Where Does the Hostility of Sinners Originate and Why Does It Still Manifest Against the Sons of God, Today?

When man entered Satan’s rebellion against God, he became an enemy of God. As an enemy of God, man became a hater of God (Rom 1:30). As a hater of God, man did everything in his power to suppress the truth (Rom 1:18). Believing the lies of the devil, man began to think more highly of himself than he ought. Blinded by his father (Jn 8:44; 2 Cor 4:4), man could not see the vanity of his vaporous life in this world of sin (Jas 4:14).

Without God and without hope, in opposition to God, man set out to worship anything other than God (Rom 1:25; Eph 2:12). Man became an idolater, being inspired by the demons behind every idol (Rev 9:20). Idols promised everything and delivered nothing but slavery to sin (Rom 6:6). Sometimes the demons convinced men to imagine that they themselves were gods. In pride, men replaced God with themselves in their self-made religion.

Demon-inspired idolaters love external religion, thinking they are wise in this age. In the futility of their minds (Jer 14:14; Eph 4:17), they set their fleshly minds on earthly things (Phil 3:19), practicing their evil deeds, as workers of iniquity (Prv 10:29; 21:15). As children of darkness, these sons of disobedience, walk in darkness, blind to the Light of the world (Ps 82:5; Prv 2:13; Jn 8:12; Eph 2:2). Instead, when the true Light shines (Jn 1:9; 1 Jn 2:8), the hostility of these sinners rages against Jesus Christ and against Christians (Ps 2; Jn 15:18–19). Being void of the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:17), the children of wrath dishonor the Son of God (Eph 2:3), thus dishonoring God the Father who sent the only begotten of the Father (Jn 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; 1 Jn 4:9).

It is true that Jesus was impeccable, He could not sin (Heb 4:15; 13:8; Jas 1:17). He was, however, tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin (2 Cor 5:21). Jesus suffered as the Holy One of God, the Holy One of Israel, in enemy territory. He came into the world He created, incognito, with only a few detecting His true identity. What does the perfect God-man look like in His perfect obedience to God His Father? How does the natural man receive such a One who never thought, said, or did anything other than what God had commanded?

In their perversity, they crucified the Lord of glory. Suffering such hostility of sinners, in the fight against sin, Jesus shed His blood in the ultimate battle between good and evil. He fought. He died. Death, however, could not hold him. Jesus defeated sin, death, the devil, and this evil world system.

This should be good news of great joy to all men. Faith in Christ our Victor apprehends this victory (1 Jn 5:4), but not all people have faith (2 Thess 3:2). In fact, most do not believe; rather, they love the darkness instead of loving God. They have no love for God in their hearts (Jn 5:42), instead, they are lovers of self, arrogant, conceited, unholy, ungodly, remaining outside the commonwealth of Israel, outside of the covenants (Eph 2:12).

Wicked sinners, bad company, having the appearance of wisdom, hostile in mind, work against the Holy Spirit in the same way, today, as their fathers did in persecuting Messiah during His first advent.

They excuse the brethren of their sins, then, acting as their judge, they become accusers of the brethren. Next, from their domain of darkness, these worthless antichrists infiltrate Christ’s church to stir up strife and dissensions. They entice women to leave their roles in marriage, family, and their own homes. They encourage emasculation of men, while installing the effeminate into eldership. These are immoral, impure persons who celebrate sin and parade their hostile advances against God.

If the church resists these men of lawlessness, they will turn and persecute Christ’s body of true believers. It begins by preaching a contrary gospel to bewitch others. Posing as angels of light, these false brethren fail the test of orthodoxy and orthopraxy. They are dead men walking as false apostles sent out into the world to corrupt everything good, moral, upright, and ethical.

Dead in their trespasses and sins, the callous deceived are selfishly ambitious. They are greedy for gain and for fame all the while disguising themselves as Apostles of Christ, hoping to defraud Christians of their prize. Ironically, they often employ religion, rites, and rituals — invariably the product of the traditions of men. They use the elementary principles of the world, while selling the unwary on the dreams and visions they claim to have received from God. They have nothing but empty deception and ridiculous self-abasement techniques that ironically spur their pride of performance.

The world loves its own, but you, Christian are not of the world. He that is in you is greater than He that is in the world (1 Jn 4:4), so we must not love the world, nor the things of the world (1 Jn 2:15–17), but rather, expose the evil of those whose end is destruction (Eph 5:11), whose god is their appetite, whose glory is their shame, which is inflated by his fleshly mind.

My dear reader, my sincere intent is to stir you up to the aftermath of the battle won. Every generation must join in the sufferings of Christ (2 Cor 1:3–11), to identify with Him, and to appreciate what He did for us in that cruelest of conflicts at the cross.

It is His self-sacrifice on our behalf that spurs our self-sacrifice in service to Him, as the conquering King of kings and King of glory (Ps 24; 1 Tim 6:15; Rev 17:14; 19:16). Therefore, let us get focused on the kingdom of heaven and the gathering in of the saints from every nation, tribe, and tongue (Rev 5:9; 7:9). Let us lay aside the distractions of this world and the sin of unbelief.

Knowing that nothing good dwells in our flesh, let us walk by the Spirit, who guides us to walk in the truth (Jn 16:13), and let us run this race and fight this good fight to fulfill the ministries entrusted to us even suffering the hostility of those who are perishing (1 Cor 1:18; 2:15; 4:3; Heb 12:1–3). Finally, let us know Him, love Him, and proclaim Him until He comes again.

David Norczyk

Spokane Valley, Washington

June 28, 2026

Hebrews 12:1–11