The criminal. The addict. The power-hungry. The liar. The cheater. The adulterer. The selfish person.
Maybe you identify with one of these—the person you were before you met Jesus. All these and more describe who people can become without Christ.
The Bible gives a stark contrast between the “old self”—who we are before we know Christ—and the “new self”—who we are once we place our faith in Christ.
In our search for what the Bible says about delight, we see some major differences in what people delight in when they are focused on the world or the flesh and what they delight in when they are focused on God.
This week, we’ll look at what the “old self” delights in—the things of the flesh or the things of this world. We see three common themes: delighting in wickedness, delighting in pleasure, and delighting in self. Throughout, we will also see that the things that the old self delights in are mirrored by what God does not delight in.
Delighting in Wickedness
Wickedness, Evil, and Sin
The person who is still entrenched in the old self delights in wickedness, evil, and sin.
Hosea 7:1-3: 1 Whenever I would heal Israel,
the sins of Ephraim are exposed
and the crimes of Samaria revealed.
They practice deceit,
thieves break into houses,
bandits rob in the streets;
2 but they do not realize
that I remember all their evil deeds.
Their sins engulf them;
they are always before me.3 “They delight the king with their wickedness,
the princes with their lies.”
Proverbs 10:23: A fool finds pleasure in wicked schemes,
but a person of understanding delights in wisdom.
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12: 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.
People who delight in wickedness are contrasted with God, who is not pleased with wickedness.
Psalm 5:4-6: 4 For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness;
with you, evil people are not welcome.
5 The arrogant cannot stand
in your presence.
You hate all who do wrong;
6 you destroy those who tell lies.
The bloodthirsty and deceitful
you, Lord, detest.
Proverbs 11:20: The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse,
but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.
For further study: Proverbs 2:12-15, Proverbs 12:12, 2 Timothy 3:1-7, Proverbs 20:23, Proverbs 11:1, Proverbs 12:22
Rejecting God
People who live with the old self delight in worshiping other gods, or they worship God in a way that is not pleasing to him. In fact, they often take no pleasure in God at all.
Jeremiah 6:10: To whom can I speak and give warning?
Who will listen to me?
Their ears are closed
so they cannot hear.
The word of the Lord is offensive to them;
they find no pleasure in it.
Isaiah 1:29: “You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks
in which you have delighted;
you will be disgraced because of the gardens
that you have chosen.”
Job 21:14: Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!
We have no desire to know your ways.
Isaiah 66:3-4: 3 But whoever sacrifices a bull
is like one who kills a person,
and whoever offers a lamb
is like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
whoever makes a grain offering
is like one who presents pig’s blood,
and whoever burns memorial incense
is like one who worships an idol.
They have chosen their own ways,
and they delight in their abominations;
4 so I also will choose harsh treatment for them
and will bring on them what they dread.
For when I called, no one answered,
when I spoke, no one listened.
They did evil in my sight
and chose what displeases me.”
The Bible frequently tells us that God does not delight in sacrifices, especially sacrifices that are done with wrong motives.
Isaiah 1:11-14: 11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
12 When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
14 Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.”
For further study: 1 Samuel 15:22-23, Hosea 8:13, Malachi 1:6-8, Hebrews 10:5-8, Romans 1:21-25
Ridiculing Those Who Follow God
People who still follow their own ways will continually make fun of those who follow God.
2 Peter 3:3: Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
Proverbs 1:22: “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?
How long will mockers delight in mockery
and fools hate knowledge?”
Delighting in Pleasure
People who are focused on themselves rather than God delight in things that bring pleasure in this world—money, power, sex, food, wine. They don’t think about the consequences of taking pleasure in these things.
Ecclesiastes 2:8-11: 8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart. 9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
and this was the reward for all my toil.
11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 7:4: The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
Proverbs 21:17: Whoever loves pleasure will become poor;
whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich.
1 Timothy 6:9-10: 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Ephesians 2:3: All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.
For further study: 1 Kings 10:13, 2 Peter 2:13-19, James 4:1-3, Mark 4:18-19, Titus 3:3
Delighting in Self
Those who don’t delight in God instead delight in self, often trying to exalt themselves above God. They are filled with pride and do whatever pleases them.
Daniel 11:36: “The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place.”
Proverbs 18:2: Fools find no pleasure in understanding
but delight in airing their own opinions.
2 Timothy 4:3: For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
Jude 1:16: These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.
For further study: Colossians 2:18, Nehemiah 9:37, Isaiah 58:3-4
Conclusion
For the people who delight in wickedness, pleasure, and self, the Bible tells us they are deserving of God’s wrath. The good news is that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Instead, he calls us to repent.
Ezekiel 18:30-32: 30 “Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!”
When we do repent, we are transformed from the old self to the new self, and our desires and delights change. Come back next week to see how they change.