“A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” (Matthew 7:18-20)

In my most recent post (The Manifestation of Faith), I spoke to how those who come to faith in Christ Jesus become more like Him – more loving, more merciful, more humble and more obedient. We also become repentant of our sin.

As God, Jesus had no need for repentance. It was and is, however, foundational to His message:

“…but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3)

There is, of course, the flip-side of the coin – the unrepentant. Psalm 36 teaches of those who have given themselves over to sin:

¹There is no fear of God before his eyes.
²For he flatters himself in his own eyes,
When he finds out his iniquity and when he hates.
³The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
⁴He devises wickedness on his bed;
He sets himself in a way that is not good;
He does not abhor evil. (Psalm 36:1-4)

In fact, the Psalms offer an appropriate framework for drawing distinctions between the righteous and the wicked. In the Psalms, the “wicked” are broadly defined as those who are ungodly, rebellious, and characterized by evil actions and attitudes. They reject God’s authority, prioritize their own desires, and pursue self-interest at the expense of others.  They are contrasted with the “righteous,” who are those faithful to God and live according to His principles.

My very favorite psalm – Psalm 1 – exemplifies this contrast, juxtaposing the blessed (righteous)  and the wicked. The former delights in God’s law and is fruitful in doing so; the other circumvents God’s word and associates with those who mock God:

¹Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
²But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
³He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
⁴The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
⁵Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
⁶For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish. (Psalm 1)

A deeper dive into the contrast between those whose faith manifests in righteousness and those who neither believe or trust in God’s goodness, provision and justice, uncovers some distinctive attributes. Specifically, the “wicked” as characterized in the Psalms:

• Demonstrate a profound self-centeredness and lack of humility, prioritizing their own ambitions rather than those of our Lord God.
• Actively engage in acts of violence, oppression and deception against others.
• Make the accumulation of wealth, possessions and accolades their idols rather than the pursuit of God’s will.
• Remain rebellious and disobedient towards God, actively opposing His word and unwilling to either acknowledge or submit to His authority.
• Refuse to acknowledge their misconduct, remaining unrepentant of their sinful behavior.

The “righteous,” of course, are not without sin. But they strive, unsuccessfully at times, to live by the will of God – to be led by the Holy Spirit. They seek not to profit at the expense of others, but to find fulfillment in His word and obedience to it. And they wait patiently for the Lord to fulfill His promised return.

In closing, we must nonetheless remain vigilant in our faith while remaining patient for:

The wicked prowl on every side,
When vileness is exalted among the sons of men. (Psalm 12:8)

Clearly, the world exalts vileness. We are witness to it every moment of every day – in our politics, our communities, our economies – even in our churches. Everywhere.

In His time, God will put down the wicked and lift up the faithful. Psalm 50 gives warning to those who exalt evil – and offers hope to the faithful.

¹⁶But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to declare My statutes,
Or take My covenant in your mouth,
¹⁷Seeing you hate instruction
And cast My words behind you?
¹⁸When you saw a thief, you consented with him,
And have been a partaker with adulterers.
¹⁹You give your mouth to evil,
And your tongue frames deceit.
²⁰You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
²¹These things you have done, and I kept silent;
You thought that I was altogether like you;
But I will rebuke you,
And set them in order before your eyes.
²²“Now consider this, you who forget God,
Lest I tear you in pieces,
And there be none to deliver:
²³Whoever offers praise glorifies Me;
And to him who orders his conduct aright
I will show the salvation of God.” (Psalm 50:16-23)