Overcoming Evil with Good

Stephen Terry

 

Commentary for the December 23, 2017 Sabbath School Lesson

 

“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. 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.” Romans 12:16-18, NIV

As we open Romans, chapter twelve, we find Paul's answer to those who fear a gospel of "cheap" grace. Aside from the fact that there is no "cheap" grace, only grace, it seems strange to talk of "cheap" in regards to a grace that cost the highest price ever paid - the life of the Son of God. We are asked to surrender our bodies to God. (v 1) This isn't much of a gift, since our bodies are carnal, but it is all we have to bring.

There is a miracle here, but it is not one of our making. We can do nothing with these bodies but continue to succumb to carnal desires. However, once we give them to God, He can begin a transformation. Slowly they will begin to conform to a different heavenly rather than earthly pattern. (v 2) Desires, once strongly felt, can begin to become muted. God's will rather than ours will begin to shine through the windows of our being as He cleans the murky glass of our existence.

Our challenge is to have patience with ourselves and one another. Like a skillful surgeon, He only operates when conditions are at their best. We may wish to see ourselves and those around us instantly cleaned up like is promised at the Parousia (1 Corinthians 15:52-54), but that is a future event. Fortunately God will also work through our surrendered bodies here and now. What we will become through that process is not yet seen, but we need only to patiently "be still" and trust the Master Surgeon’s skill and timing. (Exodus 14:14)

If there is one thing that is a part of God's plan, it's diversity. From the very beginning, we are told it was not good for man to be alone. (Genesis 2:18) He did not then create an identical being to solve the problem. He made something complementary but different. Perhaps God, in His plan for us, looks at humanity as an organic whole consisting of what comes into being when all of those diverse parts come together. While this may appear to be an affront to the American ideal of rugged individualism, it seems to be endorsed by Paul in Romans, chapter twelve, verses three through eight.

He writes that God's grace has imparted diverse gifts to us. Those gifts all are intended to work together for the benefit of the body of believers. Those gifts are not determined by the vote of the rest of the members, nor are they bestowed by ecclesiastical authority. They are gifts directly from God, acts of grace, (v  6) and Paul's advice is to let those believers function according to their various gifts. We are not told to parse out those gifts according to gender, race, or any other criteria. Perhaps this is because we are not the ones giving them. Maybe it is time we stop "looking the gift horse in the mouth" and simply be thankful that the Holy Spirit is active among us. Paul’s repeated emphasis on letting these gifts operate may imply that then as well as now, some wished to hinder the working of the Spirit by placing restrictions on the various gifts in order to centralize control over the church. However, just as Gamaliel cautioned to the Sanhedrin, such policies may place us in opposition to the will of God. (Acts 5:34-39)

In Romans 12:9, Paul tells us to hate what is evil and love the good. Some might see this as a "carte blanche" to hate evil people. These “haters” might also find a certain schadenfreude in telling people they will be tossed into hellfire. However, they may be in error if they are looking to this verse for support. The hating evil Paul portrays here is not an entity but an abstract.

If we look to God for guidance on this, we see that God's actions toward us were based on love. (John 3:16-17) God loved us even though we were at enmity with Him. (Romans 5:10) He hates evil, but not the person who has done evil. We humans sometimes have a hard time separating the two. Perhaps this is because we have a hard time believing that God loves us when we have done wrong. But He does, for it is His nature to love. When we surrender to Him, we will learn to love like that, also. For when we allow Him into our lives, He will work within us according to His nature, and that makes all the difference. It is also though our love for those who are at enmity with God that they may be enabled to learn to love as well.

In Romans 12:10, Paul calls us to be devoted to one another with brotherly love. For those who may not have much experience with devotion and loving, he goes on to explain that it means honoring others more than ourselves. Many find this a hard thing to accomplish. But why is that?

Perhaps it is because we have a hard time seeing the other person without focusing on their sin. Since all have sinned, this has the potential to be a universal failing. However, Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount that our focus should be on dealing with our own sin, then when we are perfect and without sin, we can deal with that of others. (Matthew 7:3-5) This was also the lesson He attempted to impart in the story of the woman taken in adultery. (John 8:1-11) Since we will be striving progressively to develop a character fit for heaven throughout our lives, we will likely not achieve that perfection in this life. Therefore, as in the parable of the Tares in the Wheat, we may be precluded from entering into attempts to cleanse the church of sin. (Matthew 13:24-30) Since that work seems to be reserved for the angels and God, we may be presumptuous to work at removing others from fellowship that we impute evil motives to. In our sinful flesh, we are likely to make mistakes in judgment and uproot those who are innocent of such motives.

By implication, we are saying that we are without sin when we feel free to deal with sin in others or in the church. Perhaps we feel free to do this because our sin is different than theirs, but Jesus did not say we have license to do this under such circumstances, but only when we are without any sin. (John 8:7) Maybe this is why Jesus is the only one who can properly deal with sin, both in our lives and theirs.

In Romans 12:11, Paul reminds us to keep alive our initial spiritual zeal. As with any love relationship, we can negligently allow the joy to flag. This can happen if we forget to devote time to keeping that relationship fresh and alive. In a marriage, we should look forward to spending time with the one we love. During the "honeymoon phase," that is all we want to do. But what about afterwards? If we allow other concerns to become more important than the marriage, we may overlook doing the little things that keep a relationship going. It is possible to keep love alive. We do not have to have a relationship that is like a rose that blooms only once and is done. We can have, instead, an ever-blooming rose that continually refreshes the relationship with its fragrance.

We can have this in our relationship with God as well. Through daily attention to devotional time, including prayer and Bible study, we can keep that relationship alive and growing. One of the things we may discover is how alive that relationship really is. The Bible is unique in this respect, for every time we read it, it brings some new perspective or insight to shine on our day. Prayer also continually restores our closeness to God. Every answered prayer is like an additional coal on the fire of our faith, enveloping us safely in the warmth of God's everlasting love.

In Romans 12:12, Paul enjoins us to be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer. For some, it may be possible to self-talk themselves into a sunny disposition, but for the depressive individual it may be well-nigh impossible to do so because of chemical imbalances. However, this may be more than a counsel to simply be happy. It may be an encouragement to seek treatment when we are continually depressed. No one deserves to be eternally down. Perhaps if we find it a struggle to be joyful we should consider seeking out resources, medical resources if necessary, to help us share in the joy of being a follower of Christ.

This does not mean that our experiences will always be joyful, or Paul's next counsel about being patient in affliction would make no sense. The 23rd Psalm tells us that God leads us in the "paths of righteousness." (v 3) Yet somehow, according to that same Psalm, we end up in the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Since it says that God is there with us, and we are following His leading perhaps we can conclude that it is God that leads us into that valley. If so, that could make it one of those "paths of righteousness." Even Jesus experienced this when the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness of temptation. (Matthew 4:1) All the more reason then for us to patiently follow His leading that we might, through those valley experiences, come to "dwell in the house of the Lord forever." (Psalm 23:6)

Paul's counsel regarding remaining faithful in prayer may be directed toward our tendency to become indifferent to such things. God is always faithful and seeks to have an open and healthy relationship with us. On the other hand, we may shut down that relationship from our end, either aggressively or passively. I like to think that a Christian will not be aggressive toward God, but there may nonetheless be a real danger of passivity. Unfortunately, no matter how much God may wish to bless us, if we shut down the flow of those blessings at our end by choosing not to keep the conduit open, even if it is only through a lack of commitment to doing so, we may be sacrificing so much in the process. As one of my favorite authors, Ellen White, once wrote, "prayer is the key in the hand of faith to unlock heaven’s storehouse." (Steps to Christ, pg. 95) If this is true, we might wish to keep the key in the lock of that storehouse to have it always open.

In the next verse in Romans, chapter 12, Paul advises us to "Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality." This can be read either in an exclusivist sense or inclusively. An exclusivist might read it as permission to not share with non-Christians. The Jews had an exclusivist view in Christ's day to such a degree that Jesus told the Parable of the Good Samaritan to help improve understanding in this area. (Luke 10:25-37)

The more inclusive viewpoint may see everyone whom Christ died for as belonging to Him and will share accordingly. Perhaps this is what God himself is like as "He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." (Matthew 5:45, NIV)

We may feel that sharing and hospitality are not our gifts. However, Paul asks us to "practice." Malcolm Gladwell, in his book "Outliers," writes that it takes 10,000 hours of doing something in order to become an expert at it. Maybe we should not expect to be good at hospitality from the beginning. Perhaps we should simply practice and as time goes by our gift will blossom. In the meantime, while that flower is blooming it will be fragrant to all. In this, as in all Christian graces, we should seek disciples who are willing to be mentored in sharing and hospitality. This will grow the kingdom of God as others see the character of God and His love through what He is creating in us, and we are mentoring in others.

Paul's counsel in Romans 12:14 may be particularly hard to accept for Americans in the face of the actions of Muslim extremists. How does one bless those who are beheading their countrymen and would like to do the same to all of them, including you? How do you refrain from cursing such evil individuals? Some may feel Paul really didn't mean what he said here. However, Paul faced this very thing himself. He was beheaded for his faith on the orders of Roman Emperor Nero. But nowhere in his writings do we find any inference of an attitude of cursing toward either Rome or its emperor. Instead we find someone who sees in his persecution and ultimate death an opportunity to bring the gospel into the very heart of the evil empire that sought to destroy him.

If Rome had the temerity today to treat Americans as the Muslim extremists are doing, we would probably seek to bomb them into oblivion, but that would not bring a single soul to Jesus. In contrast, Christians are made of different stuff. Every heart of opposition and persecution is seen as a heart ripe for the gospel. Perhaps that is why Christians are not really citizens of this world. Through Jesus, they come from a better place.

In Romans 12:15, Paul tells his readers, "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." While this may seem like rather obvious advice to some, many of us know someone who seems to always take joy in deflating someone else’s balloon. Instead of rejoicing at a half-cup of water to slake their thirst, they complain that the water is almost gone. These individuals appear to have a gift for seeking out the problems in every situation and doing their best to make sure everyone else sees those problems, also.

While there are times of sadness in everyone's life and we can mourn with them as those who care deeply for their loss, those cares of life should not preclude us from being filled with joy during those moments when others are rejoicing. The same Jesus, who wept with Mary after the death of Lazarus, (John 11) also, joined in the festive celebrations of the wedding feast at Cana, blessing the guests with the wedding gift of the miracle of water becoming wine. (John 2:1-11) Perhaps we should not, from a desire to be peculiar, make ourselves to always be the puzzle piece that never seems to fit in. God's compassionate love can then be seen because of us, not in spite of us.

In Romans 12:16, Paul warns his readers about the temptation of pride and conceit. Perhaps this is still a concern, today. Many churches are stratified into separate classes. Within those churches the elite, those who are college graduates, relatively wealthy or from families that have been in the church for generations, wield the power, while those without these things are relegated to service positions without any real power regarding the budget or the church's day-to-day operations. One needs only ask who must approve something in order to find out who is the wealthy, power-broker in these churches.

Paul's words seem to say that it is those of high position like this that are faced with the temptation of pride. Where do we fall on this scale? Perhaps we can see where we are more clearly if we ask ourselves if there is someone in the church we would not invite to our homes because we consider them to be beneath us socially. Who are those we would invite? Would those power-brokers be at the top of the list? Would we invite both classes? We might do well to remember that one of the accusations against Jesus was related to the people he associated with. Who would be like Jesus? If they did not know Jesus was the Messiah, would some of these individuals have invited Him to their homes? In the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, we see that a failure to reach out to those in need is seen in the eyes of heaven as a rejection of Jesus. (Matthew 25:31-46)

In Romans 12:17, Paul tells us to not repay evil for evil. This flies in the face of everything our culture says to us. Whether in movies or on TV, the answer to every conflict is shown to be a gun or some other means to violence to vanquish evil. We are so inundated with this dogma from childhood that even Christians may be found carrying guns with them, believing this is their protection against evil in this world. This disavows knowledge of the real source of evil, the Devil. If he wishes to do us harm, he will not be put off by a gun. He will simply outgun us, as happened to the journalist, Steven Sotloff, who entered Syria from Turkey with three armed guards. ISIS, his kidnappers, showed up with fifteen.

Perhaps we can acknowledge that our best protection lies not with us but with God.  (Psalm 7:10) One cannot help but wonder how different the world might be today if we followed Paul's counsel instead of a policy of vengeful justice. Paraphrasing what Gandhi said about the "eye-for-an-eye" philosophy of justice, such an attitude only brings pain and blindness to the entire world. This is because we all fail to avoid evil to one degree or another because we all are sinners. (Romans 3:10) In condemning the evil in others, we ultimately pass judgment upon ourselves as well.

In the last part of Romans 12:17, Paul tells us to be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. Does this mean he is telling us to be people pleasers? If so, what of Abraham Lincoln's famous quote about the impossibility of pleasing everyone? Perhaps this is simply a path to frustration and there is a great temptation to moral compromise if we follow that path.

Doing what is right can result in a vacillating course if we rely on those we are trying to please to establish what is right or wrong. Like spiritual chameleons our morality will change depending upon the morals of our audience. To help prevent that from happening, we need only look for an absolute moral code. That code is found in God's law of love which He will inscribe on our hearts. (Jeremiah 31:33) Those absolute values will allow us to steer a steady course no matter how chaotic the prevailing currents of morality that swirl around us become. This is the strong tower that God offers to each of us. (Psalm 61:3)

In Romans 12:18-19, Paul states we are to live at peace with everyone, "if it is possible," and instead of taking vengeance to leave room for God to intervene. Apparently Paul recognizes that universal peace may not be possible in this life, but if the peace is to be broken, it should not be by us as followers of Christ. Then when it is broken, we should not vengefully jump in with guns drawn and bullets blazing to get revenge.

When we seek to pay back evil with evil, we arrogantly assume that we are the right hand of God's vengeance. We become self-appointed paladins of virtue, riding to make the world over in God's image, as we see Him. Heedless of how this may distort the character of God, we swing our sword right and left in a broad swath, at times cutting down the evil and the innocents alike. We may tell ourselves, "Too bad for them, they should not have been encouraging evil by associating with it."

However, perhaps we should step back from our sense of wounded righteousness and recognize that no matter how high-tech our weapons may be, they can never be as discerning as what God has in His armory. Until we let go of the problem, His concern for us and what we are doing may interfere with the answer He has already set in motion. Often we only need to be still. (Exodus 14:14) Any vengeance to be dealt belongs not to us, but to God.

Romans, chapter 12, closes with a quote from Proverbs 25. This is a contrast to the sentiment we hear so often today. With terrorists and extremists brutalizing the populace with beheadings, bombings and other unspeakable crimes, it is not uncommon to hear people saying that the only thing that these people will understand as a deterrent is brute force. So we then send $70,000 to $250,000 missiles to eliminate half a dozen or so individuals in tents or ramshackle buildings in the middle of nowhere in order to make that point clear.

However, we often find that instead of eliminating the threat, the force used often creates more threats and the evil spreads. Paul is telling us here that there is a better way. Perhaps instead of spending trillions on bombs and other armaments, we could consider using all of those dollars to pay for social justice and equity, to heal and care for the suffering, to feed the hungry and educate the ignorant. Would we rather have people point at their dead relatives and say "This is what that country did for me and my family!" or would we rather have them say this while pointing to their children who are healthy, educated and well-fed. Which approach is more likely to plant the seed of the gospel in human hearts?

Romans 13:1-5 brings us to a direct confrontation with the attitude of far too many politicized Christians today. Paul's words advise us to submit to the governing authorities based on the belief that it is God who put them in power. (v 1) However, we too often hear, from the mouths of professed Christians, vile epithets and accusations directed at those in authority. They justify this because of the many failings of those individuals doing the governing. But Paul does not say that government must be perfect in order for us to be obedient. If that were the case, then every government would be opposed by nihilism as no one, governing or not, is free of the taint of sin.

The rebellion of those who do so in the name of religion will only bring the wrath of the state down upon their heads. (v 2) Sadly, because they use their religion as an excuse for that rebellion, they will also paint those who are following Paul's counsel with the same brush of anarchy in the eyes of the authorities. Ironically, in doing so, these rebellious Christians may actually create the persecution they accuse the government of already pursuing. Perhaps they do not realize that such an attitude is based on self-righteousness and arrogance and not the moving of the Holy Spirit. (1 Samuel 15:23) Better we pray for those who we feel are erring than that we slander them.

Romans 13:6-7 continues with another challenge to what some Christians seem to believe. The paying of taxes is said to be many things from unconstitutional to feeding the beast of Revelation 13. However, this vilifying of governmental authority is not supported as we have seen from the previous verses. Instead, Paul encourages the paying of taxes and the reason he gives is because the people who are working full time to provide the services we expect should be fairly paid.

If we consider the matter carefully, we might see how this is consistent with our support of the church, for don't those who work fulltime for the gospel also have the same right? Some might see a distinction between the coercive nature of governmental taxation and the persuasive call for offerings and tithes from the pulpit. But this may be an insincere argument. Too often those who demonstrate an attitude of rebellion toward government and taxes also have a similar attitude toward the church and its monetary requirements. But this is not a new problem or Paul would not have written to the Roman church about it two thousand years ago. Perhaps it is, then as now, the desires of our flesh warring against the promptings of the Holy Spirit, the flesh which always seems to desire more and give less. This could be why Paul speaks of crucifying that desire. (Galatians 5:24-25)

Continuing on with an explanation of Paul's counsel in the first half of Romans 13, we find that fulfillment of the requirements of the Law is not a matter of obedience but of love. (v 8) Perhaps this is especially apropos, today. We live in a time where some take pride in obeying the Law in detail, whether it is avoiding idols, keeping the Sabbath, or even diet. (Romans 14) Yet at the same time we vilify others and disrespect those in authority for the slightest failings. This seems a twisted idea of love. When we fail to see our lack of love, we may also have a difficult time seeing ourselves as actually being lawbreakers.

Perhaps we would do well to address as much attention to our own failings as we do to the failings of those authorities we castigate. When we do, we may get a truer picture of the state of things.  Nonetheless we should not despair for that is why we have a Savior. Instead, we should pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to help us to see ourselves as we truly are that we might see where we are stumbling. Then we can bring those stumbling blocks to the foot of the cross that we might grow in grace and replace those failings with love that will warm the hearts of even our most inveterate of enemies. Few of us have yet arrived, but it is perhaps a journey that we all will find worthwhile.

In Romans 13:10, Paul sums up his short dissertation on the Law with the statement that "Love is the fulfillment of the Law." This would mean that any loving person is automatically fulfilling the requirements of the Law. However, some get this completely turned around, teaching that obeying the Law is automatically being loving. This was the problem with the Pharisees. They scrupulously obeyed every requirement of the Law even to the extent of tithing their herbs. (Matthew 23:23) Yet, they failed to cultivate the love that brings with it compassion and mercy. Jesus, in His teaching on adultery (Matthew 5:27-28) showed how simply fulfilling the letter of the law falls far short as a model of Christian behavior. Love takes us beyond the Law to a desire to emulate the character of the One who gave it. (1 John 4:8)  The Law condemns us to death (Romans 7:10), but love brings us into harmony with the Lifegiver, our Creator.

Such a rigid focus on obedience caused the Pharisees to feel that they were more righteous than those they deemed to be disobedient. Feeling that they were especially favored by God because of their obedience, they fell into the trap of self-righteousness. In the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican, the Pharisee could not show love, compassion or mercy to the Publican, only contempt. In doing so, he lost his justification. (Luke 18:10-14) Perhaps we should ask ourselves, "Are we fulfilling the Law or simply obeying it." If we have contempt for others as that Pharisee did, we may be deluding ourselves regarding our status. Love and compassion make all the difference.

In Romans 13:11-14, some of the more works oriented might say, "At last! Paul is finally preaching obedience to the Law." However, in doing so, they might be missing the point. This point is crucial to understanding the whole idea of "sola fide" of salvation totally, completely by faith alone. The key is in verse fourteen. We are to focus on Christ not on our sinful desires.

For example, if we are saying to ourselves, "I managed to make it all day without giving in to that sin." is our focus on Christ or on the sinful desire? Some may have noticed that when our focus is on that desire, Satan can, with such assistance from us, constantly keep it before us, believing that eventually we will weaken and succumb. But when our focus in on Christ, Satan has no toehold, for the prince of this world has nothing in Him. (John 14:30) Perhaps we would do best to simply turn over our sins to God, let Him worry about them, and focus on the beauty of the Savior. He will take care of them if we let Him. We only need to stop making it our job, and let it be His.

Christ is the Great Physician, and like a skilled surgeon, He will excise our necrotic flesh when the time is best. Perhaps we need strengthening before the surgery can be successfully performed. Our desire may be to remove all sin from our lives immediately, but a wise doctor, rather than allowing the patient to determine the course of the medical intervention, will rely on his or her skill and wisdom to strive for the best possible outcome. We should trust the Holy Spirit to take us step by step to where we need to be. The God who did not shirk from dying on the cross to make our salvation possible will surely make a complete work in us as we allow it. We can trust Him. We need only be still. (Exodus 14:14)