Praising the Wicked Rather Than Comforting the Victim

Praising the Wicked


By Rev. R.J. Rushdoony – bio





Category: Articles




(Reprinted from Bread upon the Waters: Columns from the California Farmer [Fairfax, VA: Thoburn Press, 1974], 93–94.)


CA Farmer 229:7 (Oct. 5, 1968), p. 37.


Praising the wicked, and rewarding them, seems to be the main purpose of our judges and legislators these days.


If this seems too strong a statement, then take it up with God because Scripture plainly declares, “They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them” (Prov. 28:4). The law in question is God’s law. If men abandon it, they are deserting not only law but righteousness and justice. They will therefore “praise the wicked” instead of contending with them, instead of trying to control and suppress evil.


Recently, I sat in a courtroom during hearings for two criminals, one caught in the commission of a crime, the other with a car he had stolen before witnesses. They were planning to plead innocent and were going to be provided with public defenders at taxpayers’ expense; those robbed would get no return, in one case for stolen funds and in the other case for a possibly damaged car. There was no thought in the court or law of the Biblical law of restitution. The penalty was being paid by the victims in many hours lost in the courtroom, lost goods, and taxes paid. The criminals, both with records, were dealt with gently, lest it prejudice the case, and the victims and police were questioned at times sharply.


A fair trail is a necessity under God’s law, but a court that continually penalizes the victims is in effect praising the wicked.


We need to ask the question, therefore, as to why men and nations praise the wicked. Birds of a feather flock together, and evil men will show their preference for evil, and guilty men will work to make justice ineffective lest it judge them also.


“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he” (Prov. 29:18). A Biblical scholar, the Reverend Derek Kidner, has pointed out that the Hebrew for this verse can be translated literally as, where there is no prophecy or vision, that is, no preaching of the Word, “the people run wild.” Because there has been very little true preaching of the Word of God, the people run wild. And a wild people will praise the wicked.




Rev. R.J. Rushdoony (1916-2001) was the founder of Chalcedon and a leading theologian, church/state expert, and author of numerous works on the application of Biblical Law to society.

Show A Little Grace

There are many in the church who think they are saved because they decided to be good and join an elite club of do gooders. This is not Christianity. Christ said that if we do not come to Him with a broken heart over our own sin, desiring to be changed by Him into a new creation, then we have come in pride and He will not change us when we elevate ourselves. In humility and brokenness we come and then He will make us a new creation. Did we hear this...HE makes us a new creation, we do not recreate ourselves to fit our ideas of a good person, but He changes us into His image. We have nothing to offer Him, He has everything to offer us if we will humble ourselves.






Those who think that they are better than others, comparing their sins against the sins of others, are deluding themselves. Every sin, no matter how small can put us in hell. There are no little and big sins. Pride was the sin that got Satan thrown out of heaven and which is at the center of every other sin in our lives.






If we have not trusted Christ in repentance and brokenness, comparing ourselves only to the holiness of God, then we have not been saved.






I have watched the strut of arrogant self absorbed men and women, grieved over their willful self exaltation. None of us has any reason to condemn another believer over their warts. A wart is a wart no matter how big. Let us deal with sin in our friends with caution, grace and deep love for their well being, not with pride and an attitude of stomping them down as far as we can to elevate ourselves. If we love our brother we will go to him about his sin, but with a compassion for them that we would want others to show to us if we needed to repent and become restored to the body or in a relationship.






When God said "love covers a multitude of sins" , I believe He was telling us not to condemn and harm other believers over the petty, small things, but to be willing to be inconvenienced for the sake of the other believer. God can show us our flaws in the small matters. We do not have to confront or exact revenge on every unimportant matters. We can act in grace and patience, JUST LIKE THE LORD DOES WITH US.






Let the little things pass, bless those who are not perfect, because we are not. If we compare ourselves with Christ, then we will spend more time being ashamed of ourselves than we would noticing the flaws of others.






Do not ignore the big sins, but handle them with love and grace, according to the Word, and let that little stuff pass.