This devotion is a monthly ministry of the Pee Dee Baptist Association, comprised of 31 Southern Baptist churches in Dillon and Marlboro Counties.  For more information call 774-8062. Featured this month is Rev. Rob Pierce, the pastor of Latta Baptist Church, Latta.

How Do Christians Respond To Evil In The World Today?
How do we respond to evil and violence going on in our own culture? How do we respond to people in office who have no regard for God or His Word? I believe that the Bible addresses this in the life of a Christian and that there are Biblical examples of how we are to respond to evil in our world.
As a Christian, I must live my life in a way to transform our culture. There is Biblical support for cultural transformation. In fact, the Bible offers many examples of God transforming human culture. Remember, when I say that I must live my life in a way to transform our culture, I am referring to the need to be so completely surrendered to God that you have a Biblical world view and you want others to come to faith in Christ, so you live your life to that end.
Only God can do the transformation, but we must live our lives willing to be used by Him! A Biblical example of God wanting transform people’s lives is in Jonah. Jonah was a Hebrew prophet from Gath-Hepher, a small village about two miles north of modern-day Nazareth. Jonah had a very orthodox faith. He believed in the sovereignty of God over all creation and the righteousness and mercy of God.
Now, if you’ve read the book of Jonah, you know that he was okay with living his life in the secure environment of his own people. Yet God had something else in mind for Jonah.
Jonah 1:1-3.  The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying [2] “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.” [3] But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
God called Jonah to go to Nineveh and cry against it. I want you to understand why God was sending Jonah. Look at verse 2: “for their wickedness has come before Me.” This was the capital city of godlessness. These people were infamous for their cruelty toward prisoners. They were Assyrians, and they were some bad people!
Now you see in verse 3 that Jonah didn’t want to go there, he didn’t want to see those people or be around them. You and I can laugh at this because we’ve read the whole book of Jonah, and we know how it ends. But let me ask you a question: are there people in your life that you simply do not want to be around? People that you know need to hear the truth of God’s Word, yet you aren’t willing to cross the street to start up a conversation.
We must be willing to be a part of a cultural transformation for Jesus Christ, and we aren’t going to do it by seeing those around us as undesirables or terrible people or trash …. No, we must see them through the eyes of Jesus who loves them and wants them to come to repentance. On the surface it appears that God is sending Jonah to Nineveh to tell the Assyrians that they are about to get what they deserve, but Jonah understood differently.
Jonah 4:2  [2] And he prayed to the Lord and said, “Please, Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore, in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that Thou art a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.
Fortunately, the king and everyone in Nineveh took Jonah’s message seriously. They repented of their sin, they determined to change their ways, they called on God.
    Jonah 3:5-10  Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. [6] When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the ashes. [7] And he issued a proclamation and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles:  Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water. [8] “But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands. [9] “Who knows, God may turn and relent, and withdraw His burning anger so that we shall not perish?” [10] When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it.
    This indicates God’s mercy on them – they didn’t get what they deserved. Jonah’s experience teaches us that God is concerned about how all people live, not just those who have professed faith in Him.
    As I live my life, I must understand my role in transforming the culture. Christians are the key to transforming the culture. We must not allow the culture to transform us. Let me give you an example. Our culture today, for the most part, says that everything is okay, just don’t hurt anyone, and everything else is okay.
    You see someone you want to be with besides your spouse, the world says it’s okay. You are attracted to someone of the same gender, the world says it’s okay. You don’t have the money for something, take it – the world says it’s okay, no one will miss it. You cheat a little in your business or on your taxes, the world says it’s okay, no one really cares.
    There are all sorts of lies out there that appear to be okay. It appears to be fine because, after all, everyone else is doing it and, if you were to speak out against it, then you are not a good person. But the fact remains, we cannot allow our culture to transform us, but we must transform our culture to line up with the world of God! We must know our role in having an effect. Here is what Jesus said:
    Matthew 5:13-16    “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. [14] “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. [15] “Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. [16] “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
    Your engagement as a Christian in our world today should be a regular part of being a more effective disciple of Jesus Christ, being the salt and the light, knowing you have the Word of God and the Spirit of God as your resources. Are you being the salt and the light that He created you to be? Do you want to see a transformation in our society today?  Then it has to begin with you.
    Do you love Him? Then be obedient to Him. Questions? Check out some answers on truelife.org.