Overcoming Evil | Romans 12:14-21
This message was preached at Sherwood Community Friends Church on Sunday, June 13, 2021. You can watch the video in full by clicking below.
Over the last several weeks, we have received good things from God. We have practiced the things of God. We have owned how God made us. We have shown up for God’s people and authentic community.
It’s disheartening when we see prominent Christian celebrities, like Kevin Max Smith formerly of DC talk, reject his faith, largely impacted by the behavior of the church.
I believe this should give us, the church, pause to self-examine our behavior. Are we looking for the attention of man to acknowledge our goodness? Or are we truly reflecting Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, full of love and compassion, humble to acknowledge we are at the will of the Father?
To bring us back to the context of Romans, let’s hold onto the reminders of our humanness, our inability to save ourselves, and that it is only by God’s mercy that we are seen as Christ is seen. Recalling verse nine, “Love must be sincere,” anything else is shallow pride rooted in ungodliness.
Today we will love. As Roxane reminded us today we are loved. Let us remember then when we love, we love because God loves us and fills us with his love.
We will love our enemies.
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ vs 14, 17a, 19-20
Pastor Rich has spent a good amount of time walking us through this. I’m grateful he helped us think about people who may have hurt us. Enemy is a strong word. Many of us likely don’t have true enemies, like David’s Saul. Hopefully, no one is hunting you down to murder you. It’s more likely that we have people we don’t like very much.
Maybe it’s that in-law who is constantly criticizing you.
How about the co-worker who keeps stealing your ideas?
Maybe it’s the neighbor who keeps letting their dog use your yard as their restroom.
How about the classmate who picks on you?
Or the employee that constantly challenges what you have to say.
We have many in our life that we would not call our friends. So what do we do with those who are not our friends…our enemies?
A few years ago, Bob and I were camp counselors and the week of teaching was all about forgiveness. This was the tagline for the week “Forgiveness is the key between you and me, me and me, and God and me.” When we forgive our enemies, it releases us from them, moving our focus from the hurt they have caused to the freedom God gives. What does it look like for me to serve and bless my enemies?
I’m sure by now you have thought of a few names who are on your list of difficult people. Who are these people you don’t like very much, your enemies? I challenge you today to pray for them, seek out their well-being and meet a physical need they have.
Our love also is not a private matter. We must love out loud.
“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Vs 15-16, 17b-18
If I try to do what is right in the eyes of everyone, isn’t this people-pleasing? Going against the message of the world, which tells us that our own way is the right way, Paul again challenges us that we are to aim to be at peace with everyone. Not just like-minded people. Not just the people in our church. Not just my neighbors. EVERYONE.
You may be familiar with the quote “Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.” Well, I’m not a fan of this. This is not the call of the Gospel. We are challenged to live our faith out loud, in both word and action.
Do you reach across the comfortable boundaries of your community?
I think about Peter in Acts 10. He was so devout to his traditions and customs of his Jewish heritage, it took a vision by God three times for him to be convinced it was ok for him to associate with Gentiles, a pivotal moment when the Way of Jesus moved beyond the Jewish people and into the rest of the world. After all, it was Jesus who associated with Samaritans, sinners, tax collectors, and so on. He showed us how to build relationships with those outside of our circles.
By living your faith publicly for the sake of living at peace with everyone speaks the love of God to the world. What social, racial, or lifestyle boundaries have you been hesitant to cross? When you engage with others, bring Jesus into your conversations. Start by offering to pray with someone when they share a concern with you. Not later… right then in that moment. Ask them if you can pray for them right then. If they decline, let them know you will be praying for them over the next week. They will also know that you are someone they can count on when things are difficult.
Finally, we have a call to love globally.
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” Verses 21 & 13:1
I have led us to dip a toe into chapter 13. When we read chapter and verse, we must remember these distinctions did not exist in the original text. They were added much later.
Anyone who has seen any superhero movie knows that good always wins over evil. However, battling aliens with a roundhouse kick has not yet come across my personal repertoire. Paul’s encouragement is that, while there is evil in the world, we can be actionable to overcome that evil! We don’t have to lie down and allow evil to rule our hearts, our minds, or our communities.
We overcome the darkness in our world by recognizing that all authority is established by God. This doesn’t mean that all authorities are godly or righteous. What it does mean is that we have an obligation as Christ-followers to respect our leaders, even if we disagree with them, to pray for them, and to live at peace in our divided world.
It all comes back to verse 9, that love from the center of who we are. In John 13:34 and 35, Jesus tells his disciples “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” The world is watching us. Do we let love reign on social media? Do we let love reign when we disagree with our friends? Do we let love reign when an election doesn’t go our way? Do we encourage love or our own way?
If you don’t already, pray for our government leaders. They have a great responsibility to lead and make policies. They need the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to move in them for God’s glory to be displayed. I also challenge you to continue reading the remaining part of Romans, chapters 13-16, and then circle back through the whole of Romans.
As a final and advanced challenge for each of you today, get the book Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges and read it over the summer. When you have, let me know. I’d love to chat about it with you.
To close, sometimes Christianity feels far away, like we aren’t good enough to keep up or we don’t know enough. I look forward to writing more on this topic at on our blog. I hope you’ll check us out.
Paul’s practicality of explaining the nitty-gritty here in Romans 12 is refreshing, honest, and revealing. I venture to say Paul could speak so well from these places because he struggled with and wrestled through many of these topics as we have. I encourage you to press on Brothers and Sisters. We are in good company on this journey.
