The Things that God Hates 6: Feet that are Swift to Run to Evil

Proverbs 6:16-18; 1 Peter 4:1-5; Hebrews 12:1-2; Isaiah 52:7.

This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on September 19, 2021.

This morning we are going to talk about feet that are swift in running to evil.  There is a humorous story can be found here online, but I have copied it here for ease (Thanks to Stuart Chase of Sola5.org). 

Four pastors were sitting down to lunch. Having just read James 5, in which James urges his readers to confess their sins to one another (v. 16), one suggested that they practice what they had read. They all agreed, and so the first pastor said, “I have been a little dishonest with the church books, labelling personal expenses as ministry expenses.” The second admitted, “In order to deal with the stress of ministry, I have turned to alcohol and, on more than one occasion, have gotten drunk.” The third confessed, “I have been unwise with my finances and so have had to resort to gambling in the hopes of striking it rich.” The fourth pastor dropped his head and said quietly, “I battle with gossip, and right now I can’t wait to get out of here!”

God hates feet that are swift in running to evil

Though this story is humorous, sin is not humorous, and being eager to sin against others is even less funny.  Proverbs 6:18 highlights today’s topic as the 5^th thing that God hates.  By now, we have looked at the eyes, mouth, hands, heart, and now the feet.  Of course, our feet only carry out the desire of our heart, and generally have to do with taking us places.

With the advent of greater and greater technology, our ability to go to places even when our ability to walk is severely impaired is immense.  Why do I go to the places I go?  Is it to do the will of God?  Or, is it in order to sin, to carry out wicked plans, to do evil?  Most people in our society would not see gossip as something that is evil.  However, the word “evil” simply means something that is morally bad, and injurious to ourselves and others.

Our verse emphasizes eagerness in going to sin over the top of an accidental stumbling, or choosing to sin, but after a long internal deliberation.  All of these are bad, but eager swiftness in sin is particularly heinous.  It pictures a person who is prompted by an evil desire and swiftly runs towards doing it.  All sin is dangerous, but to be rushing toward it, represents something even more dangerous.  It is a soul that is hungry for sin, and can’t wait to do it.  Not only is this an abomination, it is increasing in our land.

Let’s look at 1 Peter 4:1-5.

There are two sides to this passage: that which describes those who are living for their flesh, and those who are living for the will of God.  The lusts of the flesh are obvious and this list is only a short foray into that jungle.  Galatians 5:19-21 gives us a more extended list, and contrasts it to the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  The world is living in order to satisfy the lusts of their flesh, and if we are not careful, we will fall back on this pattern ourselves.

Some people who are not Christians may show great restraint in certain areas, but it is always for the sake of a greater lust that is in their heart.  The Bible pictures the human heart as a seething cauldron of desires.  We learn quickly in life that you can’t get everything that you want, so we are forced to pick which ones we will go after.  Some people are highly skilled at satisfying a large number of lust, and appear to be quite functional compared to others whose lives are full of dysfunction.

Peter pictures this worldly living first as walking.  They are walking in these sins.  These sins are like prostitution is to the red-light district.  They hang out in the places where it is easier to commit their favored sins.  Like a John looking to hook-up, they spend their time looking for opportunity and then seizing it in wicked passion when it comes along, walking in sin.

He then uses the picture of “running in a flood of dissipation.”  It is like water that rages down the mountain side only to dissipate in the desert, sinking into the sand, wasted.  It looked so substantial, but now it is gone and did no good for anyone.  Another way to picture this flood of wastefulness is with a toilet.  We create toilets and sewers in order to keep waste under control.  However, from time to time, a toilet will backup and have an overflow of wicked waste.  Thus, the life of a person who is pursuing the lusts of their flesh is like a toilet overflowing with waste into a person’s life and the people around them.

Peter then says that the world thinks it is strange that Christians don’t walk and run alongside of them in this pursuit of lusts.  It would be like running around a track and, when you are halfway around, you meet a person running in the opposite direction.  You would be perplexed and wonder what that person is doing?  “That’s not the direction you are supposed to run in!”  Perhaps, we should envision instead the person running off of the track, and going off into the distance.  How strange that is, the majority of runners would think.  This is how Christians who follow Christ appear to the world.  This world is a raging sea of great passion and desire, but it is an overflow of wicked things that will be wasted and spent on the sands of history.

Let’s go to Hebrews 12 to focus on what God loves.

God loves feet that run the race of faith

There is a race that has been set in front of us by God, and it is the race of faith.  Of course, this is quite a different race than the one that the world has put in front of us.  That is a rat race, and it focuses on who can please themselves the most.

Christians are those who have awakened from the dream of living for self, and have had their eyes opened to God’s true purpose in this life.  It is a purpose that requires us to trust Him in the things that we live for, and the things that we die to.  You have to do the second in order to do the first.

In John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, the main character Christian had been living in the City of Destruction all of his life.  Yet, he was confronted one day with the truth of where he lived, and what he should be doing.  This passage in Hebrews reminds us that we are a people who are leaving sin and destruction behind, even when close loved ones think we are crazy.

In running this race of faith, we need feet that flee wickedness.  The passage pictures Christians as stripping off the sins and weights that would keep us from completing this endurance race of faith.  We focus first on what we are fleeing only so much as to cast it off.  Once we have cast it off, we need to not look back and pick it up again.

There is a great list of things that the apostles warn us to flee.

• 1 Corinthians 6:18, “Flee sexual immorality.”
• 1 Corinthians 10:14, “Flee idolatry.”
• 2 Timothy 2:22, “Flee youthful lusts,”
• 1 Timothy, 6:11-12, “Flee these things [the wealth of this world] and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness, fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

If we are to actually take hold of eternal life, then we must learn to flee the lusts of our flesh, and to do so swiftly.

Of course, our main focus is forward.  We need feet that run after Jesus.  Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith, and must remain our target.  Being with and like him is why we cast off sin.

We focus upon him as a great example of faith and its reward by the Father.  However, we also focus upon Him as the goal we are trying to attain, the one to whom we are wanting to be connected for all eternity.  The Bride of Christ must prepare herself for an eternal marriage with God Himself. 

It is easy to see that parts of this world are not pursuing good things.  However, we must hear the Bible teaching us that only those who go after Christ will find good.  The best parts of this world are still rushing after wickedness, and the lusts of the flesh.  This can only lead to destruction, not eternal life.  It is an abomination to God.

This brings us to the cloud of witnesses, those who have gone on before us in this race of faith.  Though Hebrews speaks to this, I want us to go to Isaiah 52:7 to get an expanded picture of this.

We need feet that are bringing the Gospel to others.  God loves the beautiful feet of one who has used them to scale the mountain, and cross over to the other side in order to share the Gospel with those who don’t know it.  It is our joy to be a witness to others that God still reigns!

Contrary to popular conception, God has not died, and atheism did not kill Him.  The world persists in a delusion, and thereby sets themselves up for an even greater one.  We are on the cusp of the greatest delusion that this world has ever seen.  It is one in which the whole world rushes into what they think is the guarantee of peace and safety.  It will be one in which they will worship a man as god, even though they have spent millennia rejecting the one, true God-man, the Lord Jesus.

In our flesh, we could despise the world and say good riddance, but that is not the heart of Jesus.  Even now, God says, “Who will go for Me?”  Who will use their eyes, mouth, hands, heart, and feet to bring the tidings of great joy to a lost world?  O friend, may we beatify ourselves for our coming Lord, by doing the things that He loves!