Thursday, March 16, 2023

Romans 12:19-21

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19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. ~ Romans 12:19-21

We return today to our study of Romans 12 which is full of imperatives that aid the believer in Christ at being the servant of God. Servanthood is not what this world cherishes. In fact, it is not desired by the default mode of our flesh. Servanthood is the product of God inculcating His culture in us and it comes with a price. However, once our eyes have been opened to the reality of God's kingdom, servanthood becomes a beautiful proposition that advances His kingdom, not only in our lives but also through our lives.

In v.19 of today's passage we read, "Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord."

This verse begins with a precious reminder, a reminder that we are loved by God. It is only when we are defined by God and Him alone that we are given to His kingdom, His rule in our lives. When we are defined by His love what is valuable to Him becomes valuable to us. And, the longer we live in this world that is going to hell in a hand basket, the more we are convinced that God's ways are much better than anything this world has to offer us. 

The Apostle Paul gives two reasons why we should not exact evil on those who purposely inflict some form of pain upon us. The first is: We are to "give place to wrath." God knows when we have been insulted or hurt or treated badly. And, we can trust Him to fight our battles. I think of the day that God led Gideon to pair down his 32,000 man army to 300. This was a daunting task for Gideon and it is also daunting for us. It is daunting because it is contrary to this world's culture which continues its best to define us. 

The second reason why we should not exact evil on those who intentionally hurt us is that God alone claims the right to avenge because He alone can work it out in a redemptive manner. God's goal is always redemption. Even in Romans 1:24,26,28 where His wrath is defined as "He gave them over," His wrath has always had as its goal the redemption of those who were still rebellious. Perhaps we interfere with His plan to even save those who harm us when we invite the purposes of the evil one into the senecio when we fight back in the flesh. 

In v.20-21 of today's passage we read, "20 Therefore, 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.' 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

When we resist the flesh and treat those who harm us with love, the truth found in Proverbs 25:21-22 will happen. The "heaping burning coals on his head" does not mean that we get even with them. No, this refers to the ancient way of lighting fires. They didn't have matches in those days, so if they wanted to light a fire in their homes, they could borrow some coals from one of our neighbors. The sharing of his coals became a picture of the generous neighbor who responded generously to his neighbor who had treated him so badly. The best way to overcome an enemy is to make him our friend.

Three times in v.14,17 and 21, the Apostle has stressed the fact that we are not to return evil for evil. The main way we express God's love to the unsaved in this world is by not reacting in vengeance to their ill-treatment of us. We either are overcome by evil or we are overcome by God. We cannot let evil alone for if we do, we will be overcome by it. We must fight according to God's battle plan, and, His plan is to pray, invite His love and resist evil. 

Despite all of the pressures upon Gideon to trust himself, he obeyed God by pairing his army down to so little even though it seemed outwardly foolish. Gideon's humility before God helped him and God's victory came because Gideon bowed his will to God, even when it did not make human sense. Though the opposing army was vast, perhaps as high as 135,000 or more, in Gideon God found a man who was willing to trust Him enough to obey him. That kind of faith is a rare and precious find. Will you be a Gideon today? Will you be defined by God's culture? Will you resist the flesh and choose to love those who deliberately hurt you? The battle rages!