In the passage that we just read teaches us the attitude that Christians should take towards those outside of the church. One day an expert in the law came and asked Jesus what the most important commandment is. Jesus answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37) is the greatest commandment. Then “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39) is the second commandment and is just as important. In other words Christians are to love God and love others. However, to say “Love your neighbor as yourself” is easy to say, but to put it into practice is not something that we can do easily. Our neighbors are not always good people, and some people maybe be plotting evil. Even though you can love someone who likes you and is kind to you, to love those who oppose you, who plot evil, who talk negatively about you, who gossip, who slander, who are malicious, is not something that you can do easily. What kind of attitude should Christians take towards such people? Let’s look at verses 14 and 21.
This is the attitude that Christians should take. Christians should bless those that oppose them and persecute them. They must not curse them. Christians must not do bad things to people that wrong them, and must “not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Another way of saying it is that Christians must towards evil take the love of Christ’s cross and be victorious. Today let’s look at 3 aspects of this.
I. Bless those who persecute you. (vs. 14-17)
Please look at verses 14 to 17. Here Paul writes about the Christian basic lifestyle. That is “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” (14) Also “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.” (17) However, this runs contrary to our natural selves. That is because when we are persecuted or wronged, we have feelings of wanting to take revenge with even more evil. For example if another person punches us 1 time, we want to return 2 or 3 punches. Maybe even 2 or 3 punches won’t calm our anger. We want to kill them.
In the Old Testament the words, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” appear. If someone ruined your eye, you were to gouge out that person’s eye. If your tooth was broken, you were to break the other person’s tooth. The law of revenge was that if a life was taken, you were to take the other person’s life. There were no feelings of love at all. However, this was definitely not a cruel law, but the greatest law of mercy. That’s because if someone breaks someone’s tooth, the person whose tooth broke may think that he doesn’t want to just break the tooth of the person who broke his, but his bone too. A person whose eye was ruined, he may not just want to gouge out the eye of the person who did it, but also want to cut his throat. This is human. God who knows man’s revenging heart so that man would not give more evil back to the person who committed evil, God declared that that you were to give back no more than you received. Therefore, these laws appeared in the age of the Old Testament as an expression of God’s love.
Man is a jealous being. We curse those who harm us wishing that they will fall. This is human nature. However, here it says, “Bless those who persecute you;” (14) and “Do not repay anyone evil for evil.“ (17)
Matt. 5:38-40
It seems impossible. How can you forgive someone who evilly attacked you, or someone who harmed you? More than that it seems impossible to be able to bless such a person. However, that’s what Christians should do. By the blood of Jesus Christ all of our sin is forgiven, and we who have been made the child of God should love our enemies, and bless those who persecute us. This is the road of Christian victory.
Matt. 5:43-48
Anyone can love a person who loves them. Loving your enemy, and praying for those who persecute you is to become a child of our Father in heaven. It is not just the level of forgiving our enemies, but praying for our enemies for them to be blessed. This is the will of the Lord and what God desires us to do.
Have you ever heard of Mitsuo Fuchida? He was a Japanese soldier during the war and was captured and taken as a prisoner to America. At the camp there was a volunteer girl that was extremely kind and helped the sick and everyone she could. Everyone was taken back by her and asked her why she so enthusiastically helped them. She answered because her parents were killed by Japanese soldiers while they were serving as missionaries in the Philippines. Before they were killed, her parents knelt and prayed, “Father forgive them because they know not what they are doing.” Therefore, girl’s heart was changed into doing good to those who had done wrong to her and her parents. Thus she started volunteering at the camp.
Fuchida couldn’t understand very well what she was saying. However, he later started reading the Bible. When he read Luke 23:34, he remembered the girl’s testimony and finally understood what she was saying. He was able to pray that the Americans that were putting the Japanese soldiers on trial and slaying them would be forgiven. He was also able to look to the cross and walk straight towards Christ.
To forgive our enemies and pray for those who persecute us is what God in heaven desires of us Christians. This can be done only by those who know the love of Jesus Christ who prayed on the cross.
To do that 2 things are necessary. Of course to forgive our enemies and pray for those who persecute us we must know the love of Christ’s cross and be forgiven. While standing on this premise, here it teaches us about 2 hearts that are necessary.
1. Vs. 15 To put yourself in the shoes of the other person and think. When we put ourselves in the other person’s shoes and think, then such a merciful heart will be born. Christians need to rejoice with those that rejoice and cry with those who cry.
Even if we can cry with those who cry, to rejoice with those who rejoice is not an easy thing to do. It is not so difficult to cry with those who are sad. When we see children without parents, or see a T.V. program about a family who is overcoming problems associated with living with a handicapped person, it is not difficult for us to shed tears. However, when we see someone receive a huge blessing, it is more difficult to clap.
The first murder occurred because of envy. God accepted Abel’s offering, but didn’t accept his brother’s, Cain’s offering. Cain became envious, and killed his brother, Abel. We are the same. When others are blessed sometimes we become envious. Christians aren’t to be jealous, but rejoice together and are sad together. It is important to stand in the other person’s shoes. Such a heart leads to an attitude of blessing “those who persecute you”. (14)
2. (16) Here it says “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.” All of us have a heart that wants to boast, that doesn’t want to allow God to change us. We want to look good so without thinking we tell lies Therefore, here it tell us to “Live in harmony with one another.” (16) In other words, we need to harmonize like a song. Modest people, those who don’t think they know everything are those who can live in harmony. Those who are proud find it difficult to harmonize. Those who think they know everything find it difficult to allow God to change them. Self advocacy only causes our mouth to become like poison handicapping the other person so immediately the harmony is in a mess . Wherever that person goes, peace is completely broken. On the other end if a person has a humble, modest heart and does not think that he knows everything, then others recognize the person, love him, and everyone can live in peace.
Galatians 5:22,23
These are the fruit of the Spirit. We certainly can’t have these things by our own strength. When the Holy Spirit pours oil upon us, then we can begin to love, to rejoice, to receive peace, to endure. We are able to keep the fruits of “kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Gal. 5:22, 23)
By our own strength we can’t bless those who persecute us. By our own strength we can’t be humble or have a heart that doesn’t think that we know everything. It is only by kneeling before the Lord, and meditating on all that the Lord has done for us, and by having the Lord work in our heart, that we can “Bless those who persecute” (14) us; “Rejoice with those who rejoice;” (15) and “Live in harmony with one another.” (16)
II. Live at peace with everyone (vs. 18)
The second point is to “Live at peace with everyone.” (18) No matter what evil we throw away on our end, there are those who think badly of us, that persecute us, and that speak badly about us. Towards such people here we are told to “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (18) However, no matter what the other person is like, what we can do ourselves is have peace with all people which is a necessary stance. If the other person does bad things to the end, there will not be real peace between the two of you. At least on your side, keep perfect peace. You must make it clear that responsibility for peace lies with the other person. This is very difficult in real life. In our daily life, when we can’t maintain peace, we blame the other person. Man always has to blame someone else in order to maintain themselves. However, even at times like this, we need to keep peace within our hearts.
III. Leave room for God’s wrath (Vs. 19 & 20)
Lastly, let’s look at leaving it to God’s wrath. When the situation doesn’t improve and the other person is acting out of evilness, what should we do? Please look at verses 19 and 20.
We are not to “repay anyone evil for evil.” (19) We need to leave it to God’s wrath. Of course, when we as Christians receive unfair treatment or have been wronged, we can appeal through public agencies. There are times when the Person who appeals does better. However, the most important thing, the most major thing is to leave it to God. That is because the Lord says, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay.” (19) Revenge is not what we should do. That is what God does. God judges righteously. We need to leave everything to this righteous judgment.
Not only that but in verse 20 it says, “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.” To give food to your hungry enemy and to give drinks to your thirsty enemy is responding in love. It is not to ignore him thinking that even if you said anything it would be useless, but to respond in love. By doing so, “you will heap burning coals on his head.” (20) This means that your enemy will have shameful feelings. Even though the other person did bad things, the Christian responds with kindness so that the other person’s conscious won’t be able to stand it, and will become shamed. This is the road to God’s victory.
When Jesus prayed about those who put him on the cross, “Father, Forgive them because they don’t know what they are doing”, One of the criminals that was next to him was saved and God’s love was demonstrated. When Stephen was persecuted and stoned to death, he prayed, “forgive them.” Through that prayer, Paul was led to salvation, and became an apostle to the Gentiles. When Joseph in the Old Testament too forgave his brothers who sold him to Egypt confessing that God led him there, he overcame and had victory over his feelings of wanting to take revenge. Joseph was able to finish his life victoriously. We should bless and must not curse. When we live by these Words of God, we will receive grace from God, be richly blessed, and can life a life of victory.
In society, in our family, towards other people we are to keep peace with non Christians. This is a principle that can be applied to all relationships. Enthusiastically perform good works. When given the chance to do good, gladly do so Paul is teaching us this. Towards everyone do what all people think is good. Towards those who hurt us we need to be kind and do good, and that will cause their conscious to hurt. By doing that they will be led to salvation. This is the principle of victory in the cross.
We are weak and find it difficult to forgive those who plot evil on us. Let’s be victorious following the principle of the victory of the cross. “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.”(17) “Do not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (21) This is the victorious road the Paul is teaching us.