Is it really possible to overcome evil with good?
Have you ever been overwhelmed by a sense of gloom and despair because of what’s going on in the world today?
Have you ever been in a threatening situation, either because of people or circumstances? Maybe you’ve had catastrophe knocking at your door literally.
I’ve talked to folks who, at times, have felt that evil forces have converged on them personally, trying to thwart their lives and the good they’re trying to do.
And other times it’s just one person who’s being rude, dishonest, and hateful toward you. And that’s enough to make the whole world seem dark and hopeless.
However small or large a scale this sort of thing happens on, and however close or far it is to your personal life, there are times when we all need to deal with evil influences that rear their ugly heads in our lives.
As Christ’s followers, how doe we overcome evil with good
As followers of Christ, sometimes we tend to focus more on God’s nature as loving and all the ways God is working in our lives and in the world. We try to see the good in everyone and find some promise of good in every situation.
After all, the Bible does offer this promise,
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28 NLT
And this is a very healthy attitude to have.
But there are times when we need to confront the evil in our personal lives and the world, and to face it head on.
This doesn’t necessarily mean you should or are personally able to resolve every manifestation of evil that comes your way or that you’re aware of. There’s no way for one person to sally forth on his own and solve every global or local problem.
But you can always take a prayerful, spiritual approach to combatting evil wherever it shows up.
There have been several times over the years when I have felt the world was at the tipping point of nuclear disaster or various other man-made calamities. Bit turning to God, and seeing God as the real solution, is the only thing that brought me any peace, and hopefully has contributed to the solution at the time.
Bible shows how to overcome evil with good
There are so many stories in the Bible where evil forces and influences were overcome when people turned completely to God for help.
I’m thinking specifically of King Jehoshaphat. You can read the whole story in 2 Chronicles, Chapter 20.
Jehoshaphat is told that warring armies are headed his way. He calls the people of Judah together and they all seek God’s help.
Then the spirit of the Lord comes upon Jahaziel, who is standing in the assembly, and he says,
“Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.’” 2 Chronicles 20:15, 17 NIV
So what happened?
Instead of going out with weapons of war, Jehoshaphat told them to sing praises to God.
After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever.” As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. 2 Chronicles 20:21, 22 NIV
Overcome evil with good by praising God
Let’s take a minute to let what happened there sink in. The people of Judah were being threatened by three armies. Their response was totally counterintuitive. They knew they didn’t have the military power to defeat these enemies. The only place to turn for help was God Himself.
So how does this apply to you and me? If you ever find yourself in a situation where it seems evil forces are united to cause havoc in your life, are trying to destroy what you’ve worked hard to build, and are threatening your very life, how do you respond?
Do you retaliate? Do you dish out to those opposing you, what they are doing to you? Sometimes that’s the first inclination, to fight fire with fire, return hate and revenge for the hatred aimed at you.
But honestly, how effective is that? It usually makes the problem worse because the opposing forces then retaliate with more hate and aggression.
In this case, the people sang praises to God. That’s a really good model for us to follow.
Jesus knew how to overcome evil with good
Jesus, in his infinite wisdom and understanding of how to confront evil of any kind, has a simple solution, simple as in not complex, but very challenging to put into practice.
It seems almost too simplistic and ridiculous to be effective.
“You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.
“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:38-48 NLT
This is an incredibly high standard, but it is possible to do this, both on an individual level, all the way up when you’re praying about a global situation.
There will be challenges
All that said, Jesus did say that we would face challenges. But he also explains why people will do evil things aimed especially at his followers.
Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. John 15:20, 21 NIV
The real reason people do evil things is because they don’t know the One who sent Jesus. They don’t know God. If they really knew God, they would not be or do evil.
That gives us a hint at where to start in being able to face and overcome evil forces in whatever way they appear. We need to start with ourselves by knowing God better. We need to be in communion with God. And just how do we get to know God better? I’ve put out several episodes of The Bible Speaks to You about this. The one I’ll share is Episode 142: Quit Learning about God. We don’t need more information about God. We need to know God. It’s about our relationship with God.
That’s the first step in being able to overcome evil.
Jesus tells us how to overcome evil with good
Jesus gave a lot of practical advice about how to deal with evil. The verses I just quoted above from Matthew we usually think of as relating to individual conflicts, but the principle of what Jesus is saying applies to larger scale situations as well.
But he does have some things to say specifically about when there are collective evil forces bearing down on you.
When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city.
When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. Luke 21:20, 21, 28 NIV
Most Bible scholars agree Jesus is referring to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. when the Romans besieged the city.
But how does this advice apply to you and me when we are surrounded by armies, literally or figuratively, surrounded by hate and opposition or even the threat of war?
What is your Jerusalem?
Jerusalem was the center for worship of God for the Jews. When the way, and maybe even the place you worship God, when your relationship with God, and your God-given purpose are threatened, and feel surrounded by evil forces, Jesus says it’s time to flee to the mountains. It’s time to find some spiritual high ground. Don’t fight evil with evil. Hide yourself in God.
You can leave your “Jerusalem.” You can leave the outward symbols of how and where you worship God, but wherever you go mentally, spiritually, or even physically, your relationship with God will be intact.
Now you may be thinking: Hey James, I thought you said we’re not supposed to run away from evil, but that we should face it.
You’re absolutely right. You never should run away from evil, but there are times when it is wisdom to remove yourself from an evil atmosphere or situation, and sometimes in a hurry. And sometimes you stay in a situation and face it down in a more literal sense.
There’s absolutely no formula here. It’s about listening to God for direction, support, and protection. When my wife and I were first married, we lived in New York City in the Bronx. Our landlady was Ukrainian. She told us of the time she had to leave her house quickly, taking hardly anything with her, to escape the Nazi soldiers.
I have a friend at church who had to flee from Denmark to Sweden with her family during about the same time period and for similar reasons.
And of course there are the devastating stories of those who flee or don’t flee but do not survive the ravages of war or some calamity.
What would I do if…?
And once in a very great while I ask myself what I would do in a similar situation. I hope I would pray to God for direction and act on that instead of fear.
And if for some reason I got caught up in a situation where there was no way to escape, I pray that I would be faithful to Christ, and express as much of his nature as possible under the circumstances, even to those who were trying to destroy me.
That’s a pretty heavy duty topic to think about and I don’t usually dwell there for very long.
So let’s come back to how we can find ways to overcome evil with good in our lives, both on a personal and collective level.
Paul on how to overcome evil with good
Paul make a profound declaration of how followers of Christ can respond to evil in the world.
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:4, 5 NIV
And he gets more specific when he writes to the church in Ephesus,
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:13-18 NIV
Taken together, these two passages are not talking about material weapons. Paul is talking about how we pray. He points out we are equipped with divine power to overcome all the power of evil. The victory takes place first in our own hearts and minds, in our conviction that God is supreme, no matter what the world’s evil forces throw our way.
And a key point here is: “keep on praying for all the Lord’s people,” not just for yourself.
Jesus gives us the ability to overcome evil with good
This divine authority to overcome evil has been given to us by Christ. Jesus says to his disciples, which includes you and me,
I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. Luke 10:19 NIV
We have been given this authority. We can and we need to use it.
If you look at the list of metaphorical armor in this passage from Ephesians, it’s always interesting to me that there is no armor on your back. Someone pointed out to me years ago that means we should never turn our mental, spiritual backs on evil. Never ignore it. Never run away from it. You may be running under cover of night to get away from army soldiers, but right at that moment you can face down the evil in your prayers with the full armor of God.
And by the way, since this is the armor of God, it is absolutely effective. It never breaks or fails.
So, Paul says we have divine power to demolish evil’s strongholds and we have the armor of God for protection.
Where do we go from there?
How did Jesus overcome evil with good?
How did Jesus overcome evil? He just kept loving. He kept doing all God told him to. He kept doing God’s will no matter what happened.
How could he do this day in and day out? It’s because he was completely conscious of God’s supreme presence. He knew the kingdom of heaven was at hand. He was intimately familiar with God’s kingdom.
In the kingdom of heaven, there is no evil, no sin, no wickedness, and no victims of evil. Jesus’s understanding of this was crystal clear. He knew evil had no real power in heaven, no existence in heaven.
And he brought that awareness to earth. He demonstrated the truth of evil’s powerlessness in heaven here on earth, because he knew, and could see, heaven at hand and within us.
It’s the new heaven and earth mentioned in Revelation,
There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. Revelation 21:4 NIV
That sounds pretty good doesn’t it.
But in our present sense of heaven and earth, the first heaven and first earth that flee away in Revelation, Chapter 20, good and evil are always fighting each other. This battle between good and evil are epitomized by Michael fighting the great Red Dragon in Chapter 12 of Revelation.
Final destruction of evil
It’s interesting to me how Chapter 20 of Revelation describes the final destruction of evil. When the first earth and first heaven come face to face with the throne or power and authority of God, they flee.
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. Revelation 20:11 NIV
When you and I become aware of being in the presence of God’s throne, His all-power, His divine and supreme government, His righteousness and glory, all evil and material limitations will flee, will dissolve.
Can you see, as did the writer of the book of Revelation, this throne of God? It is here. It is now. And as a result, the new heaven and new earth, in which there is no evil or any effect of evil, is here and now as well.
The way to overcome evil is to see God’s throne, to see God’s goodness and bear witness of this goodness to others.
Paul puts it this way in his letter to the Romans:
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21 NIV
The throne of God will always overcome evil with good
He’s not talking about mere human goodness. He’s talking about divine goodness, which comes forth from the throne of God and gives us the divine power to combat evil in the world.
Once you see God’s infinite goodness and it’s supremacy over evil, you will very naturally overcome evil with good. You will think good. You will be good. You will do good. You will see good, God’s goodness, everywhere. You will see, as Jesus did the kingdom of heaven at hand, regardless of what appears in the first heaven and first earth.
In this prayerful approach, you will give all glory to God. Or rather, you will see that all glory and power already belong to God.
Final victory of good over evil not way off in future
We tend to think that the ultimate victory of good over evil is still way off in the future. But the spiritual fact remains that the supremacy of God’s goodness is here and now. The final victory of good over evil is a spiritual fact that is always true and which is always present for you to bear witness to.
It may seem to take time for us to see and take in all the glories of God’s complete victory over evil. But God always sees, is always conscious here and now of, His supremacy of good.
God has given you the ability and the desire to see the allness of His glory and goodness. To the degree you open your spiritual eyes and bear witness to this infinite goodness of God, this prophecy in Isaiah will be fulfilled in your life.
Isaiah is not talking about people here as your enemy, but evil influences.
All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. Isaiah 41:11, 12 NIV
To the degree you consciously stand in the presence of God’s throne, God’s absolute allness, goodness, power, and glory, what seemed to be powerful evil influences in your life or in the world, will lose their influence, will no longer have power over you and “will be as nothing.”
Give yourself permission to stand in front of God’s throne. God is inviting you into His presence.
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James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life. Contact him here.
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Bible References
Romans 8:28 NLT
28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
2 Chronicles 20:15, 17 NIV
15 “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.
17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.’ ”
2 Chronicles 20:21, 22 NIV
21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever.”
22 As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.
Matthew 5:38-48 NLT
38 “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’
39 But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.
40 If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too.
41 If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.
42 Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.
43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.
44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.
46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.
47 If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.
48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
John 15:20, 21 NIV
20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.
21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.
Luke 21:20, 21, 28 NIV
20 When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.
21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city.
28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
2 Corinthians 10:4, 5 NIV
4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Ephesians 6:13-18 NIV
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Luke 10:19 NIV
19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.
Revelation 21:4 NIV
4 There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
Revelation 20:11 NIV
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.
Romans 12:21 NIV
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Isaiah 41:11, 12 NIV
11 All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish.
12 Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all.