Sermon
Pursuing Peace
July 22-23, 2000
Pastor Leighton Sheley

Romans chapter 12 verses 9 and following: Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Lived in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 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." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Last week we looked at the issue of internal contention. This week we look at the issue of external contention. This chapter begins with these words; Therefore, present your bodies a living sacrifice. That word ‘therefore’ refers back to the previous 11 chapters in which Paul counts to us the blessings that are ours in Christ Jesus. And so what he is saying is now therefore, based on all of these blessings that we have in Christ Jesus, we should present our bodies a living sacrifice. And then he goes on to explain how we can do that in practice. He addresses presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice in four concentric circles beginning with chapter 9; our personal duties, our duties to the family of God, our duties to all people, and then last, our duties to our enemies which is where we're going to pick up our study today.

Romans chapter 12:14. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Not only is the Christian called to resist hating or retaliating against those who do us harm, but we are called to bless them. Now Paul was paraphrasing Jesus who said in Luke chapter 6, But I say unto you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them which curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And then Jesus went on in the next verse to explain a specific example of that. He says if someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Now Jesus called on His followers to ride a higher lifestyle and character. He said if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. You know it's nothing exceptional to return a kindness for a kindness extended, but it is exceptional to return a kindness for an unkindness. Christians are called to be exceptional.

Jesus modeled this as He hung on Calvary's cross. He said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing. In order to bless those who persecute us, we must treat them as though they were friends. Bless and do not curse. Paul wants to make sure that that blessing is comprehensive and never rescinded. You see, often in the midst of a confrontation we might be able to return a kindness for an unkindness, but sometime later as we are revisiting that scene we may change our minds and want to curse that person. Paul says bless and never curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice.

Now it's easy for us to rejoice with family and friends who are rejoicing, but that's not the context this is in. This is in the context of those who our enemies. And our natural fleshly disposition is to weep when the our enemies rejoice, and to rejoice when the our enemies weep. We are called to rejoice with our enemies when they rejoice. We are called to weep with our enemies when they weep. Proverbs 17:5 says that whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished. Rather than gloating we should sorrow with those who sorrow, even our enemies. Christians should manifest the compassion that is found in Christ Jesus our Lord who was God incarnate in the flesh.

God is called a compassionate God. Nehemiah chapter 9, But they, our forefathers, became arrogant and stiff-necked, and did not obey your commands. They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them, even when they cast for themselves and image of a calf and said ‘This is your god, who brought you up out of Egypt,’ or when they committed awful blasphemies. Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert.

Lamentations 3:22 says, that God's compassions never fail. And James 5:11 tells us that the Lord is full of compassion and Mercy. Jesus wept over the tomb of Lazarus, but it was not for Lazarus’ life that He wept, for He knew that would be restored momentarily, but rather Jesus went because of the sorrow that is brought into those left behind, separated by death. Christians are called to be like Jesus, compassionate.

Colossians 3:12 reads; Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whenever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Verse 16 of Romans 12 says, live in harmony with one another. Do not be partial. Now James hits this square on the head when he says; My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have insulted the poor. If you keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by law as lawbreakers.

Romans 2:11 declares God does not show favoritism. If God does not show favoritism, neither should we. Verse 16, do not be proud but be willing to associate with people of low position. Now the point here is that there should be no aristocracy in the church. Jesus said in Luke 14 to His host, when you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors. If you do, they may invite you back and so you'll be repaid, but when you give a banquette invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. Now Jesus was not here offended by the act but rather the motive behind it. You see it's not sinful for us to invite family or friends or the wealthy to sit at a meal with us, it's the selfish motive of being invited back that is the problem here.

Now what is that all about, being invited back? Well, in today's society we can sometimes achieve in the eyes of the world a slightly elevated social position in the social ladder when we can say, by the way, do you know who I had dinner with the other night? Is that not correct? Now the society to which Jesus was addressing was Eastern, and that is much more accentuated in the Eastern culture. And so what people would do is they would note where they were in the social ladder, they would find someone that was just a step or two above them, and they would endeavor to invite that person over for a meal; because in that society that invitation must necessarily be reciprocated, and so therefore then they could say, do you know who I had dinner with the other night? And they would be elevated in the social ladder. The problem here is people were coming to the church, some of them were wealthy, and so they would invite people over because their interest was to discuss spiritual issues. And so it was important for that church, and for our church, and for any church, not to be caught up in social agendas and raising themselves in the social ladder, but discussing spiritual issue. Now the point here is not that we should avoid associating with those in a position of wealthy or influence, it's rather that we should not neglect those who have no such position.

Now the Corinthian church was reprimanded for this by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians Chapter 11. In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which have you have God's approval. But when you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. Don't you have homes in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!

And then, Do not be conceited. Do not be conceited. You know a conceited Christian is an oxymoron. Now I wanted to make sure that was an accurate word so I looked it up in Webster's 7th collegian dictionary, and it's a combination of contradictory or incongruous words. It's like saying that a light dark, or that's a wet dry, or that's a conceited Christian. It just doesn't make any sense. It's a contradiction of terms. You see a true Christian recognizes, with Paul, that nothing good lives in me, Romans 7:18, and if there is something good in me, it's because of the work that God is doing in me and through me. If there's any accomplishment, it's because of God. If there's any achievement, it's because of God. If there's any growth, it's because of God. To God alone be the glory.

Proverbs 18:12 reads: Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor. Proverbs 11:2 says: When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. 29:23 reads: A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor. Isaiah speaks of God, You say the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty and to bring them low. Psalm 147:6, The Lord sustains the humble but He casts the wicked to the ground. Humility is sweet and valuable to the Lord, but God gets angry with pride.

Peter says in 1 Peter 5:5, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but He gives grace to the humble." And then in Ephesians chapter 4 we are challenged to be completely humble and patient and gentle, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace. Now there is a danger here. The danger is false humility or being proud of being humble. You heard about the person that received the award for humility? Then the award was taken back because they accepted it. (Congregation laughs)

Colossians chapter 2 warns us to be aware of those who bear false humility. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Now that's a phrase that's taken from the Old Testament, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Now that injunction was intended to apply to justice in the civil arena only, not personal revenge. Now it had two purposes. The first purpose was to insure that the justice was universal. That is, that no one by virtue of their position, influence, wealth or affiliation would be above, beyond or outside of the law. The second purpose was that justice would be meted out without partiality. In other words, a person who did not have such a position of influence wealth or affiliation, would not receive a greater judgment then someone who did have such affiliations.

Before the flood there was no civil government. It was God who ruled and exercised judgment. In Genesis chapter 5 just before the Genesis flood, God says three times my Spirit will no longer contend with man's spirit for his heart is continuously violent. After the flood God established civil authority. Genesis chapter 9 verse 5 and follows reads: And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man. "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed." Did you hear that? Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed. Now that blood is talking about innocent blood. Whoever sheds innocent blood. God established civil government to protect against the shedding of innocent blood. God didn't establish it to redistribute the wealth or support the arts. He established it to protect against the shedding of innocent blood. It should also be noted for Christians the issue of capital punishment is not controversial. God established capital punishment. It is not controversial. It is the government's responsibility to return evil for it evil, or an eye for an eye, not ours.

Now some might ask the question, well what happens if government refuses to fulfill that divine commission? What happens when there is no justice? Paul answers that question, in just a few verses we're going to get to it - verse 19. 1 Peter 3:9 says, do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you might receive to a blessing. There is a reward for not repaying evil with evil or insult with insult. Romans chapter 12:17 the New Revised Standard translates this passage: Take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody, as it states in the NIV. Now that word noble or right is from kalos which refers to that which is intrinsically good or proper or honest. You see in this world in which we live there are so many varying standards of right and wrong it would be impossible to be right in the eyes of everyone. That's not what this is referring to. It is being right in the eyes of God using God's standards of what is good, right, or noble, or proper, or honest, and employing those standards in front of everybody.

Verse 18, If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Live at peace with everyone. Now by definition peace cannot be one-sided. One-sided peace is in other way of saying wholesale slaughter. Sometimes the other party refuses to come to terms of peace, and that is why Paul writes the qualifying statement, as far as it depends on you. In other words, we must do everything that we can to restore a relationship as much as it depends upon us.

Verse 19, Do not take revenge my friends, but believe room for God's wrath. This was the verse I said was coming that explains what happens when we're living in a world that's filled with injustice. Doesn't it bring us great consolation that someday God is going to balance the books? Doesn't that give us consolation? But it's not wholesale justice that we really desired, is it? Because that would apply to us as well, and we desire mercy from God, do we not? Yet it would seem that God is sometimes slow to pass judgment, isn't it? Is there a reason for this? Is there a purpose for this? The answer is found in Romans chapter 2:4, Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you to repentance? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness - his tolerance - his patience -leads us to repentance?

You know, it's God's kindness that leads us to repentance and it's God's kindness that leads others to repentance, and that ultimately is God's purpose for each and every one of us. You know I played football in high school with a bunch of hedonistic heathen godless pagans. There was one other Christian, maybe a second Christian, on the team and then you had the rest of the team. And I was always surprised at how much these guys got away with, and I had the good fortune of going to the five-year reunion of the class and I found out that over half a dozen of the guys that I played football with had become Christians. And a couple of years after that I found out that three or more of them were in the ministry. Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness to, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you and others towards repentance? Do not be overcome by evil, but overcoming evil with good. And then it's got this interesting little passage, it says, if your enemy is hungry feed him; if he's thirsty give him something to drink. In doing this you will keep burning coals on his head. Now some people have had an interest in this because they would like to see somebody’s hell a little hotter, but that's not what this is referring to at all. You see this phrase referred to an ancient Egyptian custom, when a person wanted to display contrition publicly he would put a pan of burning coals on his head to represent his burning pain and shame and guilt. And the point is this is that when we seek to meet our enemy’s needs we shame them for their hatred.

Then Paul summarizes the teaching concerning how we manage and address those who do us wrong. He says, do not be overcome by evil. And that means that we have to overcome our natural tendency to want retribution. We must control the flesh’s desire for retribution so that God can bring us peace in the midst of our situation. Evil cannot overcome evil. Evil cannot overcome evil. And you know our own evil, that is that which resides in our flesh, is far more detrimental to us spiritually, physically, and in every fashion than any evil that can be perpetrated upon us. Our own evil, that is the evil that we discussed last week, the evil that lives within our flesh is far more detrimental and dangerous to us spiritually, physically, and every way than any evil that could be perpetrated upon us. And when evils are perpetrated upon us often times it’s our flesh that rears up and says we've got to have retribution, we've got to get even, and so forth. And it's up to us to live above normal to restrain that fleshly desire, that we can bring honor and glory to God for evil can only be overcome with good. Therefore, present your bodies a living sacrifice.

Let's pray. Lord we thank you for Your Word, but even as we read it, Lord, we recognize that what You call us to do is not easy. In fact, it's not even possible without the work of Your Holy Spirit in us. It's not natural, it's supernatural. Lord we thank you that You are so faithful to us even when we're so often times unfaithful to you. Lord we desire to bring honor and glory to You and our life. We've sung those songs, those were prayers put to music. They are the expressions of our heart, and yet Lord we also know how often we fail You. We thank you that we can come and we can confess our sin, and You’re faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Lord with our communion today and the message of the skit and the music, Your spirit has been talking to us and perhaps we have some relationships that we need to revisit. We need to go back and we need to see if we can mend those as much as it depends upon us, as much as we can do, because you really desired us to be in good relationship with one another. How our relationships are with each other affects our relationship with You. Thank you Lord for this body of believers which we can be both challenged and encouraged to live lives that and glory to You. Thank you Lord for the calling that You called us to, go before us this week and prepare the way and prepare our hearts to minister the Gospel, Your Gospel, Your Good News to those with whom You placed us in influence. Thank you Lord, in Jesus’ name we pray, and together we say, amen. God bless you.