this sermon<\/a>). Whenever we limit morality to such rule-keeping, to avoiding certain behaviors, we can easily become self-satisfied like the Pharisees. Furthermore, such linism is perfectly consistent with being consumed internally with desires to cross the line. Since I want to cross line, I\u2019ll get as close to line as possible without crossing it \u2013 and then congratulate myself that I didn\u2019t cross line.<\/p>\nEven many Christians approach morality in this way, becoming proud that they didn\u2019t cross lines (unlike those other people!) all the while wanting to cross the line, and having endless discussion about exactly where the line is.<\/p>\n
Note: Linism is not <\/em>taught in the Old Testament. For some of the Ten Commandments, this is obvious: Worship God and Him alone, honor your father and mother, do not covet \u2013 these three cannot be stated as lines of behavior we must not cross. But, indeed, all <\/em>of the Ten Commandments push us to become like God, to take on His character. <\/em>We are to be holy as He is holy (Leviticus 19:2); we are to love Him with all of our heart, soul, and might (Deuteronomy 6:5). They command internal change, <\/em>not only external actions.<\/p>\nSo, in Jesus\u2019 day, the Pharisees had perfected the art of appearing to obey the rules. Jesus says: That\u2019s not the way citizens of my Kingdom live. We cannot out-Pharisee the Pharisees.<\/p>\n
How, then, will our righteousness exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees? When we love God and love our neighbor like Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When we avoid linism. When we hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God.<\/p>\n
With that understanding, let\u2019s go back and consider Matthew 5:38-39:<\/p>\n
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.<\/p>\n
The linism of the Pharisees interpreted the Old Testament phrase \u201can eye for an eye\u201d to mean: Seeking revenge is fine as long as the pain you inflict is no worse than the pain you suffered.<\/p>\n
But what does Jesus say?<\/p>\n
He is not <\/em>saying, \u201cNever resist any evil.\u201d How do we know this? Because Jesus Himself resisted evil! Indeed, in His attacks on the righteousness of the Pharisees here in Matthew 5 and in Matthew 23 and elsewhere, Jesus is resisting evil. Similarly, John the Baptist verbally condemned the evil around him, and that is a form of resistance (Luke 3:7-14). And of course Jesus resisted the temptations of Satan in Matthew 4.<\/p>\nNor is Jesus saying, \u201cJustice for crimes should not be implemented by the state.\u201d For when Pilate threatens Jesus, saying that he has authority to crucify Him, our Lord does not question Pilate\u2019s statement. Instead, He says \u2013 consistent with Romans 13 \u2013 that Pilate\u2019s authority came from God (John 19:10-11).<\/p>\n
Rather, Jesus is saying: Be like God! Take on His character! Be the same on the inside as you appear to be on the outside!<\/p>\n
Specifically, in light of Jesus\u2019 life and teaching, He says in Matthew 5:38-42:<\/p>\n
\u201cYour Father God is gracious and merciful. I am going to the cross so that He can grant mercy to the undeserving. So you, like Him, grant mercy to the undeserving \u2013 even to the one trying to take advantage of you, even to the one attacking you. Be holy as He is holy! Display the character of God. Don\u2019t put your personal comfort above displaying who God is. Lay down your life to glorify God, to serve others.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thus, Jesus is not defining a rule, a line, that says, \u201cDon\u2019t resist any evil.\u201d Instead, He is giving an example of what following Him might entail. Consistent with His entire teaching, with the teaching of all of God\u2019s Word, He tells us: Be like God, by His grace, by His power. Live to His glory. Be willing to be taken advantage of if that will show who God is. Care more about His glory than your personal comfort and personal rights.<\/p>\n
So there will be times when we, like Jesus, resist evil in order to display God\u2019s character. And there will be times when we, like Jesus, will refrain from resisting evil in order to display God\u2019s character.<\/p>\n
The Christian life is not about the line. It is about God\u2019s glory.<\/p>\n
[Parts of this devotion are taken from a sermon preached March 10, 2013 on Matthew 5. You can listen to the audio at this link<\/a>.]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In our journey through the Apostle Paul\u2019s letter to the Romans, we have reached chapter 13, in which he discusses our submission to government. We know \u2013 as Paul did!…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,15],"tags":[136,185,867,898,935,1331,1481,1541],"class_list":["post-1833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-devotions","tag-an-eye-for-an-eye","tag-be-like-god","tag-justice","tag-law","tag-linism","tag-resisting-evil","tag-sons-of-your-father-in-heaven","tag-ten-commandments"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1833"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1833\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3080,"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1833\/revisions\/3080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}