Characteristics
of The Wicked
The Bible speaks of only two types of people. Sometimes they are referred to as the righteous and the wicked. Unfortunately, the line of distinction has been blurred and distorted regarding who is who. This should not be, especially since the traits of each are so different and it is so important to identify them.
The following Scriptures should help clear up the confusion about this issue. This is what the Bible says about wicked acts and the wicked people who perform them:
Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.” (Gen 19:4,5) ... and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. (Gen 19:7)
While they were enjoying themselves, some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him.” (Judg 19:22)
So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” (Gen 39:6,7) ... No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (Gen 39:9)
Do not spread false reports. Do not help a wicked man by being a malicious witness. (Exo 23:1)
How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. (Num 14:27)
Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine.” (1 Sam 1:13,14) ... Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.” (1 Sam 1:16)
Eli’s sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD. (1 Sam 2:12) ... Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours.” (1 Sam 2:22,23)
His name was Nabal and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was surly and mean in his dealings. (1 Sam 25:3) ... Now think it over and see what you can do, because disaster is hanging over our master and his whole household. He is such a wicked man that no one can talk to him.” (1 Sam 25:17) ... May my lord pay no attention to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name—his name is Fool, and folly goes with him. But as for me, your servant, I did not see the men my master sent. (1 Sam 25:25)
“Don’t, my brother!” she said to him. “Don’t force me. Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don’t do this wicked thing. (2 Sam 13:12) ... But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her. (2 Sam 13:14)
And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning (1 Chr 17:9)
O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure. (Psa 7:9)
The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked. (Prov 10:11)
The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence his soul hates. (Psa 11:5)
The violence of the wicked will drag them away, for they refuse to do what is right. (Prov 21:7)
In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. (Psa 10:2)
In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. (Psa 10:4)
Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, “He won’t call me to account”? (Psa 10:13)
Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who do evil, who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts. (Psa 28:3)
An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes. (Psa 36:1)
The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and to do good. (Psa 36:3)
NOTE: That verse shows a righteous person can become wicked again. Hence, there is no eternal security and never has been any.
The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming. (Psa 37:12,13)
The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. (Psa 37:14)
The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously; (Psa 37:21)
The wicked lie in wait for the righteous, seeking their very lives (Psa 37:32)
Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me (Psa 49:5)
at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked; for they bring down suffering upon me and revile me in their anger. (Psa 55:3)
Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies. (Psa 58:3)
Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of evil and cruel men. (Psa 71:4)
Indignation grips me because of the wicked, who have forsaken your law. (Psa 119:53)
Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, (Prov 2:12)
The lips of the righteous know what is fitting, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse. (Prov 10:32)
Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed. (Prov 11:11)
The plans of the righteous are just, but the advice of the wicked is deceitful. (Prov 12:5)
The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues them. (Prov 12:6)
A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel. (Prov 12:10)
The righteous hate what is false, but the wicked bring shame and disgrace. (Prov 13:5)
The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil. (Prov 15:28)
A wicked man listens to evil lips; a liar pays attention to a malicious tongue. (Prov 17:4)
A wicked man accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the course of justice. (Prov 17:23)
A corrupt witness mocks at justice, and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil. (Prov 19:28)
Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin! (Prov 21:4)
The wicked man craves evil; his neighbor gets no mercy from him. (Prov 21:10)
The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable— how much more so when brought with evil intent! (Prov 21:27)
Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law resist them. (Prov 28:4)
The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern. (Prov 29:7)
The righteous detest the dishonest; the wicked detest the upright. (Prov 29:27)
Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men, nor will he pity the fatherless and widows, for everyone is ungodly and wicked, every mouth speaks vileness. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised. (Isa 9:17)
Yet he too is wise and can bring disaster; he does not take back his words. He will rise up against the house of the wicked, against those who help evildoers. (Isa 31:2)
The scoundrel’s methods are wicked, he makes up evil schemes to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just. (Isa 32:7)
“There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.” (Isa 48:22)
Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. (Isa 55:7)
For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things. (Isa 59:3)
Among my people are wicked men who lie in wait like men who snare birds and like those who set traps to catch men. (Jer 5:26)
These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt—completely useless! (Jer 13:10)
I will save you from the hands of the wicked and redeem you from the grasp of the cruel.” (Jer 15:21)
But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself. (Ezek 3:19)
Because you disheartened the righteous with your lies, when I had brought them no grief, and because you encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways and so save their lives, (Ezek 13:22)
But if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. (Ezek 18:21)
We have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. (Dan 9:5)
Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted. (Hab 1:4)
And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not. (Mal 3:18)
He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. (Mat 12:39)
Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. The servant fell on his knees before him. “Be patient with me,” he begged, “and I will pay back everything.” The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. “Pay back what you owe me!” he demanded. His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, “Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.” But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. Then the master called the servant in. “You wicked servant,” he said, “I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. (Mt 18:23-35)
But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. (Mat 24:48,49)
Then the man who had received the one talent came. “Master,” he said, “I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.” His master replied, “You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Mat 25:24-30)
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. (1 Cor 5:1) ... God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.” (1 Cor 5:13)
Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work. (2 John 1:9-11)
GOD BLESS YOU.
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