January 5, 1997
by J. David Hoke
R. L. Stevenson, in The Stange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, gives us a facinating story of a man with a two part multiple personality. One was a fine, upstanding and educated gentleman. The other was a diabolical and demented maniac. One good — the other evil. Even when the good was in control, the evil was always lurking just below the surface.
What is underneath the surface of the average Christian? Has the grace of God saturated your being and altered your nature? Or is there lurking just underneath the surface a character more like the old nature than the new? In 1892, the English novelist, Israel Zangwill, said, "Scratch the Christian and you find the pagan." Is there a pagan inside you, clothed with Christian skin? Is this an accurate picture of the Christian? Are we only a facade, underneath of which lies a man or a woman more in tune with the world than with the Kingdom of God? One of our prominent Baptist preachers, now in heaven, once said, "The word Christian is both a noun and an adjective. We need more adjective Christians, more Christian Christians. Christians who are more Christian in thought and spirit and deed as well as in name." And he is right. We must be Christian, not only in name, but also in character and in deed.
Because we are living expressions of God’s grace, we must possess the kind of attitudes and portray the kind of actions toward one another and the world that exemplify the character of Christ.
Our text today reveals both these attitudes and actions that we are to manifest toward one another and the world. If you want to make a difference in the lives of those people who are your associates at work, your neighbors, your friends, but who do not know Christ, you need to listen carefully to the practical instruction contained in this passage. If you will put into practice the principles found here, when the world scratches you, instead of finding a pagan, they will find a genuine child of God.
Our passage today is a continuation of the passage which began in verse 9. There, Paul sounded the theme when he said, "Love must be sincere." What this entire section is talking about is the exercise and extension of grace, both to our brothers and sisters, and to the world, even our enemies. The keynote is love. That is the determining factor in both our attitudes and actions. The love of God motivates us. It leads us to possess the correct attitudes toward the world, and to portray the correct actions as well.
What are the attitudes to possess toward all people, even the world, and how are they manifested in daily living? Well, we have already stated that the love of God is the foundational attitude which undergirds all other attitudes Christians must posses. These are manifested in several important ways.
The first manifestation of a Christian attitude toward the world comes by an unexpected response. Look at verse 14. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
If you take a stand as a believer in Jesus Christ, one thing is certain: you will encounter opposition from the world. As a matter of fact, the Scripture itself promises us that if we live godly lives we shall suffer persecution. Jesus pointed out, in the Sermon on the Mount, that the prophets were persecuted and we would be persecuted as well. This persecution comes in various forms, from subtle to overt. It can be as simple as not being included in a certain circle of friends, to being ridiculed publicly before your coworkers and associates. And, in some places in the world today, Christians are persecuted openly by the state. Some are not allowed to work in the occupation for which they were trained. Others have their children taken away so they will not be brought up in a Christian environment. Others who publicly share their faith are thrown in prison and suffer great humiliation.
How are we to react to those who persecute us? Well, the natural reaction of one who does not know Christ is to strike back, to call down the curse of God upon them. But this is not the Christian response. According to this verse, we are to bless those who persecute us. The word for bless in Greek is an interesting one. It is the word eulogeo. It comes from two Greek words, the first, lego, which means "to speak;" and eu, which means "well." It means, simply, to speak well of a person. The word in English, "eulogize," is taken from this Greek word. So, to bless those who persecute you, is to eulogize them, to speak well of them. That is the Christian response and it is an unexpected response. It testifies to the world that we are different.
D.L. Moody, in one of his sermons, portrays the Lord Jesus giving direction to Peter after His resurrection. He says, "Go, find the man who thrust his spear into my side and tell him there is a much quicker way to my heart. Find the man who crowned me with thorns and tell him I should like to give him a crown of life." This is the character of Christ. Indeed, He practiced what He preached. On the cross, he prayed for those who hung Him there. A thief who had cursed Him had the gates of paradise opened to him as he turned to Christ. This kind of attitude caused the Roman Centurion in charge of the crucifixion to say, "This was the Son of God."
We also see that true Christian attitudes manifest themselves in an unfeigned identification. Look at verse 15. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
What we are being told here is that we need to be involved in the lives of those we wish to reach. Someone once described Christians as "people who care." Indeed, we should be people who care. Not just about ourselves, but about others. We should care about those things which cause people to rejoice, and about those things which cause people to weep. We should care so much that we get caught up in their lives. We must have an unfeigned identification with the human condition. By unfeigned, I mean that is must be real, not put on. We cannot act like we care. We must really care. In John’s Gospel, we see Jesus portrayed as one who rejoiced and wept with people. His first "sign" was performed at a wedding. His last, at a funeral. One in life’s gladdest hour, the other in life’s saddest. Here again, Jesus is our example. He identified with sinners — not with their sin, but with the human struggle to break free from sin and to live for God. He was called "a friend of sinners" and criticized for it. But He didn’t identify with sinners in order to leave them in their sin and neither should we. Rather, we must identify with them in order to lead them out of sin into a new life with Christ.
Next, we see true Christian attitudes reflected by an unaffected humility. Look at verse 16. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
The lesson here is clear. It is simply — Don’t be proud. To be conceited is contrary to true Christian character. A true Christian must never be proud. Here, Jesus is our example again. He said, "Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart." (Matthew 11:29) Someone said that the life of the Lord Jesus was "a standing rebuke to every form of pride to which men are liable. Pride of birth and rank — ‘Is not this the carpenter’s son’ (Matt. 13:55); pride of wealth — ‘The Son of Man hath not where to lay His head’ (Lk. 9:58); pride of respectability — ‘Can any good thing come out of Nazareth’ (Jn. 1:46); pride of personal appearance — ‘He had no form nor comeliness’ (Isa. 53:2); pride of reputation — ‘A friend of publicans and sinners’ (Lk. 7:34 ); pride of learning — ‘How knoweth this man letters having never leaned’ (Jn. 7:15); pride of superiority — ‘I am among you as He that serveth’ (Lk. 22:27); pride of success — ‘He is despised and rejected of men’ (Isa. 53:3); pride of ability — ‘I can of mine own self do nothing’ (Jn. 5:30); pride of self-will — ’I seek not My own will, but the will of My Father which hath sent me’ (Jn. 5:30); pride of intellect — ‘As My Father hath taught me, I speak’ (Jn. 8:28)."
God’s love is not only foundational to our attitudes, but it is foundational to our actions as well. Not only does the Christian have attitudes to possess, but he also has actions to portray. Love is the motivating factor in both.
These actions are manifested by an unequivocal righteousness. Look at verse 17. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
As Christians, we must be committed to righteousness, not only in theory, but in practice. We must be committed to righteousness as an absolute for the Christian life. Our commitment to doing right should never depend on the commitment or lack of commitment of anyone else. The old saying, "Two wrongs never make a right" is applicable here. We are exhorted never to pay back evil for evil to anyone, but to respect what is right in the sight of all men. So much of the world lives with what is called a "situation ethic." Situation ethics proclaims a relativistic view of right and wrong based on the circumstance, not on the law of God. But the standard we follow is not the standard of man. We follow a higher law, a higher standard. It is the standard of God. And while many in the world reject this standard, they also recognize it. The Ten Commandments are recognized by most nations and written into most laws as the basis for human interaction. And although many justify their unrighteous behavior by the fact that everyone else is doing it, the Christian would be branded a hypocrite were he to do the same. You see, we are judged by a higher standard, even by the world. So, it is important that we be committed to righteousness, not just in theory, but in practice.
Next, we are told that our actions include an unintimidated peacemaking. Look at verse 18. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Notice the thrust of this verse. It is not simply a command to be at peace with all men, because the command is qualified by specific language. There are two phrases which qualify it: The first is "if possible." This seems to indicate that it may not be possible to live at peace with some people. Indeed, some people set themselves against you as your enemy. Every effort you may endeavor to take changes nothing. They have made a decision that they are against you, and it seems impossible to change that decision. So we are reminded, firstly, that it may not be possible to live at peace with all men. But we are commanded that if it is possible, we need to make the effort. The second phrase is "as far as it depends on you." Here, we are commanded to not let the fault lie with us. In other words, if there is something that we can do about it, we need to take action. This is what I call an unintimidated peacemaking. The reason I term it that way is that our peacemaking should be free from the influence of others, even those with whom we are trying to make peace. It should be an unintimidated effort on our part, made because we are endeavoring to be obedient to God.
We move, next, to the fact that Christians need to take an unspiteful position in regard to the world. Look at verse 19. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
Revenge is always outside the will of God. It is so, not only because the Lord reserves vengeance for Himself, but because of what it does to us when we become vengeful. The motto, "Don’t get mad, get even," may sound cute, but it works devastation at a deep emotional level in the lives of those who practice it. People who seek revenge hold on tightly to their bitter feelings. Those bitter feelings, if allowed to remain, will grow into a cancer of hatred that will soon consume the one who possesses it. Some people have literally been eaten up with bitterness and jealousy, envy and spitefulness, even hatred itself. As a matter of fact, hatred is precisely the place at which those who journey down this path of revenge will arrive. But we need to entrust our cause into the hands of the Lord. God is the only one who can judge the motives as well as the action. And He has taken note of those things which have been done to us. We must remember that no one gets away with anything, ever.
Further, our actions will lead us to an unselfish approach to people. Look at verse 20. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "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."
If we are seeking to portray actions motivated out of the love of God, then we must act at the basic level of human need. If our enemy is hungry, we must feed him; if he is thirsty, we must give him a drink. In other words, we are called on to find a need and fill it. The examples given here are only typical of two of the most basic needs of life. But there are many other needs we can fill in as well. What if our enemy needs compassion, or love, or a little understanding, or a listening ear, or a word of kindness, or help with the children, or a ride somewhere, or some money, or any number of other things? Should we be there? You bet we should! You say, "But they’re my enemy." That’s precisely the point. It takes the grace of God to love our enemies in practical ways. This kind of Christian love distinguishes those who are Christian in word from those who are Christian in deed.
Just a short note here on the phrase, "In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." There are two theories that seem to make sense insofar as this is concerned. The first is that by doing good to those who are our enemies, we heap coals of the burning pain of shame and remorse upon them. The second is that by doing good to them, we are actually meeting a desperate need. In Bible times, a family had to keep a fire going all the time to insure that they could cook and keep warm. If the fire went out, they had to go to a neighbor for some live coals. They would carry them back in a container on their head, Oriental fashion. And so, the thought is that by doing good to our enemy, we are actually doing him a kindness.
Finally, our actions are summed up by an unconquerable strategy. Look at verse 21. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
The unconquerable strategy of the Christian is to be victorious over evil by doing good. It is not to fight fire with fire, but to fight it with water. To meet evil with evil is to lose the battle before you begin. But to meet evil with good is to overcome it. Darkness may seem awesome and powerful, but one small light drives the darkness out. Instead of cursing the darkness, we are called upon to be lights in the midst of darkness. This in the strategy given to us by Jesus Himself, and it is an unstoppable strategy, an unconquerable strategy. It is the strategy of the Kingdom of God.
In a sermon I preached years ago, I divided this passage in light of love in action. Love really is the key. Love blesses our persecutors (v. 14); love cares for others (v. 15); love finds unity (v. 16a); love produces real humility (v. 16b); love looks for good (v. 17); love seeks peace (v. 18); love trusts God to judge (v. 19); love returns good for evil (v. 20); and love wins the true victory (v. 21).
Let me ask you, have you possessed the kind of attitudes which manifest the love of God to the world? Have you portrayed the kind of actions that exemplify the character of Christ? You see, the challenge for the average Christian today is not to die for Jesus Christ, but to live for Him. The challenge is to translate faith into action and words into deeds.
Will you accept that challenge today? Will you commit yourself to live for Jesus Christ? Will you present yourself as a living sacrifice to God?
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