From wicked to righteous

The wicked are estranged from the womb;

they go astray from birth, speaking lies.

Psalm 58:3

All people are born wicked. We are born in sin. From the womb we are sinners through and through. Our sin will lead our first steps astray. Our first words will be lies. That is our natural state. This is why we are answerable to a holy God before Whom we deserve to be cast in judgment. This is why we need Jesus to save us. All of us, each of us, every one of us is wicked at birth.

Scripture is clear that this lost condition is endemic to us all. And we are held accountable before a holy God. We are born into sin. We do sin. We need a Savior. None of us, born as we are in this desperate and depraved condition, have the capacity to please God or make amends for our wickedness. We remain estranged. We walk further away with each lie we speak, each disobedience we choose, each sin we selfishly commit in disregard of a holy God.

God judges wickedness. There are two methods for this. One is in a life that ends in eternal punishment by a just God. The other is in faith that trusts that Jesus bore that punishment for our wicked nature on the cross, and then rose from the dead that we might eternally live cleansed by His redeeming blood. And this is the “reward for the righteous” from the “God Who judges on earth” (Psalm 58:11). In Jesus we know the forgiveness for sin, the restoration of our estrangement, the righteousness that holds us close to a loving God, and the truth that erases all the lies! Praise Him for the way He turns the wicked to be His holy ones!