SOTM 18-Retaliation

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.38 “You have heard that it was said,‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’39 But I say to you,Do not resist the one who is evil. Butif anyoneslaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.40 Andif anyone would sue you and take your tunic let him have your cloak as well.41 And if anyoneforces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.42 Give to the one who begs from you, anddo not refuse the one who would borrow from you” (Matthew 5:38-42).Non-resistanceThis isn't just a doctrine promoted by Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Amish.Not non-resistance to evil (which we always resist), but towards evil people.One well-known proponent of non-resistance states, “Of course, the life of a Christian is one of continually resisting evil. But Jesus commands us not to resist evil through physical, earthly and carnal means. Instead, we resist evil through the power of love and holiness. Nonresistance is ultimately the way of love and the way of the cross—two things exemplified by Jesus. As such, nonresistance is one of the defining characteristics of the historic faith.”—David BercotIt is not so much a doctrine as a lifestyleThe church of the first 3 centuriesTertullian: “… If injured, we are forbidden to retaliate, lest we become just as bad ourselves. Who can suffer injury at our hands?” Apology 37Irenaeus: “The new covenant that brings back peace and the law that gives life have both gone forth over the whole earth, as the prophets said. …Christians have beat their swords and their spears into plowshares and pruning hooks for reaping grain, that is, into instruments used for peaceful purposes. So now, they are strangers to fighting. When they are struck, they offer the other cheek also.” Against Heresies 34.4Justin Martyr: “We used to be filled with war, mutual slaughter, and every kind of wickedness. However, now all of us have, throughout the whole earth, changed our warlike weapons. We have changed our swords into plowshares, and our spears into pruning hooks.” First Apology (ANF 1.254). (See Isa 2:4, Joel 3:10, and Mic 4:3.)There’s also a good deal on the subject at my website, for those inclined to engage in further study.Passivity?Although nonresistance may sound passive, it is actually a proactive response.The Law prohibits private revenge—it’s not the individual who should exact justice.Jesus goes one step further and eliminates all revenge.Once again, he was not nullifying the Law, but broadening it.Jesus gives four illustrations: turning the other cheek (v.39), giving the one who sues for your tunic your cloak as well (v.40), going the “extra mile” (v.41), and giving to the one who asks (v.42).Our commentator, again: “With His teaching of nonresistance, Jesus brings to a pinnacle much of what He has said up to this point in the Sermon on the Mount. The meek who will inherit the earth are the nonresistant. Nobody can truly be pure in heart without being nonresistant. The peacemakers are the nonresistant who have first made peace with their own enemies. At the same time, nobody will be able to live a nonresistant life unless they have first learned how to control their anger, their tongue, and their passions. That is why Jesus gave His teachings on those other subjects before He introduced the concept of nonresistance.”Did the early church really believe in such an unusual doctrine?Lactantius: “We do not resist those who injure us, for we must yield to them. … If anyone is so brazen as to inflict injury on a good and just man, such a man must bear it with calmness and moderation. He will not turn to revenge. Rather, he will leave repayment to the judgment of God. He must always remain innocent in all places” The Divine Institutes17. And further, “When provoked by injury, if a man returns violence to his assailant, he is defeated.” The Divine Institutes 6.18Irenaeus: “We should not grieve when we are defrauded, as do those who are unwilling. Rather, we should rejoice as those who have given willingly. We can treat it as though we are conferring a favor upon our neighbors rather than merely yielding to necessity.” Against Heresies (ANF 1.477).Tertullian: “He who does not fear to lose his possessions does not find it burdensome to give. Otherwise, how will the one with two tunics give one of them to the naked? Similarly, how else can he offer his robe to one who takes away his tunic? How can we make for ourselves friends with mammon, if we love it so much that we cannot endure its loss?” On Patience “Shall the son of peace take part in a battle, when it does not become him even to sue at law?” ANF 3.99. Re: lawsuits, see also 1 Cor 6:1-8.Athenagoras: “We have learned not to return blow for blow, nor to go to law with those who plunder and rob us.” Plea for the Christians (ANF 2.129)Chrysostom: “Now if you give someone what they ask and thereby refrain from being sued, you have sought only your own advantage. But if you give him some additional item, you have also made him better. You have sent him away improved. For this is the nature of salt, which is what Jesus wants us to be. For salt not only preserves itself, but it also preserves all other objects with which it comes in contact.” Homilies on Matthew2.Irenaeus: “Jesus says, ‘If anyone compels you to go a mile, go with him two.’ This is so that you will not follow him as a slave but as a free man. This way, you show yourself to be kindly disposed in all things… This way, you make yourself like the Father, ‘who makes His sun rise upon the evil and the good and sends rain upon the just and the unjust.’ As I have already observed, all these precepts were not the injunctions of One doing away with the Law, but of One fulfilling, extending, and widening it.” Against Heresies13.3.Didache: “You shall not hesitate to give, nor complain when you give…” Didache 7-8.Barnabas: “Do not hesitate to give, nor complain when you do so. ‘Give to everyone who asks of you,’ and you will know who the good Rewarder is.” ANF 1.148What about wrong motives?However, what if the one asking is not deserving? Well, in the first three applications, the persons were not deserving. That may also be the case in the fourth instance.Clement of Alexandria: “Do not try to judge who is worthy or who is unworthy. For it is possible that you may be mistaken in your opinion. As in the uncertainty of ignorance, it is better to do good to the undeserving for the sake of the deserving—than by guarding against those who are less good to fail to provide for the good. By being sparing and trying to test who deserves to receive or not, you may neglect some of those who are loved by God.” ANF 2.600Next: Enemies