“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. 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 on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:14-21 NASB1995)
In what ways might we who are followers of Jesus Christ be persecuted by other human beings? They may mock us for our faith, or hinder our ability to share the gospel message with others. We might get fired from a job because of our faith or even invited out of some market-driven “churches,” which are businesses incorporated (merged) with the state (the ungodly). Family members might disown us or distance themselves from us, or they might criticize us or wish evil against us because of what we believe.
The government we live under might outlaw Christianity and we might get arrested, put in prison, beaten and/or put to death for our faith in Jesus Christ. Or “church people,” including some pastors, may lie about us, and accuse us falsely of what we did not do, and they may lay traps for us to fall into, or they may do underhanded stuff to try to get rid of us, some of which they may have been taught in their church planting training seminars. For they are being taught who they are to get rid of and to send someplace else.
And that is just a few possible examples of persecution. But when we are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, because we teach what is the truth of the Scriptures and not the lies which tickle itching ears, we are not to retaliate. We are not to return evil with evil. But we are to love our enemies, pray for them, do good to them, and say to them what will be of benefit to them, not that which will harm them. If those who persecute us also profess faith in Jesus Christ, we should lovingly confront them with their wrong.
And if we who profess faith in Jesus Christ are to be of the same mind toward one another, it needs to be of the mind of Christ (of God) as we are taught in the Scriptures in their appropriate context. It must not be the mind of the world and of worldly thinking or of marketing schemes and tricks. Jesus Christ set the example for us in what our thinking should be about, and how we should treat one another, and how we need to speak the truth, in love, to one another, and not the lies which are so popularized today.
And to respect what is right in the sight of all men is not to give honor to false doctrines, to lies, and to unholiness and godlessness. It is not to make compromises with our faith and convictions in order to not be an offense to the ungodly. It is to respect what is right in the eyes of the Lord in the presence of all people, and to set the right example before all people of what it means to be a genuine follower of Jesus Christ. And this includes us not paying back evil to those who did evil to us. We must love them, instead.
Likewise, being at peace with all people must never involve compromise of our faith and of the teachings of the Scriptures so that other people will like us and not be offended by us. Being at peace means that we are not at war with others. We have no intent to do them any evil, but only good. And part of the good that we ought to do is to share with them the truth of the gospel so that hopefully they will believe in Jesus, die to their sins, and now walk in obedience to the Lord and to his commands, by the grace of God.
[Proverbs 24:17-20; Proverbs 25:21-22; Matthew 5:8-12,43-48; Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:27-36; Luke 10:27; John 13:33-35; John 15:12; Romans 12:9-11,14-21; 1 Corinthians 13:1-8; 1 Corinthians 16:14; 1 John 4:7]
Pray, Pray, Pray
Based off Various Scriptures
An Original Work / September 6, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Pray that eyes may enlightened be,
So they may know Christ.
Pray that they may Him better know,
Strengthened by His pow’r.
Pray that they may grasp
How wide and long
And high and deep
Is Christ’s love.
Pray that they may be filled
To the fullness of God’s love.
Pray with thanksgiving.
Pray for an open door for me,
So I may share Christ.
Pray when the gospel is proclaimed –
Shared with clarity.
Pray words are given me so
I declare the gospel fearlessly.
I pray for you to be active
Sharing your faith, too.
Pray continually.
We oft not know for what to pray,
So we ask for help.
The Spirit intercedes for us –
Words cannot express.
Just keep on praying for the saints
With all kinds of requests to God.
Pray they may have faith to
Please their God in ev’ry way.
Pray with joyfulness.
Overcoming Evil with Good
An Original Work / July 1, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
