Beloved, Never Avenge Yourselves

[Christsfreeservant]

“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 12:14-21 ESV)​

This word “bless” means “to speak (reason) which confers benefit; to confer what is beneficial,” which “is used of God blessing people and His people blessing him” (biblehub.com). So, this has to do with speaking words to our enemies which are for their spiritual benefit, which are for their good, as God defines good, not as the flesh does. For it is to speak to them what is helpful to them and what is kind, but never to speak lies to them just to make them feel good, for lies are never kind, and they benefit no one.

And this is the opposite of cursing them. And to curse is to say what is hateful and spiteful and revengeful, and not what is loving and kind. In other words, when others speak evil against us and they persecute us for righteousness’ sake, we are not to be nasty back to them. We are not to be hateful and spiteful and revengeful people who just want to get even with those who do us an injustice. For then righteousness would not really be our practice, would it? But we are to be kind to those who are not kind to us.

And, in like manner, to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep, this also has to be in accord with the Word of God and with his divine character and will for our lives. For we are not to rejoice in evil, but we are to rejoice in the truth. And we should not weep with those who do evil if that weeping involves us sympathizing with them in their evil deeds. For example, we should not take the side of an evildoer and give him our support if we know that what he is doing is evil, and not good.

And to live in harmony with other people is never to involve compromise of truth, of righteousness, of moral purity, of the gospel message, and of our walks of faith and obedience to our Lord in holy living. We don’t make compromises with the ungodly nor with those weak in the faith if those compromises mean backing down on biblical truth and righteousness and on holy living and the sharing of the gospel message, etc. But we can compromise in areas which are non-essential, and thus make peace.

And we are not to be prideful and boastful people or people of prejudice who refuse to associate with those they regard as less than them. Now we are not to be partners with the world and with the ungodly, and we are not to make the ungodly our closest companions, for we might be influenced by them to make compromises with the world and in areas of moral purity and honesty, etc. But we are to love the people of the world and do good to them and demonstrate to them the love and righteousness of our Lord Jesus.

But our love for others needs to be genuine, and not fake, or it isn’t true love. But this love is agape love which is based in moral purity, and which prefers what God prefers, which is what is holy, righteous, morally pure, upright, honest, godly, faithful, and obedient to our Lord. So when we love other humans with this love, we are going to do for them what is for their good because we genuinely care about them and we want to be kind and loving. So this love never compromises moral purity or God’s will.

In other words, we don’t love other humans just because it is the right thing to do, and so we do good to them, but because we really do love them, and we sincerely care about them and want to get to know them and to minister to them and to their needs. So loving others is not something we do so we can check that off our list of “good deeds” to do. And it is not something we do only when asked to do, in a group, on some kind of “mission project.” This should be our lifestyle, and it should be natural for us who love Jesus.

So, even if people are hateful towards us, we are to love them back. We are to do for them and to them what is beneficial and helpful to them and that shows them love and forgiveness. And the Lord will lead us in this in individual circumstances with regard to how he wants us to express that love to them without compromise of truth and of righteousness. We just need to seek the leading and the wisdom of God in how best to show love to those who treat us as though we are their enemies. God will guide us in this.

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-19; John 15:1-21; John 16:33; John 17:14; Acts 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Eph 6:10-20; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

Love Must Be Genuine

An Original Work / October 22, 2013
Based off Romans 12:9-21

Love must be genuine.
Hate what’s evil; cling to good.
Love each other with affection.
Show respect for ev’ryone.
Never lack in your zeal.
Serve the Lord with diligence.

Rejoice in steadfast hope.
In affliction, patient be.
Keep on praying; share with others.
Practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute.
Feel with others sympathy.

Be not filled with conceit.
Daily sit at Jesus’ feet.
Live in harmony with others.
Live at peace with ev’ryone.
Repay not to someone
With the evil he begot.

Do not take your revenge;
Leave it to the wrath of God.
If your enemy is thirsty,
Give to him something to drink.
Do what’s right for mankind.
Evil: overcome with good.