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Jesus Does Away With Evil So That We May Live
June 28, 2014

Last week as we studied the beatitudes, we learned that God and Jesus are faithful to us and keep us from evil. I can't help but notice how the words evil and live are mirror images of each other, and I have often considered how this is the case in real life. We have the literary story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and perhaps all of us are part Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Perhaps as we consider what it means to live a Christian life, we need to consider both the man and the image of the man. In all of this, I do believe that Jesus came so that evil could be done away with so that we can live, and the key to living spiritually is to surrender ourselves to Jesus and God the Father so that we may be led by the Holy Spirit instead of our carnal self. Consider this teaching of Jesus.

Mark 7:20-23
And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

According to Jesus, we have the capacity for evil and described as evil by Jesus is just about what is summarized by the ten commandments. The law of God is intended to lead us from evil to a spiritual place where we may live. Just like a mirror provides an image of who we are, our deeds also provide an image of who we are. If our deeds are evil, then our deeds show us to be evil. When we do good our deeds show us to be living right by God. The idea that our deeds are tied to our thoughts is not new, nor was it new during the time of Jesus' earthly ministry. Consider this verse from Proverbs.

Proverbs 23:7
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…

We become what we think so it is essential we live a life on the path to righteousness by giving careful consideration to our thoughts.

Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

In the end it is our choice; we can choose to live a life that gives place to evil, and we will become evil. Or, we can choose to live a life that considers what is good, and we will be led by the Holy Spirit to be good. The choice is ours.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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