Tuesday, April 15

Resistance Is NOT Futile

Tuesday, April 15

I Peter 5: 8, 9 

Many people have heard the iconic phrase “resistance is futile” and know it was made famous by the Star Trek movie “First Contact.”  In that movie, the excellent actor Patrick Stewart is “assimilated” by an eclectic group of aliens known as the Borg.  A dark chorus of a Borg voice, representing the hordes of species assimilated and controlled by the Borg, speak to Captain Picard who is told “resistance is futile” as he tries to resist. We discover in the outcome of the plot that a form of “resistance” is not futile!

The apostle Peter who boasted, “even though all will fall away, I will never fall away…,” (Mark 14:29) did try to resist in the Garden of Gethsemane with a literal sword. He chose the wrong weapon. Peter would later write, after his epic spiritual failure, these words:

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. So resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brothers and sisters who are in the world. (I Pt. 5:8,9)

Some suggested elements of resistance follow.   Don’t be intoxicated by the world’s thinking or way of life.   Look for the adversary knowing that the walk of faith assumes a struggle.   Understand that the struggle is about true freedom (justification through faith in Christ).  Grasp the faith you say you believe. Know that giving in to sin and Satan’s enticement could easily lead to being devoured.  Realize that you are not alone in this struggle and that “resistance” literally means “taking a stand” against these foes.

We cannot be apathetic about evil. Evil – resistance to righteousness — is the mother of all suffering and woe: dissension, pride, sickness, war, death…. The anti-logic that “everyone does it” is simply justification to do the same, like drinking the Kool-Aid in Jonestown. 

But part of “resistance” is simply to rest and let Someone Else do the fighting. The word Peter used for “adversary” is literally “anti-justification.” Satan hates grace. He hates that Jesus stood up to him perfectly and freely gives us forgiveness. Trusting Christ and calling on Him to do the fighting for us is better than self-defense. Peter should have picked up God’s sword (the Word, Eph. 6), and by trusting the Word, he could’ve won the day and the struggle. Fleeing the adversary and running to the Justifier Jesus is the best way to resist!