Feb 12, 2023
It’s not FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried. Nor is it Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. Neither is it the Vatican Ratlines nor the wars of the Third Reich. One might think of the hundreds of millions killed in the Soviet Union and in China, but that is not the worst crime in history, either. It’s not even the killing of 1 to 1.5 billion babies since abortion was made legal in 1973 in America. And it’s not sex trafficking of young children, as demonic as that is. But what could be worse than that?
Mankind’s rejection of God and truth is the worst crime in all of history. Our rejection of Him and His Words is the most wicked and most corrupting crime ever committed. It is the foundation for every other evil that has occurred since then. This sin is the root and the trunk of a very evil tree. The branches of the tree are crimes we commit. Things such as war, idolatry, abortion, lawlessness, adultery, homosexuality, sexual immorality, lying, cheating, theft, dishonesty, fraud, and every other evil that has been loosed on the earth.
This evil treatment of God is the worst crime in history and the one that has given rise to all other crimes, past and present, throughout history. The greatest crime is humanity’s rejection of God’s authority. This mistreatment of God is reflected in our rejection of His word of truth, His law, His Son, and His rightful lordship over humanity. How can we measure the extent of treachery and disloyalty?
Just how bad is this crime?
To determine the severity of a crime, one must consider 1) premeditation on which it is based, 2) the innocence of the party harmed, and 3) the evil it causes as a result. Not all crimes are equally awful. Stealing a piece of bread is not as wicked as murdering someone.
- The premeditation on which it is based.
Romans chapter one tells us that God has created us with some knowledge about Himself that will make it impossible for anyone to claim that they didn’t know any better.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shown it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse; Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” Romans 1:18-22
The word says they ‘hold the truth in unrighteousness’. In other words, they know the truth but refuse to submit to its authority. That is the very definition of premeditation. This makes their rejection of God and truth even more wicked because it is based on knowledge. To refuse light is to invite darkness, which is premeditation with vengeance.
As a result of this rejection, mankind “became vain in their imaginations and their foolish heart was darkened.” Consider the stupid, insane, and ridiculous things that progressives and others who reject God claim to be true. They don’t even know how to define a woman. They believe people can change their gender at will. They think that the state is above God and His law. They believe they can redefine marriage. They theorize that the universe created itself. And on and on the insanity grows, “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” Many of our “experts” are fools who believe ridiculous things and harmfully stupid ideas. And it is all part of the wrath of God on them for their rejection of Him.
- The innocence of the party that is harmed.
The Bible talks about the damnation of those who shed innocent blood, especially the blood of babies. The egregious nature of this sin is based on the innocence of the child. God’s word is evident on the subject. The blood of the innocents cries out day and night to God. God will purge our land for this great sin. And that day may be here before you know it.
To add insult to injury, God Himself is not only innocent of all charges of malevolence against Him, but He is also the Good Shepherd who seeks the lost sheep. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He is the one who has provided an escape for the unlawful at significant cost to Himself. Jesus provided an atonement for our sins, which He did not have to do. He wanted to do it even for His enemies who hated Him without cause. That rejection increases the malevolence and evil of mankind’s crime against God. If God provided no way of escape for lawbreakers, the crime of lawbreaking is still worthy of death. And God would still be justified, but now that He has provided a way of escape at significant personal cost to Himself. The evil of our rejection of Him and the truth is increased immeasurably. The greater the light, the greater the darkness that rejects the light. And the more profound the guilt.
Think on it. God created us to share His love with us if we would only trust and obey Him. We have all rejected Him who did us no harm at all. He alone deserves so much better, and we deserve so much worse. It weighs heavily on my soul how we treat God when He deserves so much better. Our shame and guilt can’t be overstated.
- The evil it causes as a result.
All the evil in the universe has its foundation in mankind’s rejection of God, who is truth. Name a sinful act or practice, and it all comes back to this foundation. It all comes back to the root of this evil tree. We have slaughtered up to 1.5 billion babies worldwide, because we have rejected God first. We have killed hundreds of millions in wars. People kill each other, we steal from each other, we gossip about each other, we hate each other because we reject God and His authority over us first.
We should be praising God each day, but instead we heap on Him our ungratefulness and our disdain. The One who gives us life and all good things freely, gets in return, our active belligerent disobedience and disloyalty, shame on us.
He truly deserves so much better than he gets from us. Thankfulness should be the first thing out of our mouths each day. We should be grateful that He is a God of love who doesn’t want to send us to the hell we have earned (the wages of sin are death). He continually takes this undeserved abuse from us. He deserves to be treated much better and we deserve to be treated worse,….. much worse.
The worst crime in all the world is the rejection of truth and of our God, who is our Creator and Savior. This crime is the mother and father of all crimes. It is the worst crime of all and has spanned the entire history of mankind and will only end when God says, “Enough is enough.” Can that be far off?
If that is the worst crime, then who are the worst criminals?
If that is true, that the rejection of truth and God is the worst crime, then who are the worst criminals? Could it be that all those who refuse to repent of their rejection of the truth and God are the worst criminals? That means folks like Madoff, Bankman-Fried, Hitler, Stalin, Tung, Sanger, USA Supreme Court justices who made baby killing legal, politicians who keep it legal and provide financial support for abortion, doctors and nurses who perform abortions, (name your criminal or name your evil person), are not the worst criminals. They may be the “worst of the worst,” but they are not the only ones who claim this title of being the worst criminals.
All those who reject God and truth are the mothers and fathers of the names we associate with mass murderers and the other unspeakable crimes committed by people. You and I, in our unrepentant state, are the criminals when we reject truth and God in our unbelief. Folks like Hitler, Stalin, Sanger, Madoff, Bankman-Fried, are our children. Did other people not help create them? They took it to another despotic level and are the “worst of the worst”, but our lack of belief makes us just as capable of doing the same should time and circumstances put us in such a position. According to the prophet Jeremiah, “the heart is desperately wicked, who can know it?” Someone else once said, “There but for the grace of God, go I.” God, by His grace, is in the business of creating new hearts and new people. Praise His name forever.
There is a principle in law that states, “what you do through others, you do yourself.” Those who live a life of wanton pleasure and have no self-control encourage others to do the same, even if it is only indirect encouragement. If you live a life of righteousness, you encourage others to do the same. In both cases, we become partly responsible because of our example. Clearly some people have committed unbelievable evil, and their damnation will be per that evil. My point is that any of us could be in that place if time and circumstances put us there. It is only by living for God that our influence is helpful and not destructive.
“Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men. 2 Corinthians 3:2
In this passage, we are told that all people “read” us. Our lives tell a story and preach a sermon every day. An old lady, in the rest home my family ministered in, said this to us almost every Sunday afternoon, “You are the only Bible some folks will ever read.” We influence our friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, and acquaintances. Our lives and our words tell the world that God and truth are most essential or that personal gratification is most important. They see in us truth or lies. If your children see in your Christian profession a hypocrite, then you are helping the devil destroy them. And when they are destroyed, they will destroy others. And the world is leavened by just a bit of leaven. And that often creates monsters.
Leaven creates wicked people and organized evil. It makes people and organizations such as Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, who has murdered countless millions of babies directly or indirectly. Hitler and the Nazi Party are another example. (All communist leaders and parties might be named). Think of other leaders and countries that have murdered countless people, and you find that all of them are the result of rejecting God and His truth. Hundreds of millions of people have been slaughtered by these godless leaders and their organizations.
God’s answer to the problem of evil
Those who repent of their sins and believe in Jesus Christ are part of God’s family. They are new creations in Christ Jesus, and they walk in righteousness as new creatures. Their message to the world is that God lives, and His word is truth. Those who refuse to repent and believe in Jesus Christ reject God and are guilty of the worst crime in the world. They will not find peace, ever. The world will never find peace until God reigns on earth as He does in heaven.
Are human beings really that bad?
Is there anything that might mitigate our guilt? The answer is ‘yes’ if the dogma of Original Sin is true. That dogma stipulates that human beings are born with a sinful nature. We are born sinners who can’t do any good, only evil. In other words, we are born criminals at birth. We do not become criminals by committing a crime, we are born with the nature of a criminal, and that is why we commit a crime. If that is true, then we are not guilty of any crimes or sins because wickedness must be voluntary before it can be called evil. Involuntary sin or involuntary crime is a contradiction in terms. If we are born sinners and criminals, then we are to be pitied and not condemned. We had no choice in the matter; therefore, we are not guilty if this dogma is true, which it is not. If the dogma is true, then we should expect people to murder others, even many others. We should expect people to do everything we think is wicked because they are born that way.
Is there anything else that might mitigate our guilt? ‘Yes’, if the theory of macroevolution is true, then we are but beasts. Therefore, when we act like beasts, we should not be surprised. But this fable of macroevolution is not true, and scientists who say it is true are deceived and deceivers.
Bottom line
Neither Original Sin nor macroevolution mitigates our sins and our evil. Consequently, our guilt and our crimes are all the more awful and blameworthy because we rejected God and truth with our own free will. We were not born in a state of unbelief, and we are not the product of blind evolutionary processes. We chose unbelief instead of faith, and the entire responsibility is ours. We can’t blame God or the devil for our sin and our rejection of God and the truth. We have no excuses at all. Original sin and macroevolution give all of us a covering, or excuse, or cloak for our sins. It fools us into believing that we are not as bad as we are. Only the truth will set us free. Believe in God and His word is my recommendation.
“It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law.” Psalm 119:126
