00:00: As you open your Bibles to Romans chapter 12, I want to take a moment to reorient us before we dig into the passage.
00:07: Sometimes people get confused about Christianity.
00:07: What is Christianity?
00:15: When I was in middle school, seventh grade, I decided I'm going to read the Bible.
00:15: I'm going to read this cover to cover.
00:19: And I only got halfway through the second book of the Bible before I hit a roadblock.
00:24: Rule after rule after rule that seemed bizarre and strange and unapplicable.
00:32: And I thought, what is this?
00:32: And I flipped forward a few more pages, more of the same, a few more, more of the same, next book, more of the same.
00:37: I'm done.
00:37: And I concluded that the rest of the book must just be a list of rules.
00:41: Is Christianity merely about do these things and don't do those things?
00:48: Or is Christianity simply about faith in Jesus?
00:48: And it doesn't matter what we do.
00:58: Or is Christianity about faith in Jesus and living the right way?
01:06: If we're going to do this Christian thing, if we're going to be healthy biblical Christians, we need to reject all three of those options.
01:12: None of those are biblically right.
01:16: The correct answer is, it's about faith in Jesus, the kind of faith that necessarily overflows into good works and right living.
01:26: It's not that we have to have faith and we have to live right, as though they're independent, separate things that somehow come together and makes the whole.
01:36: But rather, faith in Jesus, the kind of faith that we're called to, is so powerful, so life-defining that it necessarily overflows into the rest of who we are and how we live.
01:50: That's what we need to keep in mind as we head into our passage this morning.
01:54: Because our passage this morning is a list of imperatives.
01:54: It's do this thing, and do this thing, and don't do that thing.
02:00: And we could very easily think, oh, Christianity is about the do's and the don'ts.
02:05: Or it's faith and some do's and don'ts.
02:05: We need to see them as related.
02:05: In fact, that's the very context in which the apostle Paul gives us these instructions.
02:13: In Romans chapter 12, he begins the chapter with these two verses.
02:20: Writing to Christians, he says, I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
02:36: Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
02:51: He's saying, you've received mercy from God.
02:51: You've received mercy upon mercy.
02:57: In light of that, how are you going to respond to God?
02:57: He's saying, the only right spiritual way to respond to God is to give your whole lives as a sacrifice unto the Lord, to live for God.
03:09: And don't let yourself be formed and pushed and squished into the mold of the people around you who don't know God.
03:15: Rather, you got to change the way you think.
03:15: Your mindset needs to be transformed little by little.
03:22: And then you're going to hear what God wants of you.
03:22: And you're going to say, yeah, that makes sense.
03:27: That's the right way.
03:27: I'm on board with that.
03:27: That's the context that verses one and two lay out for the rest of the chapter.
03:33: And verses three through eight, we looked at last week.
03:39: It's talking about spiritual gifts, using your abilities in accordance with God's plan to build up, to mature, to strengthen, to edify fellow Christians in the context of the local church, and to receive those same benefits from fellow Christians.
03:51: And then this morning, as we go verses nine through 21, we're going to see him.
03:57: What does a Christian life really look like?
04:03: Depending on what translation of the Bible you might be using, you might have a header there that says something like marks of a true Christian.
04:07: Not to be understood as, I don't do this perfectly.
04:07: I must not be the real deal.
04:15: No.
04:15: That's not what that means.
04:15: But rather saying genuine Christians, people who really have a relationship with Jesus, are going to more and more look like this, live like this.
04:31: Real deal Christians are being transformed.
04:31: Somebody who says, I'm a Christian, and there's no difference in their life from one moment when they say that to 10 or 15 or 20 years later when they keep saying that, probably not a real Christian.
04:46: Genuine faith in Jesus is a transforming faith in Jesus.
04:55: Go ahead and follow along as we move through this passage.
04:58: The apostle calls Christians to the following.
04:58: He says, let love be genuine.
04:58: Abhor what is evil.
05:08: Hold fast to what is good.
05:08: Love one another with brotherly affection.
05:08: Outdo one another in showing honor.
05:15: Do not be slothful in zeal.
05:15: Be fervent in spirit.
05:15: Serve the Lord.
05:15: Rejoice in hope.
05:15: Be patient in tribulation.
05:24: Be constant in prayer.
05:24: Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
05:33: Bless those who persecute you.
05:33: Bless and do not curse them.
05:33: Rejoice with those who rejoice.
05:33: Weep with those who weep.
05:41: Live in harmony with one another.
05:41: Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.
05:50: Never be wise in your own sight.
05:50: Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.
06:00: If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
06:00: Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.
06:11: For it is written, vengeance is mine.
06:11: I will repay, says the Lord.
06:21: To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him.
06:21: If he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
06:27: For by so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.
06:27: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
06:36: There's a lot in there.
06:36: Now, I could, and if you've been attending this church for the next time, you know that what I'm about to say is true.
06:46: I could take each one of those imperatives and spend a whole sermon on it.
06:52: And I see some nodding heads like, yeah, he could do that.
06:52: Relax, I'm not going to.
06:59: I think the better approach for this passage at this time is to sample our way through the passage as a whole in one fell swoop this morning.
07:06: But I don't want you to be overwhelmed by this.
07:06: I don't want you to look at this and say, oh no, I have to do all these things from the ground up starting today.
07:19: You got work to do, just like me, just like the other people around you, but you can't do it all at once.
07:24: And so I'd suggest rather focus on one or two things in this list that you need to work on.
07:32: One or two things in here that the Holy Spirit draws your attention to.
07:32: Probably not the things that you already do the best, not your biggest strengths in this list, but rather the ones that maybe you're not doing so well with.
07:43: You guys remember old cartoons and movies and they had the barrels, the wooden barrels with the vertical planks and a couple of metal rings around them, right?
07:54: And in the TV shows and the movies and the cartoons, the barrel planks are all the same length.
08:01: So the top of the barrel is nice and even at the top there.
08:01: But imagine if you had such a barrel and the planks were all different heights, right?
08:07: How much water could that barrel hold?
08:13: Only as much as to the level of the lowest plank.
08:13: We're all that goofy barrel with the planks of this and that and other good ways of living and fruit of the Spirit only being so high.
08:23: And so think of this as an opportunity to work on one of your shorter planks to improve the whole.
08:29: The Holy Spirit's going to draw your attention to what that thing or thing singular or things are that you need to work on at this point.
08:44: And later on, it may be another item in the list.
08:44: God's going to help you with that.
08:52: Because as we say here at Faith Chapel, our mission is for every believer to become, make, mature, and multiply fully surrendered disciples of Jesus Christ.
08:59: We need to mature.
08:59: We need to grow up.
08:59: We need to develop as Christians.
09:05: And this is part of that.
09:05: So verse 9, let love be genuine.
09:05: The way that we love people can't be lip service, can't be going through the motions, doing outwardly the right thing, but our heart's not in it.
09:20: Literally, depending on your translation, it might say, let love be sincere.
09:20: It has to do with not being hypocrites or putting on a show and pretense of love, but having our hearts not really be in it.
09:34: It's about really caring about the well-being of the other person.
09:34: If you find that you're acting outwardly loving, but your heart's not in it, that's something you've got to bring before the Lord.
09:50: Ask him to help you develop a heart of real love for that person.
09:50: This is not a minor issue.
09:57: Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment in the scripture is, and he said, love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind.
10:01: That all-in, heart-level overflow love for God.
10:05: And then he added, wasn't even asked about it, added, and let me tell you what the second greatest commandment is, love your neighbor as yourself.
10:11: The love that we have for the people around us needs to be as significant and real as the way that we love ourselves.
10:23: When I get hungry, I feed me.
10:23: I don't struggle to think, oh, I don't know if I'm going to bother feeding me today.
10:28: No, I do it, right?
10:28: Because I love me, and you love you, and that's how we are called to love one another.
10:35: Abhor or hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good.
10:35: Love isn't going to happen if we are busy loving and admiring and valuing evil things as though they were good.
10:46: There's a lot of garbage in the world that people enjoy and even value, and it ought not to be that way.
10:53: And if that's what's going on in our lives, we're not going to love right.
11:00: We must hate or abhor what is evil because it is evil.
11:06: That's a real challenge in our culture.
11:06: It's not that we should be afraid of encountering evil.
11:13: We should be concerned about loving and liking evil.
11:13: I remember years ago, I saw a movie called Glory.
11:21: It came out in 1989.
11:21: It's a Civil War movie dealing with race issues.
11:21: It stars Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Kerry Elwes, Morgan Freeman.
11:29: It has to do with black men fighting in the Civil War and how they're not respected and so on and their effort to do what's right.
11:44: And I remember seeing it, and I wanted to throw up.
11:44: It was so violent.
11:44: It was stomach-turning.
11:50: And yet, I couldn't look away because there was something so right being portrayed about these men having character and righteousness and being willing to suffer and die for what was right.
12:02: It wasn't violence for the sake of entertainment.
12:02: It wasn't like, hey, watch all these people get murdered and that's fun.
12:07: It made you see death as a horrible thing.
12:17: We need to hate evil, and we need to hold fast to what is good.
12:17: It's the flip side of this, really, isn't it?
12:21: Cling to, pursue, seek after what is good.
12:21: Don't give up on keeping in your life whatever is present that is good, even if others don't.
12:29: Maybe you're doing or you have something in your life that is a habit that's healthy and right and good, but maybe your friends don't do that and it starts to make you feel awkward and like you don't fit in.
12:43: Don't let go of that.
12:43: Cling to what is good.
12:49: Verse 10, love one another with brotherly affection.
12:49: Sorry, last verse, we already covered love.
12:57: We need to come back to this, do we?
12:57: I think we do.
12:57: Verse 9 talks about the sincerity of our love.
13:04: This talks about the quality of it.
13:04: Love one another with brotherly affection.
13:04: Now, this is a one another, meaning in context, Christian to Christian, right?
13:12: Christian to Christian, give each other brotherly love, brotherly affection.
13:18: It's about loyalty.
13:18: It's about a deep familial sort of love, right?
13:29: NIV literally translates it, be devoted to one another in love, a devoted, that loyalty, that stick with you thing.
13:34: If you're old enough, you remember the phrase, blood is thicker than water, right?
13:34: That idea that family loyalty counts for more than other kinds of loyalties.
13:40: And scripturally, as Christians, we're called to an even deeper loyalty to fellow Christians than we are to family.
13:47: That's what Jesus said in a number of different places.
13:54: We're called to that as a church.
13:54: We should be very, very reluctant to part ways with one another as Christians.
13:59: The unity of the church is vitally, vitally important.
14:07: Verse 10.
14:13: Outdo one another in showing honor.
14:17: NIV, honor one another above yourselves.
14:17: Those are a little bit different sounding.
14:21: The NIV makes it say like, hey, make sure that you're prioritizing someone else in honoring them, which is right and correct.
14:27: Sounds a lot like Philippians chapter 2 verse 3, in humility, count others more significant than yourselves.
14:33: Don't be the first one in the buffet line.
14:33: Don't be the first one at the potluck to load up the plate.
14:39: Unless, you know, somebody says, hey, get the line started, please, right?
14:44: Somebody has to start it, but don't be there because, you know, I got to load up on what I want.
14:48: But not just in food things, in all of life.
14:48: Honor one another above yourselves.
14:48: The ESV is kind of a fun way to translate it.
14:57: Outdo one another in showing honor.
14:57: We kind of, most of us often have this comparison game we play.
15:02: How do I stack up next to the next person?
15:02: Oh, I'm not as good as so-and-so is at this, and that person does that better than me.
15:09: Oh, I'm the worst.
15:09: Or, man, they stink at all these things.
15:15: Look at how great I am.
15:15: One or the other, often.
15:15: You want to compare yourself to others?
15:20: Focus in a friendly competition way on outdoing one another in honoring others, right?
15:27: When you see something good in your fellow Christian, attaboy it.
15:27: Attagirl it.
15:27: Hey, I saw that.
15:34: That was well done.
15:34: Bravo.
15:34: Kudos, right?
15:34: Let each other know where you see something good and right.
15:41: Give honor where honor is due.
15:41: There's something right and healthy about building a culture of positive reinforcement.
15:50: If you came to church every week and it was like, here's what's wrong with you.
15:55: Here's why you're terrible.
15:55: It'd be hard to come back very long, wouldn't it?
15:55: But if you come, and this is more like a hospital for the injured where you're built up, you're encouraged, you're affirmed, you're strengthened, which is what it ought to be, then how can you not want more of that?
16:17: Don't we all desire that deep down?
16:17: Verse 11, do not be slothful in zeal.
16:17: Be fervent in spirit.
16:26: Serve the Lord.
16:26: To put it simple and bluntly, apathy is no bueno.
16:26: Can't be sleepwalking through life.
16:34: We need to have zeal.
16:34: We need to have passion in our lives.
16:34: Going through life on autopilot is not the way God calls us to live.
16:40: Be careful of just doing the same old thing day after day, whether it's your Bible reading or what you're praying for, going to church, singing the songs of worship, and so on.
16:55: There's an old saying, a rut is just a grave with both ends knocked out.
17:03: Turns out that was first said by a Southern Baptist evangelist, Vance Havner, in the last century.
17:14: The guy was a British, or Southern Baptist evangelist.
17:14: It was a Christian preacher trying to help people understand apathy doesn't cut it.
17:20: I couldn't help but appreciate that as I'm looking at the same passion.
17:25: I'm like, hey, it reminds me of, well, it does make sense that it would sound like that.
17:29: That's why he said that.
17:29: His point was that a rut is a life of stagnation or death with no forward motion or new life, much like a grave.
17:39: Got to keep moving forward.
17:45: If you are going up a river in a canoe, a kayak, a boat, whatever, and you stop rowing or paddling, you don't stay still.
17:58: You move backward.
17:58: Christian life is like that.
17:58: You got to keep going in the same direction, and that's going to take some passion and zeal.
18:04: Particularly, it's fervent in spirit as we serve the Lord.
18:10: It's deep down.
18:10: It's at the heart of who we are.
18:10: Now, I think this is especially focused on the way that we serve the Lord, which is not Sunday mornings, at least not only Sunday mornings.
18:25: Remember, back to verse 1, lives as living sacrifices.
18:25: This is 24-7.
18:25: This is how we do everything.
18:32: We worship God in everything we do, all day, every day, all week long.
18:32: And we have a passion to view it as worship, to view it as service unto the Lord, all of life.
18:41: Verse 12 calls us to rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
18:51: I've got mixed feelings on that verse.
18:51: I love it.
18:58: All right, rejoice in hope, right?
18:58: Be patient.
18:58: Be constant in prayer.
18:58: You know, be prayerful.
18:58: Be hopeful.
19:06: Be joyful.
19:06: But when?
19:06: You don't need to rejoice in hope when you already have what you're longing for.
19:13: Rejoicing in hope means you don't got it yet.
19:13: You're still waiting to get that thing that you're hoping for.
19:18: Patient in tribulation means that you're going through tribulation.
19:18: You're suffering.
19:23: You're hurting.
19:23: Constant in prayer, in context, probably has to do with keep coming to God when you don't have resolution yet.
19:30: There's something worth waiting for.
19:30: There's something coming that's good.
19:43: So wait.
19:43: Hang in there.
19:43: Don't give up.
19:43: The apostle Peter encouraged Christians in a similar way in 1 Peter 4.12 when he said, Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you.
19:59: When you encounter difficulty, you don't think, oh, what is this weird thing?
20:04: Why is my life hard?
20:04: It shouldn't be hard.
20:04: I'm a Christian.
20:08: No.
20:08: Hard things is normal for Christians.
20:08: That's a normal part of the Christian experience because God is testing us.
20:15: Not testing us like pass fail so much, as testing us like purifying, refining, refining, helping us to see where we're at in the process and move us forward.
20:29: So we rejoice knowing that there's something good and worth waiting for yet to come.
20:29: Be patient in tribulation knowing that it's not going to stay like that permanently.
20:34: Be constant in prayer knowing that God's hearing you.
20:40: He's listening and he will respond in the right way and in the right timing.
20:44: Verse 13, contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
20:52: Right?
20:52: It's about giving.
20:52: Not like, oh man, they're passing the plate or there's a benevolent fund, I guess I have to do something.
20:58: This is about glad giving, saying I want to bless others, specifically to the needs of the saint.
21:03: Needs are not wants.
21:03: These are about really helping people in need.
21:09: And it's the saints.
21:09: That's fellow Christians.
21:09: The people who are set apart from the world, set apart from sin, set apart for God.
21:16: Saint does not mean somebody that has it all together.
21:22: It means somebody who has been designated by God for God.
21:22: Set apart by God.
21:22: That's literally what the word means.
21:28: And Christians over the years, over the centuries have perverted it into somebody, they're a really, really good Christian now.
21:33: This isn't about helping really, really good Christians.
21:37: This is about helping normal Christians.
21:37: Every day, struggling to live for God, but called to live for God people.
21:47: And seek to show hospitality.
21:47: This one's a little bit more challenging for us.
21:56: Because when we think hospitality, we think backyard barbecue.
21:56: We think having someone over for cookies.
22:02: We think, you know, just opening your home to visitors of people you know.
22:02: But in the context of the Bible, it was more about strangers.
22:07: Literally, the word is a compound word.
22:07: It means love of strangers.
22:14: That's what hospitality is.
22:14: Back then, travel was dangerous.
22:14: And it was hard to find inns and hotels.
22:21: And the ones that were available were pricey and people didn't have money.
22:27: And so this was about taking in strangers, looking for chances to bless people you didn't know.
22:34: So, by all means, have people over for dinner.
22:34: Cookies, dessert.
22:34: If you've got chocolate chip cookies, let me know all in what time I'll be there.
22:40: That's fine.
22:40: But the real point is about blessing people that you don't know so much.
22:46: And finding ways to help take care of them.
22:46: Verse 14, bless those who persecute you.
22:55: Bless and do not curse them.
22:55: You know it's a hard command when it has to be said twice, right?
23:02: No, no, I really said that.
23:02: Bless those who persecute you.
23:02: When somebody makes your life hard because you're following Jesus, bless them.
23:08: Really, bless, do not curse.
23:08: I almost picture the Apostle Paul saying, yeah, I really did say that, right?
23:16: Kind of reminds me of the Lord's prayer when he talks about forgiving people.
23:22: And then he doubles down after the Lord's prayer.
23:22: He was like, yeah, no, I really meant that.
23:28: If you don't forgive others, God's not going to forgive you.
23:33: Like, you heard me right.
23:33: When people hurt you, especially when you don't do something to provoke it, when you're just trying to love Jesus and follow Jesus and they make your life painful because of that, it's hard to want to bless.
23:48: We want to retaliate and insist on our rights and you'll get yours and no, bless and do not curse.
24:02: We don't face a lot of persecution here in America.
24:02: Now, there are things that are not healthy and right in our country, but most of it is not directly geared at Christians on account of them loving Jesus.
24:13: We just visited with Jill and Joanne recently who serve in a part of the world where you will suffer for being a Christian.
24:20: People will try to make your life terrible and potentially even kill you if you convert to Christianity.
24:26: That's not what we go through here, at least not presently.
24:31: The solution for us when we do encounter opposition is to bless.
24:31: It is not to try to seize power and punish people who don't like us.
24:40: It's not to seek solutions in the political realm or the governmental realm.
24:48: That is called Christian nationalism and it is from the pit of hell.
24:53: Christian nationalism tries to create a marriage between Christianity and secular government.
24:59: We are not called to that.
25:01: When we begin to do that, we begin to fall into the same trap that some of the people in Jesus' day were doing.
25:06: They were called the zealots and people kept trying to bait Jesus into one side versus the other.
25:11: And he's like, dude, that's not what my kingdom is about.
25:15: Jesus was not about taking sides in politics.
25:18: I'm not saying that Jesus doesn't have any rights or wrongs in specific situations.
25:22: I'm saying he is so much more than anything that politics is about.
25:27: He transcends every issue that government deals with.
25:32: We don't go down that road.
25:34: We do not curse them who persecute us, but we bless them.
25:40: That's hard, but it's Christ-like.
25:43: What did Jesus say on the cross when he was dying?
25:46: Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
25:52: Christians are Christ followers, which means we're called to do hard things like bless those who persecute us.
25:59: Verse 15, rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
26:04: You can't do that if you don't do life together.
26:09: And that means at least two things.
26:11: Number one, you need to be willing to listen to what somebody else is going through.
26:17: Give them the opportunity to share.
26:20: It also means you need to be willing to share.
26:22: You need to not be an island unto yourself.
26:24: You need to be willing to say, hey, I'm going through some hard stuff right now, like this or this or this.
26:30: And let other people join you in either the joy that you're experiencing or the pain that you're hurting with.
26:39: We want to have empathy with them.
26:43: Sometimes people use the word sympathy, sometimes empathy, and sometimes them interchangeably.
26:47: But there is a difference.
26:48: Sympathy says, I hurt because you're hurting, but I don't really know what you're going through.
26:56: Empathy says, I've been through that or something like that.
27:00: I know what that's like.
27:02: I know what that joy feels like.
27:04: I know what that hurt feels like.
27:05: I'm with you in it.
27:06: We are called, I believe, sometimes to sympathy, but often to empathy.
27:13: Now, there's limits to that.
27:15: It's not about being selfish.
27:17: It's not about somebody responding in a sinful way to something and us joining them in that sinful response.
27:24: But where they are genuinely, rightly grieving something, we grieve with them.
27:28: Where they are rightly rejoicing in something that's good, we rejoice with them.
27:32: And we seek to live in harmony with one another.
27:37: Verse 16, do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.
27:40: Never be wise in your own sight.
27:43: We have got to live in harmony with one another.
27:46: That's a unity of spirit and purpose.
27:49: It's a unity, not a uniformity.
27:53: You don't need to be just like I am.
27:55: I can be the joke guy, the pun guy.
27:57: You don't have to take that part of who I am onto yourselves.
28:01: And all God's people said, amen.
28:03: You don't want to be like that.
28:04: That's fine.
28:05: I get that.
28:06: But you don't have to be the cookie cutter duplicate of the next person either.
28:10: But we all have to be on the same page with one another.
28:14: Unified in spirit and in purpose.
28:16: We're going to follow Jesus together.
28:19: We're going to trust in Jesus together as a family.
28:22: Day by day, step by step.
28:24: And that doesn't leave room for being haughty or proud.
28:29: Rather, we associate with the lowly.
28:31: There is no one that will ever come into this church that you're too good to hang out with or spend time with or visit with.
28:40: I don't care how they're dressed.
28:42: I don't care how they talk.
28:43: I don't care what they look like.
28:44: I don't care how they smell.
28:46: There is no one that you're too good to interact with.
28:52: So let's make sure that there are no lonely people in this church.
28:58: You see somebody by themselves?
29:00: That's your invitation.
29:01: Get your behind over there.
29:05: Talk to them.
29:05: Visit with them.
29:06: Engage with them.
29:08: Show them that brotherly love that we're called to.
29:11: And never be wise in your own sight.
29:14: That means don't think you got all the answers.
29:17: Even if you're really knowledgeable, really studied, very careful, analytical thinker, it doesn't mean you're always right.
29:23: Don't think you've got it all together and all figured out.
29:25: Be ready to accept some correction, some curveball in where you think you're going from others.
29:33: We say here at Faith Chapel that our purpose is to, that we exist to worship God by enjoying relationship with him, and one another through Jesus Christ.
29:44: The way that we do life together, fellow Christians, is a key aspect of how we worship God.
29:48: If we do life with one another, enjoying that relationship in Jesus, a Christ-centered kind of connection with one another, like God's calling us to, that honors him.
29:59: Because let's be honest, naturally, not everyone in this room is going to hang out with everyone else in this room.
30:04: There's a lot of weird differences present in this room.
30:07: If you're not sure about that, looking around, you might be the weird different one.
30:13: But we're called to do life together.
30:15: And as we do that well, and it's sincere and authentic, God is honored.
30:20: Because he's the one that ties us together.
30:24: Verse 17, repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.
30:31: Years ago, before I moved to Green Bay, there was a church lady, very involved in church, and she was the world's greatest retaliator.
30:41: If she got upset with somebody, she found a way to let them know.
30:44: She found a way to get them back.
30:47: There was a particular story that she told over and over.
30:51: It was her pride and joy story.
30:52: She was so proud of herself for this.
30:55: And as she told the story time and again, I just kept thinking, that was funny, that was creative, but that was sin.
31:02: That was unbiblical.
31:04: There was a co-worker that ticked her off.
31:07: There's a co-worker that worked in a nursing home kind of setting.
31:11: And she decided that she didn't like this lady.
31:16: One day, a resident passed away, and this co-worker that she didn't like had to come in and verify the death and so on.
31:26: So word was sent that the supervisor would come, and this church lady hid under the bed so that as the unliked co-worker is leaning over the body, suddenly her ankle was grabbed.
31:42: That's mean.
31:44: It's funny, but it's mean.
31:47: I had to tell you ahead of time that it's not a good example, so I didn't want you to laugh too much of that story.
31:54: That's not how we do it.
31:56: We don't retaliate.
31:57: We don't repay evil for evil.
32:00: We don't fight fire with fire.
32:04: You fight fire with fire, you just destroy everything.
32:07: You fight fire with water, you go the other direction.
32:10: Give thought to or brainstorm.
32:14: Not what is funny, but what is honorable.
32:19: What everyone knows and sees as being of good character, do that.
32:28: Turn the other cheek.
32:29: Bless those who bless.
32:30: If you want to retaliate against somebody, retaliate with kindness, with giving, with generosity.
32:40: Verse 18, if possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
32:45: Live peaceably with all is the instruction, right?
32:48: Get along with each other.
32:49: But it's got two qualifiers, if possible, meaning it may not always in some situations be possible.
32:56: And so far as it depends on you, you bring to the table every bit that you can towards getting along and making it work with one another.
33:06: If there's going to be division between you and that other person, make sure it's because they're choosing that, not because you are.
33:17: And then finally, verses 19 through 21, kind of recapping and centering on some of these things that we've just been talking about.
33:24: Beloved, meaning Christians, those beloved by God and by fellow Christians.
33:29: Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.
33:32: For, because it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.
33:38: To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him.
33:40: If he's thirsty, give him something to drink.
33:42: For by so doing, you will keep burning coals on his head.
33:46: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
33:50: If somebody wrongs you, you don't retaliate.
33:53: You let God retaliate on your behalf.
33:56: Somebody hurts my youngest daughter and she wants to retaliate, she could do that.
34:02: But if I say, no, no, no, Joss, I got this one.
34:06: She should step back and watch.
34:08: Because I can bring the hammer down way harder than she can, right?
34:13: A million times more, God in heaven.
34:16: And he doesn't just say, I might deal with things.
34:18: He says, I will repay.
34:21: Okay.
34:21: You let God deal with that.
34:24: And that doesn't mean sitting back and doing nothing.
34:26: Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him.
34:30: If he's thirsty, give him something to drink.
34:33: Why?
34:34: Why would we do that?
34:35: Why not just distance yourself?
34:37: Have nothing to do with that person.
34:38: It says, for by so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.
34:45: Scholars are like, maybe it means this, maybe it means this, maybe it means that.
34:48: I think it probably means something like, you're going to either make them begin to feel guilty about what they're doing, right?
34:55: That heat, that burning coals, that awkward feeling you have when your conscience is kicking in.
34:59: Or, there's, it could mean that there's a greater degree of accountability that they're going to stand before God when the time comes.
35:07: Either way, when you respond rightly to their wrongness, that's the way to follow the example of Jesus.
35:16: Jesus.
35:19: Everything about this passage says, how are you going to live as a Christ follower?
35:27: How are you going to live day by day, moment by moment, when life is hard, when people treat you badly, when the people around you are hurting, and so on.
35:35: How are you going to live in light of God's mercy towards you?
35:38: As somebody who's been blessed beyond belief in Jesus Christ, with forgiveness, acceptance, adoption, kindness, care, eternal security, new life.
35:51: How are you going to live day by day for God?
35:55: You going to be the retaliating type like the people that don't know God?
35:58: Or are you going to leave it in God's hands and say, he's got this.
36:03: I don't like what our denomination is doing right now in some ways, but I'm not going to retaliate.
36:08: I'm not going to get nasty or mean.
36:11: If it turns out to the very worst possible outcome, I'm going to walk through that door with a smile and say, I leave it in God's hands.
36:19: He'll deal with it in his time as he sees fit.
36:24: And I invite you to join me in that, not just with denominational stuff, but with all things.
36:32: Let's pray.
36:34: God, would you help us to be so enraptured with Jesus, to be so encouraged by the example of Christ and who he is for us that we beg for the work of the Spirit in us to empower us, to give us wisdom so that we can follow the example of our older brother, Jesus Christ, so that we can likewise say, Father, forgive them.
37:04: God, you deal with this in your way and in your timing so that we can love and associate humbly with the brothers and sisters in Christ that you've given us.
37:17: We want to live by faith in Jesus.
37:22: We want the mercy we've received to overflow in how we treat others.
37:27: So work that in us.
37:29: Do whatever you need to in each one of our lives to produce that kind of good fruit, we pray in Jesus' name.
37:36: Amen.