Since man introduced sin in the Garden, it has grown in the thoughts and actions of mankind exponentially. It is no wonder that Satan is called the ‘Prince of the Power of the Air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience’ (Eph. 2:2). He reigns and rules as a chief potentate, arrogantly boasting of his subordinate race; determined to conquer the souls of all men.

So, how did the Devil assume such a position of leadership over man? He did so because we elected him to the position when we chose to sin. Every time man disregards God’s right to rule over him, and choses instead to submit to the world, his flesh, or the Devil, he empowers the Evil One, willingly ceding the throne of his life over to him.

The world has progressively grown darker. Believers are called upon to be lights in the world. Their reflections of Christ are needed now perhaps more than ever. Because light repels darkness, and, because men love their darkness, light-bearers often face persecution and hatred. We who know Christ must not only live our lives in righteousness, but we must be willing to tell others about the Light as well.

When Paul wrote the believers in Rome, he began his letter with a description of humanity that is far from complimentary. He described the hearts of man as not only wicked, but skewed from reality because of their rejection of God. When we shake our heads at some of the horrible things going on in the world, we wonder how anyone could behave so wickedly and evil. Paul answers our query when he declares that God has given those steeped in their sin over to a reprobate mind. The word in Romans suggests being worthless morally, or without the ability to any longer discern between right and wrong. It is a perverted state that seems to be at the end of the road of sin.

It is with that in mind that Paul makes the following statement in…

Romans 1:32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Earlier, Paul describes in Romans how God has placed in everyone a moral consciousness, or the distinction between right and wrong. When someone continues to reject God’s authority over their lives, and chooses rather to live in sin, they eventually lose their moral compass, leaving them in a freefall of evil.

That is the only way we can begin to understand how people can participate in the most grievous and hurtful of sins, and have no remorse. In fact, there are those who find great satisfaction from watching others perform those same wicked and hurtful acts.

The world is not in need of more psychologists to explain why they do what they do; it is desperate for the truth of the Gospel, and the transforming power that it brings into the lives of those who are otherwise blind and lost in their ways.