“Resist not evil”
Reading in Matthew 5:38-39 gave me pause to think about how to respond to personal attacks.
“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.”
At first glance this passage seemed confusing. Did it really say “resist not evil”? I thought I had misread the verse. It sounded like it was contradicting another verse in the Bible, James 4:7 “…Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” How can we resist the devil, but on the other hand, resist not evil? Aren’t they both the same thing?
Further study revealed interesting truths on how to handle difficult people. Continuing my reading with Matthew 5:40-48…
“And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Ye have heard that it hath been said, thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you: that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”
Jesus is teaching us to overlook offenses from those who hate us. When He says resist not evil, He means do not resist the personal attacks of the evil ones-our enemies. Like Jesus, we are to accept personal injury rather than choose to avenge ourselves. This is in keeping with Romans 12:10: “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another.” While we may struggle to accept that our enemy is also our neighbor, it does not alter the command of Jesus in Matthew 22:39: “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” To solidify the thought consider this verse: “And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.”
Yes, it is extremely difficult to love your enemies, much less be nice to them. My brain sometimes struggles with this concept because it goes against our natural bent of exercising vengeance when wronged. However, Jesus is our avenger according to Romans 12:19 which says: “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: “for it is written vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” He will fight for us in His timing and in His good will.
When the Bible teaches to resist the Devil, it means to resist the temptations the Devil puts in our path. If we resist giving in to sin, he will flee. So the two verses, while sounding very much alike, are quite different. One refers to resisting temptations to avoid sin, and the other refers to refusing to retaliate against our enemies, who probably are of our household or are even in our church.
If we are to obey God we must purpose in our hearts to resist temptations and to refuse to avenge ourselves when personally attacked. Let us choose to accept what God allows in our lives, believing it to be for our good. Let us pray that we will succeed in this difficult command.
© 2011 by Linda Hull, Words of Encouragement
February 28th, 2011 - 06:45
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February 28th, 2011 - 06:51
Glad you are enjoying Words of Encouragement!
February 20th, 2011 - 13:04
~.’ i was reading this same blog topic from another blog, i guess this topic is getting popular .”
February 20th, 2011 - 20:55
Thanks for your comment! It’s a tough topic because turning the other cheek when personally attacked is not in our nature. With God’s help and power we are able to overcome our fleshly desire to retaliate in kind or even to seek vengeance. Each of these is a sinful response. Better to act in accordance with God’s way and receive the blessing.