Depart from Evil

Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to Depart from evil is understanding. In the Bible, when you consider, honor, regard, respect, and love God, and loathe and flee from sin, you are becoming wise. Sin is contrary to the holy nature and pure will of God, and sin is very bad in its effects and consequences. The way of transgressors is hard.

The genuine fruit and result of the fear of the Lord is when you are careful not to commit a sin which grieves the heart of God. Abstain from all appearance of evil - flee youthful lusts - keep thyself pure. It is an awful thing to be enslaved t any lust or sin. Sin reigns and has great power over every lost atheist; sin causes them to do and think and say that which is evil; and hinders them from the right thing.

A wise man is one who senses God's goodness towards him, and then shuns and avoids everything that may lead him to sin. Sin is the opposite of the grace and fear of God. When you forget God and mess around with sin, you're a fool. The fear of God (the desire to please God out of grateful love) comes from the grace of God, it is purely a gift to a sinner. God sees you and knows you, nothing passes by His eye, He sees everything all the time. This truth is terribly frightening to the atheist (Proverbs 15:3).

Our society today is populated with a bumper crop of failures. In America, fools are more organized and educated than ever before. The country is filled to the brim with educated moral failures. Why? Because when some things change, some things never change - that is - knowledge may advance, but the fatal condition of the human heart does not. There are 3,000 books published in the world every day; the world is ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of The Truth (II Timothy 3:7; John 14:6; John 17:17). You can graduate at the top of your class, and still FAIL in life. You're going to need more than an IQ or a college degree at the White Throne Judgment.

Fools despise wisdom and instruction. The fool's mind is closed to God, his conscience is seared by the hot iron of Sin, and his heart is fully devoted to Self. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are HID in Jesus Christ Himself. You must come to *HIM* for true wisdom and knowledge. A fool is someone who is UNABLE to make the right decision for the right reason at the right time in the right spirit for the right result - the glory of God. Fools don't believe God exists or desire a right relationship with Him. The fool grows older, but not wiser.

EVERY DAY in American 1,000 unwed teenage girls become mothers; 1,100 teenage girls have abortions; 4,219 teenagers contract an STD; 1,000 teens take their first drink; 500 teenagers take their first fix; 2,200 teens drop out of school; six of them commit suicide. The atheist says they just need better education, job opportunities, or social programs. But these things are only more expensive Kleenex-es for man's deadly moral pneumonias. The only answer is the divine infusion of wisdom from God through the Scriptures into the mind and heart of every man and woman. Prudence is to think critically, to deepen your thinking, don't be simple and gullible and just go along with the godless crowd. Seek and Seize wise counsel.

The fear of God means to have a joyful delight in the word of God (Psa 112:1; 119:103). The fear of the Lord is a passionate desire to apply the word of God to your everyday life (Psalm 128:1; Proverbs 14:2). The fear of the Almighty is to place your full confidence in His precious promises (Psa 147:11). Constantly expose yourself to the reading, study, preaching, and teaching of the word of God. Integrity is very scarce today, because there is no true fear of the Lord - that is, departure from public and private evil. The fear of the Lord is a right relationship with the written word (John 17:17) and the living Word (John 1:1). The fear of Lord (a wise and clean walk) is also cultivated by prayer and by eagerly following after the Lord's way and will. Wise counsel also instills the fear of the Lord in us. The fear of the living God (Jesus Christ) is the true prescription for a successful life. True wisdom comes from the ONLY WISE God (Romans 16:27; Jude 1:25; I Timothy 1:17). The holy Scriptures are able to make you wise (II Timothy 3:15). A wise person is not the smartest person who knows the most about the Scriptures, but the wise man is one who trembles and is the most submissive to the Scriptures. Learn from the mistakes of others and avoid it. Wisdom is discernment from right and wrong, and to behave wisely - live right, treat people right, and deal with fairness.  Live wisely, die safely - a person is not wise because he knows everything, but because he longs to learn more at the feet of Jesus Christ; a person is not considered wise because they know what to say, but because they know how to listen; a person is not considered wise because he has all the answers, but because he obeys all that he knows from the Scriptures.  You don't just need to know more, you need to know God and obey Him more and more.

The fool is arrogantly unaccountable, the way of a fool is right in his own eyes. The fool has all the answers he needs in Darwin and Marx, and they are unaccountable. The fool is unruly and unteachable, he will not regard reproof, he just won't learn, he can't imagine himself being mistaken. A fool repeats his folly, his problem is not mental, it is spiritual. The fool is also uncontainable. He denies the existence of God, so his foolishness will not depart from him. The fools is hardened by his own sin and rebellion and becomes hopeless. The fear of the LORD JESUS CHRIST is the beginning (that is - the first, best, pith, root, foundation) of wisdom. The foundation of all true knowledge is a true relationship of awe, respect, intimacy, and worship of the faithful and true Creator God. The only way to get ready for life and death is a real relationship with the Creator God who died for your sins.

God sees everything, He knows everything, He lives everywhere. Christ Jesus, God manifest in the flesh, was born of a Jewish virgin in a small town called Bethlehem Judah. He worked as a carpenter, but He never owned a home. He was misunderstood by His family, and hated by His enemies. He walks on water, and controls the weather. He was condemned to death without a fair trial, bore all human sin, crucified for sinners, and then was raised from the dead by the power of God. His Salvation from sin is free for the asking. You were hand-made by the Creator in your mother's womb. The eye of God has always been upon you from your mother's womb even until now.

You have sinned against God's divine Law secretly and openly, and you must suffer the consequences of all your sins, unless you find the *Sinless Substitute* to suffer and die in your place, and endure the wrath due to all your sins. Sin is deadly, hell is real, death is inevitable, your days are numbered. Sin has deceived you, and brought you into a desperate situation, and now your soul is in extreme danger and exposed to the wrath of God, and you will surely be doomed without the Crucified and Risen Savior. Sin always leads to misery, and the Spirit of God always leads you to mercy in Christ's Blood. Come to Christ's Blood now, and be rescued from your sin's danger immediately.