Now Overcoming Evil with Good

Romans 12:14-21 ESV

“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.”

When we follow Jesus Christ with our lives, in walks of obedience to his commands, faithfully, and we are living holy lives pleasing to him, and we are not walking in sin, but we are walking in righteousness, we are going to be persecuted, even by others who profess faith in Jesus Christ, and even by some pastors of churches, or of what are falsely being called churches. And especially if we are verbally and publicly sharing the truth of the gospel, we are going to be opposed, even by the same people mentioned here.

Now, if we bless someone, we are going to do for or say to that person what is beneficial for them. For the word “bless” means to speak reason which confers benefit, as God defines “benefit,” not as man does. For “bless” is used of God blessing people, so this isn’t about doing what is fleshly and worldly, and this isn’t about lying to people to make them feel good, either. But it is about doing what is good (as God defines good) to people, which is the opposite of doing evil to them, and it is the opposite of cursing them.

And along those same lines, when we rejoice with those who rejoice, we are not to rejoice over what is evil, or over what is opposed to God and to his word. So if someone is rejoicing over evil they have done to another person, we do not rejoice with them. And we are not to rejoice with people over how they managed to trick someone, etc. But we are to rejoice over what is good and holy and righteous and beneficial to others, by God’s standards. And we are to weep over the things God weeps over, which may not agree with man.

Living in harmony with one another also does not involve compromise of morals nor of truth nor of righteousness. We are to remain faithful to our Lord in holy living and in walking with integrity even if it means not being in harmony with other human beings. But where it is possible, without compromise of what is godly and holy and righteous, we should try to get along with other people, and we should never be hateful and nasty and backbiting and vicious, no matter what the circumstances.

We, as well, should not walk according to the wisdom and thinking of this world and of our human flesh. But we should be those who are walking in the wisdom of God and of his word. So, we don’t make decisions based on worldly thinking and reasoning, but on the wisdom of God. Yet, I am not saying that we can’t make just and right decisions or that we are incapable of making logical and rational decisions, but that we should not rely on our own wisdom in place of the wisdom of God, and we should not be prideful.

And we are not to “trade tit for tat,” i.e. we are not to get even with people who do evil to us, repaying them equally for the evil that they did to us. Instead, we are to love our enemies, and pray for them, and do good to them, and do for them and say to them what is beneficial for them in the eyes of God, not according to the flesh. So, if our enemies are genuinely hungry and thirsty, then we should feed them and give them something to drink, for we are to repay evil with good, as a testament of God’s love.

For we are not to be overcome by evil, but we are to overcome evil with good. So, no matter the evil that others do to us, we are not to retaliate, but we are to forgive them. This doesn’t mean we are granting them permission to keep on doing evil to us, though, but that we refuse to do to them as they have done and are doing to us. And instead we choose to love them and forgive them and do good to them in return. And in this way we will overcome evil with good and we will not be overtaken by evil.

O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go  

George Matheson / Albert L. Peace

O Love that wilt not let me go,

I rest my weary soul in Thee;

I give Thee back the life I owe,

That in Thine ocean depths its flow

May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,

I yield my flickering torch to Thee;

My heart restores its borrowed ray,

That in Thy sunshine’s blaze its day

May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,

I cannot close my heart to Thee;

I trace the rainbow through the rain,

And feel the promise is not vain,

That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,

I dare not ask to fly from Thee;

I lay in dust life’s glory dead,

And from the ground there blossoms red

Life that shall endless be.

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