Overcoming evil with good. That’s what the Christian life looks like. It’s a life of the constant battle between good and evil, between the devil, the world, and the flesh, and the new nature which is now yours in Christ Jesus.
And it is a constant battle. The war imagery is more than appropriate here. It is a battle which began in the Garden of Eden and whose clinching moment was on the Cross, where the devil was handed his total defeat, but which continues in these last days in the ongoing skirmishes, as the devil tries vainly to recapture the ground he’s been forced to cede. For the devil has lost the battle. Jesus lives, the victory’s won, as the old hymn says. Even so, to follow Jesus is a struggle, a constant striving against the attacks of the devil, who refuses to acknowledge his defeat and would love nothing more than to convince God’s people that Jesus is not the victor. To follow Jesus is, in the words of our Gospel for today, a matter of denying yourself, taking up your cross, and following Him. Our epistle for today, which I will reread at this time, talks about what it means to follow Jesus in very specific terms:
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 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. (Romans 12:9-21 ESV)
These statements, examples of what it means to be a Christian, are directed at all of the Romans, not just the pastors, not just the church leaders, but the average person in the congregation. The key themes here are twofold; love one another and hold to what is good. Both of these things are involved in living as a Christian.
Your love is to be genuine. Love here is the self-sacrificing love, agapé love. In the same way that Jesus was genuine in His love for the world by coming to it, living on it, helping and caring for those who had various needs, and dying for this world, overcoming all evil by giving His blood for the good of all people, so we are to be genuine in our love for one another. Not half-hearted in our loving, or only putting on the show of loving one another, but as a congregation we are to truly love one another, bearing with each other, strengthening each other, because Jesus has first loved, borne, and strengthened each of us.
Abhor what is evil. As Christians, we have a special calling to live in such a way as to be distinct from the world, not to be proud or to be in a posture of being somehow ‘better’ than others, but to follow God’s revealed will. We know what is evil because evil consists of whatever is against God’s revealed will. All those sins, thought, committed, or desired, against the 10 Commandments, are evil. Whether a lack of respect for God, the idolatry of money, power, or sex, misusing His name, failing to attend and be attentive at worship, failing to honour and respect the authorities God has placed over us, hurting or harming anyone, committing adultery or harbouring lust in your heart, stealing or misusing others’ possessions, lying or spreading rumours, coveting or being jealous, there is a full list of sins which you and I need to repent. They work evil in us whom God’s Holy Spirit has called by the Gospel, enlightened by His gifts, and set apart to be His own holy people. We are called to abhor the evil, to hold fast instead to what is good. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control. The sorts of things against which there is no law.
Love one another with brotherly affection. As with the genuine self-sacrificing love, here we are called to have a love which is like a big family. Sometimes we speak of the church as being a family; here is one example where the Scriptures also speak of the church in these terms.
Outdo one another in showing honour. Implied here is that as Christians we are to be servants of one another. Consider how different our lives as a congregation would be if we saw ourselves as being called to show honour to everyone else in the congregation. For we are. Everyone else in the congregation is worthy of honour and respect from everyone else, regardless of your own personal preferences, simply because they are also part of the body of Christ. They also have been purchased and won by Christ’s blood.
Do not be slothful in zeal. Don’t put off for tomorrow what you can do today, when it comes to serving Christ. The old saying that idle hands are the devil’s toolbox comes to mind. We have the pure truth of God’s salvation. We have been called and chosen by Christ, quite apart from any merit or worthiness we should like to claim, and we are called to be zealous in our living that calling. There is no room for slothfulness in Jesus’ world. We have been made His people to show this dying world the only life, Jesus our Lord, through who we are and what we say and do. As such we are to be fervent in spirit and serve the Lord. This fervency, again, does not come from our own efforts or striving, but from hearing and receiving the Word of Christ. The zeal for the Lord is the product of a heart which is made new in Jesus Christ, a heart renewed by the forgiveness of sins. Regular church attendance to hear the Word and receive God’s gracious gifts is an absolute must for one who would be fervent in spirit and serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Again, the only source for hope, patience and constancy is God’s Holy Spirit. The devil would love nothing more than for Christians to turn to despair instead of maintaining their hope in their crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ. What do the small worldly troubles matter in the light of Jesus’ great grace? When you go through those times when your rejoicing dulls, when your patience is frayed, when your constancy in prayer wavers, it is especially then that you need to hear again the word of the Lord, to receive again of His mercy and forgiveness, that the Holy Spirit may restore in you a right spirit.
Contribute to the needs of the saints and show hospitality. Kelly and I have learned over the years of our travels what it means to receive hospitality. As we get to know brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the USA and Canada we have been blessed with new friends and friendly places to stay while along the road. In general, all of us are called to practice this sort of hospitality, not out of a sense of grudging responsibility but out of thanksgiving for what God has already done for us. This also includes giving to the needs of the saints. Our brothers and sisters in the faith both in Canada and around the world need our help and support. Through our mission offerings and through designated gifts to organizations such as Concordia Lutheran Mission Society they are supported in their physical and spiritual needs.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Here also needs to be noted that this is talking about persecution. There are many reasons why we suffer which are not persecution, many of which we bring on ourselves. But if standing up for Jesus, if standing up for what you believe causes you to be persecuted, this is not a reason to be discouraged or to be upset at your persecutors. God calls you to bless them, for they are being used by Him to refine you as a refiner’s fire burns away the impurities and leaves only the pure metal.
Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. This we heard last Sunday, as well, but it needs to be repeated. As a congregation we are truly one body, and as one goes, so we all ought to go. It is easy to rejoice with others; harder to weep. But we are called to be the body in good times and in bad, caring for each other, encouraging each other, for we are all one in Jesus’ death where we were put to death with Him, one in His resurrection, where we are all raised to new life in Him.
Live in harmony with one another. We are called to be of one mind and heart with our brothers and sisters in the faith. This harmony can require us to give up on our own perceived rights in order to maintain the good of someone else. Consider what Jesus gave up in order to bring us into harmony with God our Father—His very life.
Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Again, to be God’s people is to follow His way of seeing. As human beings we are likely to be respecters of persons. The powerful, the rich, the strong, the well-dressed, these seem like better people. But Jesus went to the poor and rich alike, He calls people to be His own from every social, economic and political background. Who are we to sit in judgement over another because of their social or economical background?
Never be wise in your own sight. The first sin of Adam and Eve was to follow their own wisdom rather than God’s wisdom. We are called to grow in Christ, and not to seek our own wisdom, but rather to be found under the foolishness of the cross. The wisdom of man is one thing, but God’s eternal wisdom is beyond anything we ourselves can imagine.
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. All of the previous statements have been describing how to live according to God’s will, what God’s desire is for His holy people. This is really just a summary of what all these things add up to. Be honourable in all your dealings, and live peaceably with all. This isn’t to say you won’t end up in conflicts, but the role of the Christian is to live their own lives in such a way as to be a peace-maker and a peace-giver. As such, we are not called to take revenge into our own hands, nor to pray curses down on our enemies, but instead to love them and show kindness to them, knowing that the Lord will have vengeance in His time on those who deserve His vengeance—and more than that, remembering that the rightful wrath which God has toward our own sins, our own faults, our own failures, has already been dealt with on the cross.
It was on that Cross that Jesus gave us all the power and strength we need to live as His people, for He overcame all evil for all time with His good, His perfect, holy, innocent blood, there shed so that sinners like you and me could be freed forever from their bondage to sin, death, and the devil. In His resurrection, Jesus made certain our new life in Him. In Baptism you and I have been made His own people to live for good, not for evil. So your calling remains, in whatever station of life you may have, to overcome evil with His good, both now and forever. May it be so for all of us in Jesus, today and always! Amen.
Last updated September 2008 by the webmaster.