In the Bible we find that there are several things that are perverted. Today, we are going to study seven of these.
To pervert means to turn aside or away from what is viewed as good or true or morally right; to corrupt. Perverse is turned away from what is right or good.
We live in a society that doesn’t distinguish right from wrong and good from bad, based on a standard, like the Bible. Rather, the judgment of whether something is right or good is based more on feelings and opinions, than on truth. Our society is like Israel in Isaiah’s day. Isaiah said to them, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” [Is 5:20-21].
We must teach this society what is perverted because they have no standard for judgment. It’s common for people to say, “It’s all good.” And it’s not all good. There are some things that have been perverted and you must know what they are. Here are some of the things that have been perverted:
Perverted words – Jer 23:36 – “ye have perverted the words of the living God.” The words of God have been corrupted [2 Cor 2:17]. When the devil tempted Eve, he messed with the words of God. When the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he messed with the words of God. Ps 119:160 says, “Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.” When two versions of the Bible disagree, they can’t both be right. I have found one that is perfect. It is the King James Bible. Therefore, when I see changes in other translations, I know that God’s words have been perverted. Frankly, I don’t want to read or study perverted words. Sadly, most preachers and Christians don’t believe that God has preserved his words in writing [Ps 12:6-7] and so they don’t view retranslating the Bible as perverting God’s words. But perverted words yield perverted doctrines and perverted doctrines yield perverted Christians [2 Tim 4:3-4].
Perverted spirit – Is 19:14 – “The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof.” In the burden of Egypt in Is 19, the princes and the wise men became fools; they were deceived. And the reason is that God mingled a perverse spirit in them that caused Egypt to err in every work [Is 19:11-14]. In the days of Ahab, four hundred of his prophets advised him to go to battle in Ramothgilead and prophesied that he would prosper. One man, Micaiah, said they were all lying and prophesied that Ahab would die if he fought that battle. When the prophets challenged him, he said, “the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets,” [1 Ki 22:23]. Look, our country is going down spiritually and morally, rapidly. The politicians say that this trend is progressive. The Bible says this trend is perverted. It’s a spiritual problem and politicians can’t fix spiritual problems. Only God can; and they don’t want him involved.
Perverted heart – Prov 12:8 – “he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised.” You have heard people say that you can’t legislate morality. The reason is that laws deal with behavior and actions, they don’t deal with the heart. Solomon said, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life,” [Prov 4:23]. The best way to keep your heart is to love the Lord with all your heart and to love his words. Otherwise, you’ll love the world and the things that are in the world [1 Jn 2:15-17] and you’ll become the enemy of God [Jas 4:4]. Today, men are lovers of themselves and of pleasures more than God [2 Tim 3:1-4]. Their because their hearts have been perverted.
Perverted tongue – Prov 17:20 – “he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief.” A perverse tongue comes from a perverse heart. For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. When you hear others say words that are not right or good, they’re speaking from a perverted heart. When teachers teach lies and preachers preach false doctrines, they are speaking from perverted hearts. Their hearts have been perverted by whomever taught them the lies they now believe. When you say words that are not right and good, you’re speaking from a perverted heart. Get your heart right with God and your mouth will clean up, too. If you don’t, like this proverb says, a perverse tongue will get you into trouble.
Perverted ways – Prov 10:9 – “he that perverteth his ways shall be known.” See Prov 28:6, 18. It’s pretty easy to tell when a person has perverted his way. When you’re a little off the mark, at first, it is not apparent to you or others close to you that anything is wrong. But down the road, you cannot hide the fact that you have turned away from the truth. You’ll be so far off track that there will be no doubt that you’re in trouble. You will fall; no if’s, and’s or but’s about it. The broad way is the way that leads to destruction. The narrow way, the way of Jesus Christ, is the only way that leads to the Father.
Perverted judgment – 1 Sam 8:3 – “turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.” See Prov 17:23. God doesn’t pervert judgment [Job 34:12] but he surely sees it [Ecc 5:8]. This is what has happened in our country. Judgment has been perverted. Now, things that were illegal before, and should still be illegal, are permitted, protected, promoted, and paraded. Children are encouraged in these sins because they are looked upon as good now. The righteous are judged as wicked, and the wicked are judged as right.
Perverted generation – Lk 9:41 – “faithless and perverse generation.” See also Deut 32:5. The consequence of the perversion of the words of God and the perversion of the spirits, hearts, tongues, ways and judgment of men is that the whole generation becomes perverted. It appears that our generation is just such a perverted generation as this.
Conclusion: you cannot allow your heart, your tongue or your way to be perverted by this perverted generation, by the perverted spirit of this age, by the perverted judgment of society, or by the perversion of God’s words. Stay faithful to the true words of God in his Holy Bible, keep your heart with all diligence, be continually filled with the Spirit of God, and maintain proper separation from the world.