Bless Those Who Persecute You

“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)

No matter who we are in this world, Christian or non-Christian, we will probably face prejudice against ourselves of some kind at some time in our lives. For some people will not like us because of the color of our skin, or because we are educated, or not much educated, or because we have money, or we don’t have much money, or because we affiliate with a particular political party, or because we don’t, or because we are female or male, or because of the kind of job that we have, etc. And sometimes with prejudice also comes much hate and persecution (mistreatment).

And if we are of genuine faith in Jesus Christ, and so we have died with Christ to sin, and so we are now walking in holiness and in righteousness, in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands, there will be people who will be prejudice against us and who will hate us and mistreat us. And this is especially the case for those who take God and his word seriously and who are walking the walk and not just talking it. And it is the case for those who are proclaiming the truth of the gospel and who are refuting the lies of the enemy and who are exposing the fruitless deeds of darkness.

And our greatest enemies may be similar to who Jesus’ enemies were and are still. Our persecutors may be primarily within the gatherings of the church (or the false church) who are buying into the trappings of the world and of marketing schemes and who have altered the character of God/Christ and of his church and of his gospel, and in order to appease human flesh and to attract the people of the world to their gatherings. And so they may reject, ostracize, persecute, and let us know that we are not welcome in their gatherings because of our “strong convictions” (biblical morals).

But when people mistreat us because of their personal prejudices against us, for whatever reason, we are to do good back to them and not evil. We are not to try to get even with them, but we are to be kind to them and even to do things for them to show them that we love them and that we do not hate them. We are to love them, pray for them, do good to them, and say to them what is for their good. We are to leave all vengeance in the hands of God. And if our enemies are in need of food or water, and we are able, we should try to minister to them and to their true needs.

Now, with regard to us rejoicing and weeping with others, and living in harmony with one another, and living peaceably with all people, all this has to be measured by God’s word and by his moral standards and by his righteousness. For we are never to rejoice with what is sinful. And we cannot live in harmony or be at peace with anyone or anything that is sinful and immoral and contrary to the teachings of Christ and of his NT apostles. For we are not ever to compromise our faith or our morals or the gospel message in order to be at peace with others.

And we must guard against pride and prejudice in our own hearts and actions. For we are not to have this attitude that we are better than everyone else. For even if we are living righteously, in obedience to our Lord, it is only by the grace of God and his power that we can do that, and that we can even be delivered from our sins and to live holy lives, pleasing to him. But that does not mean that we shy away from speaking the truth in love to people and from sharing the gospel message and from talking about sin, repentance, and the consequences of unrepentant hearts.

For we are not to be overcome by evil, but we are to overcome evil with good. So we don’t make compromises with the world and with sin just so people won’t think we are stuck up. We don’t back down from speaking the truth of the gospel just so people won’t think that we are self-righteous or that we are judgmental or whatever. We don’t love others by loving God less. We don’t love others by making compromises with sin and with worldliness. If we really love people with agape love, we will want to do for them truly what is for their best, whether or not they hate us in return.

Video Talk

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Songs in the Night  

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.

You, my Savior, I now adore.

Hope in heaven awaiting me,

Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,

And I’m bound for heaven.

Jesus set me free from

All my sin, I say.

I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:

Overcame death, my vict’ry won!

Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!

I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!

My sin is but hist’ry!

I am free to please Him

With my life today.

I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me

A new life bought at Calvary.

Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.

Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;

Through my Lord, I’m able

To sit at His table;

Fellowship with Him.

I will thank Him always!

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