Protesting Evil

Piper’s devotional for today is a letter to a company that advertised an erotic film in a place where it could be viewed by children. He gave sound reasons why this was wrong, not only for children but for society in general.

He didn’t publish the results, but I remember making a similar protest many years ago. A local corner store had a magazine section with several close-to-porn covers on lower shelves, clearly visible to children. I didn’t write a letter. I called for the manager and made a statement and left the store. The next time there, not only were those magazines moved, they were not even on any shelves! Sometimes it’s possible to make a difference just by speaking up.

Piper makes a good argument to that advertiser. Mine wasn’t much. What stands out to me is saying what needs to be said and having the courage to say it. This is an obedience thing. The Word of God generally focuses on rebuking sin in other Christians, but it does not leave out commands to hold the unsaved world accountable for their sin.

AI says these are the most damaging sins to others: murder, adultery, lying, deceit, exploitation, abuse, neglect of others, and gossip. In one reference, the NT lists these:

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19–21)

Such sin is deadly to the person committing them, but also harmful to others. How many families have been split up or destroyed by sin? How many nations and cultures are not doing well because of sin?

While Christians know that change of heart comes through the activity of the Holy Spirit, we are responsible to give the Spirit our cooperation. Silent Christians are not useful. Neither are sinning, self-centered Christians, or those too fearful for losing their own comfort so stay silent rather than being persecuted.

But how do I know what the result will be? Asking a store owner to move magazines could have resulted in her saying, “There goes a goody-two-shoes” and laughing, or much worse, but it didn’t. I’ve not thought about it much, but speaking up could have saved someone from a life of addiction to that junk. That seems minor, but it is on the list of the junk that resides in the human heart. That junk defiles us as well as hurting others. Jesus said:

But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” (Matthew 15:18–20)

While the NT speaks of my responsibility to warn others concerning their fate, the OT says if
I don’t, God will hold me accountable for their loss. The connection? If God wants me to speak so the Holy Spirit can use what I say, I must obey. I need to pay attention to His voice and do whatever He asks. My motivation is not to be thwarted by wanting my own comfort.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:21)
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. (James 4:17)

PRAY: Jesus. this is important stuff. You tell me that I “have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel” and to “speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests my heart.” (1 Thessalonians 2:4) May I listen to know when to speak, and to know how to do it, and to trust You for the opportunities and the results.

 

Overcoming evil

 

 

READ: Psalm 26-30

Last night one of the men in our Bible study asked, “What should we do in response to evil?” With that, we had a lengthy discussion. Several in the group shared that evil made them angry and anger motivated them to do something. I read “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21) and said since good was not specified, we need to seek God’s will to know what good we should do. Depending on position, resources, etc. it might be a large action. For others, it might mean spending more time on our knees.

I didn’t think of it at the time, but the idea of not being overcome by evil is vital. Our pastor preached on the sin of pride last Sunday, defining it as the attitude of “I can do this myself” without the need of God or even His direction. To take action against evil based on an emotional reaction to it could be human effort and human effort apart from the Spirit of God is sin. As the NT says, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:26-27) It also says, “The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” (James 1:20)

Dealing with evil is definitely a call to pray. For this, the psalmist gives a few guidelines. One of them is not to join their company. “I do not sit with men of falsehood, nor do I consort with hypocrites. I hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked.” (Psalm 26:4–5) Sit and consort both indicate an attitude of going along with those who do evil. It might begin with an effort to understand them, to see their point of view or ask what led them to what they are doing. This could be a slippery slope and dangerous.

Another important reminder is to remember who God is and not let evil people intimidate me . . .

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. (Psalm 27:1–5)

After praying, I also need to wait for the answer, trusting God to lead me as the psalmist also realized:

Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me! You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation! For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in. Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence. I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! (Psalm 27:7–14)

When Jesus saw the money-changers in the temple, He was angry at their disregard for God’s place of prayer and drove them out. But before doing that, He braided a whip. I’ve done that type of braiding for something my brother needed. It is time-consuming indicating Jesus did not fly off the handle in anger. He took time to realize the appropriate actions that fit the will of His Father.

Our study group talked about the situation in the Ukraine. The evil happening there is distressing everyone, yet God calls for different responses depending on His assessment of this situation and His knowledge of those who are suffering. Sometimes He gives strength IN the situation rather than removing it or taking people out of it. To know what we should do requires seeking His face. As I do that, I can use the above thoughts to pray concerning this evil — and remember the following when praying for those who suffer:

“The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever” (Psalm 28:8–9) and “May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!” (Psalm 29:11)

 

Defeating all threats . . .

 

When the psalmist wrote that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” he may not have known much about our immune system but it certainly fits that description. When attacked by an outside health threat, it identifies the culprit, then calls in bodily warriors to fight and overcome it. This system is not perfect; it sometimes misidentifies the enemy, sometimes fails to put the right resources to work, and sometimes even attacks itself, but it is nevertheless amazing.

God created for us a more perfect way to OVERCOME another enemy called sin. He, in the person of the Holy Spirit, identifies the threat with a resource called ‘conviction’ and then calls in ‘faith in Jesus Christ’ to overcome that threat and keep us free from the disastrous results of letting sin defeat us.

Because Christ lives in me, I can defeat the temptations that come my way. 1 John 5:4–5 says that faith is my weapon and Jesus is its power:

“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

We also have victory over Satan in this life, conquering him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony. The battles are not over because a lifetime is involved learning that we cannot do this by ourselves, nor by laws and rules which depend on the cooperation of the flesh — because the flesh is weak and unable. Romans 8:3 says it this way: “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh.”

Once a person becomes an overcomer of sin through faith in Christ, there is fuller and related realm where Jesus give His disciples an overcoming victory. In John 16:33, He cries out:

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

What kind of tribulation is Jesus talking about? The word He uses appears in many places in the NT. It means “feeling distress or oppression because of physical, mental, social, or economic adversity.” Outside pressures produce anguish and burdens. These pressures can be persecution, tribulation or troubles of various kinds but He is not referring to whatever causes the stress, but the stress itself.

In other words, Jesus never promised us a rose garden — He will not take away the causes of stress but says He will give us peace during it. How is that possible? The answer is about His unique kind of peace — it outshines whatever the world might throw at us! Philippians 4:4–7 describe it:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

In Jesus’ promise then, overcoming is about “being victorious in a struggle” by not letting it throw us off course, or send us into a tizzy, or oppress us. When troubles come, we often pray for their removal, yet God can give us a peace that defies understanding, a peace that is not troubled by storms because it says, “Jesus is in charge.”

As for our battle against sin, Romans 12:21 tells me not to be “overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” for that is exactly how the Lord defeats evil. He overwhelms it with good and doing His kind of good does it for us. His goodness cannot be defeated by evil, just as the light He shines in darkness cannot be overcome by that darkness (see John 1:5).

This is more reason to GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. My victory is assured through faith in what Jesus says. His promises include the marvel that believers who overcome can do so because Jesus lives in us. Because He has overcome the world, we are also able to overcome evil with good, defeat our fear of death, and experience the rewards for overcomers listed in the first few chapters of Revelation. I can do it by relying totally on the Spirit of God to fill me with the power of Jesus Christ in this ongoing battle of life.

On that final day, all enemies will be put under His feet and all resistance will cease. No more darkness, sin, tribulation, death, or struggles with temptation. His overcoming power means He will reign over all forever and ever and all His children will gladly shout, “Jesus wins!”