I won’t back down from the evil in the world

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released a song in April of 1989.

Here are the lyrics to that song:

“Well, I won’t back down / No, I won’t back down / You can stand me up at the gates of hell / But I won’t back down / No, I’ll stand my ground / Won’t be turned around / And I’ll keep this world from draggin’ me down / Gonna stand my ground, and I won’t back down.”

I don’t necessarily think you have to be a Christian to see that this world is a little upside down. I don’t need to go into an extensive list of the world’s problems; all you have to do is watch the world news, read the newspapers, and, of course, keep up on social media. As I look around at this world, I must confess, I’ve become a believer in evolution; not the evolution of mankind, but the evolution of evil.

Listen to the prophet Isaiah’s warning in Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” We know that evil entered the world way back in the beginning.

Genesis 2:9 “And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” He gave a stern warning about that tree. Genesis 2:17 “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” We know that Adam and Eve ate of that tree and evil entered into the world. It got so bad that God decided to destroy the world with a great flood. Genesis 6:5 “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:7 “So the LORD said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ ” When he did this he already had a plan to come and destroy evil, and redeem mankind.

1 John 3:8 “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” I find it interesting that the last four letters of devil spell evil. He is the evil one.

There so many examples in the Bible of men who didn’t back down against evil; they stood their ground. Moses stood his ground and took the Israelites out of more than 400 years of bondage in Egypt (Exodus 3:9). David stood his ground against Goliath in the valley of Elah, thereby defeating the armies of the Philistines (1 Samuel 17:4). Elijah stood his ground against the 450 prophets of Baal, and they were all put to death (1 Kings 18:20). Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego stood their ground in the fiery furnace and their God was glorified (Daniel 3:1).

Now let’s get to our real hero. Four times Jesus held his ground: when he went into the wilderness to be tempted by evil; when he came out of the wilderness and was tempted by the devil; in the garden when he prayed the father’s will be done; and finally on the cross when he stood his ground against the sin of the world and died. Oh, friends, let this resonate in your heart. Jesus stood his ground; he didn’t back down. He died for your sin and my sin. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” As Christians, that should make us the most thankful people on this planet. Evil destroyed; mankind redeemed; relationship restored.

Because of the good news of the gospel, you and I can stand our ground and not back down in the face of evil.

Hasselstrom is an evangelist with Cross Tied Ministries.