September 3, 2017 (Proverbs 29:27)

“An unjust man is an abomination to the just; and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked” (Proverbs 29:27). Another translation (NIV) translates this proverb as “The righteous detest the dishonest; the wicked detest the upright.”  One’s understanding of this is helped by Paul’s discussion of conflicts as he describes the nature of spiritual warfare in his letter to Ephesians. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood (not against people per se, although it may seem so), but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). At the root of  the conflict between a born again believer in Jesus Christ and those not reborn is the conflict between the Holy Spirit who inhabits the believer and the demonic forces which control the lives of all who remain under influence of Satan and his forces of evil. A non-believer can be living in a way which does not appear on the surface to be an offense to either God or society, but the driving influence in their character is nonetheless radically different than that of one whose life has become a “new creation.” This does not imply that the outward behavior of all believers has become what God desires. There may be rather little evidence of sanctification as yet in the life of any given born again person. However there has been an internal change of great significance which causes conflict between demonic spirits dictating the life of an unbeliever at a basic level and the Holy Spirit who has taken up residence in those reborn. Indeed, evil spirits recognized the deity of Jesus of Nazareth long before such became evident to any of the disciples including the twelve chosen specifically by Jesus for discipleship.