“The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” Psalm 1:4-6

The Bible repeatedly contrast the righteous with the wicked. I don’t believe God does this to merely condemn the wicked, but to warn us all, and show our great need for a Savior.  “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”(John 3:17-18) The bleak reality is that in our natural state we are all prone to wickedness.  The definition of wicked here does not refer to something kind of bad, but kind of cool.  The wicked are described as those who stand for all that goes against God and are morally bankrupt.  “Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness”(Psalms 52:7)  One characteristic of the wicked is they do not last, but are blown away like a wilted leaf.  They will not withstand judgment, but will ultimately perish.

We don’t need to look far to find examples of wickedness.  Right after the fall of humanity, the first son of Adam wickedly attacked his brother.  Why?  “Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.”(1John3:12) We cannot be quick to point our finger others.  Wickedness can be found in our hearts.  “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer 17:9)  All of us fall so short of living God’s way, because of sin.  We can’t possibly do enough “good” to achieve a right standing with God on our own.  We need to be rescued from our selves.  There is only one Savior who is able to save us from our wickedness—the Lord Jesus Christ.  He innocently died in our place to bear the punishment for our sins, was buried, and rose from the grave to give us His righteousness.

The righteous are now privileged to enjoy a restored relationship with the Father, and glory in Christ forever.  God knows the ways of the righteous.  He is intimated acquainted with those whom He has adopted as His own children to resemble His likeness.  “His footsteps are ordered by the Word of God, and not by the cunning and wicked devices of carnal men. It is a rich sign of inward grace when the outward walk is changed, and when ungodliness is put far from our actions.” Charles Spurgeon