Resisting Evil

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor during World War II, who was raised in a family with strong ethical values. Dietrich Bonhoeffer used his tenure as a pastor during World War II to speak against Hitler's euthanasia and extermination practices against the Jews. He came to the U.S. to be educated, but he did not like the lack of discipline that was inherent in the American education system.

He went back to Germany, realizing that God had called him to make a difference. However, during that time, he was known as the face of the German opposition to Hitler during Hitler's reign in the country. Shortly before the fall of the Nazi regime, he was arrested because of his association with various individuals.

Just moments before the Nazi regime was toppled, they hung him totally bare, with a piano string. He chose to resist evil, but he was also choosing to resist knowing that he could pay a price.

Severity of consequences keeps many people from taking a strong stand. Therefore, they don't resist what is against God’s Word and they become passive; they just let evil run rampant. Christians have resisted evil governments all through the centuries. Because they chose to resist, they paid the ultimate sacrifice.

You need to realize that when you stand against wrong, you could pay a price. I met a pastor years ago in the first prayer and fasting conference that Bill Bright called together in Orlando, Florida. There were about 200 of us from across the country. One such man was a Colombian pastor who said, “When I go back, there's a chance that I will be assassinated. There have already been several attempts on my life by the drug cartels. I have been warned that they would kill me and my family if I kept preaching against the cartels and preaching against drug use.” Sadly, he went back, and he was assassinated! Stories like that grab hold of our lives.

If we are going to resist wrong, we must be ready to face the serious consequences. Jesus died on the cross to resist evil, resist sin, and He was willing to pay the price. Even though Jesus was perfect and sinless, He took all of your sin and my sin and put it all on Himself. In the same way, we need to have the boldness to follow in His footsteps.

Are you willing to lay down your life for the sake of the Gospel? Are you ready to surrender your life to Christ to fight against the evil in this world?