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Romans 12:19 says, “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.’” But what is meant by “vengeance”? Is there a line between vengeance and self-defense, say?
What is vengeance? The Cambridge dictionary defines it as “the punishing of someone for harming you or your friends or family, or the wish for such punishment to happen...”
Cen vengeance ever be regarded as a sin? It can be, to the extent that acts of evil are sins. In the Bible, God designates what is good and what is evil from out standpoint. There is no in-between. In some cases, which may seem grayish, it is necessary to dig down to the smallest granule to determine if something is good or evil.
Consider 1 Thessalonians 5:15 which says, “See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always use to do good to one another and to everyone.” Well, seems that at first glance, Romans 12:19 puts it into God’s hands to commit evil for evil, but that’s impossible when you consider that anything God does is for good. Looking at Romans 12:19 a certain way, sems that the same act that a person does which may be considered evil would be considered good if God does it, since nothing God does is evil. God killed everyone in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for the evil acts that were done in those cities. There is no word in the Bible that God spared the lives of the young, so we might presume that the young, presumed innocent, were not spared the fate that the adults underwent. It may be said that the killing of people in those two cities was God’s form of capital punishment for the evil they did.
Some may ask if vengeance is the Lord’s, then who is the governing authority to exact vengeance via capital punishment? Well, consider Romans 13:1-4 which 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.”
So, a governing authority that exists as an extension of the Lord, has been given the power to act as God would act. And if it’s determined that God would avenge the death of someone via capital punishment, then the governing authority who acts on behalf of God could be expected to do likewise.
Same as in matters of war. Take the recent instance of Hamas going into Israel and killing over a thousand innocent people. The Israeli government, who may be seen as a governing authority on behalf of God since under God, governments are set up to act on His behalf, decided that the best course of action is to kill those who are members of Hamas. One can infer that the Israeli government was doing its work, exacting vengeance on Hamas in God’s name. Similarly, in any acts of war in which a nation is attacked, it is a moot point as to whether a nation that was attacked is committing evil by returning the attack. That’s because as anything that God does is considered good, including that which may be evil in the hands of an individual, is also considered good if the act is done by a government that rules in God’s name. In that respect, what may be considered as pure vengeance in the hands of an individual would be a act of justice in the hands of a government under God.
Consider Russia’s initial attack on Ukraine. Would anyone criticize the Ukrainian government for fighting back, and killing Russians in the process? One may say that like the Israeli government, the Ukrainian government had the authority of God in attacking the Russians in return for their being attacked. Even if one might consider it an act of vengeance, when the government is involved it is off the table as to whether such vengeance is evil; as anything that God does is good, so anything that is done by a government on God’s behalf is good as well.
What is vengeance? The Cambridge dictionary defines it as “the punishing of someone for harming you or your friends or family, or the wish for such punishment to happen...”
Cen vengeance ever be regarded as a sin? It can be, to the extent that acts of evil are sins. In the Bible, God designates what is good and what is evil from out standpoint. There is no in-between. In some cases, which may seem grayish, it is necessary to dig down to the smallest granule to determine if something is good or evil.
Consider 1 Thessalonians 5:15 which says, “See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always use to do good to one another and to everyone.” Well, seems that at first glance, Romans 12:19 puts it into God’s hands to commit evil for evil, but that’s impossible when you consider that anything God does is for good. Looking at Romans 12:19 a certain way, sems that the same act that a person does which may be considered evil would be considered good if God does it, since nothing God does is evil. God killed everyone in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for the evil acts that were done in those cities. There is no word in the Bible that God spared the lives of the young, so we might presume that the young, presumed innocent, were not spared the fate that the adults underwent. It may be said that the killing of people in those two cities was God’s form of capital punishment for the evil they did.
Some may ask if vengeance is the Lord’s, then who is the governing authority to exact vengeance via capital punishment? Well, consider Romans 13:1-4 which 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.”
So, a governing authority that exists as an extension of the Lord, has been given the power to act as God would act. And if it’s determined that God would avenge the death of someone via capital punishment, then the governing authority who acts on behalf of God could be expected to do likewise.
Same as in matters of war. Take the recent instance of Hamas going into Israel and killing over a thousand innocent people. The Israeli government, who may be seen as a governing authority on behalf of God since under God, governments are set up to act on His behalf, decided that the best course of action is to kill those who are members of Hamas. One can infer that the Israeli government was doing its work, exacting vengeance on Hamas in God’s name. Similarly, in any acts of war in which a nation is attacked, it is a moot point as to whether a nation that was attacked is committing evil by returning the attack. That’s because as anything that God does is considered good, including that which may be evil in the hands of an individual, is also considered good if the act is done by a government that rules in God’s name. In that respect, what may be considered as pure vengeance in the hands of an individual would be a act of justice in the hands of a government under God.
Consider Russia’s initial attack on Ukraine. Would anyone criticize the Ukrainian government for fighting back, and killing Russians in the process? One may say that like the Israeli government, the Ukrainian government had the authority of God in attacking the Russians in return for their being attacked. Even if one might consider it an act of vengeance, when the government is involved it is off the table as to whether such vengeance is evil; as anything that God does is good, so anything that is done by a government on God’s behalf is good as well.