Regional Conference prayer for Speakers and Coordinators 

Message 30.9.2020

Mat 5:39  But I say to you, Do not resist evil. But whoever shall strike you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 

Jesus gave this as a commandment and practised it in His life.

Can you narrate one incident of Jesus not resisting evil when he became a victim?

  1. I would say, Judas, being the treasurer among Apostles, , having  the offering  box with him, while became greedy, did not remove him from his post. Even when Jesus knew that He will be betrayed by him for money He did not resist. 
  2. Being silent before Pilate when he asked,

 “Joh 19:10  So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” 

Let’s  compare it with another verse in the Bible. 

Jas 4:7 “ Therefore submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you”. There is a great contrast between these two verses.

Jesus said not to resist evil. Apostle Paul says, Resist the devil. 

Do not resist evil (Mat 5:39)Resist the devil (James 4:7)  

 

Why Jesus says, “Do not resist evil”? The reason is given in 

2 Th 3:3  But the Lord is faithful, who shall establish you and guard you from the evil.

It is the duty of the Lord to guard His faithful from evil. 

Jesus taught us to pray 

Mat 6:13  “……..but deliver us from the evil”.

 God knows that we, as long as in our human body, are weak by nature. So He asked us to pray for the heavenly protection . 

We, in our human nature, can discard  this guaranteed protection  offered by  God, as well. But that will be  dangerous. 

Our sinful nature might instruct us, 

“You can guard yourself. You know better by experience/age/education  what to be done  at this time.  Why do you need somebody else  to instruct you on this?”

This is the result of “eating from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil”

In the above verses  “Resist the devil’, ‘Do not resist Evil’

There is only a small difference of one ‘d’-  Evil, devil.

Here Evil means a lot more than devil. Devil is one among the Evils .

Let us see some of the examples quoted from the Bible.

Evil in Bible 

1. Evil Imagination Gen 8:212.Evil tongue Jas 3:8   3.Evil world Gal 1:4 
4.Evil boasting Jas 4:165.Evil speaking , 1Pe 2:1, Eph 4:31  6.Evil deeds.2Jn 1:11 
7.cover of Evil 1Pe 2:16 8.Evil-doing.1Pe 3:17   9.Evil. days Eph 5:16 
10.Evil words 3Jn 1:10   11.Overflowing of Evil Jas 1:21   12.Evil desire Col 3:5   
13.  Evil report Gen 37:2    14. Evil things Mar7:23  15.Evil suspicions 1Ti 6:4   
16. Evil works, 1 Jn   3:12 2Ti 4:18  17.. Evil thought Gen 50:20 ,  Mat 9:4,   Mat 15:19,  Jas 2:4 18.  Evil servant Mat 24:48,   Mat 25:26

The above are some of the evils we find in the world. The defence mechanism for the above is only prayer. We have to pray to the Father to protect us from the  evil.  

Mat 5:39  But I say to you, Do not resist evil. But whoever shall strike you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 

Mat 5:40-42  And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 

And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 

Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. 

But in the case of devil, we have to resist with all our strength.  

May God give us the wisdom to discern between the two.