Pacifying Evil: No Such Thing

Acts 8:3 “But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.”

Evil cannot be pacified. It will keep spreading until stopped dead in its tracks.

Stephen was wise, courageous and full of the Holy Spirit. He also holds the distinct honor of becoming the first martyr because of his faith in Jesus Christ. After confronting the Sanhedrin with the truth about what they did to Jesus, they were so incensed that they ran him out of town and stoned him (Acts 7:57-58). Even though Stephen stood innocent of any wrongdoing, they got away with it. Like blood in the water attracting sharks, his death fed their maniacal pursuit. A great persecution of the Church broke out after his martyrdom.

The enemy of our souls never finds contentment with one victory. Success only feeds his ravenous spirit. There are times to compromise in life, but when it comes to evil, we dare not give an inch. As Oswald Chambers says, “There’s no heaven with a little corner of hell in it.” Hell will eventually take over if we give it a place to land.

Wholesale evil is on display in far too many regions. Take Nigeria.  John Stonestreet says Nigeria is “one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian.” A recent report stated over 6,000 believers have been killed and maimed by extremists. Young Christian girls continue to be abducted and forced to convert to Islam. Early successes have made them hungry for more. Christian leaders there call the onslaught “pure genocide,” but government officials downplay the conflict…so the evil continues. As believers, our greatest hope for those victimized by such wickedness lies in prayer. And prayer has proven to be a pretty powerful weapon!

But one other thing we can—and should—actively pursue is having a zero tolerance for evil in our own lives.

Refuse to let yourself be a part of our current “angri-culture.” Don’t let even a smidgen of unforgiveness lie hidden in your heart. If you try to justify any semblance of evil in your thoughts or actions, be assured you will come out on the losing end. Ask the Lord to keep washing you clean in his love. Leave no room for evil.