by The ratio of wins to losses in the battle between our old sin nature and new nature in Christ reminds us daily that we are but feeble flesh. Paul deals with an important aspect of this in Romans 12:19-21. These verses can be difficult for believers because of the battle between our two natures. Context is our natural sinful instinct called revenge. Paul gives guidance on how to deal with evil brought upon us for Christ’s sake:
- Avenge Not Yourselves – Paul says to “give place” to God’s wrath. Why? When evil comes our way, it hurts … hurt turns into anger … anger turns into wrath … and wrath is a sin (James 1:20). Understand this, anger is a healthy God given emotion, while wrath is our sinful reaction to anger’s heated emotion. Paul said in Ephesians 4:26-27 that anger is OK, but our sinful wrath is unleashed when we “give place to the devil.” In Romans 12, Paul deals with holding back our wrath to not “give place to the devil” but rather “give place” to God’s perfect and pure wrath.
- Be Not Overcome With Evil – How are we “overcome of evil?” This happens when we “give place to the devil,” when we give in to the temptation for revenge, when we force our own vengeance and not allow God to have His. Understand also, we have no control over how we are treated by others, but we have absolute control over how we respond to them. Paul teaches that we are not to avenge ourselves by being “overcome of evil.”
- Overcome Evil With Good – Anyone can return good for good, or evil for evil. This is our sin nature’s instinctive retaliation. However, to defuse evil rather than fuel it, we must give this evil a healthy dose of good. This wisdom is found in Proverbs 25:21-22, “If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee.”
Ultimately, if we retaliate evil for evil, the world will not see Christ in us. Peter said, “Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.” (I Peter 2:12).
