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by Leslie Vernick
As Christian counselors, pastors and people helpers we often
have a hard time discerning between an evil heart and an ordinary
sinner who messes up, who isn’t perfect, and full of weakness and
sin.
I think one of the reasons we don’t “see” evil is because we
find it so difficult to believe that evil individuals actually
exist. We can’t imagine someone deceiving us with no conscience,
hurting others with no remorse, spinning outrageous fabrications to
ruin someone’s reputation, or pretending he or she is spiritually
committed yet has no fear of God before his or her eyes.
The Bible clearly tells us that among God’s people there are
wolves that wear sheep’s clothing (Jeremiah 23:14; Titus 1:10;
Revelations 2:2). It’s true that every human heart is inclined
toward sin (Romans 3:23), and that includes evil (Genesis 8:21;
James 1:4). We all miss God’ mark of moral perfection. However,
most ordinary sinners do not happily indulge evil urges, nor do we
feel good about having them. We feel ashamed and guilty, rightly so
(Romans 7:19–21). These things are not true of the evil heart.
Below are five indicators that you may be dealing with an evil
heart rather than an ordinary sinful heart. If so, it requires a
radically different treatment approach.
1. Evil hearts are experts at creating confusion and
contention.
They twist the facts, mislead, lie, avoid taking responsibility,
deny reality, make up stories, and withhold information. (Psalms
5:8; 10:7; 58:3; 109:2–5; 140:2; Proverbs 6:13,14; 6:18,19; 12:13;
16:20; 16:27, 28; 30:14; Job 15:35; Jeremiah 18:18; Nehemiah 6:8;
Micah 2:1; Matthew 12:34,35; Acts 6:11–13; 2 Peter 3:16)
2. Evil hearts are experts at fooling others with their smooth
speech and flattering words.
But if you look at the fruit of their lives or the follow
through of their words, you will find no real evidence of godly
growth or change. It’s all smoke and mirrors. (Psalms 50:19;
52:2,3; 57:4; 59:7; 101:7; Proverbs 12:5; 26:23–26; 26:28; Job
20:12; Jeremiah 12:6; Matthew 26:59; Acts 6:11–13; Romans 16:17,18;
2 Corinthians 11:13,14; 2 Timothy 3:2–5; 3:13; Titus 1:10,16).
3. Evil hearts crave and demand control, and their highest
authority is their own self-reference.
They reject feedback, real accountability, and make up their own
rules to live by. They use Scripture to their own advantage but
ignore and reject passages that might require self-correction and
repentance. (Romans 2:8; Psalms 10; 36:1–4; 50:16–22; 54:5,6;
73:6–9; Proverbs 21:24; Jude 1:8–16).
4. Evil hearts play on the sympathies of good-willed people,
often trumping the grace card.
They demand mercy but give none themselves. They demand warmth,
forgiveness, and intimacy from those they have harmed with no
empathy for the pain they have caused and no real intention of
making amends or working hard to rebuild broken trust. (Proverbs
21:10; 1 Peter 2:16; Jude 1:4).
5. Evil hearts have no conscience, no remorse.
They do not struggle against sin or evil—they delight in it—all
the while masquerading as someone of noble character. (Proverbs
2:14–15; 10:23; 12:10; 21:27,29; Isaiah 32:6; Romans 1:30; 2
Corinthians 11:13–15)
If you are working with someone who exhibits these
characteristics, it’s important that you confront them head on. You
must name evil for what it is. The longer you try to reason with
them or show mercy towards them, the more you, as the Christian
counselor, will become a pawn in his or her game.
They want you to believe that:
1. Their horrible actions should have no serious or painful
consequences.
When they say “I’m sorry,” they look to you as the pastor or
Christian counselor to be their advocate for amnesty with the
person he or she has harmed. They believe grace means they are
immediately granted immunity from the relational fallout of their
serious sin. They believe forgiveness entitles them to full
reconciliation and will pressure you and their victim to
comply.
The Bible warns us saying, “But when grace is shown to the
wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of
uprightness they go on doing evil and do not regard the majesty of
the Lord (Isaiah 26:10).
The Bible tells us that talking doesn’t wake up evil people, but
painful consequences might. Jesus didn’t wake up the Pharisee’s
with his talk nor did God’s counsel impact Cain (Genesis 4). In
addition, the Bible shows us that when someone is truly sorry for
the pain they have caused, he or she is eager to make amends to
those they have harmed by their sin (see Zacchaeus’ response when
he repented of his greed in Luke 19).
Tim Keller writes, “If you have been the victim of a heinous
crime. If you have suffered violence, and the perpetrator (or even
the judge) says, ‘Sorry, can’t we just let it go?’ You would say,
‘No, that would be an injustice.’ Your refusal would rightly have
nothing to do with bitterness or vengeance. If you have been badly
wronged, you know that saying sorry is never enough. Something else
is required—some kind of costly payment must be made to put things
right.”1
As Biblical counselors let’s not collude with the evil one by
turning our attention to the victim, requiring her to forgive, to
forget, to trust again when there has been no evidence of inner
change. Proverbs says, “Trusting in a treacherous man in time of
trouble is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips” (Proverbs.
25:19). It’s foolishness.
The evil person will also try to get you to believe
2. That if I talk like a gospel-believing Christian I am one,
even if my actions don’t line up with my talk.
Remember, Satan masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians
11:13–15). He knows more true doctrine than you or I will ever
know, but his heart is wicked. Why? Because although he knows the
truth, he does not believe it or live it.
The Bible has some strong words for those whose actions do not
match their talk (1 John 3:17,18; Jeremiah 7:8,10; James 1:22, 26).
John the Baptist said it best when he admonished the religious
leaders, “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your
sins and turned to God” (Luke 3:8).
If week after week you hear the talk but there is no change in
the walk, you have every reason to question someone’s relationship
with God.
Part of our maturity as spiritual leaders is that we have been
trained to discern between good and evil. Why is that so important?
It’s important because evil usually pretends to be good, and
without discernment we can be easily fooled (Hebrews 5:14).
When you confront evil, chances are good that the evil heart
will stop counseling with you because the darkness hates the light
(John 3:20) and the foolish and evil heart reject correction
(Proverbs 9:7,8). But that outcome is far better than allowing the
evil heart to believe you are on his or her side, or that “he’s not
that bad” or “that he’s really sorry” or “that he’s changing” when,
in fact, he is not.
Daniel says, “[T]he wicked will continue to be wicked” (Daniel
12:10), which begs the question, do you think an evil person can
really change?
[1] Tim Keller, Jesus the King, page 172
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