Well, I almost feel like we're on a shakedown
cruise this morning. We've done a lot of things
for the first time, and I think it would be good
for us to stand. Would you do that? You know,
this is the first time in about two and a half
years that we've all been together at one place,
is Grace Church Roseville. Why don't you look
around and find someone whose face is strange?
I mean somebody who you don't know, and shake
hands with them. Welcome them to the service.
Thank you. Thank you. From the sounds of it,
there are a lot of strange faces. The pages of
history are stained by the record of man's greed
and self -centeredness, his rebellion and hatred
directed against God and good. That hostility
was never more exposed than in the suffering
and the death of Jesus Christ. And the world
will likewise hate God's people. May I remind
you what Jesus said in John 15. If the world
hates you, you know that it hated me before it
hated you. He said, if they persecuted me, they
will also persecute you. When we feel the hot
pincers of anger or hatred from another person,
it is well for us to stop and ask a question.
Why am I going through this experience? Is it
because of something that I have done out of
my own foolishness? Is it my overbearing personality,
perhaps? Is it a failure in some responsibility?
Have I committed a thoughtless act and therefore
the air of this anger and hatred? If I can pass
the test on those questions, then I need to look
a little deeper and say, well, am I experiencing
this suffering because I'm a Christian? I remind
you of what Peter said. To the degree that you
share in the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing.
If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you
are blessed, he said. Only let none of you suffer
as a murderer, thief, evildoer, or troublesome
meddler. If any man suffers as a Christian, Let
him not be ashamed. There are times, dear people,
when we will suffer for the simple reason that
we love Jesus Christ and desire to obey his word.
What are we to do with those who hate us for
Jesus' sake? Our text today in Romans 12 gives
us an answer to that. We're going to conclude
chapter 12 of Romans today. Next week we will
preach regarding the Christmas story and then
take a little bit of a break in Romans. But today
we're going to finish this chapter as we look
at the principles that tell us how to deal with
an enemy. Verse 17 of Romans 12. Never pay back
evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right
in the sight of all men. If possible, so far
as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave
room for the wrath of God, for it is written,
Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.
But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if
he is thirsty, give him a drink, for in so doing
you will heap burning coals upon his head. Do
not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with
good. It seems to me that in the text that we've
just read, there are five principles that tell
us what to do with an enemy. If a person could
get a hold of these five principles and really
put them into practice in his life, it might
well change his interpersonal relationships.
Principle number one is found in the first statement
in verse 17. Pay back evil for evil. How much
more naturally do we quote the verse in Leviticus
24 .20 that says, an eye for an eye and a tooth
for a tooth, right? And yet when God gives that
verse, he is talking about the administration
of public justice, not private revenge. Would
you please mark that? An eye for an eye and a
tooth for a tooth and that principle of retaliation
is actually for public carrying out of justice
and not for carrying out of private vengeance.
The Lord Jesus Christ makes that clear. If you'll
turn back to Matthew chapter 5, you will see
some comments that he had to make regarding that
very verse. Matthew 5 verse 38. You see, the
Jews of his day had applied that principle to
their personal relationships, and they paid back
evil for evil. Verse 38, you have heard that
it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for
a tooth. But I say to you, do not resist him
who is evil, but whoever slaps you on your right
cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone
wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him
have your coat also. And whoever shall force
you to go one mile, go with him too. Give to
him who asks of you, and do not turn away from
him who wants to borrow from you. That's the
verse we ought to quote to the bank this week.
What is Jesus saying here? He is saying in several
words what the Apostle Paul has said in a few
words, that we are not to pay back evil for evil.
There is a higher principle involved in our lives,
and that is the principle of love and forgiveness.
I want to emphasize that this does not annul
God's principle of justice, because that is of
God as well as the principle we're looking at
now. But verse 17 has to do with our personal
relationships. We are not to pay back evil for
evil. That should not be strictly applied to
human government, by the way. Human government
cannot live according to the principles of the
child of God because human government is man's
government over unregenerate man. But the principle
we're looking at here is a principle for the
child of God. Do not pay back evil for evil.
Rather, we are to exhibit forgiveness and mercy.
even as our Father God has to us. Aren't you
glad that God has not dealt with us only according
to his justice? If God would mark out our sins
according to perfect justice and forget mercy,
there's not one of us who would stand. Ah, someone
says, but I've been wronged. Yes, we will be
wronged in life. There's no guarantee for the
Christian that he will not experience a lack
of fairness, perhaps even often. But commentator
Linsky says that it's surprising that we don't
receive more evil than we do, considering the
baseness of our own sins. That helps put it in
perspective a little bit. So what do you do with
an enemy? Well, in the first place, you conduct
yourself and your relationship to him not on
the basis of retaliation, but mercy and forgiveness.
Then principle number two is the last part of
verse 17, where it says, Respect what is right
in the sight of all men. The revised version
says, Take thought for what is noble in the sight
of all. The Greek verb here means to think beforehand,
and the idea is to be preoccupied with it. The
New International Version says, be careful to
do what is right. And why are we to do this?
Is it for our sakes? No. Not so much for our
own sakes as for the sake of the gospel. You
see, the point is here that we are to consider
each situation in life as to its impact on our
witness. We are to be marked as people who are
true, good, noble, pure. Because, you see, that
substantiates our verbal witness for Jesus Christ.
And so he says, take thought, respect what is
right in the sight of all men. Now this principle,
folks, affects the music that we listen to, the
material that we read, the programs that we watch
on television, the places of entertainment that
we go. the events that we attend, the companionships
that we cultivate. In all areas of life, we are
to respect what is right in the sight of all
men. You see, the real point is that when we
live that way, no slanderous attack of the enemy
will succeed. And the message that we preach
or witness personally will not be dishonored
if we live this way. That's why the Apostle Paul
says in 2 Corinthians, we have renounced the
hidden things because of shame, not walking in
craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but
by the manifestation of truth, commending ourselves
to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
In chapter 8, he relates the love offering that
he has collected for the poor saints in Jerusalem.
And regarding the administration of that, he
says in chapter 8, verses 20 and 21, taking precaution
that no one should discredit us in our administration
of this generous gift, for we have regard for
what is honorable. And that word, that verb,
have regard, is the same one as in our verse
in Romans 12, 17. We think beforehand regarding
what is honorable. Not only in the sight of the
Lord, he says, but also in the sight of men.
He says we want to do this in such a way that
not only God knows we're doing it right, but
people who are watching from the outside will
know that we have cared for this in an honorable
manner. And so Peter joins in and says, Keep
your behavior excellent among the pagans, so
that in the thing that they slander you as evildoers,
they may, on account of your good deeds as they
observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.
I guess the question that it is important for
us to face is, am I giving ammunition to the
enemies of Christ by the way that I'm living?
In the way that I pay my bills, in the way that
I conduct my business, In the stories that I
tell, in the conversations that I listen to,
am I doing what is right in the sight of all
men, or am I doing otherwise, and thus giving
ammunition to the enemies of the gospel? Because
you see, there's nothing that will destroy one's
witness like hypocrisy. You, sir, business executive.
Do you carry out your business dealings on the
basis of God's principles? Or you say, wait a
minute, the boss at work is tough on me. He says
I've got to do it another way. My friend, you
are better off sweeping streets then and obeying
God's word than staying in that office where
you have to compromise God's principles. To obey
is better than to sacrifice, right? to hearken
than the fat of rams. I remember a good friend
of mine who in his business advertised a certain
item to get people into his store. Normally what
he sells would go for $1 ,000 and much higher.
But he offered in this ad a certain item for
like $250. What it was was a piano. And when
he came into the store and looked at the piano,
it was in the back room. He didn't keep it out
in the front. It was a piano completely out of
tune, all scratched up, and the keys were missing
ivories. And he said, now here's the piano that
we're selling for $250 if you'd like to have
it. And he would play it, and you'd want to put
your fingers in your ears. But he said, now we
have some pianos out here that you might really
be interested in. He would take them out to the
$1 ,000 pianos. I question that practice. Is
that doing what is right in the eyes of all men?
The old bait and switch routine? We ought to
have nothing to do with questionable or shady
practices or conversations or deals. What do
we do with an enemy? We live such godly and righteous
lives before him that he's unable to poke holes
in our testimony. Principle number three is found
in verse 18 where he says, be at peace with all
men. Again, Linsky suggests here that in Christ's
interest we ought to be militants, but in our
own interests, pacifists. Jesus said, blessed
are the peacemakers. They shall be called the
sons of God. That's certainly a verse that is
broadly publicized and often taken out of context
these days. What is peace anyway when it says,
be at peace with all men? Well, peace is not
the absence of strife. You see, that could be
merely a truce. I know of a husband and wife
who've lived in the same home for 15 years now.
She in the upstairs, he in the basement apartment,
and all they say to each other, the phone is
for you. You couldn't really say there's strife
in that home because they don't talk. You certainly
can't say there's peace. Nor is peace found in
the idea of peace at any price. That's not God's
idea of peace. Rather, peace comes from righteousness
in relationships that brings enemies together.
Peace is produced by exposing the problems and
getting the conflict settled. That's why we can't
have peace in Lebanon. We can have truces that
last for a few minutes to a few hours. We can
have ceasefires, but no peace. Why? Because there
is not yet a settling of the issues underlying
the whole tension. When God talks about peace,
he means peace. The Bible is not advocating peace
at any price. The Bible is not advocating glossing
over of problems. Rather, God is telling us here
that we ought to get to the basis of the conflict
and settle those conflicts and build bridges
so that true peace can exist. But I want you
to notice that God is a very practical God. In
verse 18, he says, if possible, so far as it
depends on you, be at peace with all men. You
notice the two qualifiers? In the first place,
he says, if possible, because you see, God knows
that sometimes people are impossible. And then
he says, as far as it depends on you, that's
the limit of your responsibility. In other words,
so be in harmony with your enemies. So be in
harmony and at peace with your enemies that they
will not attack you. And if there is disharmony,
don't be the instigator of it. As much as it
lies within your power, if possible, be at peace
with your enemies. Verse 19 gives us the fourth
principle. He says, never take your own revenge,
beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God.
Avenge not yourselves. How unnatural is that?
Because, you see, from childhood we learn otherwise.
We learn to strike back. We learn to seek to
get even. The old sinful nature takes care of
that. And we believers still have the principle,
the power of sin indwelling us. But you see,
in the scales of life, the balance is too delicate
for our clumsy judgments. We are liable to be
either too lenient or too severe. And so he says,
avenge not yourselves, but leave room for the
wrath of God. The word room is an interesting
one. It's used in Ephesians 4 .27 where it says,
leave no place for the devil. Don't give him
any room. The idea means a place of operation.
Don't give him an opportunity to function in
your life. And here what he says on the positive
side is that we are to leave room. We are to
leave a place for God's wrath to function. You
see, vengeance is the work of God. That's what
the verse there tells us from Deuteronomy 32.
That is his territory. Don't trespass on it.
Judgment is the prerogative of God. And God's
wrath will come, whether now or later, it is
certain to come. You see, God has not balanced
any accounts and closed them out yet. But he
will. And therefore, when somebody has done something
wrong to us, we are to allow God to take care
of it. But the flesh argues with that. Someone
says, yeah, but... My enemy deserves what I'm
going to do to him. But on the other hand, would
you concentrate on what you deserve from the
hand of God, but for his mercy and forgiveness?
And will you concentrate instead of what he deserves,
rather than what God requires of you? Yeah, somebody
else says, but I think we ought to stand up for
our rights. What we really ought to do is let
God have control of our rights and not keep them
for ourselves. Someone else says, but it stands
to reason. It just makes sense that, yeah, yeah,
it probably does to man's reason. But you say
man's ways are not God's ways. Bruce says that
we should. Have a patient mindset allowing, quote,
the law of divine retribution to operate, whether
now or on the day of wrath, close quote. Beloved,
be patient. If you have an enemy who's undermining
you, who's attacking you, who's making life difficult
for you, do not take vengeance on that enemy,
however capable you may be. But with a patient
mindset, leave wrath to God. The fifth principle
is found in verses 20 and 21, where he says,
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil
with good. You see, the idea is that kindness
may mellow an enemy. And while God waits patiently
before bringing his vengeance upon the enemy,
there may be a turning. There may be a transformation
in that enemy so that he becomes a friend. Love
operates even in the face of hatred, if it's
God's love, because God demonstrated his love
for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us, not when we were his friends, when
we were his enemies. He loved us. If your enemy
is hungry, give him something to eat. If he's
thirsty, give him something to drink. Be kind
and overcome his evil with good deeds. He tells
us that in doing that, we heap coals of fire
upon his head. What are the coals of fire? Well,
William Newell says that if we say it's anything
less than hell, we are unfaithful to the word
of God. I disagree with him. I believe in a literal
hell. I don't think that's what it's talking
about here. The coals of fire here seem to be
symbolic and refers to the shame, the remorse
that is caused by the good deeds that you conduct
for your enemy. Perhaps it will bring him to
repentance, to a change. Keep heaping the coals
of fire in his head. This is illustrated back
in the book of 1 Samuel. Turn back there with
me. To the 24th chapter. You will recall that
David was anointed to be the king of Israel by
Samuel the prophet. The only slight problem was
that there was already a king. His name was Saul.
Saul immediately declared David his enemy. He
was a threat. And Saul sought to kill David.
He would lead excursions seeking to hunt him
down. It says in verse 1, Now it came about when
Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines,
he was told, saying, Behold, David is in the
wilderness of En Gedi. And then Saul took three
thousand chosen men from all Israel and went
to seek David and his men in front of the rocks
of the wild goats. And he came to the sheepfolds
on the way where there was a cave, and Saul went
in to relieve himself. Now David and his men
were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave.
I think this scene is absolutely hilarious. And
while all this was taking place, there in the
shadows, in the darkness of that cave, David
and his men were watching, and there was a little
conversation going on. And one of the men said,
David, David, behold, this is the day. Of which
the Lord has said to you, Behold, I am about
to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall
do to him as it seems good to you. Doesn't that
sound like a great verse to quote? Only one problem
that never occurs in the Word of God. Here's
one of these verses from Hezekiah, you know.
Where'd you hear that? Oh, I don't know. It's
somewhere in the Old Testament, I think, David.
So David, at that prompting, got up and took
his sword and cut the edge of Saul's robe secretly.
Apparently he had laid his outer robe down toward
the mouth of the cave. Notice the kind of man
David was. And it came about afterward that David's
conscience bothered him because he had cut off
the edge of Saul's robe. Now here's the guy trying
to kill him. He simply cuts off the edge of his
robe and now his conscience is smitten. And David
said to his men, far be it from me because of
the Lord that I should do this thing to my Lord,
the Lord's anointed, to stretch out my hand against
him since he is the Lord's anointed. Do you notice
twice the Lord's anointed? David recognizes that
God puts men into power and that even though
Saul had declared himself an enemy, Saul was
nonetheless the anointed of God. David says,
I'm not going to touch him. And David persuaded
his men with these words and did not allow them
to rise up against Saul. And Saul arose, left
the cave, and went on his way. And after he had
gotten that little piece from the cave, David
went outside and yelled after him, My Lord, the
King! Saul turned around and looked, and David
bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated
himself. And David spoke to him, Why do you listen
to the words of men, saying, Behold, David seeks
to harm you? Behold, this day your eyes have
seen that the Lord had given you today into my
hand in the cave. And some said to kill you,
but my eye had pity on you. And I said, I will
not stretch out my hand against my Lord, for
he is the Lord's anointed. Now my father, see,
indeed, see the edge of your robe in my hand.
For in that I cut off the edge of your robe and
did not kill you, know and perceive that there
is no evil or rebellion in my hands. And I have
not sinned against you, though you are lying
in wait for my life to take it. He says, may
the Lord judge between us. Verse 14, he says,
after whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom
are you pursuing, a dead dog? A little flea?
In other words, he's saying, who am I? What can
I do to you, king? I'm like a dead dog, a single
flea. It came about, it says in verse 16, that
when David had finished speaking these words
to Saul, that Saul said, is this your voice,
my son David? Then Saul lifted up his voice and
wept. And he said to David, you are more righteous
than I, for you have dealt well with me, while
I have dealt wickedly with you. You have declared
today that you have done good to me, that the
Lord delivered me into your hand, and yet you
did not kill me. And so we see that David, by
his good, overcame evil. Unfortunately, the remorse
which Saul expresses here did not last very long.
But nonetheless, the principle is observed here,
that we do not overcome evil with evil. but will
overcome evil with good. Can I ask you a question
today? Who is your enemy? Are you plotting revenge
on someone? Will you instead give that to God?
Bill Parker, who lived in Dunkirk, Maryland,
was on... his way to work last June 30th to install
some carpet. He stopped at a red light. Approaching
from behind came Stephen Uland, who was drunk.
He did not stop but rammed into the back of Bill
Parker's automobile, killing him instantly. Just
23 years old. This week, Stephen Uland went before
the judge for his sentencing. The parents of
Bill Parker requested mercy for this motorist
who had killed their son. Instead of being jailed,
he was sentenced to work at a medical center.
which treats Maryland's worst accident cases.
The article in Associated Press goes on to say,
Joseph and Doris Parker made their plea in a
victim impact statement. The couple requested
a county circuit judge to require Ulan to perform
community service rather than serve a prison
term. The Parkers said their family believed
meaningful community service would serve as a
better punishment term in jail, although he was
responsible for the death of their son, one of
eight children. Hopefully, the parents said,
we, Bill's parents, have instilled in his brothers
and sisters the Christian ethics of forgiveness.
We hope that Stephen Ulan understands and has
true contrition in his heart and in the end will
be a better person. I do not know the spiritual
condition of those parents, but one thing I do
know, that they have put into practice in a most
extreme and difficult circumstance what we've
talked about this morning and how to treat an
enemy. Rather than taking revenge on your enemy,
what kindness will you show? What noble deed
will you do? Let's bow together in prayer. With
our heads bowed, our eyes are shut, and as the
Spirit of God applies this to us, may I again
remind you of Romans 5 .8, that God demonstrated
his love for us, and that while we were yet sinners,
his enemies, Christ died for us. My friend, you
may not be a Christian here today at all. You
may still be in your sin, but I want you to know
that God loves you. Yes, wrath is being stored
up. Yes, unless you repent, you will perish in
your sin. But for now, my friend, this is a day
of grace for you. And even though you may have
been God's enemy all of your life to this point,
today God will receive you and forgive you. Be
merciful and wipe out your sin and remove the
vengeance you deserve because of your wickedness.
Will you today trust Jesus Christ? Will you open
your heart and receive him into your life and
be saved? Dear child of God, there are some of
you who are here today or who are eaten up with
bitterness. The anger and hostility about the
way you've been treated by your enemies is destroying
you spiritually and maybe even physically. Will
you today give that to God? Will you repent and
say, Lord, now I understand how I need to treat
my enemy. Give me grace and courage and strength
to do that. Father, I pray that today we will
not only be hearers of the word, but doers of
it. May we practice it in our lives. I pray that
we will make room for the lordship of Jesus Christ.
That we'll not shut him out of our hearts, but
rather allow him to enter, and having entered,
to reign. I pray that you will bring about the
commitments, the changes, the decisions that
need to be made this morning so that we may walk
in obedience to your word. In Jesus' name, amen.