Calvary Road Baptist Church
“OVERCOMING EVIL”
Romans 12.19-21
It’s been a while since I last spent any time reviewing with you the ground we’ve covered up to this point in our study of Paul’s letter to the Romans, so let me spend just a few minutes doing that at this time.
In a letter written to Christians in the city of Rome, a city he had planned to visit but had not yet traveled to, the Apostle Paul informed his readers of his intentions to journey to Spain with the Gospel, passing through Rome on the way. The purpose of Paul’s letter and the purpose of any respectable missionary writing a letter was to elicit support for this new undertaking; support in the form of prayers, support in the form of workers, and support in the form of finances, which he anticipated confirming upon his arrival in Rome.
Because Paul had few personal acquaintances within the Christian community in Rome, apparently not having led any of them to Christ or discipled them, his letter to them was also written for indoctrinating them and making sure that they agreed about the great spiritual need of those in Spain who did not know Christ, as well as the great need of anyone who does not know Christ, wherever he might live. So, after spending the first 17 verses of the letter identifying himself, addressing his readers, and expressing his desire, his debt, his duty, and his determination to reach Spain with the Gospel, he begins the most convincing argument for reaching lost men for Christ that those Christians, or any other Christian, has ever read.
The keyword in Romans, if there is a single keyword, is justification. Acquired through faith in Jesus Christ, justification is the result of God giving a sinful and undeserving person the standing of a righteous person before Him. It is standing completely without merit. Justification establishes a relationship between man and God based upon the offenses that separated man from God having been properly and completely dealt with by Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. This is accomplished through faith.
In Romans 1.18-3.20 Paul declares every person’s need for justification by describing in great detail the problem each individual possesses, which is sin, and the prosecution the sinner faces, which guarantees that his sin has already damned his wicked soul to Hell.
Next, in Romans 3.21-8.39, Paul goes to great length to thoroughly explain this thing called justification. Since justification is accomplished through the instrumentality of faith, Paul explains some of the important features of faith. And to make sure his readers understand his explanation of faith he provides for them the historical example of Abraham in Romans chapter 4, to show that God’s plan for justifying sinners has always been the same ... through faith. Justification is never produced by compliance to the Law, and never by personal goodness of any kind, not even in the case of father Abraham.
In the first half of Romans chapter 5, Paul focuses directly on our justification, what it provides, what it promises, and the praise that results from it. Then he moves on to the second half of chapter 5, which is a discussion of the concept of headship. In a nutshell, because of the concept of headship, we understand that we didn’t do anything to become the sinners that we so obviously are, and we didn’t do anything to become Christians, which some of us not so obviously are. Mankind’s head, Adam, committed one sin which plunged us all into the darkness of sinfulness. Similarly, though in the reverse direction and providing a far greater remedy than was ever called for by Adam’s original damage, Jesus Christ obeyed God to the saving of all who call upon His name by faith.
In chapter 6 Paul considers the entire subject of sin and how the justified person now relates to sin, now that he is no longer a slave to sin, and how inconsistent it is for the person who claims to be free from sin to behave as though he is still in bondage to sin. It’s ridiculous, for example, to take at face value the claim that a drug user is a Christian when he is still in bondage to the chemicals that rule his life. Paul teaches that who is your master tells whether you are a sinner or a saint.
Ever mindful that many of his readers are Jewish Christians, Paul spends chapter 7 explaining the relationship of the Law to everything being considered in his letter to the Romans. And in chapter 8 he shows how justification must certainly result in glorification, wherein we will be delivered to heaven, and all that’s implied by that great deliverance through suffering to the complete realization of all that we now hope for in heaven.
Knowing that many of his readers would be alarmed by what they might have thought was an oversight by Paul of the place of the Jewish people in God’s plan for His children, he spends all of chapters 9, 10 and 11 describing Israel’s past, Israel’s present, and Israel’s bright future. That brings us up to Romans chapter 12, which we finish dealing with at this time. So far, in chapter 12, having now thoroughly grounded the Romans in sound doctrine, Paul has waded into a discussion of how the person who is justified by faith in Christ ought to live ... toward God, toward those who are members of your Church, toward those who are not in your Church, and toward those who openly persecute you and oppress you.
We have now worked our way to the text before us. You may notice that our text is just a bit different. Though he has four more chapters in his letter before concluding, Romans 12.19-21 seems to be a place of pause, a point of conclusion, and something of a summation by Paul for the believer to ponder before moving on. Whether Paul was at all aware of the Holy Spirit’s inspired plans in the writing of this portion of Romans, we cannot tell until we get to heaven. But infamous Nero was the emperor of Rome at the time of this writing. And it won’t be long before this homosexual madman’s persecution of Christians reaches the place of painting them with tar, mounting them on poles, and using their burning bodies to illuminate his gardens at night ... to the sounds of their screams of agony.
Think about what Paul is urging his readers to do. And think about the grace of God that enabled them to do what is about to be described to us the next time you are sinned against the next time you are persecuted for righteousness’ sake or the next time you are otherwise oppressed for our glorious Savior. Romans 12.19-21:
19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
What to do when you are sinned against? Paul here provides for us the Christian’s appropriate response. We have three descriptions related to the Christian’s appropriate response to being sinned against:
First, THE DESCRIPTION OF PROHIBITED BEHAVIOR
Verse 19:
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
How not to behave when you are sinned against in any way. In any way. How not to respond when your wicked boss turns on you at work. How not to respond when an unsaved wife begins to harp at you and ridicule you for not making as much money as she thinks you should make. How not to respond when a husband criticizes your appearance or your understanding of some fine point related to his job that none of his buddies understands either. Notice how Paul seeks to persuade us not to do wrong:
First, the believer. Paul addresses his readers most tenderly. “Dearly beloved.” Why do you suppose he addressed them in that way, instead of plunging into his discussion right away? Could it be because he realized that he did not know them and they did not know him, except by reputation? Could it be because he knew how extremely difficult is the behavior that he is calling for them to exhibit in their Christian lives? It’s appropriate to be tender with people when you call on them to perform Herculean tasks. What Paul is about to call for from the Romans requires nothing less than the grace and the power of God. My guess is Paul is flooded with a sense of compassion here. Why? Because few Christians had experienced what he had experienced, and he knew first hand how painful and difficult it was to obey God in the way he was about to describe.
Second, the behavior:
“Avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath.”
To avenge yourself is to seek vigilante justice. It’s trying to get even for something that’s been done to you or someone you care about. It’s to be ruled by emotion instead of reason. Don’t do that. Don’t verbally strike out at the Christian-hater at work. Don’t lash out when the person who constantly baits you finally goes too far. When a guy punches you, I am not saying you cannot defend yourself. But don’t lie in wait, later on, trying to figure out a way to get even. When a girl acts like a shrew, don’t wait until she’s around others and then walk up and say something loud enough for her to hear that will even the score. And don’t go into a month-long sulk, like some people do to get even with people who cross them. Pam and I know a woman who burned meals to a crisp to avenge herself whenever her husband made her angry. I mean, she served that man charcoal as a way of avenging herself. They bragged about her doing that, thinking it was funny. It is funny. But it’s also wrong. She taught her daughters to seek vengeance against their husbands when they thought they’d been wronged. And he’s not even her enemy. He’s her husband, for crying out loud. Understand, God doesn’t want you to abandon the principle of justice. He only wants you to defer it, leaving the meting out of justice into more capable hands than yours. That’s what he means by “give place unto wrath.” Allow wrath to be dispensed at another time, by another person or by another authority structure. And who might that other person be? The next sentence tells us.
Third, the belief:
“For it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
When Paul wrote, “It is written,” he was showing his reference to something found in the Old Testament. The question, then, is, “Do you believe the Old Testament is the Word of God?” Do you believe it enough to trust it and rely on it? Do you believe that God keeps His promises? I ask that question because Paul pointed out to us that in the Old Testament God clearly stated that exacting of retribution and seeking of vengeance against those who did His people wrong was His business and no one else’s and that He would give whatever pay-back is called for. Paul calls for Christians to abandon any notions of getting revenge for two reasons, really: First, because God indicated that revenge is His business, not ours. And second, because He promised that He would repay what needs to be repaid. And God keeps His promises. So, seeking vengeance is prohibited behavior, and for very good reasons.
Second, THE DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED BEHAVIOR
Verse 20:
“Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.”
Remembering that the Scriptural way of dealing with wrong behavior is never to attempt to stop doing wrong only, but to replace wrongdoing with right-doing (the put off put on principle)[1], it comes as no surprise to us to find that Paul’s prohibition of wrongdoing is immediately followed by a description of the preferred behavior. Notice how Paul seeks to persuade his readers to do right.
First, the behavior is urged:
“Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink.”
With these two examples, Paul is illustrating a principle that only the child of God, enlightened by the Spirit of God, enabled by the grace of God, can hope to do. Two observations: First, the person you are dealing with is described as an “enemy.” How would most people, reasonable people, think of an enemy? Isn’t an enemy someone who you do not want to prosper? Does not the prosperity of an enemy bode ill for you? Does not the prosperity of your enemy usually mean he will have greater opportunity to do wrong to you? Sure. But what is Paul calling for as a response to an “enemy”? Feed him if he’s hungry and satisfy his thirst if he’s thirsty. In other words, meet his needs. What does your enemy need to benefit, to prosper? Give it to him. That is not normal human behavior. But it is normal Christian behavior, or it should be. Amen?
The benefit that is understood follows:
“For in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.”
This is the benefit that comes from doing good to your enemy instead of trying to get even with him. But there’s a problem: What in the world does Paul mean by this statement? Or what did Solomon mean by this statement, since Paul is quoting Proverbs 25.21-22 here? Some are of the opinion that “heaping coals of fire on his head” refers to helping a guy start up his oven fire after it’s gone out, by giving him coals that he will carry back to his house on top of his head ... in a container, of course.
Others say that by being nice to those who do you wrong you are increasing their guilt in the day of judgment, resulting in Hell being hotter for them, which is what “heaping coals of fire on his head” means. But it’s hard to conceive of Paul describing as a blessing the effect of making an unsaved person’s torment in Hell worse than it’s already going to be. Some are of the opinion that this refers to getting two pieces of metal as hot as you can before striking them and attempting to fuse them, ancient soldering or welding. This would portray acts of kindness as having the effect of melting down another person’s resistance and bringing about the establishment of a friendship where there used to be animosity.
“Pastor, what do you think this means?” I think this means that I’m going to have to do what Paul directs me to do without knowing precisely what the benefit of it is. I don’t know what heaping coals of fire on a man’s head accomplishes, except to be an extremely severe method of getting rid of dandruff. Seriously. I am commanded to meet the needs of those who, but for the grace of God, would be considered my enemies and whose hurt I would seek. I trust that such godly behavior would result in some benefit to him or me or the cause of Christ. But exactly what that benefit is I do not pretend to understand. I’ll have to trust God that this is what He wants and give it to Him.
Finally, A DESCRIPTION OF THE PRINCIPLE UNDERLYING THE BEHAVIOR
Verse 21:
“Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Though so many people refuse to acknowledge the truth of it at all, and though some Christians get overly mysterious and spooky about it, the Bible teaches that we are soldiers in a conflict between good and evil. We know it to be a war that’s already won, even though we, ourselves, are committed to the conflict throughout our natural lifetimes. But a battle between good and evil it is. That’s the way you would describe it in the abstract. In the concrete, you would describe it as a struggle between the omnipotent God and the hopelessly outmatched Satan, and between those who are on God’s side versus those who are on Satan’s side, both in the spiritual realm and in the physical realm.
Here we Christians are, in both realms. We are both physical and spiritual beings. Concerning the behavior we are to exhibit toward those who oppose and seek to oppress us in the physical realm, our particular strategy is quite straightforward. There is nothing mystical or mysterious or complicated about it at all. In dealing with human beings, the conflict as it is played out on the physical plane, the struggle is still between good and evil. And our goal, as we serve God and seek to win lost men and women to Jesus Christ, is to make sure that at no time are we to be overcome of evil. Rather, we are to overcome evil with good.
That means we are to reject the passive response. The passive response, of course, is to be overcome with evil. It’s to allow yourself to be so caught up in the moment that you lose your perspective. You lose your sense of what’s going on. You allow yourself to be swamped by considerations of the present, or considerations of emotions. You forget who you are and what you are and what’s going on. To put it another way, you lose the initiative. Christian, you are always at a disadvantage when you lose the initiative whether it’s parents who allow their children to take the initiative and find themselves always saying “No” to what their children propose to them, or sitting on your blessed assurance while waiting for someone who doesn’t like you or who hates the cause of Christ to think of something wrong to do to you. Christian friend. Don’t sit back and allow things like that to happen to you. Don’t be passive in that way. Reject that mode of behavior. It’s lazy, it’s slothful, it’s lethargic, and it opens you up to being tempted to sin by retaliating against those who do you wrong.
God has a better way. Instead of being passive, allowing yourself to be overwhelmed by evil, accept the aggressive response. Understand, you’ll not always know from who or where attacks and assaults against you will come. But you might be able to figure out where the majority of them will come from. You know pretty well who energetically dislikes you, most of the time, and who you know opposes Christ. So, you take the initiative. You do right to them before they can do wrong to you. Did you move in next to crabby neighbors? Bake them a cake. Invite them over to dinner. Have your kids rake their yard from time to time. You might say, “But Pastor, I have more potential enemies than I could ever hope to identify.” I do, too. So, you know what you do then? You do good to anyone and everyone you can. By God’s grace, compensate for your nasty personality by intentionally seeking always to be gracious. That is what I try to do, by God’s grace, to compensate for my many deficiencies.
Think about what we have, Christian, in this precious Book which is the Word of God. Consider God’s plan, when He saved you, included leaving you in this old sinful world for a while before angels escort you for your grand entrance into heaven. Being left in this world meant that countless opportunities would arise for other people to sin against you.
Leave aside, for the time being, the fact that you would also sin against others. What does God provide for us, so far as guidance is concerned, for the Christian’s proper response to those who sin against you? It depends upon whether the other person is a Christian, particularly a fellow Church member, or an unsaved man. If the person is a brother or sister in Christ in your Church, instructions are given in Matthew18.15ff for reconciling with that other member, or what to do if your attempts to reconcile are rejected.
What, then, should the child of God do if the one who sins against you is not a Church member or is unsaved? What should you do if the person is so antagonistic as to be properly described as an enemy? That is where Romans 12.19-21 comes in.
Three considerations when an enemy does you wrong: First, the seeking of vengeance is prohibited. Let God take care of getting even. Second, the preferred behavior is given. Seek, as best you can, to meet your enemy’s needs ... even to the point giving water to the thirsty and food to the hungry enemy. Finally, and do not miss this, there is the overriding principle of overcoming evil with good, rather than being overcome by evil.
Think about this, Christian. If we are to treat our enemies with this kind of consideration, how ought we to treat our friends who wrong us, our children or our parents when they do us dirty, or our spouses when they commit sins against us?
Surely, if we are to resist being overcome by the evil of our enemies and are to overcome our enemy’s evil by our good conduct, should we not do the same with those we say we love, with those we are related to, and with those who are our family members? And this you will do, and this you can do, if you do know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, if you have died to sin and become alive to righteousness, and if you have the indwelling Spirit of the living God in your life.
The upshot of it all is this: Our response to the sins of our enemies needs to change dramatically, and that will only occur when, first, we repent of the sin of seeking revenge against our own and begin doing right by them first. This means husbands need to stop getting back at their wives. Wives need to stop getting back at their husbands. And so forth. Then we can represent Christ in a manner pleasing to Him while allowing Him to deal with those issues that we have been told not to deal with ourselves.
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[1] Ephesians 4.24; 6.11; Colossians 3.10, 12
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Pastor@CalvaryRoadBaptist.Church