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heaven word on TV all right back into
Matthew chapter 5 this very interesting
section of the Sermon on the Mount
starting in verse number 38 you have
heard that it was said an eye for an eye
a tooth for a tooth but I say to you do
not resist an evil person whoever slaps
you on the right cheek turned the other
also and so forth now previously we
talked about how when we look for that
phrase an eye for an eye a tooth for a
tooth and the Old Testament it's always
in the context of other people making a
judgment in a criminal case and they
were not to show partiality but they
were to make sure that justice was
always done guilty people should reap
exactly what they sow and eye for an eye
and a tooth for a tooth
but the scribes and Pharisees twisting
the scripture like they were so apt to
do took those verses out of their
context and took that took them and use
them twisted them to be used as an
excuse for taking personal revenge for
very petty things one of those places in
the Old Testament that you can look at
and find the eye for an eye tooth for a
tooth phrase is in Deuteronomy chapter
19 and we won't take time to read it the
entire passage but if you look at
Deuteronomy 19 verses 15 down through
verse 21 you'll find that eye for an eye
tooth for a tooth phrase and the very
last verse talking about what to do to a
perjurer a person who is a false witness
who falsely accuses his neighbor in
court and they find out that he's just
lying about it that you know it's not a
true accusation it's a false accusation
he's just trying to get his neighbor in
trouble and and the law says the law of
Moses whatever he wanted done to his
neighbor the one he had falsely accused
make sure that's exactly what he gets as
his punishment Deuteronomy 19 verse 21
thus you shall not show pity
life for life eye for eye tooth for
tooth hand for hand foot for foot and
that's just and that's fair but the same
old testament said don't take your own
revenge that doesn't mean you couldn't
take someone to court though because God
set up the entire court system you know
a judicial system that our modern
Western judicial system is based upon
has its foundation its roots in the
Mosaic law and the judicial the judicial
system that God set up there alright now
so so describe scribes and Pharisees
if someone slapped them they slap them
back and quote the Bible and she's
saying that's all wrong
now I previously I mentioned that some
folks you know God bless them love them
they're trying to follow Jesus but
they've taken these couple verses not
considering their context not
considering all that Christ said not
considering the entire new New Testament
and Old Testament and they came up with
an idea that when Jesus says don't
resist an evil person well you know that
that's carte blanche that's you know
universal and so therefore war is always
wrong and no person should ever assert
serve as a soldier what can I ask you a
question if you're gonna go that far
could any Christian be a policeman
because to be a policeman your whole job
is to resist evil people could you be a
judge who you know finds evil people
guilty and sentences them could you
serve on a jury because you're resisting
evil people if you serve on a jury
aren't you could you be a prison guard
let me start thinking about and
extrapolating all the nuances of what
this would actually mean if we took it
in its broadest sense and it's very
unbalanced sense man all kind of things
that Christians do that are good things
suddenly become wrong things all right
now one example I had a debate with
someone is said you know I said if
someone comes into my house and they're
breaking into my house well out of love
for my wife and children I'm gonna
defend them and myself you know I'm not
gonna let the person kill me I'm a
breadwinner I'm a provider I'm a husband
I'm a father and so my life is valuable
for those people and so out of love for
them I'm gonna do everything I can to
stop that person from do
harm to the people I love that's an act
of love anything else is an act of
cowardice and a lot of people hide you
know under this the guise of AA mobi dia
de scripture we distrust the Lord if he
wants us to be protected we'll be
protected well can I ask you to stop and
think for a second because this is one
verse Matthew 5 verse 39 you have to
make your interpretation of that verse
fit and harmonize with all 31,000 other
verses in the Bible and I'm going to
read you something the same exact person
who said Matthew 5:39 the same exact
person said but he just said it a few
hundred years earlier I'm quoting to you
now from Exodus the law of Moses given
by Jesus Exodus 22 and verse number 2
listen if the thief is caught while
breaking in and is struck so that he
dies there will be no blood guiltiness
on his account that is the person who
killed him has no guilt in God's eyes
isn't that amazing so he resisted an
evildoer and God said you're not sinning
but yet some people will interpret what
Jesus said the same person who said you
know these words in Exodus 22 and verse
number 2 that they'll say well you know
nobody should resist evil come on do you
lock your car doors well if you do
you're resisting evil do you do you lock
the door to your house what you're
resisting evil do you watch your
children as they walk to school do you
are you concerned about them being
abducted by some weirdo well you
shouldn't be a you should not be
watching out for your kids because you
don't resist anyone who's evil maybe
somebody wants to abduct your child so
just let your child go and and and obey
Jesus you can see this is bordering on
insanity when you take that kind of
logic to its logical conclusion alright
so in the minor things the petty offense
slapping of cheek you know the tiny
little lawsuit which almost seems like a
joke some
a Roman soldier forcing you to go a mile
come on be like God God's judgement
doesn't instantly fall on people for
those types of things yes their
grievious tests they're wrong but God
wants us to overcome evil with good and
he wants us to love our enemies and that
is in fact the theme of this entire
section which we're not going to be able
to finish it this time but if you get
down just you know once once we're done
here just read to the end of the chapter
and you'll see that's really what this
is all about it's loving your enemies
doing good to those who despitefully use
you praying for those who persecute you
being the Christian the godlike person
okay you got it
good I think you got it thank you so
much for joining me I'll see you next
time