Overcome Evil with Good

Saturday,  May 11, 2013

Overcome evil with Good

Romans 12:14-21

New King James Version (NKJV)

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”[a] says the Lord. 20 Therefore

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

If he is thirsty, give him a drink;

For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”[b]

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

1 Thessalonians 5:15

New King James Version (NKJV)

15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.

Proverbs 20:22

New King James Version (NKJV)

22 Do not say, “I will recompense evil”;

Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.

What this tells me is that I must never react to evil by returning evil for evil.  I must defeat evil with good and never be defeated by evil.   I cannot be reactive but be responsive.  I must translate and transcend every situation immediately into the kingdom of God to see what is the will of God in this matter.  If I operate from the carnal, I will immediately take revenge and suffer the consequences.  There is no spirituality in there.  It is mere animal instinct.  An eye for an eye.  

So, will you continue  to operate as a wild animal, unregenerate, with no sense of God in you?  Are you just following your animal instinct which is to retaliate and take vengeance and “make big body?”  So what will it be?  God’s way or your animal instinct way?

God did not make us robots.  He gave us a free agency of choice.  Do you know the wisdom in this?  its all up to you.  Its your choice and you cannot point finger and blame anybody because you made the choice.  So if God sends messenger by way of this devotional, take heed, harden not your heart but consider what the Lord is saying to you today.  For some, salvation has come today to you and your household.  Do you know the tax collector Zaccheus?  He climbed the tree and wanted to see Jesus.  Jesus said to him, “Hey Zaccheus, I will come to your house tonight for dinner.”  So in this analogy, if this email devotional represents Jesus and sees you in the tree, and says to you “I will come to see you tonight,” what will you do?  

Question:

• Do you think David did good by slaying the giant Goliath and cutting off his head?
• Are you suppose to say God bless you with a 45-caliber pointed to your head?
• Are we suppose to just sit there when we are being attacked by the enemy?
• Do you think it was good for God to slay all the firstborn in the wilderness?  
• Do you think it was good for God to slay Ananias and Sapphiras?
• What did Jesus really mean when He said bless those who persecute you?
• What is the meaning of Romans 8:28?

Romans 8:28   (NKJV)

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

• What is the good of these recent shootings?

Proverbs 27:5

Open rebuke is better Than love carefully concealed.

When someone is living in the flesh, he is actually partnering with the devil.  He, at that point, is separated from God and is losing his salvation.  The purpose of open rebuke is to bring him back to God so that his relationship with the Lord is restored, and to help him come to his sense.  If not, he will die in his sin and end up in the lake of fire.

Jude 1:22-23

New King James Version (NKJV)

22 And on some have compassion, making a distinction;[a] 23 but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire,[b] hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

So which do you prefer? By way of grace or by way of rebuke?

By way of choice, or by way of fear.  So those who persistently refuse to listen to God’s word which is a good thing to do and obey what He commands and instead follow the wicked desires of their heart will find that God will eventually harden their hearts so that they lose all sensitivity to His word and the desires of the Holy Spirits.  

The regeneration is the matter of the heart.  The person who repents from his heart of all sins and confesses in his heart that Jesus is Lord is born again and receives a new heart from God.  Love from the heart is the essential ingredient in obedience to God.  All too often , God’s people try to substitute obedience with outward religious forms, celebrating feast days, offering sacrifices in place of genuine love from the heart.   Outward observances without an inner desire to serve God is hypocrisy and will be severely condemned and judged by the Lord.  

We are to overcome evil with good.  But what is good?

To love the Lord with all your heart, soul and might and love your neighbor as yourself.  It is a good thing to love the Lord.  (Stamps)  

So what is the root cause to bring resolution regarding evil?

The answer is to love your Lord with all your heart, soul and might and love your neighbor as yourself.  

However, good does not mean saying “ God bless you” to the person who has just killed your brother.  Good here means that you bind the word of God onto him, rebuke him, pursue justice against him and pray that he will repent and be saved from his sin.  If he chooses not to repent from his sin, the good will be that he pay for his sins because he has refused to accept the rebuke from the Lord Jesus and His hand of grace.  Because he refused to accept the grace of God, thereby, blood is on his hand and he must personally make atonement for his sin.  He would be essentially nailed to the cross to make atonement for his sins with his own blood.

Which do you prefer?  His grace and mercy or suffer eternal damnation.  Which do you prefer?   The grace of God or your own self-righteousness.  Therefore, Jesus says, “repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.”  Accept His grace.  How simple and yet how difficult for so many.  

The choice is so obvious.  Receive the Lord Jesus and be saved.  Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  (Acts 2:38)

Matthew 6

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

10 Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts,

As we forgive our debtors.

13 And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

And so, with the catastrophic event such as the destruction of the World Trade Center, we must overcome this evil with good.  It is a good thing to seek out and destroy the enemy of the United States just like David did to Goliath.  We are to destroy the leader of the group that plotted evil against us.  It is a good thing to overcome evil with good.  It was an evil act that the terrorists committed against the United States.

On the personal level, those who were affected most directly ought to consider that this event was allowed for two reasons.  The reasons are for those who need to have a greater thirst for God and a greater manifestation of his presence.   The faithful believer will continue thirsting after God, but the casual believers should wake up and examine their own personal spirituality.

In the midst of tragic events, God is still sovereign and is revealing his perfect will through circumstances.  We should stop and conduct an introspection into our personal lives and our relationship with God and others and immediately reflect on them, repent and make changes.  We pray to continue grace and mercy.  We should not despair but put our trust and hope in God and his infinite wisdom.

According to 1 Thessalonians 5:14-22 (NKJV), it states:

14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. 15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.

This is a message of exhortation.  Exhortation is encouragement.  Therefore, in the midst of evil, we are encouraged by this exhortation.  All things, good or evil, is used for Him.  (Stamps )

Colossians 1:16

New King James Version (NKJV)

16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

Romans 11:36

New King James Version (NKJV)

36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

In conclusion,  evil will come,  But we shall overcome evil with good.  

Poem

When evil comes and the damage is done

and the injustice has shown its face

I seek not revenge,  I repay no evil

I pursue peace by way of God's grace

Not being overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good

I fight the enemy in the way God said that  I should

I hold my head up high and I take out my sword

I chop off the enemy's head in obedience to the Lord.

Byword:  God is still good even when evil is all around.

Work cited

Stamps, Donald C., The Full Life Study Bible King James Version, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992.

Aldwin and Wendy Naruse

The Body of Christ Jesus Fellowship

Makaha, HI  USA