Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
The true test of our genuine maturity in Jesus
Christ. Are you ready? It's how we treat our
enemies. Let me ask you, how are you doing with
that person who betrayed you? How do you deal
with that person in a way that honors God and
brings about change? That's today. Don't miss
it. In the book of Romans, Paul lays out one
of the most demanding and most liberating instructions
in all of Scripture. What to do when someone
has genuinely hurt you. I'm Dave Drury, and on
this weekend edition of Living on the Edge, Chip
Ingram brings that teaching to life through a
story from his own experience that put every
one of Paul's principles to the test in real
time. It's raw, it's honest, and it just might
be the most practical thing you'll hear all week.
We're starting in Romans 12, verse 14 for today's
message, How to Overcome the Evil Aimed at You.
I want to break down very specifically and practically
what it looks like to bless those who persecute
you. And the command is this, bless them that
persecute you. That's what you're called to do.
And there's three components here. The first
component of blessing others is forgiving them.
And so the process of forgiveness is a choice.
Second, forgive, forgiving is a process. And
then forgiven is it's done. And here's how you
know when it's done. You can spontaneously rejoice
at blessing in their life. And so that's the
positive side. Bless those, and notice, who persecute
you. They're after you. Second command is a negative
one. Don't take your own revenge. Verses 17 through
20. Don't take your own revenge. I mean, it's
just a command. Do not repay evil for evil. And
then he's kind of like in a following world.
He says, be careful. Circle that word above it.
Literally, it's take thought. New American Standard
says, respect what is right in the sight of all
men. If possible, as far as it depends on you,
Live with peace with everyone. And then he goes
on to say, just wait a second, don't take your
own revenge, but leave room for God's wrath.
He's the one who's going to be the judge. He's
going to mete out justice. Here's the point.
Personal retaliation is a prohibited response
for God's people. Personal retaliation. In other
words, they did evil to you, you get them back.
They did this to you, you say bad things about
them. And if you're a Christian and you have
some experience, you can do it in such passive,
aggressive ways. And you add a verse to it. Throw
in, it's a prayer request. It works, believe
me. And you just go left -handed like this and
you whack them. Because your real goal is revenge.
It's payback. You use your power, you use your
intellect, you use your relationships, you use
nuances. And you go like this. One more drink
of poison, please. It's going to kill him sooner
or later. But it doesn't. Never pay back evil
for evil. Instead, take thought and consider
how people think. Respect and realize that they
don't have your values. They're not going to
act the same way. The field is not level. They're
really focused on them. Sometimes I hear Christians
get all upset about non -Christians living like
non -Christians. That guy's really greedy. She's
so sexually immoral. I can't believe that, I
mean, he just drained the whole company and all
the employees. Oh my. So what were we like before
Jesus was controlling the interior of our life?
Take thought for how people think. It will help
you live in harmony with them. Personal retaliation
is prohibited for two very important reasons.
One, it usurps God's role as judge. Vengeance
is mine. God says, look, I'm just. Yes, I'm holy,
I'm compassionate, I'm slow to anger, but I'm
just. And the word justice is rooted in a concept.
You know, the scales of justice. Justice is rooted
in a very clear concept of retribution. Retribution
is simply this. When you do evil stuff, evil
consequences. When you do good stuff, reward.
Every man will get what they deserve. So you
just need to say, I need to take the ball of
judgment, hand it to God, and say, I'm tired
of trying to figure out all the ways in my anger
fantasies and different ways to get back at my
boss or my ex or one of my kids or the person
who abused me, and I'm going to put that ball
in your hands from now throughout eternity, and
I'm going to trust that since you are just, that
you will do what's right. I will never get a
raw deal. But I'm stepping out. You own it, God.
I release it to you. You're fair. You're just.
And either on this side of heaven or on this
side of after death, the scales will be absolutely
and perfectly balanced. You can release that
wound and that hurt and your desire for payback.
Because he knows all things. He knows all the
whys. He knows all the circumstances. And you
don't. And you can give that to him. But there's
a lot of us, if you demand to be the judge, then
God doesn't get to be the judge. And when you
judge people and you decide you're going to pay
them back, you reap what you sow. The second
reason that personal retaliation is prohibited
is because it's an ineffective means of bringing
about peace. See, when you tit for tat, evil
for evil, evil for evil, you know what it's like?
It's like there's a little fire brewing. It's
like ticking, you know, one of those big fireman
hoses. And instead of water coming out of it,
you fill it with gasoline. And that's what people
do. They do it in their families. They do it
in their marriages. They do it with their in
-laws. They do it at work. They did this. I did
this. We did this. Sit in some coffee shop. Just
sit in a coffee shop sometime this week. This
is sort of raw to say. And listen to other people.
I mean, you can't help it because they're so
close. Because usually you try and concentrate.
And see how many conversations. I bet it's in
the 80 percentile of when people are talking.
that they're talking about someone that's not
at the table, about your mom did that, and she
did that, I can't believe your sister, and she
did that, and you know, Bob, who's the supervisor,
can you believe they're doing that at work, right?
And then they carry this attitude, and they poison
their own soul, and I would say it's really true
of a lot of us. And Paul says, don't do that.
It's ineffective. In fact, he goes to the other
extreme and he says, in fact, if your enemy's
hungry, I mean the person who's wounded you,
help them. Give them some food. If they're thirsty,
give them a drink. In so doing, you heat burning
coals on their head. This picture of burning
coals is not, as I said, it blows out their brains.
It was an Egyptian ritual in the time, ancient
Near East. If a person in Egypt, in this culture
realized that they had offended someone, there
was an argument, and they were wrong. Then they
would build a fire, and they'd take the coals
out of the fire and put it in a pan, and then
they would take a towel and put it underneath
the pan, and they would put on their head, and
they would walk through the village, symbolizing,
I'm burning the bad thoughts out of my mind.
I was wrong. We would use the word, I repent.
I have a metanoia. I've had a change of mind.
And see, this is what you see happen in Scripture.
This is when you do good for people and they
know deep in their heart and their psyche that
they don't deserve it. Well, it brings about
a shame, even in evil people. This is a picture
of David. And David's running for his life. And
all he's done is won battles and cared for Saul
and cared for the king of Israel who was Saul.
And Saul really went off the deep end and he
was chasing David and he's trying to kill him.
Know the story? And so, you know, he's running,
running, dodging, dodging. Well, finally he gets
surrounded and he finds himself and there's this
cave. So he and his men are all the way in the
back of this cave. And Saul's got him surrounded,
and it's like, man, guys, this is kind of it.
We're done if they find us. And lo and behold,
Saul comes into the cave, and the Bible's pretty
graphic. He relieves himself. And I don't know,
maybe he took a nap afterwards. I don't know
exactly how it all happens. The text doesn't
say. But David's buddies, they go, hey, God's
delivered him. This is it. Nail him. And David
says, see, David gets this. I'm not the judge.
I will not touch the Lord's anointed. His buddies
were saying, God's put him right here. I mean,
this is an answer to prayer. Knock him out. David
says, no, no. But he gets close to Saul, gets
out his knife, and he cuts a little section off
the bottom of his robe. Saul leaves the cave,
goes down, peace. There's a ravine, gets on the
other side of Rean. David steps out from the
mouth of the cave. Saul, Saul, why? What have
I done? God brought you in this cave and he holds
up, look at your robe. I could have killed you.
And then he makes this very interesting statement.
He says, let God be the judge between us. If
you are more righteous than I, then I accept
full responsibility. May God take me out. But
what have I ever done? See, he gave good for
evil. Very interestingly, Saul begins to weep.
It's like in this flash, in this moment, he realizes
the truth. See, when people do evil things, they
repress it. Then they go into denial. And there's
demonic stuff that happens with people that do
progressively evil things to where they don't
think they're doing anything evil. And it's addictive.
And in this moment of grace, Saul, he weeps and
he says, David, you are more righteous than I.
Unfortunately, it's a very short repentance and
a temporary repentance. But can you imagine if
we said, you know what, God? I'm going to forgive
so -and -so. And then you started on the journey
of praying for them. And then maybe even anonymously
doing something good for them to bless them.
And even, you know, we tend to demonize people
when they've hurt us. Have you realized that?
You know, they've really hurt us, so everything
they do is terrible and everything we do is good.
And we kind of reframe the whole story. Most
stories aren't quite that clear. Doesn't mean
they didn't do something terrible. But what would
happen? What would happen just where we live
if we loved our enemies, if we blessed them,
if we said, God, you be the judge? If we were
free. Well, here's the supernatural result. Is
good will overcome evil. You're listening to
Living on the Edge. And Chip Ingram will continue
today's program in just a minute. Today's message
is part of Chip's series, God's Dream for Your
Life. And you can hear it anytime at livingontheedge
.org. Whether you want to revisit what you've
heard today or pass it along to a friend, this
message and hundreds more are available online.
You'll also find small group resources and opportunities
to help you live out God's dream for your life.
It's all there at livingontheedge .org. Well,
now here's Chip. Now, I realize that what I've
said so far for some of you is there's still
a little bit of a, you don't really understand.
You can't possibly grasp what I've been through.
And you know what? I don't. But some lessons
you learn later in life and some early. And this
lesson I learned as a very young Christian in
a powerful way that shaped my future. I came
to Christ in the summer right after high school.
I went away to play basketball on a basketball
scholarship. I was a freshman, and if you could
do pretty well, you could make the traveling
team. A guy came in. It was supposed to be the
big hero. Came from inner city, New York. He'd
grew up in the projects. He'd been to Vietnam.
He'd been in prison some. He was supposed to
be this rehabilitated drug addict and drug dealer.
And the reason he came, I played at a smaller
school. The reason he came to our school was
because his nervous system was kind of damaged.
His reflexes were just, I mean, they weren't
terrible, but they just weren't all that good.
He had a 40 -inch vertical leaping. It was about
6 '7", 6 '8". I mean, there's times where I thought,
man, that guy's going to just knock his head
on the rim. And so something happened in his
life. I don't know if it was Vietnam. I don't
know if it was upbringing. But he hated Christians.
I don't mean he disliked or had a, he hated Christians.
And I'm like six months old in the Lord, okay?
I mean, we're in basketball season now. I'm just
brand new. I'm just reading my Bible in the morning.
I haven't even made it all the way through the
New Testament. But I've decided I'm gonna, you
know, this is, he's my savior. I'm gonna walk
with him. So this guy finds out I'm a Christian,
and he starts, he knew a little bit of the Bible,
and he would quiz me on that. And then it got
to just humiliation. If you've ever been in a
locker room, you know what guys talk about and
all that. And he liked to say my name in a way
that sounded like a cuss word. Chip. Chip. Come
here. That's the way he talked to me. And then
it was, I became, when you're a freshman, you
have to do whatever the older guys. So I kind
of became his slave. So it was like, put my bag
on the bus. And then I'd come back. You know
what? I want my one shoe out of that. I'd go
back, get the shoe. I don't really want that
shoe. And he would just mess with me. And at
the training table, go get me a Coke. Get me
a second helping of meat. And then he would just
ridicule. Like the coach would walk out the door
like before he goes, hey, we got a big game.
I wonder if this skinny little white virgin is
going to be helpful. You know how them Christians
are. And guys, multiply 10x what I just said
and you'll get to where we really lived. And
I hated his guts. And so my answer was, my hero
was Pete Maravich. And so I did all those drills
for years and years and years and could handle
the ball. And so in warmups and things, behind
the back as hard as I could because I knew his
reflexes weren't very good. Bam, right through
his hands and to his face. You know, and then
I'd be on the break and I'd slam one through
my legs and I'd watch it come right up and the
coach would yell at him and, you know, no look
pass. You know, it was really fun. Because, you
know, and he was humongous. I mean, I hated him
so much that, I mean, honestly, I would have
done this like, hey, Jerry, come on. You want
some of this? But it was like, it would be like
a three -second moment. And I'm smarter than
that. I mean, he... So, let me finish the story,
because there's a major point where I learned
about this passage, because it gets real serious.
I'm coming in from the gym, and here is a room,
and across the hall from mine, and I just cross
to get to mine, and the door's a little bit open,
and there's all this smoke, you know, greenish
-blue smoke coming out of it. Everyone's smoking
dope, and he's in there. Well, if he gets caught
even smoking grass, he's on probation. He'll
go back to prison. And I didn't think of that,
but I just walked by, and I was unlocking my
door, and I felt this on the back of me, and
he turned me around, and he grabbed me underneath
the neck, and he lifted me up against the wall
so I could be up where he is. And he got about
this close to me and said, if you tell anyone
what you just saw, I will kill you. And I've
killed a lot of people, and it's not that big
a deal. Do you understand? And you know, I'm
18 years old. I just came to play basketball
in college. And I'm scared to death because there
was no bluff in this guy. And I started getting
like ulcers in my stomach and I couldn't sleep
at night. And I had anger fantasies. I had, you
know, I mean anger like really bad. You know,
like doing something that you would regret the
rest of your life. And it dominated my life.
And I went to my... There was a guy that was
making disciples, and I was in a Bible study,
and I just shared the whole story. He said, do
you want help? I said, are you kidding? Yeah.
He says, well, what I'm going to tell you is
really hard, but I guarantee it'll work. I said,
man, I'll take anything. He grabbed a Bible.
He opened to Romans 12. He read verses 14 to
21, and he explained what I just explained to
you. And I looked at him like, are you on drugs?
Bless this guy. I want to shoot him. I said,
you said you're willing. And he said, it's not
a feeling, it's a choice. So at this table right
now, you need to forgive him. Because God wants
to forgive him. I said, I don't think God, okay,
yeah, okay, I'm sure God really does want to
forgive him. I just don't. And I willfully chose
to forgive him. And he says, now you need to
bless him. So I prayed for him every day. And
then Jerry, for the next four months of our season,
never had to ask for anything. Because I got
his back. Jerry, you want this on the bus? Jerry,
you need anything else? Jerry, need another Coke?
Hey, what can I do for you, Jerry? I mean, I'm
here for you. When he would go in the shower,
all his dirty clothes, you had to put them in
this mesh bag, and I took all the sweaty stuff,
gave them to the trainer, took his clothes, folded
them, put his shoes next to it. Didn't say a
word. I just blessed him and blessed him and
blessed him and blessed him, and when he said
stuff to me, I just, by the grace of God, I didn't
say anything back. No more behind -the -back
passes. No more no -look passes. Jerry, good
shot. And after, you know, like after a month
or so, he's going, you trying some Christian
trick on me? I said, no, I'm just, you know,
Jesus said that I'm to love everybody, and I'm
just doing my best. Chip. Disgust. Well, I'd
like to say, you know, this is one of those stories
where two and a half months in, he walked into
the locker room, knelt down, oh, Jesus, please
forgive me. That story ain't going there. Okay,
because that's not this story. Two months, three
months, nothing changed. He just ridiculed me
all the time, except one thing. About a month
into it, I changed. My hate was gone. My fear
was gone. I got out of prison. I actually saw
a wonder. I mean, this guy was brilliant. He
used to wear this skull cap. He was an amazing
artist. And I actually got to where I could say,
I wonder what happened to this young man, where
he came from and where he's been. He'd take his
shirt off. He had a scar that went from here
all the way around to here. I had no idea what
he'd been through. And I had no idea how other
Christians treated him. All I knew is I got to
the point where I actually cared about him. Why?
I blessed him. I prayed for him. I did good.
And when you do that, God does something in you.
We closed the season, and we always closed with
a big tournament in a major city and a big coliseum,
and all the teams in our conference would come,
and you'd play a bunch of games. And we were
eliminated, and I mean, you've got to remember,
this is like mid-'70s, and so it's Jerry and
I, you know, I'm only six foot tall, so I've
got my platforms and my... blue leather jacket
and my apple hat. And, you know, I'm sort of
strutting. And Jerry is, you know, he's like
6 '7", 6 '8". So he's got his platforms and his
fro and his hat. So he's like 7 '2", you know.
So this was just the world we lived in. And,
you know, it was real windy. And I remember him,
I just, you know, those images in your mind sometimes.
I remember him taking his leather coat because
it was windy and put it up here. He turned to
me, he goes, Chip. I said, yeah. He said, you
know, there's only two people I respect. And
this whole team, I've been messing with these
guys' minds. They are so punks. He said, me,
because I am evil and I know it. And if there's
a hell, I'm going there. And you, because I disagree
with everything you stand for, but you actually
live it. And I would never, ever want to be a
Christian. But if I ever even thought about it,
I'd be one like you. And he said, you know what?
I'm done with you. It's no fun to diss you anymore.
So you're done, kid. Get out of here. And here's
what I want to tell you. God wants you to love
your enemies for your good and for his glory.
This is Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
Today we learned what it actually looks like
to love an enemy, not as a theory, but as a daily
choice that costs something. And Chip's conclusion
says it all. God wants you to love your enemies
for your good and for his glory. That's the heart
of God's dream for your life. If today's message
is one you want to come back to or pass along
to someone who's in the middle of a painful situation,
you'll find it anytime at livingontheedge .org.
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Chip's complete unedited messages just as he
originally preached them. Subscribe wherever
you listen. Now, a final question for Chip. In
light of all we've heard today, how do we as
the church respond to all the injustice we see
in the world? We, as the church, need to be not
doormats, but we have to give good for evil.
We have to follow what Jesus commanded us, what
Paul tells us here. And by giving people what
they don't deserve and the power of the Holy
Spirit to bless them, to pray for them, to actually
do good for those that persecute, who hurt us,
that's how injustice gets solved. My prayer.
is that literally tens of thousands of the Living
on the Edge family will dig into this series,
share it with others, do it as a small group,
and say, we are going to be the kind of people
that are just like Jesus. Father, forgive them.
They know not what they do. And we will do good
in his power because good is more powerful than
evil. Amen. Let's do it together. I'm Dave Drewy,
and we'll continue with more practical, insightful
Bible teaching on the next weekend edition of
Living on the Edge. Today's program is produced
and sponsored by Living on the Edge.