Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
--Romans 12:21 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on April 15, 2013 of Psalm 74:1-9; Romans 12; Joshua 1-3.
Paul is addressing his fellow believers in Rome, compelling them to make an active and purposeful decision to dedicate their lives to Jesus Christ, to put their righteousness into practice in this world in relation to others. Today's verse concludes a sequence that deals with our relationships with those who do not believe in Jesus as the Son of God and our Savior.
It may be somewhat natural to think that believers should separate ourselves as much as possible from non-believers so that we do not fall prey to their influence, are not corrupted by them to where our faith withers. Paul himself tells us we must live in the world but should not be of the world (reference verse 2, among others). In other words, we have no choice but to reside in this world, but we must not allow it to lure us away from the path Jesus laid for us to follow. But if we try to fully isolate and insulate ourselves from the world hoping to keep evil away, how can we fulfill our commission to go into the world and spread the Good News of Jesus Christ (please reference Mark 16:15 and Matthew 28:19)?
Paul responds to this question in today's verse, offering at least four possible ways of looking at how the relationship can be addressed. At first his short statement seems to be an admonition: don't succumb to evil, do good instead. Don't fall prey to evil, don't allow ourselves to become victims of evil and possibly turning evil ourselves, but keep our faith strong and continue to serve God. Flipping that around, serving God and others and doing good works provides a means for us to defeat evil around us and prevent it from entering our heart. Both of these approaches focus more on using our righteousness as a shield against evil, to keep it away, to defend ourselves from it, but do not offer a way to change it.
Paul gave his all to help people change, to show them the truth of Jesus Christ that they might come to know Him as their personal Lord and Savior and become a new person as their heart changed. He couldn't do that by isolating himself from the world, and neither can we. No, Paul waded right into the thick of evilness to reach out to the people where they lived, and so must we. Paul says that if we do good, if we maintain our faith in Christ and continue to serve others in the face of wickedness, then the wicked might notice and start paying attention. Our outwardly visible goodness may lead to the repentance and redemption of the wicked.
Finally, we can view Paul's words as a warning. A believer can and should affect an unbeliever in a positive manner, can and should leave a positive impression on them, can and should serve as a positive example of what Christ can do in a person's life. Many of us can relate on equal terms because we ourselves were once unbelievers but by the grace of God were reborn in Jesus Christ. But a non-believer can also have an impact on us, and a negative one at that. They can be a bad influence on the believer, slowly drawing us toward the pleasures of the world and into the arms of wickedness. We must not allow ourselves to be overcome by evil, but must instead overcome evil with the goodness and righteousness given us by the indwelling Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lord Jesus, please help us stand strong in our battle against the evil of this world. Help us not be overcome by the enemy, but to overcome the wicked with love and kindness. Overflow us with Your great love so that we might display such wealth to others and fill them to overflowing as well. Through our efforts, may Your word spread and bring others back to You. In the glorious name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
It may be somewhat natural to think that believers should separate ourselves as much as possible from non-believers so that we do not fall prey to their influence, are not corrupted by them to where our faith withers. Paul himself tells us we must live in the world but should not be of the world (reference verse 2, among others). In other words, we have no choice but to reside in this world, but we must not allow it to lure us away from the path Jesus laid for us to follow. But if we try to fully isolate and insulate ourselves from the world hoping to keep evil away, how can we fulfill our commission to go into the world and spread the Good News of Jesus Christ (please reference Mark 16:15 and Matthew 28:19)?
Paul responds to this question in today's verse, offering at least four possible ways of looking at how the relationship can be addressed. At first his short statement seems to be an admonition: don't succumb to evil, do good instead. Don't fall prey to evil, don't allow ourselves to become victims of evil and possibly turning evil ourselves, but keep our faith strong and continue to serve God. Flipping that around, serving God and others and doing good works provides a means for us to defeat evil around us and prevent it from entering our heart. Both of these approaches focus more on using our righteousness as a shield against evil, to keep it away, to defend ourselves from it, but do not offer a way to change it.
Paul gave his all to help people change, to show them the truth of Jesus Christ that they might come to know Him as their personal Lord and Savior and become a new person as their heart changed. He couldn't do that by isolating himself from the world, and neither can we. No, Paul waded right into the thick of evilness to reach out to the people where they lived, and so must we. Paul says that if we do good, if we maintain our faith in Christ and continue to serve others in the face of wickedness, then the wicked might notice and start paying attention. Our outwardly visible goodness may lead to the repentance and redemption of the wicked.
Finally, we can view Paul's words as a warning. A believer can and should affect an unbeliever in a positive manner, can and should leave a positive impression on them, can and should serve as a positive example of what Christ can do in a person's life. Many of us can relate on equal terms because we ourselves were once unbelievers but by the grace of God were reborn in Jesus Christ. But a non-believer can also have an impact on us, and a negative one at that. They can be a bad influence on the believer, slowly drawing us toward the pleasures of the world and into the arms of wickedness. We must not allow ourselves to be overcome by evil, but must instead overcome evil with the goodness and righteousness given us by the indwelling Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lord Jesus, please help us stand strong in our battle against the evil of this world. Help us not be overcome by the enemy, but to overcome the wicked with love and kindness. Overflow us with Your great love so that we might display such wealth to others and fill them to overflowing as well. Through our efforts, may Your word spread and bring others back to You. In the glorious name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
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