Let The Righteous Rejoice
Psalm 97:10-12
“Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for He guards the lives of His faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise His holy name.”
It is interesting how many Christians and non-Christians expect those who believe in Jesus Christ to love and tolerate all the lawlessness that surrounds them in this wicked nation. This is just one verse that the Bible is saying those who love the Lord will hate evil.
The reality is many are afraid of what hate produces in an individual but when your life is truly grounded in Jesus Christ it will produce a righteousness that will despise the godless actions of many surrounding you.
We aren’t supposed to embrace darkness. The Psalm 97:11 light that shines on the righteous is supposed to illuminate the darkness within individuals surrounding them. Since everyone is presented with a choice people can decide to oppose your light. Therefore, the natural separation that righteousness causes will start to begin.
It’s extremely hard to be friends with those who choose to live polar opposite lives than one who decides to take up their cross. Modern-day Christianity is trying to teach church leaders how to create churches where the wicked feel welcome.
Church leaders are supposed to welcome the wicked into an atmosphere that presents them with a choice. If they decide to not change and go on living their life the way they want the last thing they should want to do is come back week after week, grab a donut, some coffee and join you in worship.
Psalm 98:12 says rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous and praise His holy name! Let the righteous rejoice! Let the wicked be welcomed into salvation. Let them be welcomed into a life of transformation. Let them be welcomed into a life of righteousness.
Don’t allow culture to force you into universal acceptance of wickedness. If you truly loved people you would want their life to reflect the life of the one who spilled His blood on the cross. Being cool with the culture is now the goal of the modern church leader. My goal is to provide an atmosphere that will allow you to encounter your Savior. From that encounter my prayer is that the wicked will make the decision to be transformed by the grace of God!
We dive deeper into this topic on What Is God Saying, Today? – 019.