Behold The King: Risist not Evil
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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.
And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke 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 ye 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.
IT ISN'T FAIR
Have you ever had something happen to you which caused you to think, "This isn't fair!"? Ken Wyniemko sure has. Just like Paul, he was locked away for a crime that he did not commit. In 1994, he was convicted by a jury based of a horrible crime against a young woman on the basis of a mistaken identification by the victim and fabricated testimony by a jailhouse snitch. He was sentenced to 40 to 60 years in prison for something he did not do.
Ten years later, however, DNA testing showed that he could not have been the man who committed the crime, and he was released from prison. Did he feel that what happened to him wasn't fair? You better believe it! In fact, he felt that it wasn't fair for him or for the victim. He realized that while he was locked up, the real person who hurt the victim was walking around free. It wasn't fair that he was in jail while the real criminal was walking free.
Have you ever felt like "it's just not fair"? Maybe you feel that your life has been just like driving some old car with the shock absorbers going out down some gravel road with lots of potholes. You have had a rough road in life.
Earlier we were talking about how some people derive joy from their family and jobs and activities and money. Maybe you feel like you really got short-changed in some of those. Maybe you look around at the people who seem to have it all, while you feel like you have nothing, and you say, "It's just not fair! Why can't I have those things too?"
Keeping with the driving analogy, perhaps you have not had a rough road in life so much as you have hit a patch of ice that has your life spinning out of control. Perhaps some crisis has occurred--a job crisis, or financial crisis, or family crisis, or health crisis--and you think, "Why me? It's just not fair!"
Most of us have felt that way at one time or another. Certainly Ken Wyniemko did. It was not fair that he was in prison when he had done nothing wrong. It was not fair that the real criminal was walking the streets. Ken correctly feels that the police, prosecutors, and the real perpetrator cost him ten years of his life--ten years that he would never get back. Yet, he refuses to allow himself to become angry or bitter. In a recent interview, he related how people sometimes ask him why he isn't angry over what happened to him. Ken says that he tells them that "you cannot allow yourself to become angry. Anger will kill you. It will distort your mind and make you unable to focus." So, how did he survive his time in jail, when it seemed that life was so unfair? He says, "I prayed and I prayed and I prayed."
(Source: Sandra Svoboda, "Beyond Innocence," Detroit Metro Times (July 2, 2008) at http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=13039. From a sermon by Joe La Rue, "The Source of True Joy" 7/17/08)
Justice
Justice
Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.
And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Jesus declares this short phrase to sum up the political spirit of the law of justice for the nation of Israel. The injured individual was to receive exact compensation from the person that injured him.
You might think that the Pharisees were avid in keeping this command. But they nation as a whole had become lax, to the point that they would accept financial retribution instead. This included making people unpaid slaves if they could not afford the chosen cost.
Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?
The call for justice is not ungodly. The call to do someone physical, emotional, or financial harm before the whole case is heard is not justice, nor is it godly. The follower of Christ must remember that to keep our savor, our ability to make a difference for the Kingdom of God we must be poor in spirit, meek, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, able to take persecution for righteousness’ sake, falsely accused for Christ sake. And we must be of the mindest to rejoice in sharing in the injustice that Christ took upon Himself for us.
Selflessness
Selflessness
The phrase “resist not evil” means the person that intentionally desires to bring harm to others.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
“The cost of true greatness is humble, selfless, sacrificial service. The Christian who desires to be great and first in the kingdom is the one who is willing to serve in the hard place, the uncomfortable place, the lonely place, the demanding place, the place where he is not appreciated and may even be persecuted. Knowing that time is short and eternity long, he is willing to spend and be spent. He is willing to work for excellence without becoming proud, to withstand criticism without becoming bitter, to be misjudged without becoming defensive, and to withstand suffering without succumbing to self-pity.” — John MacArthur
And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
Godliness
Godliness
But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Not long ago, ... a minister shared... a conversation ...he had ... with one of his ...parishioners.
He said that one day ... a church member ... called him up on the telephone, ... and angrily said ... "I phoned you Saturday, ... but I couldn't get you!"
The pastor explained that it was his day off... He needed time to recharge... physically and spiritually.
And that he always checks... the phone messages ... in case ... there is an emergency.
"What! ... A day off! ......The devil never takes a day off!" ... exclaimed the man.
"That's right, " said the pastor, "and if I didn't take any 'time off,'... I would be ... just like him!"
Beloved... We need to take charge of our lives.
We need to slow down ... We need to quiet our lives.
We need to be still... to rest... in the presence of God.
So important is this principle, ... that God made a command for a time of rest, ... a Sabbath.
And ... it made God's top ten list.
It is one of The Ten Commandments.
Remember the Sabbath Day!