Are there degrees of evil in the Bible? My answer is yes there are degrees of evil in the Bible. We know that all men are sinners and the Bible tells us that the heart of man is deceitful and desperately wicked. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? We are all sinners and we are prone to have sinful thoughts and actions.
But, we read in Proverbs 6:12-19 about a worthless and wicked person. In the passage we read of arrogance, lying, deceit, sowing of discord, feet swift to turn to evil and devising wicked plans and committing murder.
This is the Bible’s description of a psychopath and this is a person who has gone beyond being a sinner to becoming evil. This person has no good left in them. When I authored my true crime story, the Wind Cries Mary, and I wrote about serial killers, I wondered if there was any decency in them. People in life who seemed evil I used to think that underneath was a wounded person who was not all bad. I realized I was wrong. The final degree of evil in the Bible is attributed to Judas Iscariot and the Antichrist. These two men are so wicked the Devil personally enters them. The Antichrist is referred to as vile. So we go from sinful, to wicked to vile. Judas was a deceiver, a thief, a betrayer whose god was a buck and who was taken over by greed. The Antichrist is the embodiment of all evil and stands against God and Christ and declares that he is god. We know that he will mass murder innocents, commit the ultimate idolatry and he is a master deceiver.
But, we read in Proverbs 6:12-19 about a worthless and wicked person. In the passage we read of arrogance, lying, deceit, sowing of discord, feet swift to turn to evil and devising wicked plans and committing murder.
This is the Bible’s description of a psychopath and this is a person who has gone beyond being a sinner to becoming evil. This person has no good left in them. When I authored my true crime story, the Wind Cries Mary, and I wrote about serial killers, I wondered if there was any decency in them. People in life who seemed evil I used to think that underneath was a wounded person who was not all bad. I realized I was wrong. The final degree of evil in the Bible is attributed to Judas Iscariot and the Antichrist. These two men are so wicked the Devil personally enters them. The Antichrist is referred to as vile. So we go from sinful, to wicked to vile. Judas was a deceiver, a thief, a betrayer whose god was a buck and who was taken over by greed. The Antichrist is the embodiment of all evil and stands against God and Christ and declares that he is god. We know that he will mass murder innocents, commit the ultimate idolatry and he is a master deceiver.
So from what I can see in the Bible there are varying degrees of sinful, evil and vile. Evil brings consequences and judgment Both a person who is sinful who then has entered the realm of evil can be saved. If an evil person gets saved they will stop their evil and work to improve their inner self. The Bible says that by their fruits you will know them. Many psychopaths enter the church as angels of light. The litmus test for all believers is their fruit. On the flip side some people put ridiculously high expectations on those who are born again Christians who are basically redeemed sinners.
Concerning sinners, being a sinner, will keep you out of heaven, being evil will bring judgment into your life and your deeds back on your own head. The next level, being vile, well that gets a certain person thrown bodily into the lake of fire.
Here is the Bible’s Message of Hope for all sinners.
Bible prophecy presents frightening truths to the reader, but its message is not entirely one of doom and gloom. Believers in Jesus Christ will not go through the Tribulation. God will take them out of the world in the Rapture just before it begins. God provides a way out. His way offers refuge and eternal life.
God’s gift of eternal life with Christ is simple to obtain, but few will take it. All men are sinners. Sin is anything that we say or do that does not bring glory to God. God is righteous, and the slightest sin within us makes us unrighteous in His sight. There is nothing in and of ourselves that we can do to obtain the favor of God. Isaiah 64:6 states: “And all our righteousness are like filthy rags.” God will not even accept one into heaven for his good works. Salvation is by faith alone. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works lest anyone should boast.”
But Romans 10:13 promises, “For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” God promises eternal life to anyone who accepts Jesus Christ as his personal savior.
John 5:24 states: “Most assuredly, I say to you, He who hears My word, and believes in him who sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment; but has passed from death into life.”
If you want to be sure that you are saved and that heaven will be your home, pray this simple sinner’s prayer and mean it with all of your heart: “Oh God, be merciful to me as a sinner, I believe that Jesus died for my sins, and trust Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Thank you Lord Jesus for saving me.”
He that believes in the Son has everlasting life: and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him. (John 3:36)