Opus 2026-287: Running Out of Cheeks, Part 4 of 5, Resistance

We all know the verse from the Sermon on the Mount which seems to go even deeper than turning the other cheek.

(Mat 5:39 KJV)  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.

This seems pretty clear if you isolate it and take it literally, but notice the previous verse,

(Mat 5:38 KJV)  Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

It would seem that this is not a blanket statement about letting evil have its way but instead personal revenge.  This is another one of those places where we get different instructions at different places and we need to put them together to understand what it means.

Lets take a look at the word “resist” in verse 39.

It is of no significance but this Greek word is where we get the medical term antihistamine.  I doubt if God meant it this way but I find it interesting that histamines are substances that cause allergies and other irritations in the body.  If I would preaching I would make an aside that we are not to respond to petty issues, but I am not preaching.

The word is used in 12 verses in the New Testament.  Four of them are of interest in trying to find a Biblical understanding of what Jesus is saying.

First we have Paul resisting Peter.

(Gal 2:11 KJV)  But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.

“Withstood” is our word.  I would not say that Peter was evil but he was certainly going against Paul.  Paul did not turn the other cheek.  There was an important spiritual principle involved.

Paul continues to use the word,

(Eph 6:13 KJV)  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.

Again, “withstand” is the word we are looking at.  In this case it is a command to resist and “evil” is the same Greek word Jesus used.  Evidently there are times when it is expected that we are prepared to resist.

Then we have a well known verse,

(Jas 4:7 KJV)  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

How many times have you been told to resist the devil.  It seems like good advice.

And then Peter chimes in,

(1Pe 5:9 KJV)  Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

To be concluded...

homo unius libri

Opus 2016-260: Middle Class Morality: Personal Responsibility

Personal responsibility is an idea whose time has departed, at least if you pay attention to what is going on in our society.  We have become a culture of victims and helpless pawns that need an overpowering central government to protect us from ourselves and the forces around us.

This is not Middle Class Morality (MCM) and it is not Biblical.

The Bible concedes that there are forces we cannot defeat. 

(Ephesians 6:12 KJV)  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

But notice that these forces are spiritual and if you read the context it is only the power of God that can deliver us, not the power of government.

We are responsible for our own behavior and will be held accountable for our behavior.  The obvious, an often quoted, verse is,

(Galatians 6:7 KJV)  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

But there are a lot of other references that talk about personal responsibility.  One I came across in Proverbs,

(Proverbs 26:27 KJV)  Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.

So get over the class warfare, the victimhood, the calling for government programs to bail you out of your own stupid choices.  Most of the homeless are not on the street because society has conspired against them.  They are there because of choices.  Most people living in poverty in this country have no one to blame except themselves.  They do blame others, but all it does is make them more dependent.

I think of a guy who was “homeless” years ago.  He wanted me to let him sleep in my back yard and of course he wanted me to loan him a sleeping bag.  In the course of our discussion I asked him about family and his comments made it clear that he had lied and cheated so much with everyone who was related to him or called him friend that none of them would trust him any more.  And I was supposed to.  No thanks, my mama didn’t raise any children that foolish.

Personal responsibility is a Biblical, Christian value that used to be MCM.  It was part of what made this country great.  It’s absence will bring us down.

Viva la middle class morality.

To be continued...

homo unius libri