The Evil That Men Do

"The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart." - Genesis 6:5-6

Imagine the state of mankind during the days of Noah prior to the flood. The intentions of mens' hearts were pure evil, they were constant workers of iniquity, doing whatever their sinful nature desired. It was to the point where the LORD was sorry that he created man. Imagine no one serving God, no one worshipping out of a pure heart, no one doing what they were created to do which was to glorify their Creator. No one except one man named Noah whom the LORD found favor with. Seeing this, God decided to destory all living creatures, human-kind and animal-kind alike, and start over with Noah and his immediate family of 7, along with 2 of every animal.

"The Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth."
- Genesis 8:21

After the LORD flooded the earth high above the mountain tops, He restored Noah upon the earth, told him and his family to "be fruitful and multiply", and vowed never to destroy the earth again by a flood, making a covenant with Noah, using the rainbow as a sign to remind every living creature of this covenant.

"For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority." - 2 Peter 2:4-10

Though our hearts are deceitful and despirately wicked, full of evil intentions, God is able to transform us from an ungodly people, such as the ancient people before the flood, into a godly people, such as Noah and his household.

"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire." - 2 Peter 1:3-4

As Christians, the LORD has rescued us from the corruption of this world that has come through the sinful desires of man. Not only that, but He has also rescued us from our own sinful nature, which stems from the condition of our human heart, and has allowed us to partake in His divine nature.

Having read what God has done to those who have continued in wickedness and succumbed to the sinful desires of their hearts, we should stay humble and full of awe having experienced the transforming power of Christ in our own lives. Each one of us should have been destroyed long ago just as those in the ancient world and those of Sodom and Gomorrah. But instead, God has found favor with us, just as He did with Noah, and has rescued us from the consequences of our sin.

"For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." - 2 Peter 1:5-11