The Law of Opposites

The law of opposites is not a new law, but rather a part of the great commandments, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” and “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”. (Matthew 22:37-39). It is repeated several times in scripture. It says whoever sins must repent and do the opposite of that sin. That is love.

The well-known example of this is Peter’s confession. He denied the Lord three times, then wept tears of repentance. After the resurrection the Lord required that he confess three times that he loved the Lord. He was required to do the opposite of his sin. Likewise, Thomas did not believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. When he saw Jesus and felt Jesus’ hands that had been pierced by the nails, and touched Jesus’ side, that had been pierced by the spear, he proclaimed, “My Lord and my God”. By proclaiming Jesus to be God, he was declaring that Jesus had authority over life and death.

The apostle Paul taught the law of opposites. Regarding the eighth commandment, he said “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.” Ephesians 4:28. Paul taught that Christians who were thieves before their conversion should do the opposite of stealing. They should be givers. The Old Testament law says the same thing. “If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.” Exodus 22:4. The thief had to give back the ox to the owner and give another ox as well. The thief became a giver.

Jesus commanded replacement of hatred with love. “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” Matthew 5:43-44. Replace hatred with love and replace curses with blessings. Do the opposite. When there is nothing but hatred on both sides of a conflict there can be no peace. Some people think we have a right to hate certain people such as Edomites. Not so. The law says, “Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land.” Deuteronomy 23:7. Anyhow, it is almost impossible to say who are Edomites today. It is up to God to judge them, and He will judge them at his return.

The rich young ruler asked Jesus what he should do to gain eternal life and Jesus repeated all of the Ten Commandments that dealt with our relationships with people, except the commandment about coveting. The rich young ruler knew that Jesus had left out one commandment and asked Jesus if there was anything else he needed to do.

Jesus said he needed to give all his money to the poor and come follow Him. In other words, do the opposite of his covetousness. He was worshipping Mammon (money). We hope the rich young ruler thought about it and eventually did what Jesus told him to do. If not, he would probably lose everything in the Roman siege of 70 A.D. and perhaps be led away as a slave. So much for a comfortable retirement.

The man who had a legion of demons lived in the mountains and graveyards. Nobody could talk to him. He was withdrawn from society. After Jesus cast out the demons, he wanted to be with Jesus, but Jesus told him to go to his friends and tell them the good news. He was told to do the opposite of his withdrawal from society. Jesus wanted him to reconnect with his friends and neighbors. He obeyed and went and told his neighbors about Jesus.

The nation Israel was continually told by the prophets to repent, give up their worship of idols and false gods, and do the opposite. Worship the Lord. Throughout the Bible there is this recurring message. Repent of our sins and do the opposite Worship the Lord. Throughout the Bible there is this recurring message. Repent of our sins and do the opposite of those sins.

OOPS! I would like to correct an error I made last month. I said it was fourteen years ago I wrote about timelines in Daniel. It was twelve years. Sorry about that.