Grace Evangelical Society

P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202
  • About
    • Home
    • Beliefs
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Resources
    • Grace in Focus Blog
    • Grace in Focus International Blogs
    • Grace in Focus Radio
    • Grace in Focus Magazine
    • Free eBooks
    • Journal of the GES
    • Book Reviews
    • Partners in Grace Newsletter
    • Audio Messages
    • Videos
    • Email Subscription
    • Bookstore
    • Online Tracts
  • Store
    • Main Page
    • On Sale
    • Return Policy
    • Your Cart
    • Your Account
  • Events
  • Connect
    • Contact Us
    • Free Grace Church and Bible Study Tracker
    • Free Grace Jobs
    • Ministry Links
  • Donate
    • One Time Donation
    • Monthly Donation
    • Your Account
  • Search
Home
→
Blog
→
Why Christians Shouldn’t Be Klingons (1 Thessalonians 5:15)

Why Christians Shouldn’t Be Klingons (1 Thessalonians 5:15)

June 15, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - church life, one another, peace, retaliation, revenge, spirituality, Star Trek, violence

“What makes a man like Ringo, Doc? What makes him do the things he does?” Wyatt Earp asked.

“A man like Ringo has got a great big hole, right in the middle of him. He can never kill enough, or steal enough, or inflict enough pain to ever fill it,” Doc Holliday replied.

“What does he need?”

“Revenge.”

“For what?”

“Bein’ born.”

As crime soars and society breaks down around us, I believe that local churches can and will play a crucial role as oases of love in an increasingly chaotic world.

At least, we can serve that role—if we develop a thick Christian community.

The many “one another” commands of the NT show what normal Christian church life should be like. For example, consider this verse:

See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek what is good for one another and for all people (1 Thess 5:15 NASB).

There’s an old Klingon proverb that says, “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” Paul takes the opposite view. Don’t serve the dish at all. Do not repay evil for evil.

That’s a hard word to hear, and not just for Klingons! Retaliation is built into the fabric of most cultures and communities. How many novels and movies are driven by revenge? And we like that! Who doesn’t cheer on Inigo Montoya when he finally faces the six-fingered man and repeats his famous phrase: “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

Nevertheless, Paul says revenge should have no part in the Christian community, no matter what the larger culture says. Our response to evil should not be retaliation but love.

Notice, though, that Paul’s counter-cultural approach to retaliation assumes that a normal church life means doing more than gathering to worship on Sunday morning. It implies the church will engage in corporate action and actively pursue opportunities to love the very people who have done us evil.

That message is not easy to hear:

Someone has said that there are three standards: first, the standard of the pagan world, which does evil in response to good; second, the standard of the so-called cultured world, which is to do good towards those who do good to them; third, the standard of Christian faith, which is to do good to those who do evil to us. This is contrary to the natural unsaved person; it is contrary to natural ethics, but it is according to the Word of God (Walvoord and Hitchcock, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, pp. 100-101).

The Christian standard is different. There is nothing “natural” about that command. It is not the way of the world because it is otherworldly, i.e., it comes from heaven, not from earth.

God is no Klingon. Instead of serving up a cold dish of revenge to His enemies, He served up Jesus to die for them (see Rom 5:10).

Subscribe by Email

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
Shawn_L

by Shawn Lazar

Shawn Lazar (BTh, McGill; MA, VU Amsterdam) was the Editor of Grace in Focus magazine and Director of Publications for Grace Evangelical Society from May 2012 through June 2022. He and his wife Abby have three children. He has written several books including: Beyond Doubt: How to Be Sure of Your Salvation and Chosen to Serve: Why Divine Election Is to Service, Not to Eternal Life.

If you wish to ask a question about a given blog, email us your question at ges@faithalone.org.

Cart

Recently Added

May 29, 2023

What Will Believers Do Forever in Eternity? Will We Have Jobs? Families? Cars?

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Bob Wilkin and David Renfro are at the broadcast desk and what an interesting question about the occupations...
May 29, 2023

Do You Recognize Subtle Attacks on the Bible When You Hear Them?

Have you ever heard this saying: “We are to worship God, not the Bible”? Or how about, “Don’t love the Bible, love God”? We can’t...
May 26, 2023

Romans–Part 22–Romans 8:38-39

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Kathryn Wright and Ken Yates are at the end of Romans chapter 8. These last two verses of...

Grace in Focus Radio

All Episodes

Listen to Stitcher

Listen on Spotify

Grace In Focus Magazine

Grace In Focus is sent to subscribers in the United States free of charge.

Subscribe for Free

The primary source of Grace Evangelical Society's funding is through charitable contributions. GES uses all contributions and proceeds from the sales of our resources to further the gospel of grace in the United States and abroad.

Donate

Bookstore Specials

  • Turn and Live: The Power of Repentance $15.00 $10.00
  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Hardcover) $13.95 $5.00
  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Paperback) $6.95 $3.00
  • A Gospel of Doubt: The Legacy of John MacArthur's The Gospel According to Jesus $22.00 $11.00
  • The Gospel Under Siege: Faith and Works in Tension $16.00 $10.00
Grace Evangelical Society

(940) 270-8827 / ges@faithalone.org

4851 S I-35E Suite 203, Corinth, TX 76210
P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube