is steadfast in righteousness attains life, But he who pursues evil attains his own death.: Proverbs 11:18-19 AMP

The Scripture is clear about the things we practice in our lives. We are called to guard our hearts and eyes as they are the gateway to the soul. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians,

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked [He will not allow Himself to be ridiculed, nor treated with contempt nor allow His precepts to be scornfully set aside]; for whatever a man sows, this and this only is what he will reap. 8For the one who sows to his flesh [his sinful capacity, his worldliness, his disgraceful impulses] will reap from the flesh ruin and destruction, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9Let us not grow weary or become discouraged in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap, if we do not give in.” 

Galatians 6:7-9 AMP

Clearly the Proverbs has taught us that the wicked man is the one who walks in the impulses of his flesh. The word wicked if you remember is the Hebrew word meaning to “be guilty of violating a standard” or “a state or condition of evil, with a focus on transgressing the law or standard.” This pursuit of violating God’s standards ultimately leads to “deceptive work” or practices. The guilty must frame their behavior so that it appears that no violation has occurred. The word deception here means to “bring about a state or condition which is utterly false and causes a mistaken belief.” We see this clearly with the distorting of the gender issue plaquing the world today. The wage of their practice is clear,

“And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or consider Him worth knowing [as their Creator], God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do things which are improper and repulsive, 29until they were filled (permeated, saturated) with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice and mean-spiritedness. They are gossips [spreading rumors], 30slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors [of new forms] of evil, disobedient and disrespectful to parents, 31without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful [without pity].” 

Romans 1:28-31 AMP 

Harsh words for sure but true! The righteous however have a quite different reward in store. The word used here, “sure, is the Hebrew word meaning, “that which is faithful, trustworthy, or reliable.” It also means “a state of condition of being dependable and loyal to a person or standard.” I love Kittle’s description in his Theological Dictionary of the New Testament; “that which is certain, sure, and conforms to reality and is so certain not to be false!” He also describes it as “a state or condition of telling the truth and living according to a moral standard.” The world today is doing its best to present the truth as a lie and a lie as the truth! We read in the book of Numbers,

“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken and will He not make it good and fulfill it?” 

Numbers 23:19 AMP

The Word of God is dependable and that which is certain, sure, and conforms to reality and is so certain not to be false! The Apostle then encourages us to remain faithful to that which we know is true so will not grow weary of following God’s way! Don’t be deceived, pursuing God and His way produces great reward. Pursuing the flesh and sin ultimately will produce death and destruction.

Have a blessed day, Pastor Ken