Well, I invite you to turn tonight to Romans chapter 12. We're continuing our study in the book of Romans. We are in the gratitude section in Romans chapter 12, and I will read verses 9 through the end of the chapter. You'll remember the section break that I made last time was 9 through 13, and we will be looking at 14 through 21 tonight. Let's give our attention tonight to the word of the Lord.
"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil. Hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal. Be fervent in spirit. Serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope. Be patient in tribulation. Be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. And now our text: 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 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's 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."
May the Lord bless tonight the hearing of His word.
Well, we are indeed living in a very hostile cultural moment. I don't think I need to make the case for that. uh As we have looked at think of Dr. Godfrey's Sunday school series of Christendom and its sort of collapse in America. And we live in a divided country, a divided time where people are hostile to one another, and it is just a way of life for people to tear one another down and to hate one another. We are so immersed in this, in a gossip culture and a culture full of this, we don't even think anything of it anymore. It is just a way of life. Tearing apart one another politically is a way of life. And what has it produced? You think of all of the argumentation and all of the political fighting that has gone on. What has it all solved? What really has it solved? If anything, we have seen nothing but it advanced hatred of neighbor. That's, that's, that's the sad fruit of what's happened in our culture and in our society. And, and of course then we see and open the news like we did again today: a shooting in a church, a church on fire, violence, and the worst actions of hatred against neighbor. And who knows what the trajectory trajectory will be in the future if this just continues in the same course that it's going? It's not good. it's just can't be good.
The hard part is that the more Christianity is wedded to the politics of our day, the more we are drawn in to the same kind of responses to people we disagree with. And what is the response that we often see with those whom we disagree with? It's it is hatred of anyone who thinks differently than us today. And it's absolutely true. We can no longer even have discussion anymore. The goal is to shut that down because the tension is so fierce. And that leaves people with a lot of anger and a lot of frustration. And we are now, I think, particularly appreciating more when we read. it, was striking, wasn't it, the other day when we sang out Psalm 11? Just think of the words of Psalm 11 and how much these words speak to our day and the times in which we live.
"The Lord is my refuge. How then can you say, O flee like a bird to your mountain away? The godless take aim with their bow and their dart. Like snipers, they shoot at the upright in heart." That's right out of the song. And we're singing that and we're seeing these things play out in society.
"When evil prevails, they foundations remove. Oh, what then? Oh, what then can righteous men do? Be sure that the Lord in His temple on high, in heaven enthroned over man, casts His eye. The Lord looks on man with His all-searching eyes. His eyelids observe and their conduct he tries. The Lord tests the righteous who walk in His ways. His soul hates the wicked who terror embrace. The Lord will send judgment and pour out hot coals o'er all the ungodly. His scorching wind rolls. The Lord ever righteous, His justice portrays. By grace all the upright will look on His face."
Those psalms have a lot of meaning, don't they? And they're very important for the times in which we live when we see such hostility and hatred. And yet tonight we come to Romans. We come to Romans, and we have this great call to love our enemies. A call to love our enemies.
Calvin says openly on Romans chapter 12: "These commands are so difficult and totally opposed to the natural man. Only God can overcome and help us to do this." And that is absolutely right. When you read these commandments, that's exactly how we feel. Here's what he says: "Arduous is this, I admit, and wholly opposed to the nature of man, but there is nothing too arduous to be overcome by the power of God, which shall never be wanting to us, provided we neglect not to seek for it. And though you can hardly find one who has made such advances in the law of the Lord that he fulfills this precept, yet no one can claim to be a child of God or glory in the name of a Christian who has not in part attained this mind and who does not daily resist the opposite disposition."
What is the disposition he's calling us to? Love your enemy. The opposite disposition is hatred of them. What I'm talking tonight and what we're considering is the heart of this. It's the simple command that comes from this text to love our enemies. We ought, says Jesus, even to love our enemies. That comes directly out of the Sermon on the Mount. We spent time in that. And the text tonight is helping us and fleshing out a little bit for us how we do that and why we do that. Nothing makes us more Christ-like than what is before us tonight. And that's why this section is so vitally important for the Christian life.
As I said, this is a life of gratitude. This is the life of service. And this is the life of conformity to the image of Christ. And this is how we say thank you for redemption. This is how we say thank you for salvation. We begin to walk in the path of Christ Himself, who loved His enemies. And I believe that that's what's so important about this is the description of love that is driving this section. He's helping to define it for us and show us how it is actually lived and pursued in the Christian life. He's helping us to understand love. He's calling us to as we looked at in the last section sincerity and love, love without mass Let your love be not phony. Let it be real. Let it be on the inside, expressed on the outside. Let it be without hypocrisy. That was what we looked at last time and how that occurs. And then he said we are to love. Let our love be without hypocrisy, and he said a bore what is evil and hold fast to what is good."
Now, I think crucial to this text, important to this text, is the very distinction that he's making here in how love functions, and particularly in verses 9 through 13. That love is aimed as we looked at last week for those on the inside. How do we love those on the inside? How do we love the church? How do we love the body of Christ? And that was verses 9 through 13 that we looked at of our brethren. It was a beautiful call. You remember uh in those verses: "Love one another with brotherly affection." There it is! It's It's brotherly affection it's different. This is a love that's different, that's exercised on the inside. "Outdo one another in showing honor. you not be slothful and zeal. Be fervent in spirit. Serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope. Be patient in tribulation. Be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints." Consider the saints. And all of this, this is love on the inside. Show hospitality on the inside. It's very important.
But now we're being challenged in the verses that follow to show love on the outside, and it's important to make that distinction because the question that has to be asked in this particular section: If we're being called to love even our enemies, what is sort of the difference between the two kinds of love? And it's not so much that we turn love off and on with different kinds of love or different approaches to love. It's that true love has the single binding characteristic whether it's on the inside or outside in that it is self-denying. That's important. But the difference is not so much in the action of love itself, but notice here tonight the challenge that is presented to us in how to love those who hate us. That's a whole different discussion. How do you love those who hate you? How do you love those who don't care a lick about you? How do you love those who want to do you harm? And that's important tonight.
In verses you'll notice here, 14 to the end of the chapter, that is chiefly what he is dealing with: love for those think about it, love for those who love. us is reciprocated. And love for our brethren with brotherly affection is loving those on the inside. it's a shared love, it's the kind of love that has a joyous fulfillment in the body of christ a tender love a love where we enjoy each other's koinonia, our fellowship together. It's mutual and it's shared. How precious in the sight when brethren make it their delight to dwell in sweet accord! The Lord loves this. The Lord loves this. It's a little taste of heaven that assumes a mutual love of one another.
But the love that is not experienced in that kind of way is with those who want nothing to do with us. That's a lot different. And the Lord wants us to think about that. In verses 14 to the end, the general thrust of this is: How do I act? How do I love those who hate me? And am I even called to love them? And what does that look like?
And he begins here with attitude. He begins in verse 14, and he says, "Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse them." Notice that. Let it set in. "Bless those who do what?" Oh no, we're Americans. We can't let that happen. Bless those who persecute you. Now think Calvin for a minute. What did he say? Without the Lord, you can't do that. That is so contrary to the natural man. He'll never do that. Bless those who persecute me? No, no, no, no, no. I'm ready to take them out. That's the mentality today. Bless them? What is he talking about? It's an act of kindness to them. Graciously be benevolent to them. Benefit them who are in hostile pursuit of you. That's the word meaning here for persecution. So he's calling us to a whole attitude and lifestyle toward those who are actively pursuing hostility toward us.
Now, this is where we're challenged a bit. Jesus never spoke of this reality as a mere possibility. We've had it pretty good in times and cultures, and all across the world in different seasons and different places, Christians were always facing this. Think of John 15: "If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you're not of the world and I chose you out of the world, therefore, conclusion, this is not something that is in question. The world hates you." That dichotomy is set up. That separation is made. "Remember the word that I said to you: A servant is not greater than his master." And you stop and you say, "Well, what does that mean?" It means to have us think: What did they do to Jesus? What did they do to Jesus? And then you start and ponder that, and you stop and you think: The very thing they did to Him was put Him to death.
That God worked our own salvation out if they persecuted me, said Jesus, here I keep going, John 15 they will also persecute you if they kept my word they will also keep yours but all these things they will do to you on account of my name."
What is the real cause? And then we can tie this together with the Beatitudes: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake." It's built in. You are His righteous people. That's what earns it. Your character, your convictions, what He has built into you as His people, what marks you and defines you as righteous in the way that we live. "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice!"
I mean, it's really shocking, isn't it? "Rejoice, and be not just a little glad, exceedingly glad!" Leave singing. Remember when the apostles were beaten for the name of Jesus? Do you remember what happened in Acts? They went out rejoicing that they were called worthy to suffer for the name. "Rejoice, for great is your reward in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
And Jesus explains here why people get legitimately receive hatred from the world: it is for righteousness sake. If you think about what had our own Lord persecuted it was that he spoke truth. The Pharisees hated him because there was something about him. It wasn't arrogance. It was: if you think about him, when people came into contact with our Lord, He stripped everyone else of their righteousness. They were uncomfortable around him. He made them nervous. He was light. They were darkness. He was pure. They were unrighteous. He was full of righteousness and joy and peace and the love that he had for people and the mercy and compassion that he showed to people while exposing darkness made them hate him. For such things, what do people do with somebody like that? Well, I think we saw last time in Matthew. The first thing they do is try to destroy credibility before they kill you. Everything they do to marginalize and find fault with jesus that's our whole study in Matthew, every bit along the way. They try to find fault with Him.
I noticed the calling in the midst of this the shocking call: "Bless them. Bless them." That is the most difficult thing. I'm not grandstanding up here. I don't think I've ever done it very well, but it is the call: Bless them. Take an active role in blessing these people. You can't be serious? The murderous wicked? Imagine: every time we were offended, if we blessed people, and instead and didn't as we instead do fly off in rage and determined to hate them and tear them? down but bless them We avoid this at all costs. That's, that's what's going on in Christianity in America right now: a blatant call across this land maybe you're not aware of it to hate our enemies And they justify it from the Psalms and they take the Psalms and they say, "See? God hates His enemies. So should you." And we stop and we think, "Well, wait a minute. Those judicial Psalms that the Lord gave were indeed speaking of His justice, and we cry out for justice. But we forget the day we are in. That day is coming. Today is a day of across the scriptures in the New covenant mercy long-suffering. The benefits that have accrued from the cross have exhibited to the world the patience of God in doing what?"
I'll come back to it. Here's the surprising verse in verse 15. How do we love and bless our enemies? Here's the surprising verse I think we miss out of context. "Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited."
We never really take this, I think, in the proper section. It's commanded. We think it's just with our brethren. Almost every time I hear it quoted rejoice with those who rejoice And weep with those who weep we think it's just here. and i've got news for you it. is here but that's not where he's put it If you look carefully at this section and how it's bracketed, here's what makes this powerful: verse 14 is a bracket that's telling us to bless those who persecute us, and verse 17 at the end of this is telling us that this is about enemies. And Paul just said something very powerful about how to love your enemies: rejoice with them and weep with them. That's a shocking engagement, isn't it? Step into their lives. Enter into what they're facing. When they have joyful moments in their lives that you can rejoice with, rejoice with them. When they have awful, hard providences in their life your enemy that they suffer, join in and weep with them. Well, there's a test of Christianity!
This was the mind of Christ. He was heavily hated for dining with everyone the Pharisees thought were the enemies of Israel. He sits with the drunkards. He sits with the tax collectors and the sinners. This is a powerful call from our Lord. We should never take the attitude he's saying: of how dare these awful people do this to me. I'm done with them." And that's not even on the inside, which never should be. That's on the outside.
And so he says, verse 18: "Repay no one evil for evil." 17: "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." Where does all of this come from? Paul took it right out of the Sermon on the Mount. "You have heard that it was said: you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. He knew what the Pharisees were doing to the Psalms. I say to you: Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." And here's where they never read the scriptures: "For He makes, this is right out of the Psalms, makes his son to rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust."
All these wicked out here have sunshine today. All these wicked out here have have rain when they need it they have food. Paul said to the pagans to fill their hearts with gladness. Paul said that about the pagans. And he says: What do you think your heavenly Father? What's His action toward the wicked right now? They're living, aren't they? They're living. That's amazing.
Connection: Jesus knew the Jewish thought. To the Jew, the neighbor was only the Jew. But to the gentiles those on the outside they were the enemies of the faith. So you could hate them. And Jesus says, "I tell you: Love them. Bless them. Do good to them. Pray for them who spitefully use you and persecute you. Why? Because God sends down His son on them. He's showering that kind of kindness on people."
Now, you preach this kind of things and you get this charge. You get this charge: "Here, are you a pacifist?" No, I'm not a pacifist in the way that's usually defined. Like, you can defend yourself is that's that's not what I'm saying. These things are always used to disregard the plain teaching of this today.
Paul is saying in Romans 12, very clearly, under the inspiration of the Spirit: Love your enemies. That's what Jesus taught us, and that's what the whole Bible taught us. This is not foreign to Deuteronomy. Why do we love? Well, because we've been loved.
Number one, there's a bigger picture. Because being a Christian means that the life I live is no longer about me. I've died. My life is hidden with Christ in God. It's no longer about rights. I love because the love of Christ compels me and it controls me. And because of this, I have a whole different perspective on the unbeliever. I have a whole different perspective on the wicked in this present age. He's lost. He's lost.
And having spiritualized what we should see in our neighbor who is persecuting us and doing evil to us is the reason they're acting for that the reason they're acting that way. And what might God do?
It's amazing. When Stephen was stoned, they all laid their cloaks at the young man, the feet of a young man named who? Saul. He was the greatest enemy of the early church. Now, what did God do? "He who is in the heaven shall laugh. How did God laugh? He made him the apostle to the Gentiles, and that's why you're here. What an amazing act to redeem that persecutor and through him to bring the gospel to us!
We have to see the problem for what it is. They are without hope and without God in the world. They're fighting for their heaven on earth now. You are a pilgrim. You don't belong here. You've got something better. This is the whole message and testimony of Scripture.
It demonstrates the kindness of the Lord our God. Now, what did Jesus say? "Let your light so shine before men that they would see your good works and turn to your Father who is in heaven." Isn't that the goal? 1 Thessalonians 5: "See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all." 1 Peter 3:9: "Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary bless, there it is again for to this you were called, that you may obtain blessing."
It's such a consistent teaching across the New Testament that it's hard to understand why Christians could make a case ever that we should be out actively going (and I use the language that's being used right now) going to war with our enemies. Well, in what way? Telling them the truth is going to war, but hating them and wanting to crush our enemies is not the way of Christ. Yet. This is what's coming in the final judgment. And this is the beauty of what we're being called to here in the Gospel.
If your enemy's hungry, here's what you do. Feed him. Make him a dinner. I challenged this last time, right? I said, "Maybe you have somebody here who you're not getting along with. And I said, you should invite them over to dinner, not just this week. And maybe that'll happen. How about inviting your enemy over to dinner? How about feeding them? How about giving them something to drink? For in so doing, you heap burning coals on his head?"
That motivates the final call here. As much as depends on you in this life, as much as depends on you in this life maintain peace with all. Imagine how different the response might be of our enemies if we actually practice this! Imagine how different the response of enemies might be.
I think this is so important. In the Beatitudes, Calvin has a fine little book on the Beatitudes, and he speaks of those who reject the Beatitudes, the characteristics of the Beatitudes and live in this kind of hateful, spiteful way, calling themselves Christians who are always bitter and always angry. And you know what he says? Something very interesting in those Beatitudes. He says there is a present judgment on these people. You think, "Well, what's the judgment?" He said: Those who live this way, plowing forward, who are bold and aggressive, who claw and cut everyone else down. Listen to this. are the most alone. They have enemies everywhere. And they have no peace. They are, as Calvin says, without peace of mind and are beset on all sides with anxiety. In possessing much, they finally possess nothing, since they're incapable of enjoying what they think they have.
So do you get the point here? The other route, which is the natural propensity, which is to hate our enemies and fight our enemies and destroy our enemies and crush our enemies, has the judgment of being alone, enemies all around you, enemies always coming at you, and you're beset with anxiety.
So again, I think: What might loving our enemies actually bring? Well, you might bring a lot of them into the kingdom. And isn't that the goal?
"Beloved, never avenge yourselves." And this is the good point here. We're not against justice. No, we're not against justice. Psalms celebrate God's justice. We pray those psalms. We sing the imprecatory psalms with understanding that God will rise up and judge one day. And He does today. sometimes in history, but He certainly will on the last day.
And so the great call that He concludes with is: "Vengeance is mine. Whose? God's. It's mine. It's not yours. It's mine," says the Lord. "I will repay," says the Lord.
So I don't want you, notice the following verse, being overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.
Vengeance will come. And I think if you study the Old Testament, even the great kings learned this. Remember Nabal? We'll close with this. That scoundrel of a man, Abigail and Nabal. He was a ruthless fellow, and he dishonors David and his mighty men, and he won't feed them, and he speaks ruthlessly to them, and he was a total enemy. And David grabs his sword. David says, "That's it! There will not be one man left in that house by nightfall!" And Abigail comes out and says, "Wait!" Pacifies him, puts down the sword. Who took him out? The Lord. David did not have the right to take out Saul. Read it. How many times? His great enemy Saul. He cut off a corner of his little garment and could have the Lord took him out when that salt sword. he fell on his sword
Sure, kings were called at God's command to execute justice at His command, not without His command. This is a very important passage tonight. The Lord has freed us from bondage to the behavior of the world that live in this kind of misery, this kind of anger, this kind of hate. That's what characterizes a lost world. And I am concerned that if Christians lose their minds on this and forget their calling, they will bring the very persecution they're trying to avoid.
So turn your face to the very image of God sitting next to you. Jesus loved them enough to die for them. Love them. Love them. How could we not love our brethren? And then tonight, tomorrow, when you go out, turn your faces to those who don't believe. And when you are treated terribly maybe it's even your neighbor next door Remember that they're lost remember that they are indeed under the judgment of God without Christ. And that they will go to an eternal place called hell without grace. And remember your witness. Remember what this is all about. You are the fragrance of Christ to those who are being saved and to those who are perishing.
May Christ fill us with His powerful grace by the Spirit to love the way that He has taught us to love. And then the judgment will come.
Let's pray.
Gracious heavenly Father, we thank you for helping us and instructing us in righteousness. We confess we cannot do these commands without the work of Your Spirit. But what a softening effect they have upon the hard hearts that we have. Thank you for the grace that you've given to us in salvation. And then this truth rings out tonight: "While we were enemies, Christ died for us." While we were enemies, He showed His love for us in this: that we were redeemed by His blood. Well, if we've been taught that, help us, oh Lord, to demonstrate the same. And Your righteous judgment may it come. Your kingdom may it come. We pray, oh Lord, until that kingdom comes in all of its fullness. And we would remember our mission, for You have so taught us to love as we have been loved. Help us, then, to love one another and to love even our enemies, in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.