Week 7 - Friday

The Conduct of Man

"Their feet are swift to shed blood, Destruction and misery are in their paths, And the path of peace have they not known." (Romans 3:15-17)

Paul, quoting the Scriptures, has already made ten charges against mankind. In these charges he has shown that both man's character and conversation are naturally evil. In his final three charges, Paul is going to further demonstrate man's sinfulness by describing their conduct. The first of these charges is that their feet are swift to shed blood. By quoting Proverbs 1:16, Paul points out the natural tendency of people to kill one another. History books record the contsant wars in which man has brutally slaughtered his neighbors attempting to take away their land and possessions. Wars are also often fought between people of the same nation; simply because they don't like the race, religion or beliefs of each other. At any given time there are usually more than 20 wars going on throughout the world. Even when they are not at war, people kill each other. Murder is so common in the United States that, since the year 1900, more than twice as many people have been killed by murder than have died in all the wars in the 220 year history of the nation. Researcher Arnold Barnett, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, estimated that a baby born in the United States in the 1980's has a greater chance of being murdered than an American soldier had of dying in battle during World War II. Even with the high rate of murder today, the great majority of people have never killed another person. That alone does not make anyone innocent of murder though. Jesus said that if you have ever angrily or maliciously slandered someone, you are just as guilty as if you took their life. (Matt. 5:21-22). God judges our hearts even more critically than He does our actions. As far as He is concerned, if you hate someone you have already murdered them in your heart.

Paul's twelfth charge against man is that destruction and misery are in their paths. This charge and the next are both references to Isaiah 59:7-8. Man has a natural tendency to be destructive. Not only do people kill each other but they also rob, rape, beat and vandalize one another. All along man's path the victims are strewn. Their pain and suffering give undeniable proof of the sinful nature of man. The inevitable result of man's murderous and destructive nature is misery. Paul's final charge against man is that the path of peace have they not known. Man is never really at peace with one another. World leaders and politicians talk endlessly about peace, but there have always been wars. Even when countries are not at war, they need defense systems to protect themselves from possible attack. Not only do nations not know peace but people are not at peace with each other either. If they were, there wouldn't be so many conflicts between them. Even in Christian circles, peace is destroyed by people's petty bickerings with one another. The world's only hope for peace is Jesus Christ. Mankind will never know true peace until Jesus returns to earth and sets up His kingdom.

Readings for today: Isa. 59:7-8; Jer. 6:14; John 16:33; Eph. 2:14