"But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also" MAT 5:39-40.

Revenge, i.e., defending your own borders, is the first impulse of the unregenerate. If we understand this, we may come to the point where we do not fight with the same spirit as they do; we must come instead with that Spirit of Christ.

Jesus is teaching how His servants are to respond to resist evil. In the text before us, He is teaching us how to respond to those who are coming with such a revengeful spirit. MAT 5:39-42 teaches us this.

In other words, the Lord Jesus Christ is teaching us how to resist evil. He is saying that when you take a revengeful spirit, i.e., "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," you are not resisting evil. How do you resist evil? You resist it by going two miles when they ask you to go one, by giving them your cloak also when they ask for your coat, and by turning the left cheek to whosoever shall smite you on the right cheek.

The Lord sends these trials to prove to us which god we are serving. Are we serving the ugly monster, "I," or that self- sacrificing, bleeding, dying, Substitute who took the penalty of our sins? Is the Lord Jesus Christ the one we are serving? Are we able to walk in His footsteps? Are we able to walk in the Spirit of Christ; are we able to be an example when we come to teach in meekness to instruct those who oppose themselves? Are we coming in that Spirit of Christ, of that bleeding, dying Substitute who took the penalty of our sin?

In MAT 10:34 we read, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." When we have people come against us and it seems like everything is coming down on us, we must see that the Lord has sent this trial to bring us into that Spirit of Christ. He has sent the trial of our faith. Can we resist evil? Do we resist the evildoer? How do we resist the evildoer? Do we resist in meekness, humility, and in the right spirit?

Jesus tells us in the preceding verses that these trials are sent for a testimony against those who are still the enemies of God. The Lord will use this trial as a testimony in the conscience of those who are ungodly, who are still the enemies of the Lord.