In 1987, Gary Davis and his wife broke into the home of Jeni May and abducted her. They then proceeded to shamefully mistreat her and when they were done with abusing her they killed her. This January, ten years later, Gary Davis probably will suffer the death penalty for his crime. Upon hearing the news that Gary Davis will be put to death, Jeni’s sister said the following in an interview (I’m paraphrasing):

I doubt that there are few here that at first impulse wouldn’t agree with her- indeed, let the man suffer. Let the man experience the same horror he dished out to Jeni May. And yet, how does the kingdom of God view this? What does the living faith teach? Would not justice be served in this man’s execution? Would not passion and grief be satisfied in this man’s pain?

This passage addresses this very question, "How ought we to respond when the world devises wickedness against us?" In answer, Paul gives us a principle by which to live in the world as children of God. Paul also gives us two examples of how this principle is to be applied.

The Principle of a Living Faith Is Applied in Ministry to the World, Romans 12:17-21.

And so, when the world in which we live seeks to oppose God and/or His kingdom- to do harm to the cause and glory of God- our response must be that we not fight fire with fire, and therefore oppose the evil with evil or combat evil with sin. Rather we must fight the fire with weapons which in themselves are tools of the kingdom of God. In our dealings with this world, we must be careful not to use deceit, craftiness, blame shifting, etc., as the world does; rather, we must maintain the highest standards, exhibit the highest morals, use tactics that honor God.

Before we look at the examples that Paul gives us in this text, it is imperative that each of us recognizes that as a result of our fallen humanness, our natural tendency will be to fight fire with fire! For example, in the late nineteenth century a controversy broiled in the church: perfectionism. Out of the deadness that existed in many of the European churches came a teaching that quickly ran throughout Christianity, namely that a man could enter into a state of perfection. Through faith, it was possible for the child of God to be rid of every sin, and to enter into a sinless state while on earth. Many of the pastors and theologians of that day entered into the debate, including J. C. Ryle. In his book on Holiness, J. C. Ryle denounced not only the teaching of Perfectionism, but also the manner with which many were arguing for it:

We would do well to heed the advice of Brother Ryle for it is the call of this text: Truth does not need the weapons of craftiness, deceit, violence, or conceit. All these are the weaponry of Satan and must not be named among God’s people. Rather than combating evil using the weaponry of Satan we must combat evil in the power of the Spirit using as God’s weapons: truth, integrity, and a blameless life. To retaliate, blame-shift, or revert to lying and deceit in the face of evil is to be overcome by the enemy!

When Others Sin A Living Faith Does Not Pay Back With Evil.

These laws leave the boundary of equity and go into the realm of evil for evil. This indeed is the natural inclination of the sinful heart. And thus in our day, it is not uncommon to hear of or even desire that when a criminal does a heinous and despicable crime, the victim(s) express the wish that the same suffering and fate be parceled out to the criminal. And thus, as we put ourselves in the position of the victim we find ourselves thinking: If a loved one suffered from the hand of an evil doer I would wish the same suffering upon them!

Listen! The biblical standard is NOT evil for evil, BUT blessing for evil. And thus, positively we read the commands:

This raises quite a few questions: When my heart is not involved in a situation, it may be easy to respond to evil with good – i.e., justice, peace and love – but what about when my heart is involved and I am sinned against? What about when a loved one suffers unjustly? What about when evil men attack my home and me? The answer to all these questions—and those like them—is there is no other response besides justice and peace making. Notice Paul’s next example.

When Others Sin against You, A Living Faith Does Not Seek Revenge.

What then must be our posture? We’ve been wronged, we hurt, and we want justice? Notice Paul’s positive commands as he quotes from Deuteronomy 32:35 and Proverbs 25:21-22.

What must be our posture? One of humble dependence upon God! You think you are outraged at the sin and misery of this world? You have not seen anything until you consider how a holy God must feel—and yet, of this holy God we read this:

Indeed! As the servants of God, our call is not to meet out punishment as we see fit. Rather, we must rely upon God to uphold the right in HIS time. Notice "but rather give place unto wrath." Indeed, leave room for the wrath of God. God is outraged at the atrocities that occur in this world: from the most heinous crime to the most insignificant sin, God is repulsed! And yet, the difference between our outrage and God’s is that ours is hardly without hypocrisy and is difficult for us to control. Whereas God’s wrath flows from a nature that has never sinned and will always be just and controlled. Notice: "for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." if this implies nothing else, it means that justice will be upheld in GOD’S time!

Now again, this is not to say that we are NOT to seek for justice in the face of sin. Indeed, verses 17-18 demand that we uphold justice. But that’s just it! Beyond justice, we must trust our God to make all wrongs right—that is the call of the living faith! Andrew Murray wrote these words;

And yet, it does not stop here. For if we were to obey perfectly this command up to this point, we would fall short of the living faith. Notice, the call of God in the midst of evil is not to sit back and trust God, but to ACTIVELY BLESS!...

"Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink." Beyond seeking justice for the offender, we must seek their good—even to ones who hurt us! To withhold food or drink from an enemy is a form of retaliation, and thus violates Paul’s command in verse 19. By giving our enemy food and drink we show that we are trusting God for ultimate justice. When our enemy is hungry, faith demands that we feed him. When he is thirsty, faith demands that we give him something to drink.

Again, we are not the Lawgiver and Judge of this earth. Rather, we are servants of the gospel—a gospel which speaks of love for the unworthy, grace for the needy and mercy to the damned!

Charles Hodge wrote this:

It is as the apostle Peter wrote:

When it comes to our ministry to a hostile world, we know that evil will occur. We know that wickedness will be directed even at us! But what must be our response? Are we to seek for the damnation of the sinner? Are we to wish evil for evil? Are we to wish sin for sin? Are we to wish honor for honor? The living faith says no! It realizes that the distance that separates us from God is far greater than the distance that separates us from the evil man. It realizes that to seek for the condemnation of the wicked is to seek for the condemnation of ourselves seeing how our sin—though it may be different from the murderer—nevertheless is an affront to God, and just as deserving of wrath and death!

Corrie Ten Boom is a modern day example of this text. During World War II, she and her sister were sent to the German concentration camp of Ravensbruck for protecting Jews. While there, she watched her sister die at the hands of the evil guards. And yet, as a believer God preserved her faith such that after the war, she began speaking at gatherings about the love of God and His forgiveness. She spoke of how God can transform lives—even her life.

God used these gatherings and Corrie’s testimony to bring many to Himself. A couple of years into this ministry after one of her talks a man approached her who had recently come to Christ. As he extended his hand for a handshake, Corrie recognized that this was the very guard responsible for the death of her sister. Corrie froze!

A thousand thoughts raced through her mind she wondered:

And yet amazingly she was filled with a love for this man by which she was able to forgive. Brothers and sisters had Corrie not forgiven this man I doubt that few of us could blame her. Yet, I also doubt that none of us would have been the recipient of this great saint’s ministry for it was through forgiving this man that she became a blessing to all!

___________________________