Many moons ago, conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh highly popularized his “35 Undeniable Truths.” Sadly, at the top of his list were perhaps his 2 biggest and most serious blunders of all: “#1: The greatest threat to humanity lies in the nuclear arsenal of the USSR. #2: The greatest threat to humanity lies in the USSR.”

He had no idea that the greatest threat to humanity is – SIN. More specifically, the sin of rebellion against the absolute right of God to rule our lives; and, our blindness to and rejection of the need to be born again through the saving grace of Jesus Christ – believing the Gospel. Not understanding that all of humanity stands under the just judgment of God for our sin(s), and that unless we are reconciled to Him through faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on The Cross as our substitute, we will remain justly, eternally damned.

These represent two wildly different worldviews. And only one of them bears the full weight of eternal ramifications.

The above aside, in my years of walking with Christ (oh so falteringly), and study of the Word of God, I’ve jotted down over time – some fundamentals or principles that continue to guide my own thinking and living.

In the installments which will follow, I hope to unpack some of these with the hopes that you might find them useful as well.

That said, let me add two comments up front.

1 – These are not given in any specific order. I jotted them down over years as they emerged in disparate times and places.

2 – Not all of them are of equal importance. They are not all “fundamentals of The Faith.” Some are, some are not. Some are more guiding principles for thought and analysis. Others, speak to the very basics of being a true Christian. Hopefully, even if I don’t point it out, you’ll be able to mark the difference yourself.

We plunge in.

Principle #1 – 1. We are never under any obligation to assist others in the perpetrating of evil.

Say what? Hear me out.

Have you ever wrestled with a Biblical event like the account of Rahab the harlot (Joshua 2-6) and how after lying and committing basic treason, she can be lauded in Hebrews 11 and James 2 as an example of faith?

Or how about the Hebrew mid-wives, Shiphrah and Puah in Exodus 1 who lied to and disobeyed the King of Egypt blatantly – and are then are rewarded for their action by God?

By extension, how about those like the family of Corrie Ten Boom, who hid fleeing Jews from Nazi persecution?

We could well cite others.

Setting aside for the time being deeper and more complex issues regarding what any authority (governmental, familial, etc.) has a right to forbid or command – as Christians, we are never under any obligation to assist in the carrying out of evil.

The Mid-wives were right to subvert Egypt’s edict to commit wholesale infanticide against Jewish male babies. Rahab herself tells the Jewish spies she and the people were aware of their divine deliverance from Egypt 40 years earlier, and that God was planning to give them the land where she lived. And she is rightly recognized for subverting Jericho’s attempt to oppose God’s revealed will.

We could consider here the command to Israel by God in Deut. 20:15 to not give up a runaway slave back to his master if they’ve run to you for help. The clear implication being that even slaves under that system were not to be abused, and that if one ran away, it could only be because conditions were unbearable. A far cry from what we know as the kind of slavery known in the early years of the U.S and in other places globally. No one has such absolute rights over any other that their sin becomes protected behavior.

No, this is not carte blanche to resist everything we don’t agree with. As we see in the lives of Joseph serving in Egypt and Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael in the upper echelons of those pagan and wicked governments – we’ve no right to outright rebellion against God’s appointed order. We could add how Mordecai served in Babylon. We cannot use the principle to rebel against paying taxes for instance, because the government uses some of those monies for wicked and nefarious purposes. Passages like Matt. 17, 22 and Romans 13 make that clear. But again, these issues are more complex.

Closer to the context of many today, consider that no spouse is under any obligation to assist an abusing husband or wife by protecting them from criminal prosecution in silence. Nor is any child being abused by any adult, parent or sibling required to assist an abuser in their continued sin by remaining silent. Nor is any congregant called to shield a pastor or other ecclesiastical authority from exposure and prosecution if abuse is present.

Examples could be multiplied almost infinitely.

Yes, situations need to be weighed carefully and individually. But the basic principle remains, and it is reiterated for us in the New Testament: “Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.” (1 Tim. 5:22) When we do not expose oppose evil, we assist it. Eph. 5:11 “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.”

There is much more to sort out in this regard. But let us begin with a foundational sense that as Believers, we are never under any obligation to assist others in the perpetration of evil. Never.