• The Bible Says … , But People Say …
• A Delight to the Eyes
• How We Want to See Ourselves
• End Times “Seeking What Is Right in Their Own Eyes”

Testing new editor (https://decentnewsroom.com/article-editor/create) So often Christians discount the applicability of the Old Testament to New Testament believers. All of the detailed ceremonial laws seem tedious and boring. Even much of the history may seem unimportant to our lives. The truth is that the New Testament is built upon the foundation of the Old Testament. We need the Old Testament if we are to understand the New Testament. I was recently listening to podcasts and reading blogs that discussed the Bible, Bible prophecy, and current events. It brought to my mind the situation in the book of Judges. The people stray from God’s word; a prophet teaches; the people turn back to God; they drift away again, and then we hear this basic statement repeated again and again: In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 17:6) “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Could there be a statement that is more applicable to the current state of culture, especially in America? We like to think of America as a good and Christian nation, but we could say, “In these days there is no Lord and Savior in America, and everyone does what is right in his own eyes.” It isn’t that Jesus isn’t Lord and Savior, but the people act as if He isn’t. Because of this, everyone talks about “my god” and “my truth.” They don’t read the Bible to see what God says. There are even “Christian” leaders who say some of what the Bible says is untrue or immoral. They do what is right in their own eyes.

§The Bible Says … , But People Say …

I will give just a few examples of people doing and believing what is right in their own eyes instead of believing and obeying what God says through the Bible. The Bible says,

Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.” So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:26-27) Today, people claim that man evolved from pond scum through apes. God is quite clear that He made mankind on the sixth day of creation in His own image, not through random evolution, nor through accidental missteps through death and destruction. When we view ourselves as cosmic accidents instead of intentionally and lovingly made in God’s image, our view of ourselves and the value of human life changes. Our view of God’s power, intelligence, and goodness is also reduced. We need to take God at His word. Another problem is that when we acknowledge God as Creator, we understand God’s right to define right and wrong and His absolute knowledge of truth. If we think we are random cosmic accidents, our view of God’s authority and goodness plummets. When we define for ourselves how we came to be, we are using our opinion or preference to decide what is right in our own eyes. The Bible says, So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:27) {emphasis mine} But today people claim there are over 100 genders. (Don’t ask me to name them. I don’t understand them.) Men claim to be women because they feel like it. Women claim to be men because they believe it to be so. Men and women claim to be any of a long and growing list of genders that have zero link to physical reality or truth. They do what is right in their own eyes. The Bible says, For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24) Jesus upholds this definition of marriage (as one man and one woman) and the evil of divorce. Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?” And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no person is to separate.” (Matthew 19:3-6) But the Pharisees didn’t want to obey God’s design for marriage. They wanted to do what was right in their own eyes, so they asked: They said to Him, “Why, then, did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” (Matthew 19:7-9) God did make laws to protect the innocent party because of the insistence of people to have their own way. If a woman was abandoned by her husband, she would be unprovided for and unable to survive, but God’s definition of marriage (and its definition as lasting until death do they part) never changed. Sadly, mankind is always trying to change God’s Word or eliminate God’s Word, so they can do what is right in their own eyes.

§A Delight to the Eyes

You can even say that the very first sin is the sin of doing what is right in their own eyes. When Satan tempted Eve and told her that the fruit would make her wise, the following occurred:

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. (Genesis 3:6) {emphasis mine} Isn’t this how this progression works? We see something. It looks delightful. We desire it (even though it is forbidden for our own good). We take or do the forbidden thing. We then feel the need to share (or even push) the sin onto others. Do you see this happening today? There is a way which seems right to a person, But its end is the way of death. (Proverbs 14:12) Disobedience seems desirable. It doesn’t seem like that big a deal. “I’ll just do it this once” becomes a habit, then a lifestyle, and then our identity. A while ago, I made a comment about homosexual groups using the rainbow as an affront to God, who shows the rainbow as a promise never again to flood the world. Those who defy God’s word use God’s promise against Him. A woman complained against my ascertain because she was a “Christian lesbian.” She defined herself by her sin (a lesbian), but added the qualifier “Christian” to it. We all sin, but we absolutely must not define ourselves by our sins. If you have repented of your sins and trusted Jesus as Savior, you should be a Christian first and last. Yes, we all make mistakes. Yes, we sin, but we should regret our sins, not identify ourselves by our sins. We should not do what is right in our own eyes. We should obey our Savior, Creator, and God. We should study the Bible to know God and what He defines as right and good versus what is evil and bad.

§How We Want to See Ourselves

One problem is that people hate to think of themselves as wrong or evil.

The plans of the heart belong to a person, But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. All the ways of a person are clean in his own sight, But the Lord examines the motives. Commit your works to the Lord, And your plans will be established. (Proverbs 16:1-3) {emphasis mine} Many people don’t want to read the Bible because it shines a light on all of their own wrongs. It illuminates their evil desires and actions. It makes them feel guilty. Today (and likely in the past), people seek comfort and pleasure. They want to feel good about themselves and their situation. They want to avoid discomfort at all costs. Because of this, they define right, wrong, and truth in a way that maximizes their comfort and enables their desire for pleasure. Basically, they define truth in whatever way is right in their own eyes instead of seeking absolute truth.

§End Times “Seeking What Is Right in Their Own Eyes”

Often we think of seeking “what is right in his own eyes” as being a problem of the past or a problem specifically relating to the Jews in the period of the judges. The Bible predicts a time in the future (which seems to be the present times) when people all around the world, including the church, will do “what is right in their own eyes.” God, in His Word, told us what is true and right. He told us what we must do and what we must not do. He told us how we may approach Him and that there is no other way than through Jesus.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6) Unfortunately, so many of us want to do things our way. We want to define how we approach God and how we get to heaven. We deny what God has told us explicitly. This redefinition of God, salvation, and righteousness is not a minor doctrinal disagreement. It leads to the wrath of God against the unbeliever. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and crawling creatures. (Romans 1:18-23) God doesn’t say there are many ways to Himself. He says there is only one way, through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He says that His wrath will be upon all those who deny what He has communicated to them. He says that He will withhold His protection and give them up to the sins that they choose over Him. Therefore God gave them up to vile impurity in the lusts of their hearts, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. (Romans 1:24-25) This basic problem has existed for all eternity, but God says it will become worse in the “latter times.” But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. (1 Timothy 4:1-3) In the end times, even those who claim to be believers or Christians will choose comfortable lies instead of the truth of God. For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4) It is so important to read, study, and know the Word of God. Time spent studying the Bible is never wasted. We can’t know the truth if we don’t know God’s Word. There are many teachers, who quote verses or parts of verses out of context, who sound truthful, but are teaching lies. We can’t recognize these lies if we don’t know the Bible. I can’t speak for areas outside of the US and Europe, but for us it is becoming harder and harder to find churches that faithfully teach the Bible, especially the whole Bible. So many Bible teachers pick and choose what parts of the Bible they want to teach, what is comfortable for them and/or their congregation. Since so many want “to have their ears tickled” and “turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths,” many pastors give their congregations what they want, instead of the truth, so they can keep their jobs. As the end times quickly approach, we see error and worldliness increasing in the church in preparation for the seven-year tribulation and the one-world religion predicted. Then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will eliminate with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not accept the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. (2 Thessalonians 2:8-12) {emphasis mine} God promises those who do “not accept the love of the truth” will eventually be given over to their unbelief, so they “may be judged.” Do you love THE truth (not your truth)? Do you study your Bible regularly? Do you read the Bible searching for confirmation of your existing beliefs and desires, or do you read the Bible to find truth and a relationship with God, even when it is uncomfortable and requires a change in belief and action? Do you do what is right in your own eyes? May God give you a love for Himself, His Word, and the truth. May you seek the truth, wherever it leads, and believe and act in accordance with the Word of God. May you always do what is right in the eyes of God instead of what is right in your own eyes. May God lead you to a body of believers who know and obey the Bible as God’s Word and the firm foundation of all truth, so you may grow in knowledge, faith, and relationship with our Savior. Trust Jesus If you do not yet know Jesus, I beg you to trust in Him. Below are some verses that will tell you what you need to know to be saved. If you have any questions, I’d love to answer them. Just message me on Substack. for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23) . For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23) . But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) . that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; (Romans 10:9) . If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. (1 John 1:9-10) . For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39) . He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21) . But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13) All verses are NASB unless otherwise noted.