| Resist Not Evil by Vincent C. Finnegan God gave Jesus Christ words to speak that were radical and revolutionary. His instructions on how to live were completely opposite to what most think and do. Yet, these truths are the very keys to unlock a life of godliness in the midst of an evil world. These spoken truths are written in God's Word for us to understand and apply. They are still radical and revolutionary in our time. "Resist not evil" at first glance seems to be confusing, illogical, and contradictory to God's Word. However, as we study this subject, we will see this truth to be simple, logical, and life-changing. God is love. Jesus Christ always did the will of the Father; therefore, he loved like no other had before. In him we see God's love manifested clearly. Jesus taught his disciples how to live love's way, and we too have the joy of following this instruction. We will see "resist not evil" is living on the higher plane of love. To live love is a superior way of living, far above the evil with which most are overcome. A consideration of "anger" and "hate" will help elucidate an aspect of evil important to understand if we are to carry out "resist not evil." Two Greek words used in the Bible communicate two aspects of anger. Orge is anger as a state of mind and is passive in its effect towards others. Thumos is used to express an outburst of anger which attacks others. Neither is desirable in the life of a Christian. Also two Greek words are used to communicate two aspects of "hate." Ekthra is hate or hostility as an inner disposition of the mind. Miseo is hate as active ill will towards others. Miseo is the manifestation towards others of ekthra, inner hostility. Again, as Christians we do not want any hate in our lives. In like manner to anger and hate, all evil is either passive (within oneself) or active (attacking others with the intent of corrupting them). When the lord said "resist not evil," he was speaking about evil in others that attacks (with the intent of corrupting) us. Such evil is a paradox. Its aim seems to be to push us away, but in reality it works as a giant magnet designed to pull us in. When we are assaulted physically our natural response is to protect ourselves, often done by attacking back. God made in man that which is called the autonomic nervous system which produces involuntary responses. This means when we are confronted with danger, we respond involuntarily. The heart automatically starts beating faster, eyes dilate, perspiration begins, and we immediately make ready to protect ourselves. If an arrow were shot at your head, without thought, automatically, you would move out of the way. These involuntary responses are a part of the nervous system connected on both sides of the spinal column. They are not voluntary responses because they are not a conscious function of the mind. The adversary understands how our bodies work and tries to use this against us to involve us in evil. When someone verbally attacks us with his hate, anger, and such like, our autonomic nervous system may very well go into operation. With the momentum moving in the direction of defending and attacking back, we are tempted to respond to evil with evil. The involuntary responses we cannot control, but the mind's resistance to evil can and should be controlled. We are not to resist evil. If we respond to evil with evil, we will be drawn in and become a part of what we resist. Matthew 5:38 and 39: Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. "Smite thee on thy right cheek" is not referring to being punched or smacked hard. God never wants His people to endure physical abuse. If this happens, you have no choice but to protect yourself. Many scriptures teach we are to defend ourselves if someone is trying physically to hurt us. The above expression was understood in the oriental culture as a very great insult. In their culture, to touch the cheek of another man was a humiliating insult. The essence of what is being said here is if someone insults you, do not respond in kind. Let him do it again. The normal course of action is if someone insults us, we insult him. If someone curses at us, we curse at him. If someone yells at us, we yell at him. When this is our response, we have been baited, hooked, and pulled into the ship, the resist evil ship. Now we are participating in evil because we resisted it. How very clever and calculated this whirlpool of evil is. When evil attacks we already have the momentum of involuntary responses working, and we also have to contend with our pride. "Who does that guy think he is, talking to me like that?" "Nobody insults me and gets away with it." "Where I come from we don't put up with that kind of behavior." "You talking to ME?" Pride is a driving emotion that will take us for a negative ride. Proverbs says that pride comes before a fall. The scenario we are seeing here is how the Devil proliferates evil in the world. When people resist evil it multiplies as a cancer does, rapidly, out-of-control. Matthew 5:40: And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. The example given is your coat and cloak, not your life, house, livelihood, or your spirituality. If you go to law to argue over your coat, you will become a part of the evil. What we deal with is the fact that the other individual has no right to that which is yours. "Where is the justice in someone's taking my coat?" We live in an evil world, and if our main concern is justice above fellowship with God, we will be drowned in evil. Our lord knew how to deal with evil — resist not evil. Should we persist in doing our own will in this situation and fight the thief in court, what would we win? When we follow the lord's instructions, the evil assault on our lives ends immediately. Going the legal route prolongs the evil indefinitely. We know how very long the law takes to settle matters. So rather than the evil having been dealt with quickly, it lives on. Every day until the case is settled, not only do we live without our coat, but we have to fight the anger, hate, and resentment that accompany the pursuit of "justice." When we go to the law to get back that which is rightfully ours, we allow the law to become our sufficiency, not God. Would it not be wiser to give the guy your cloak also, and turn to God asking Him to provide a new and better coat and cloak? "Resist not evil" begins to make sense when we take time to think it through. We cannot eliminate the evil that is in the world, but we can minimize its effect on our lives by obeying the Word of God Excerpt from: http://www.biblecenter.de/bibel/cbc/resist.php |
| "May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to You, Oh Lord, My Rock and Redeemer." Psalms 19:14 Dearest Lord of my being, Thank you for blessing me with all that I need to be the best that I can be. I am so grateful for your love, light, and peace. May I always be aware of your presence and may I love and honor you above all things. I need you in my heart, in my soul, and in my life now and forever. Amen |
| astrologizing.net Sabbath Devotionals The Sabbath; Sat. April 3, 2010 |
| BIBLE READING NEW TESTAMENT Matt. 5:39 "But I tell you, that ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." |
| BIBLE READING OLD TESTAMENT Exodus 21: 23-24 23 But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, |
| HOMILY: Resist Not Evil (Lamsa bible) idioms Whenever I read a verse in my NIV version of the bible which I don't understand, I go to my George M. Lamsa version and read what he has to say. Too, I have his book, Gospel Light, in which he explains the idioms, metaphors, and definitions of certain Aramaic words and phrases that Jesus spoke. Concerning this verse 39 in Matthew, chapter 5, Lamsa writes that "...evil here means injustice...Nonresistance is the only weapon with which the poor can defend themselves (against)...government officials and soldiers who misuse their authority but against whom resistance is futile...This counsel did not refer to resisting attacks made by bandits and murderers. (Luke 6: 29)" Too, to smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other is an Aramaic idiom of Jesus' time: turn the other cheek (non resistance, not to seek revenge) if you turn the other cheek when someone attacks or insults you, you do not get angry and attack or insult them but stay calm instead...to decide not to do anything to hurt someone who has hurt you When someone attacks you personally, the best approach may be to turn the other cheek. Etymology: based on the Biblical instruction to turn the other cheek (if someone hits you, a better response than hitting them is to turn your face so that they can hit you on the other side) http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/turn+the+other+cheek The best modern examples of nonresistance are Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. One of the worst examples of resistance today is the Christian Militia, Hutaree. My Grandmother was a wonderful non-resister and my idol. She told me once that she was so glad that she was a slow thinker (she was Taurus, too). She said that when she had been insulted or hurt by someone, she usually made no reply, but thought of all the things she could have said after she came home. Then, she said, she was so happy that she didn't say those things; "I'm glad I'm a slow thinker," she affirmed. |