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It says in Romans chapter 12, also in Proverbs 25, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. When we understand that God is the final authority and the ultimate judge, it will help to ease our feelings of revenge when we understand the text.
This is when we understand the text, studying God's word to reach all the riches of full assurance in Christ.
Here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. We finish up Romans chapter 12 today, looking again at the section that goes from verses 17 through 21. The Apostle Paul said, repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God. For it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.
To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For by so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
So we've drawn three points out of this section. On Tuesday, we looked at the point that was given in verse 17, do what is honorable in the sight of all. Our next point was yesterday in verse 18, live peaceably with all.
And then today we're going to talk about doing good to all. Let's do a little bit of review here. Verse 17, repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all, showing honor to everybody.
As Peter said, there's nobody that we should be withholding honor from. We hold everyone in high esteem, knowing that everybody has been made in the image of God. So everyone needs to hear the gospel.
There's nobody that we should be withholding that message from. This kind of ties in with an instruction that Paul gave previously in verse 16, where he says, do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.
Don't think of yourself as being better than anyone else, but everyone, every person needs to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. In verse 18, we have our second point, if possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
And something I didn't draw out of this yesterday when we were talking about it, but it's the two words right before the comma, if possible, so far as it depends on you. I think that Paul recognizes here that it's not always possible to be at peace with everybody, especially when one tries to make the effort.
You know, one of the things that comes to mind is church discipline. There have been people in our church that we have had to discipline and we have asked them not to return because they have been unrepentant for a particular sin.
Or there is somebody who brought wrong against our church before they left. And so we've had to inform the congregation. This is the way that person was behaving when they left. And so we must ask you that you consider them just the same as we would a person that was under church discipline and we had to ask them to leave.
In those situations, it's very difficult to live at peace with that person when they have in their hearts enmity toward the body of Christ. And so that would be such a situation where we've done everything that we can to be at peace with those individuals and they simply do not want it.
And so because the scriptures instruct us that we are to purge the evil person from among us as Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 5, to not even eat with such a one. So that is the way that we must consider those who go out from our midst in that way.
We've done everything that we can to try to keep the peace with them, but they have not wanted peace. Rather they've wanted division and that's as much as we can do. So Paul has said, as much as it depends on you live peaceably with all, but there are gonna be situations where that may not be possible.
Verse 19, here's where we'll draw our third point and that is doing good to all. Beloved, Paul says, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay says the Lord.
Paul is alluding to something that Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount where he said, you have heard it said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but I say to you do not resist the one who is evil, but if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles, give to the one who begs from you and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
So Paul is talking about here how we do not retaliate in the same way that somebody would treat us, but understanding that God is the ultimate judge and he will repay the evil doer for the wrong that they have done.
Feelings of revenge can be overcome by realizing that God is the ultimate judge and he is going to be the one who will set all things right. He will pour out his wrath on those who deserve it. So on our part, we need to leave that to the Lord and not retaliate in an angry or a vengeful way.
Remember, as far as it depends on us, we need to keep the peace with everyone and also to do what is honorable in the sight of all, showing honor to all people. Paul quoting Proverbs 25 when he says, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.
So again, understanding that God is the ultimate judge and he will have the last say. To the contrary, then Paul says. So instead of taking matters into our own hands, Paul speaks to the contrary in verse 20.
If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For by so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head. Now, oftentimes when we read this particular passage, we think that if a person treats us in an evil way and then we treat them in a kind way, they will be convicted by our actions.
They will realize, oh, I treated this person horribly and they're showing kindness to me. So, goodness, I realize that this is not what I deserve. I deserve to be treated the same way that I treated them.
So I need to repent of my sin and my actions. That might happen, but those instances are few and far between where a person is going to be convicted by your good behavior. Rather, here is what this verse is actually talking about.
It's talking about judgment. It's not talking about showing kindness to another person so that they will repent of their sin and then follow in goodness. Hopefully that will happen, but that's not actually what's being talked about here.
Anytime we see the phrase burning coals or heaping hot coals on somebody, anytime we see that come up in the scriptures, it's something like four or five times in the Old Testament, it's always referring to judgment.
In Psalm 11, let him rain coals on the wicked, fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. In particular, I think of Psalm 140, verse 10. As for the head of those who surround me, David talking about his enemies, let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them.
Let burning coals fall upon them. Let them be cast into fire, into miry pits, no more to rise. So when we go out and preach the gospel, there are those who are going to hear the gospel of Christ proclaim they will repent of their sin and they will follow Jesus.
But there are others who are not going to repent of their sin. And by hearing the gospel, even more coals get heaped onto their heads. Their judgment is greater now. They were going to be in judgment anyway, but worse now that they've heard the gospel and rejected it.
And so as we read here about heaping burning coals on his head. And so again, verse 20, to the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him, if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. Paul is talking about sharing the gospel.
If he is hungry, the bread of life, who is Christ Jesus. If he is thirsty, the Holy Spirit of God who is described as living water, give him something to drink for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.
The judgment of God that would come upon a person is not because we took a vengeful matter into our own hands, but because we delivered to them the gospel and they refused to hear it. And so then God's wrath is justified and being poured out on those particular individuals.
Now, sometimes we say I've heard this argument brought up before or question. Maybe it's not an argument, but a person asked this question. How is it that we can be in heaven celebrating knowing that there are people burning for all eternity in hell?
And the reason is because God's wrath is perfect and it is righteous. And the picture that we have in Revelation is everybody celebrating the glory of God. We will know that when God's wrath is poured out on the evildoers that it is done in his perfect righteousness and we are not going to have any problem with that because we will see all matters exactly the way that he sees them.
In first Corinthians 13, it says that now we see as though through a glass darkly, but soon we will see face to face and then we will know just as we are fully known. So though we don't understand the full picture now and we might not be able to look into a person's heart and see whether or not they will repent and follow in righteousness or whether they will remain hardened for the rest of their lives and fall under the wrath of God, there will come a day when we will see things just as he sees them because we will be made to be like him as it says in first John 3, 2.
For now, we don't understand that picture. We don't see the picture fully the way that God does, but when the day comes that we will be transformed, our lowly bodies will be transformed to be like his glorious body and we worship him in glory.
Even his wrath will be glorious and we will celebrate that God has put all evildoers away and his wrath has poured out on the ungodly. So verse 21, Paul says, do not be overcome by evil. In this life as we exist here, we are not to be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good, the goodness of preaching the gospel.
There might also be another context here in the way that Paul says overcome evil with good and it has to do with what we read in chapter 13. Now, remember there are not chapter and verse markers in the book of Romans.
We added those later, but as this was being read to the Roman Christians, they didn't have chapters and verses. So all of this flowed in a particular context and what we read in chapter 13 goes with what we have just read finishing up chapter 12.
Paul says, let every person be subject to the governing authorities for there is no authority except from God and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed and those who resist will incur judgment for rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.
Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good and you will receive his approval for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid for he does not bear the sword in vain for he is the servant of God, an Avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.
The purpose of government is to discourage bad things and encourage good things. And so it might be in the hands of the government as a servant of God an Avenger to repay the evildoer for the evil that it is that they have done.
So this might be another way that Paul is suggesting here in verse 21 to let evil be overcome with good. In other words, the good that the government is promoting in a civilized society by inflicting punishment upon those who deserve it.
So you don't take vengeance into your own hands rather let the law take care of the matter and the Avenger that God has appointed to handle those kinds of things will handle those matters. Now, it's true that we do see justice exercised in some pretty prejudiced ways in our society.
So the justice system is not perfect because it's still man's justice system, but every authority established by God for the blessing of civil government, which is what we have. We'll be talking about this more next week as we get into Romans chapter 13.
But for now, we have finished Romans chapter 12. These three points once again that we drew from verses 17 through 21. Do what is honorable in the sight of all, live peaceably with all, show goodness to all.
Our great God as we have come from these scriptures today storing up your word in our hearts, may we place our trust and our faith in you knowing that you have the full picture before you, you have already set out how these things are going to go.
We just need to trust in your good and marvelous perfect plan. As we read in Romans 12 too, that we need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds that by testing we can discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
So help us to trust in your perfect and acceptable good will as we live as Christians in this world, responding to one another, responding to even those who show evil against us with love and goodness instead of revenge.
We pray and ask this in Jesus' name, amen.
Gabriel Hughes is the pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Junction City, Kansas. Find out more online at www .utt .com.