The question

Every one of us, to the most secluded culture on earth, has a perspective of right and wrong, good and evil, concerning the things of this world. Of course, there are differences in what is believed to be good or bad, but there is some filter in everyone that gives them a distinction of right and wrong. C.S Lewis presents this truth much more eloquently in Mere Christianity.

Furthermore, every person faces a battle between right and wrong, good and evil, each day. The war perpetually rages. From minute thoughts to daily actions, every person’s daily journey is a walk between right and wrong. And, every one of us sprinkles in both good and bad, right and wrong, on our daily walk. The definitions of right and wrong may be different, but we each do battle between the two every day. To not see the raging daily war is to lack humility.

This battle summarizes a thread in the Bible. In the third chapter, the battle of right and wrong begins, and, through today, the war has never ended.

In Genesis Chapter 3, we see the famous battle between the serpent and Eve. God had clearly given instructions not to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. There was a clear distinction before Eve between right and wrong. There was a right way, don’t eat the fruit, versus a wrong way, eat the fruit, before Eve. If there was no serpent, there would probably have been no interest in doing anything other than what God had said. But, the serpent entered the picture, created questions, created doubt, painted a picture to a better life if Eve would only choose a different direction than what God had laid out. Eve caved. Adam caved. The first battle took place, the wrong decision was made.

This war never lets up throughout Scripture. About 10 generations after Eve, in Genesis 6, all of humanity is in the war. Genesis 6:5 says, “the Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently evil.” God pointed out that mankind was all evil, but, Noah was described as “doing everything that the Lord commanded.” It should be noted that Noah was not without fault, as he, too, chose wrong later in life. But, nevertheless, again, the Bible paints the picture of a battle between right and wrong going on with humanity.

Fast forward to the New Testament in Matthew 4. Jesus was approximately 30 years old and beginning his ministry on earth. He is baptized and tempted for 40 days by the serpent that we saw back in Genesis 3. The serpent comes with the same game plan, as he put a decision before Christ that was opposite what God said. He entered the picture, tried to create questions and doubt, and painted a picture of a better way of life. Jesus didn’t cave. He addresses the serpent with the Words of God, wins the battle.

As one winds their way through Scripture, over and over, beginning to end, the war rages. Every person faces the same battle, from David to Judas to Paul, they all have daily battles between right and wrong. And, outside of Jesus, all have both good and bad decisions mixed in. No one wins all the battles. Every one chooses wrong at some point.

The obvious, avoided question at this point is, “who defines right and wrong?”

Before any right or wrong is mentioned, the very first sentence in the Bible says, “in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Adrian Rogers said that if you can get past this verse, you have the rest of the Bible licked.

One’s answer to “who defines right and wrong” is absolutely dependent on how you view this first sentence of the Bible. If there is a God, and He has the power to create the heavens and the earth, then the One who created all clearly is the One that defines right and wrong. However, if it is believed that God did not create the heavens and the earth, then right and wrong must be determined another way, maybe by human standards.

The Bible is a story that lays out the Creator in the first sentence, and the rest of the book, from beginning to end, is the battle in humanity of choosing right or wrong each day as defined by that Creator.

The most important question for each of us is what we believe about that first sentence in the Bible. If we do believe that God created all, everything changes. We have His Words given to us in the Bible. We have His definition of right and wrong. If God is the Creator, we owe it to ourselves to know what He says by reading His Words, rather than only listening to what others think or say. After all, the best person alive today has a bit of disobedience in them.

And, once one knows how the Creator defines right and wrong, one is compelled to be obedient to His laws. And, the best news is that when we inevitably choose wrong and are disobedient, Jesus took care of that for us on the cross. We receive mercy and grace.

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This week, we started the One Year Bible reading. As a reminder, the goal is to read the Bible in a year. For a list of the Scripture to read each day, check here. Audio is available also. Pin this site to the Home Screen on your phone. Or, if you like a hard copy, order those on Amazon: One Year Bible, ESV, One Year Bible, NLT.