{"id":57324,"date":"2022-04-28T09:43:14","date_gmt":"2022-04-28T09:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=57324"},"modified":"2022-04-28T09:43:14","modified_gmt":"2022-04-28T09:43:14","slug":"the-evil-doer-and-supporter-of-evil-are-both-guilty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=57324","title":{"rendered":"The evil doer and supporter are both guilty"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Tope Banso<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some people do evil directly; some do it indirectly by supporting evil or evildoers. In the sight of God, both the person who does evil and the person who supports the evil done are guilty.<\/p>\n

Jonadab, King David’s nephew, did not rape Tamar but he thought Amnon, David\u2019s son, how to rape his half-sister, Tamar. In the sight of God, both Jonadab and Amnon were guilty of this sin. Jonadab should have rebuked Amnon when he told him that he loved (he was lusting after) Tamar. But instead, he taught him how to carry out his evil thought.<\/p>\n

2 Samuel 13:1-2\u00a0says,\u00a0\u201cAfter this Absalom the son of David had a lovely sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her. Amnon was so distressed over his sister Tamar that he became sick; for she was a virgin. And it was improper for Amnon to do anything to her\u201d (New King James Version).<\/p>\n

Amnon was David\u2019s eldest son. Amnon and Tamar were from the same father but different mothers. Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David\u2019s brother, was Amnon\u2019s friend and he was a very crafty man. He asked Amnon why he was becoming thinner day after day and he told him he said loved Tamar, sister of Absalom, his brother\u00a0(verses 4).\u00a0The lust must have eaten him up so much that he became thinner and thinner! If his desire was proper, why didn\u2019t Amnon talk to Absalom or David?<\/p>\n

What was Jonadab\u2019s advice to Amnon?\u00a0\u201cSo Jonadab said to him, \u2018Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill. And when your father comes to see you, say to him, \u2018Please let my sister Tamar come and give me food, and prepare the food in my sight, that I may see it and eat it from her hand\u2019\u201d (2 Samuel 13:5 New King James Version).\u00a0Of course, Jonadab didn\u2019t mention rape in his advice but the message was clear enough to Amnon. He knew what to do next. And he did just that after David had granted his request to let Tamar come and make a couple of cakes for him in his sight and eat from her hand.<\/p>\n

Amnon raped Tamar despite her plea not to force her because no such thing should be done in Israel. Against Tamar\u2019s plea, he did a disgraceful thing and two years later, Absalom killed him in revenge.<\/p>\n

Nobody might have known that Jonadab had a hand in the rape of Tamar but God knew. He supported evil. There are still many such evil counsellors today. They don\u2019t do the evil directly but they are indirectly responsible. Both the evil advisers and their clients are guilty in the sight of God. Don\u2019t support evil or evildoers. Don\u2019t partake in the sins of others.<\/p>\n

Romans 1:28-32\u00a0says,\u00a0\u201cAnd even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, \u00a0backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them\u201d (New King James Version).<\/p>\n

Take note of the last part of this passage. It says that the people the passage refers to know that those who practise the sins listed deserve death. However, they do not only do the same but also approve of those who practise them. In other words, these sinners support evil and evildoers. Don\u2019t support evil or evildoers. In\u00a0Psalm 50:18,\u00a0God says to the wicked,\u00a0\u201cWhen you saw a thief, you consented with him, and have been a partaker with adulterers\u201d (New King James Version).\u00a0The New Living Translation says it like this:\u00a0\u201cWhen you see thieves, you approve of them, and you spend your time with adulterers.\u201d<\/p>\n

You should not only avoid evil; you should also not support, encourage, or endorse evil. David says he has hated the assembly of evildoers and will not sit with the wicked\u00a0(Psalm 26:5).\u00a0Also, the writer of\u00a0Psalm 119\u00a0says he hates the double-minded but loves God\u2019s law\u00a0(verse 113).\u00a0He further says he hates every false way\u00a0(verse 128b).\u00a0In\u00a0verse 163,\u00a0he says he hates and abhors lying, but loves God\u2019s law.<\/p>\n

Some people do the opposite of what the psalmist says. They don\u2019t only sin but also support those who sin. The writer of\u00a0Psalm 101\u00a0says,\u00a0\u201cI will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me\u201d (verse 3 New King James Version).<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t support evil. Don\u2019t encourage sin. The apostle Paul says,\u00a0\u201cDo not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people\u2019s sins; keep yourself pure\u201d (1 Timothy 5:22 New King James Version).\u00a0He also says,\u00a0\u201cLet love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good\u201d (Romans 12:9 New King James Version).<\/p>\n

In\u00a0Acts 12,\u00a0the Bible tells us how the Jews supported the evil perpetrated by Herod against the church.\u00a0\u201cNow about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread\u201d (verses 1-3 New King James Version).\u00a0Did you see that their support of evil encouraged the evildoer? He meant to kill Peter as he had killed James but an angel of God released him supernaturally from the prison before he could carry out his evil plan.<\/p>\n

The Jews must have expressed some views or exhibited a certain attitude that made Herod know that the murder pleased them. They didn\u2019t condemn the murder for no just cause; the evil pleased them. Yet, they were aware of the commandment of God not to murder\u00a0(Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17).\u00a0If they couldn\u2019t condemn Herod\u2019s action, the least they could have done was not to show that the murder pleased them.<\/p>\n

The New Testament also refers to the commandment not to murder. But because these Jews hated the Christians, they couldn\u2019t be bothered if anyone murdered them. It pleased the Jews. Why not? They had crucified Jesus so His apostles could be killed also! They supported evil.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t support evil. Don\u2019t strengthen the hands of the evildoers. God says,\u00a0\u201cAlso I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem: They commit adultery and walk in lies; they also strengthen the hands of evildoers, So that no one turns back from his wickedness. All of them are like Sodom to Me, and her inhabitants like Gomorrah\u201d (Jeremiah 23:14 New King James Version).\u00a0Please take note of this phrase: they also strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns back from his wickedness. Don\u2019t strengthen the hands of evildoers; don\u2019t encourage them to continue their evil.<\/p>\n

Also, God says a similar thing against the false prophetesses, \u201cBecause with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life\u201d (Ezekiel 13:22 New King James Version).<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t support evil. Discourage it; don\u2019t encourage it. As\u00a0Ephesians 5:11\u00a0says, have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. Don\u2019t support evil.\u00a0\u201cHe who says to the wicked, \u2018You are righteous,\u2019 Him the people will curse; nations will abhor him. But those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and a good blessing will come upon them\u201d (Proverbs 24:24-25\u00a0New King James Version).<\/p>\n

Hate what God hates and love what He loves. Don\u2019t deceive yourself that you are innocent because you did not do the evil but only encouraged the doer or praised him. Beware: knowingly receiving or buying a stolen property constitutes a crime. You are vicariously liable. Don\u2019t support evil.<\/p>\n

TAKE ACTION!<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner, and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life \u2013 your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church.\u00a0There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.<\/p>\n

Kindly say this prayer now, meaning it from your heart:\u00a0O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner, and I cannot save myself. I believe Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and was raised on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.<\/p>\n

I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.<\/p>\n

PRAYER POINTS:\u00a0I will hate what God hates and love what He loves. I shall not support evil but avoid, denounce, and discourage it. I pray that all evildoers and their supporters will repent and surrender their lives to Jesus. All sinners shall respond to the love of God and accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.<\/strong><\/p>\n

(For over 800 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit\u00a0www.cedarministry.org).<\/p>\n

\u25aa\ufe0e Pastor Banso is the President, Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.<\/strong>
\nPhone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523<\/strong>
\nWhatsApp No: +2349081295947<\/strong>
\nEmail: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,<\/strong>
\ncedarministryng@gmail.com<\/strong>
\nWebsite: www.cedarministry.org<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Tope Banso Some people do evil directly; some do it indirectly by supporting evil or evildoers. In the sight of God, both the person who does evil and the person who supports the evil done are guilty. Jonadab, King David’s nephew, did not rape Tamar but he thought Amnon, David\u2019s son, how to rape […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":57325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5772],"tags":[4665,4666,4667],"class_list":["post-57324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-faith","tag-doer","tag-guilty","tag-supporter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=57324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57324\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=57324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=57324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=57324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}