What's Harder than Hating Evil?

Hating Evil and Loving Evil People

All right, let's pray. Our Father and our God, we thank you for this opportunity to again be in your house, to be about the business of studying your Word, to focus this time and our attention upon the reality of what we have been called to do in walking the Christian walk, particularly those things which are most difficult for us to do.

We pray, O Lord, as we engage this subject, that our hearts would be open, our minds would be open to the truth, that we would not allow our flesh to repel what the text tells us to do, for we know, O Lord, that the text does often run against the grain of our flesh, and it can be uncomfortable to hear what your Word tells us to do, but yet at the same time, O Lord, we are still commanded to be obedient to you.

So we pray, Lord, not only for ears to hear, but also for a heart of obedience. And Father, I do pray for the lesson as you open my mouth to speak. I pray, Lord, that you would keep me from error. I pray, Lord, also that you would protect the congregation from error, and that you would guide us all in the pursuit of the truth.

And Lord, we pray again that all would be in accordance with your divine Word. In Jesus' name we pray, and for his sake. Amen. Alright, if you want to open up your Bibles again with us, we're going to be back in Romans chapter 12.

Back in Romans chapter 12. We have been looking at this chapter now for quite a bit of time, a few months, because we've spent a lot of time looking at spiritual gifts. Then a few weeks ago, we started looking at verse 9, and we've gotten down to verse 13.

And what I made mention of is that verses 9 -13 really deal with how Christians are to behave within the body. How Christians are to behave within the fellowship of believers. And how we're to treat one another.

One of the things I said is most difficult in the exhortations found between verse 9 and verse 13 is the exhortation to abhor what is evil. I want to just remind you why that's difficult. Abhorring what is evil is difficult because, quite frankly, there are things that are evil that are enticing.

There are things that are evil that our flesh craves. In fact, that's the very reason why we do things which are evil. We do things which are evil because our flesh craves those evil things. As I said, it's easy for us to abhor things which we think are horrible.

It's easy for me to abhor abortion. I think it's terrible. It turns my stomach to think that anyone would ever do such a thing. It turns my stomach to think that there are millions of dollars every year that are spent on such a thing.

And that there are countless doctors and women who are undergoing these, doing these things, practicing these things. And it just, to me, as I said many times, I think it is the holocaust of our age. I think it is a horrible thing.

And it's easy for me to think that's terrible. It's easy for me to look at something like homosexual marriage and say, how horrible, how terrible is this thing? To see the perversion of the family. The perversion of the role of mother and father.

The perversion of the role of children having both dad and mom. And the perversion of the American idea of what a family is. Yes, I hate that. And it's easy for me to hate that. But then again, I know.

And if I'm honest with myself, I know all too well that there are evil things that are enticing. And it's going to be different for every person. It's going to be different for you than for me. It's going to be different man to woman.

It's going to be different between every person because all of us being wired a little bit differently, all of us have different things that drive us. And while one person may have a tendency toward anger, another person may have a tendency towards gossip, and another person may have a tendency towards lust.

And all of these are the things that the flesh craves. And all of these are the things that we tend to love. And that's why I said, in fact, the sermon is on Sermon Audio and it's entitled, because I normally don't title Wednesday Night Sermons until I'm finished.

Because we never know how long, how far we're going to get, things like that. And I tend to look at the sermon after I'm done and say, well, what was the major theme tonight? What did we focus on? This is it.

Well, the title of that sermon two weeks ago was, The Difficulty of Hating Evil. Because really there are things that's just difficult to hate evil, the evil that entices. So thinking on that same theme, thinking about what we've learned, my next question that popped into my mind today is, I was thinking about what we were going to talk about tonight and the text we were going to go through and how far we were going to get, was what is harder than hating evil?

What is harder than hating evil? And Brother Irv said, when he came in, he said, I know the answer. What's harder than hating evil is loving good. And while I think that is a good answer, it's not the answer I had.

And since I'm teaching, I'm going to go with mine. No, it's a good answer. You're right. Loving good is difficult. That's why it says, a poor what is evil cling to that which is good. So yes, in that passage.

But I think something that's even harder than loving good is loving evil people. So that's my answer. What is harder than hating evil? I'm going to put this, loving evil people. That's really hard to do.

In fact, I would say of all the things we as believers are called to do, of everything, taking up the cross, following after Christ, being willing to submit to all manner of torture, being willing to submit to all manner of disrepute, being willing to submit to all manner of lifestyle change, to pick up the cross and follow Christ.

All of those things are incredibly difficult. But not to me the most difficult. To me the most difficult is that I have been commanded by Christ to love people who hate me. And that's the text for the evening.

Bless Those Who Persecute You

So let's read. We're going to read verses 14. We're going to read down to verse 21. Again, I don't expect us to get there. But I think it will help us get a feeling of the context of the passage. Starting at verse 14 it says, Bless those who persecute you.

Bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil.

But give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves. But leave it to the wrath of God. For it is written, Vengeance is mine.

I will repay, says the Lord. To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For by doing so you will keep burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

So beginning now looking back to verse 14. We understand the context. We understand we have just been given a listing of very difficult exhortations. As I've said, I think this passage in chapter 12 of Romans is one of the most difficult to live out in our daily life.

And here is the verse of verses. If you said, Keith, which verse do you think of the Bible is the most difficult to live out? I would say it is verse 14 of Romans chapter 12. Because verse 14 says, To bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse them.

How many of you remember when I say, have said in the past, that any time you see a word being used twice in a text, or three times in a text, any time you see the repetition of a word, that that word then becomes somewhat of a theme of that particular passage, or that particular section of passages.

For instance, we see that in many other places in Scripture, where you will see Jesus saying, I tell you the truth. I tell you the truth. I tell you the truth. That is an emphasis He is making. Well, here we see the Apostle Paul using a double emphasis on the word bless.

He says, First, bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse them. Now, because I don't carry a New American Standard Bible on me, I've got it in my pocket if you want to look at my cell phone.

I've got all the versions on my cell phone. It's so funny. Somebody asked me for my Bible the other day, and I handed them my cell phone. They just went, Well, there it is. It's always with me. What does the new NASV say, Miss Sibble?

Versus 14, you said? Bless those who persecute you. Okay. Same thing. Double emphasis on the word bless. We see that word twice in the text. I wanted to make sure that it wasn't being left out in another translation.

I wouldn't expect NAS to do that. I don't know about the NIV. I know that some of you have that. Does everyone have the double bless, seeing the word there twice? Yeah, it does. Okay, good. And again, because I think that there's emphasis being made here, because it is really, really easy to curse people who curse us.

And I don't mean curse in the sense of we think of curse as curse words. Scripture is a little deeper than that. Curse words are what we call foul language. It's more than just that. In fact, I think one of the things that I think has become so confused in our language is blasphemy.

Because people only think of blasphemy as one thing. What do people think of blasphemy as? Somebody who has the audacity to use God's name and the curse word in the same construction and making it one word, which itself then becomes the curse word of curse words, right?

Most of us know what word I'm talking about right there. And none of us would utter it, but you know exactly what I mean. And you hear someone say it and it turns your stomach because you know it's bad.

You know that's a blasphemy statement. But the problem is we have become conditioned to think that blasphemy only comes in words. We think that blasphemy is just something someone says. No, blasphemy is an attitude.

Blasphemy is an action. You can blaspheme God by what you do. Likewise, cursing is not necessarily words. When he says, bless and do not curse, he's referencing more here behavior than he is what you say.

Because as most of you probably already know, maybe 100 of you know this, you can say things with your mouth and do something different with your heart and your mind and with your hands and your feet.

You can say things, for instance, you know, we speak nice to someone. We speak well of them when they're with us. And then they leave the room or we're somewhere else or we're out, as Jack talks about all the time, sidewalk gossip.

You know, we get out on the sidewalk and they're not going to look over both shoulders. And when they're not here anymore, now we can tell how we really feel because they're no longer with us. Right. And that's the that's the issue here.

It's not just about words, but it's about what's in the heart. And when he says, bless those who persecute you, he is really taking it to the highest extreme. Because really in the in the in the arc of people that we associate with, if you think of if you think of people around you and people that you have a relationship with, I don't mean good relationship.

I mean, any relationship at all people that you relate to in some way. This is usually how the arc goes out. Usually it's your immediate family who you love and you protect and you care for and you're with most of the time.

Outside of that is your immediate friends that you're close to. Usually those people are even closer than extended family. Extended family goes outside of that because you see them even less. I know we do.

We are we have friends that we see. I see most of y 'all much more than I see my extended family. My extended family kind of comes next. Then we get out to acquaintances, you know, people that we see every once in a while.

Facebook's kind of open up the door to have thousands of acquaintances. Now people have many people that they call their friends, but we have to you have to put a little aside. You have to say they're Facebook friends.

They're really not friends. They're just people that see me write stuff on Facebook and I see them. But then you start to get outside to other types of people that you relate to, but you don't relate to them positively.

There are family members that you don't relate to positively. I know I have family members that I don't relate to positively, right? People that don't particularly believe the way I believe. People that don't have the same values.

We have the same blood, the same genes. We both came from the same grandmother, grandfather, same uncle, whatever. But we have different perspectives on life. Thus, they become further out. Why am I telling this?

Why am I? I'm drawing a mental picture for you for this reason. If you had to put people into a category of the people that you relate to and say, who would be the furthest from what I would want to relate to?

It would be people who persecute you. They absolutely would. It would be people who mistreat you. Particularly people who mistreat you because of your relationship to Christ. But one of the things that so hurts me inside is when someone mistreats me because of my relationship with Christ.

And the reason why it hurts me so much inside is twofold. Number one, it hurts me because of their spiritual condition. When someone mistreats me because I'm following Christ, I know where they are and they're not in Christ.

Thus, we're looking at a person here who hates the gospel, who hates the truth, who hates God. And yes, the Bible does say there are people who are God haters. It says we all were until God saved us. I'm looking at someone whose only hope in life is that when they die, their spirit just ceases to exist.

That's their only hope because outside of that is an eternal hell. So yes, I hurt for them when they persecute me for Christ's sake. I hurt for them because I know where their spiritual condition lies.

But also, I'm offended for Christ. I know that when someone has blasphemed Christ by persecuting me, there's a pain that goes towards thinking, here is a person who God has given life. Here is a person whom God has blessed.

Here is a person whom God has given intelligence, intellect, will, compassion, love. They have a family that they love, but yet they hate the God who created them. And for them, my heart breaks. And I hurt because I want to be real honest.

And sometimes they make me mad. Can I be honest? Can we all be honest with ourselves? And say that a person who is running headlong into hell and has offended my God angers me. Yes, the audacity of their behavior angers me.

And that's why this passage is so difficult. But you know what? The first two things that I said should be what drive me, not my anger. Because my first one is compassion for them. My second one is love for God.

My third one is the flesh. You see that? The first thing that upset me was their spiritual condition. I love them. I don't want them to go to hell. That should drive me. The second one, I don't want God's name blasphemed.

That should drive me. But the third one is I didn't like the fact that they were talking about my God. And that became a slight at me. And now I'm taking it personally. And it's becoming a personal offense.

And at that point, I start behaving in the flesh rather than in the spirit. And you know what? I've been there. Yes, it becomes sin, doesn't it? It becomes sin because I'm no longer acting out of love and compassion for God or for them.

I'm acting out of love for my flesh. Because my flesh was offended and I didn't like it. So what am I to do? I am to focus on those first two virtues. If someone is persecuting me, the first thing I need to realize is number one, they're not persecuting me because of me.

They're persecuting me because of Christ. And if there's anyone in the entire universe who is worth being persecuted for, it is Christ. If there's anyone in the universe who is worth being hurt for, who is worth being assaulted for, who is worth being hit for, cut for, killed for, it is Christ.

As such, I need to understand this person who hates Christ, who hates what I'm doing because of Christ, they are persecuting me because of the sake of Christ. I know this. The Bible says that there is blessing that associates that type of persecution.

In fact, let's read it because I think it reminds us of a very important truth. Turn to Matthew chapter 5. Hold your place there. We're going to go back. Hold your place in Romans and go to Matthew 5.

Most of you remember this. In Matthew chapter 5, it begins three chapters of Jesus' most complete sermon. What we call the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew gives us a play-by-play of Jesus' most complete sermon in the text of Scripture.

Certainly, He preached it more than one time. And certainly, He preached multiple sermons throughout His ministry. This is the most complete that we have of a sermon by Christ. That's what makes it so special.

Not just what it says, but what it is. It's an actual written-down version of one of Christ's sermons. The perfect preacher preaching the perfect sermon. Here we have it. At the beginning, we have what are called the Beatitudes.

It comes from the word beatific, which means to bless. I used to think that when I was a kid, I thought the Beatitudes meant those are the attitudes you're supposed to be in. I mean, you know, it's just simple.

And you know what? It's not a bad way of thinking of it for a child. Because it says the attitude of poor in spirit, the attitude of being meek, of mourning, all these things. And I thought, you know, the Beatitudes are those attitudes you're supposed to be.

You know, kind of simple. But really, it comes from the idea of beatific or blessed. That's where we get the word. And when it talks about in verse 11. Actually, let's look at verse 10. Because that's where persecution begins.

Verse 10 says, Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you. Notice Jesus changes His focus. Because up until that point, He's blessed of the pure in heart.

Blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed are those who are persecuted. He's speaking in sort of generality. Now He's pointing a finger. Blessed are you. When others revile you. And persecute you. And utter all kinds of evil against you.

Falsely. On my account. Rejoice and be glad. For your reward is great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Beloved, all Paul is doing in Romans chapter 12. When he says, Blessed are those who persecute you.

Blessed and do not curse. All he is doing is reiterating this passage from the Sermon on the Mount. All he's doing is reminding us of what Christ has already said. When someone persecutes us. What we are doing is we are sharing in the line.

The lineage of the prophets who have already been persecuted for their faith in God. We're just one more in a long line of people. Who because of their faith in Christ and their faith in God. Have had to deal with persecution.

Persecution is not easy. Persecution is very difficult. But at the same time, persecution carries with it. A sense of blessing. Now. On top of that, before we get to how to bless someone who curses us.

I want to address one other thing. And we can go back to Romans 12 if you'd like. I want to talk about something that I think. Is very important to bring out. And this is one of those things that I hope is actually spread further than this room.

Because such a small group. I hope more people hear this on the internet and stuff. Because I think this is an important thing for us to hear. There is such a thing as. And let me see if I can make it make sense.

There is such a thing of what I would call. False persecution. Or people who are looking to be persecuted. When they are not really being persecuted. So that they can. Sort of reap the benefit of what they think the persecution is bringing them.

For instance. When a church behaves in such a way. That they are not behaving in a godly way. But they are insulting the name of Christ by their actions. And then the world says to them. You are acting foolish.

And they say. Oh well we are just being persecuted by the world. No you are acting foolish. You are not being persecuted. You are being foolish. And the world called you out on it. I think some of you are having some pictures in your mind.

You know exactly who I am talking about. Exactly what I am talking about. Because there are folks out there. There are religious groups that call themselves Christian. That are nothing of the kind. And every time they do something crazy.

And somebody calls them out on it. Other Christians call them out on it. And they say. Oh man that is just being persecuted. We are just being persecuted. We are going to sit here and enjoy our persecution.

You are not being persecuted. If you are not following the word of God. And somebody calls you out on it. You are simply being foolish. That is an example. That is an example. What is the benefit? Somebody may say.

Well they are standing against the homosexual movement. Because that is the whole idea behind what they are doing. They are protesting the funerals of gay soldiers. And that is how they. Oh we are protesting homosexuals.

And thus we have this thing. And here though is the. Here is the defining moment. Exactly what are you doing. To demonstrate the truth of the gospel. By doing that. Yes. By doing what they are doing. They are not demonstrating the truth of the gospel.

They are demonstrating their own foolishness. I remember one time. I don't know. I don't know if you like this author. Some of you will. Some of you won't. You all know who Tim LaHaye is right? Tim LaHaye wrote the Left Behind series.

With Jerry B. Jenkins. Very long set of books about. A dispensational pre-millennial view of the end times. It's not what they called it. But that's what it was. That's why I don't write I guess. The titles would be too long.

Jerry B. Jenkins was on Larry King. And his. No I'm sorry. Tim LaHaye was on Larry King. And so was his wife. They were sitting there talking to Larry King. Billy Graham's son was on there as well. Franklin Graham.

He was via satellite. So they would cut to him every few moments. And I saw there. A demonstration of something I had never seen before. But it was like. Jennifer remembers this. Remembers the night it happened.

It was like the antithesis. Of you saw right and wrong. You saw right and the antithesis of right. Which was the foolishness. Tim LaHaye's wife. Was there. She is not a pastor. She is not a speaker. But she's related to him.

I assume that's why she was there. I don't know what she does. But at this moment. It would have been the best moment in the world. For her to have just not spoken. Sometimes what we should have said was nothing.

Larry King. Threw out the question of homosexuality. When a Christian is asked. About homosexuality. We have the right to say what the Bible says. We have the right to say that the Bible says it. It's unnatural.

I am fully in support of Kirk Cameron. Who stood up and said it's unnatural. It's not something that he can support as a Christian. And I support him. And I'm going to mention it on Sunday. Because it's part of my sermon.

Talking about how he took a stand. And I think that's a great thing that he took a stand. However. Don't be foolish. Because this is her answer. To the question Larry King. Asked. Larry King said. Well you don't believe in gay marriage.

Her response. And I quote. Well Larry don't you know those people carry diseases. And they quit asking anyone else any questions. They just kept asking her questions. Because they knew. She was digging that.

Digging that very horrible trench. As I've said many times. Sometimes what you should have said was nothing. Because. Here's the antithesis of that. Here's the antithesis of that. Franklin Graham. Who has one of the great ministries.

Samaritan's Purse. They do wonderful things all over the world. Every time they cut to Franklin Graham. They tried to bait him. Because those are baiting questions. By the way. Kirk Cameron. When he went on that show.

He was there to talk about a movie that he's doing. Monumental is the name of the movie. Which I encourage people to go see. Talks about the history of the United States. And the Christian history. He was there to talk about that.

Homosexual marriage wasn't even part of it. But Pierce Morgan brought that in. Because he wanted to staple something to him. That would be more important than the movie. And he did a good job. However.

Again. I stand with Kirk. I think this is a time. When he's enduring media persecution. And things like that. Hey. You know what. I think he will reap the blessing in the end. No matter what. Because God will be God.

No matter what happens. But getting back to the thing. Every time the camera cut to Franklin Graham. The guy would ask the question. And he literally. And it made me laugh. Because they did it three times.

And they just quit cutting to him. Because every time they would cut to him. They would say. Franklin. What's your take on that? And he'd say. Well Larry. There's a lot that the Bible says on that subject.

But the most important thing the Bible says. Is that all men are sinners. That all people need to be saved. And that Jesus Christ is the only Savior. And old Larry King said. Alright. That's good. He'd coach somebody else.

He'd come back. After about the third time. They just quit cutting to him. Because he wasn't doing anything else. He wasn't feeding into their questions. He wasn't feeding into that garbage. He just spoke the truth of the Gospel.

He didn't hide it. He didn't say. All people are good. And we just need to be made better. He said. No people are sinners. Jesus is the only Savior. He was very clear. And for that. I give him the greatest amount of encouragement in the world.

I think that was good. But again. False persecution. Is when we do do things that we ought not do in the world. Or say things that we ought not say. Or behave in ways we ought not behave. And if the world comes down on us.

And the church comes down on us. That's not persecution. That's called reaping what you sow. And the Bible says very clearly. We do reap what we sow. In fact. I remember one of my seminary professors made it very clear.

He said. Remember this. You always reap what you sow. You always reap later than you sow. And you always reap more than you sow. So if you're reaping evil. Or you're sowing evil. You're going to reap evil.

You're going to reap more evil. And it's going to come later. But it's going to come. And be sure. So a lot of these folks. I mean. There's a myriad of places and things that you can mention out there.

But just know this. Real and genuine persecution is this. When we are following Christ. And the world hates us for following Christ. That's what persecution is. Christ. When we have stood for Christ. And the world has rejected us as a result.

And it will. And that's okay. So he says. Bless those who curse. Persecute you. That's the first half of the sentence. And the second part. He reiterates the word bless. And then he says those words. Bless.

And do not curse. Now you may think. You know. Well that's just the antithesis. One is bless. One is do not. You know. Do not curse. It is. But it really goes to the real heart of the matter. Because when it says do not curse.

That's in the imperative. That's a statement of what we are not supposed to do. Do not do this. Because that is so easy for us to do. It is so easy for us to want to turn on those who have persecuted us.

Do Not Repay Evil for Evil

And share with them back what they have given to us. Now starting at verse 15. Verse 15 and 16. I think. I want to take them out. And set them aside. Because I want to deal with them directly. Because I think verse 14.

And verse 17. Go together very well. And obviously I am not telling Paul how to do his job. I mean obviously the Holy Spirit knew how this was supposed to be. And I think they all fit together in the grand crux.

But I think there is an aside at verse 15. Because he says. Bless those who persecute you. Bless them. Do not curse. And then he starts talking about. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep.

Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty. But associate with the lowly. He is talking then about an internal attitude. When we see someone hurting. We should hurt with them. If we see somebody rejoicing.

We should rejoice with them. We should never consider ourselves better than other people. That is the idea of being haughty. That is an attitude that we should not have. But then he goes right back. To those who do us evil.

He jumps right back in verse 17. Repay no one evil for evil. But get thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. What is honorable in the sight of all? Go back up to verse 15. 15 and 16. That is what is honorable in the sight of all.

That is how it all fits together. Okay. Verse 14 and verse 17 go together. Verse 15 and 16 go together. And they are all this. Do not do this. But do this. And it is showing you both sides. But the key to what we are not supposed to do.

Is repay anyone evil for evil. We are not supposed to do that. But that is the most natural thing for us to do. Somebody does bad to you. And your first response is. How can I make them pay? What is that?

Yeah. Ball up your fist. Peter said. How many times do I have to forgive? Seven. Because I am at eight times. I will let them have it. And then Jesus said 490 times. And Peter said. Oh, all the wind was out of the sails at that point.

Man, that is too many to count. But the reality is that. When people are doing bad to us. We want to know. What can we do? In fact, we plot. How can I return this evil thing. And get away with it. We look for loopholes in scripture.

Well, hey. The Israelites fought back. I mean anything. We look for ways to be able. To return that evil for evil. And as hard as it is to do. We are commanded. To let it go. We do not seek to be. Repayers of evil.

Again, if you follow down in the text. It is clearly. That is God's job. Look down in verse 19. Beloved. Never avenge yourselves. But leave it to the wrath of God. For it is written. Vengeance is mine.

I will repay. Says the Lord. That is the key. Because whenever we. Take the responsibility. Of paying someone back. Who has done us wrong. Whenever we take that responsibility. We take the role of Eve in the garden.

What is he talking about? What enticed Eve to eat the fruit? You will be like God. What do we do? When we demonstrate the wrath and return. And not leave it to the Lord. We desire to be in the position of God.

Right? Because the text clearly says. It is God's right. It is God's responsibility. It is God's prerogative to return. It is not our prerogative to return. So. If we say no. I am going to take the wrath.

You know. I have heard people say. Well God is the one giving the wrath. I am just a delivery boy. You know. Or whatever. You know. If that is the attitude. That we take. I am going to be God's deliverer of justice.

In this regard. Because I have been wronged. Thus I have got to wrong someone else. Or wrong that person back. To even up the score. When I do that. What I have done at that point. Is I have said. God is not efficient.

Fast. And strong enough. To satisfy what I want to have done.

But we were created in His image. Then something there. If I am like God. Then anybody would be hearing me. And I should be able to. Right your wrong. That you have done to me. So what we are saying is.

That we go to other verses. Where the Bible says. You have to die to yourself. If you want to live. You have to die. So you have to die to yourself. Absolutely.

And what I want to make clear. Because I want to build on. Something that you are referencing there. I do want to make clear. That this verse. Does not abrogate justice. This verse suspends revenge. Hear that again.

It does not abrogate justice. It suspends revenge. Because the reality is. Justice is what maintains. People who are totally depraved. From demonstrating their depravity. The Bible says. We are all totally depraved.

The Bible says. The doctrine of total depravity. That all men are dead in their sins. Until God gives them new life in their spirit. And we have seen what happens. When totally depraved people. Prove it.

Look at countries. That are under laws. Which are not governed by democracy. And republic ideals. And countries that are governed by. People that are tribal. And that behave monstrously towards one another.