Conquering Evil |
God's View:
Rom. 12:9-10
-When a victim is full of frenzied and vulgar desire for
vengeance, an evil person can easily control the victim who is reacting in
sin thereby influenced by the sinful spirit. But a hatred that despises evil
and clings to truth and beauty infuriates evil and draws forth its most
compelling assaults of shame. If evil at this point cannot control or shame,
then it loses its effectiveness.
Hope:
Phil. 3:18-19
; Rom. 8:1
-Evil will not be conquered as long as our
hearts live to obtain immediate relief or to escape profound loss. Only when
we have little or nothing to lose will we be willing to love. It is then possible
to be face to face with the most shaming accusation of the Evil one and find
the Lord's mercy sufficient to withstand the brutal assault of contempt.
His mercy will enable us to survive any attack and offer freedom from
condemnation to those who choose to trust in the blood of Christ.
Heb. 12:1-12 ; l Pet. 4:1-2 -We must practice daily being trained in righteousness to respond biblically regardless in order to align our hearts with truth and to be strengthened by discipline. In due season we will yield a harvest of righteous fruit. If we follow God's purposes in the midst of pain and suffering, we will grow in the knowledge of God in a deeper fashion. Accordingly, God will then control us regardless of the externals of life or the circumstances that surround us. Evil is enraged when it is faced with strength and mercy.
Change:
Lu. 17:3-6
-Forgiveness can be defined as a continuous process
of hungering for restoration, revoking revenge, and offering good gifts.
We are to forgive until there is reconciliation. But restoration should not
occur until there is repentance. Repentance on the part of the evil person
will include a renunciation of rage and mockery. He needs to be willing and
humbled and broken by guilt for his use of shame and contempt.
1 Cor. 5:5 ; 2 Thess. 3:14-15 -Gift of excommunication is withholding of relationship for it removes immediate opportunity for sin and opens door to loneliness and shame. It destroys sinful inclinations and intensifies shame. The task of loving an evil person requires supernatural intervention. The battle is not ours, it is the Lord's.