Jeremiah 13:23 says, “Can an Ethiopian change his skin or a leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.” This passage of the Old Testament tells us that it is nearly impossible for those who do evil to do good. From this passage, it can challenge our way of thinking and cause us to ponder on its meaning. Why can’t those who do evil do good?
The Difference Between Good and Evil
Jeremiah 13:23 points out a vital truth that those who are accustomed to doing evil cannot do good. As fallen human beings, we all have the sin nature. Through the sin nature, we all do evil. A few chapters ahead of Jeremiah 13:23, Jeremiah 17:9 tells us, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”
The fallen nature causes all of us to be evil at heart. There are no “good” people. The only good person is God Himself. Without knowing Jesus as our Savior and Lord, it is impossible for us to do the things God wants us to do.
If we are accustomed to doing evil, it can be extremely hard to do good. The sinful nature is more prone to do wrong than it is to do good. Inside our hearts is only evil and deception. When we are accustomed to doing evil, it can be nearly impossible to do good and make the right decisions.
Even if we do something that can be declared “good” on the outside, our hearts' intentions may be sinful. God knows our heart's motivation, and this is what He looks at when we are making a decision.
God knows even the secrets of our hearts, as Psalm 44:20-21 says, “If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God have discovered it, since he knows the secrets of the heart?”
God is our Creator; therefore, He knows what goes on in our hearts. He looks at our hearts rather than our appearance or outward “good deeds.”
The Lord knows exactly what we are thinking and the motives of our hearts; “Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, ‘Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?’” (Matthew 9:4).
Even if we do something that might look “good” on the outside, it can be extremely common that we do it for ulterior motives, such as to make ourselves look better than we are.
As Christians, we should never do anything with the purpose of trying to appear as a “good person” when we are harboring sinful motives in our hearts.
Constantly doing evil will result in doing more evil. Human beings are creatures of habit; therefore, it can be hard to change a negative habit into something positive. This is why it is crucial that we come to know Jesus.
It is only through Jesus that we can repent and actively begin starting to live a life that brings God glory. Just as it is impossible for a person to change their skin or for a leopard to change its spots, it is difficult for those who do evil to do good.
Due to our sinful natures, we are prone to do evil. It’s difficult for us to avoid evil without knowing Christ.
This is not to say that those who are not believers always do the wrong thing because that isn’t true. Everyone has their own heart motives, yet we cannot do the right thing to serve God unless we know Jesus as our Savior and Lord.
The Context of Jeremiah 13:23
Many individuals misinterpret this passage as connecting the Ethiopian to the concept of evil, yet this is wrong. All individuals are created equal. There is not a “superior” ethnicity. We are all part of one race — the human race.
When the writer is referring to the Ethiopian, he is referring to the information that the Ethiopian can’t change the color of his skin any more than any of us can change the basics of our sinful nature.
Nothing we do on our own can be declared “good.” Only when God is working through us can we do good. The transformation that begins in our hearts when we accept Jesus is how we can begin to start living for God and do the right things to glorify Him.
However, it is still up to us personally to choose if we are going to do good or to do wrong. God has given us free choice, and with free choice, we can either do the right thing or choose to sin.
We are completely in control of our actions, and it is ultimately up to us to make the decision to do right. Even after knowing Christ, we will still continue to sin, yet through Him working in our lives, we will be able to be better at avoiding sin.
Those who do evil find it hard to do good because we all have a sinful nature, and those who live according to the sinful nature will find it difficult to stop living in accordance with the sinful nature.
This does not mean they can never do good because all people can come to know and accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Once a person has accepted Christ, they become a new creation in Christ.
The Bible tells us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Through Jesus, we can all do good and try our best to not follow the sinful nature.
Paul tells us, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (Galatians 5:16-18).
As this passage tells us, when we walk in the Spirit, we will not gratify the desires of the flesh. When we walk in accordance with the Holy Spirit, we will be able to do good and bring God glory. Anyone who accepts Jesus can begin walking in the Spirit and turn away from the temptation of the flesh.
What Does This Mean?
Thus, it is difficult for those who do evil to do good because they are accustomed to doing wrong. This doesn’t mean it is impossible for them to do good because all people are capable of doing good with the right heart motives.
Nonetheless, it is difficult for those who don’t know Christ to do good because it is through Christ that we truly understand what is wrong and what is right.
The sinful nature has a way of making itself appealing to us, yet following the sinful nature always results in doing evil. God doesn’t want us to do evil because He hates evil and wickedness.
God is completely light, and He is the exact opposite of evil. It is through God that we have an accurate description of what is right and wrong. Through God, we are able to do good because, at the moment of salvation, we are given the Holy Spirit.
Through the Holy Spirit, we will be convicted when we do wrong and point it back to Christ. If you are particularly struggling with doing evil or following the sinful nature, ask God to help you in this struggle, and He will.
We will all struggle with the sinful nature throughout our life, yet we don’t have to let it control us. Through Jesus, we have been given freedom from sin and the ability to choose to do what is right.
For further reading:
Why Does the Bible Say, ‘Woe to Those Who Evil Good and Good Evil’?
How Can God Make Good What Was Meant for Evil?
Can We Really Overcome Evil with Good?
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