In this society, we look for the "short cut" to success. Too often, people decide the result we seek justifies the methods we use. Too often, those who seek to be Christians seek "short cuts" to spiritual success. ("How can we be increasingly effective in evangelism? How can we become an effective congregation? How can we quickly produce wonderful families in the church who are an excellent contrast to the divorce and despair so frequently found in our society? How can we find a quick fix to troubling personal problem A and frustrating personal problem B?") Too often Christians decide the result we seek justifies the methods we use (we claim to seek a universal goal of God when we actually seek to address our own anxieties). If a solution takes "too long" it is a "bad solution."
God's principles are demanding. Why? They demand we depend on God working. We anxiously say, "I do not see how that will work" because "we" do not see how "we" can make it work. "We" fail to understand it will work because of God's involvement. Coming to God begins with believing God exists and rewards those who come to Him (Hebrews 11:6). However, continuing with God requires we trust God to continue working--just as did Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham. God promised the Christ (Genesis 12:3c; Galatians 3:16). God sent the Christ (Acts 2:36; 3:18-26). The Christ will continue his work until judgment (1 Corinthians 15:24-28).
The difficult issue for most Christians is that God continues to work. Our questions usually focus on "how," "when," and "where." We seem to have the faith necessary to come to God down pat. However, the faith of being a Christian because we walk with God needs work. Why? That faith demands we depend on God and not self. As long as there is something we can do, we feel comfortable. When we are either limited in what we can do or we cannot do anything to "fix it," we quickly feel very uncomfortable.
In the first eleven chapters of Romans, Paul discussed the extremely tense situation between the Jewish Christians and gentile Christians as God extended salvation to people. The first eleven chapters of Romans are conceptual. With chapter 12, Paul began making applications, often to specific situations. The challenge was transformation. The objective was for people to become a part of the one body in Christ where each person uses his/her gifts. The result was becoming a different person.
Consider the three Christian behaviors in our text.
1. The Christian does not engage in "pay back." Instead of vengeance, the Christian acts like his/her God and Savior. He/she gives kindness in return for evil received. Evil received never justifies evil returned.
2. They give careful, thoughtful consideration to right conduct even in the eyes of people who do not believe in God. That one is really tough when you live "in a fish bowl" and deal with unethical people!
3. If peace does not exist between you and someone else, it will not be because of the way you act or speak. If peace does not exist, it will be because peace is not wanted by the other person.
Why? The Christian looks at people as valuable. Why? The Christian does so because God does so. The Christian never forgets he/she is a Christian because of what God did for us on Jesus' cross.
The responsibility of how Christians treat their enemies always has been a difficult, demanding problem. It is not a hypothetical problem! From the beginning, Christians had enemies. The Jewish people who opposed Jesus (not all Jewish people opposed Jesus) also opposed the apostles [Acts 4:1-22]. Many idol worshippers (the majority in the first century world) resented Christians [Acts 19:23-41]. Opposition from the Roman government increased in the late first century. In Revelation, the Christians in Asia Minor thought they were doomed.
In this matter, it is demanding to belong to a God Who endured so much rejection and a Savior who was crucified. It is difficult to read Jesus' teaching on reacting to opposition in Matthew 5:43-48, or to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16), or show respect to rulers who do not know God (1 Peter 2:13-17), or show respect for Christians who disagree with your Christian practices (Romans 14).
The collective New Testament teaching to Christians living in a hostile age emphasized this:
1. Christians are not dangerous and pose a physical threat to no one.
2. Christians commit themselves to change through the influence of godly behavior (read 1 Peter 3:13-18).
3. Christians follow Jesus' example.
A part of faith is believing God acts and wins through the sacrifices of those devoted to Him and His values.
For Thought and Discussion
Link to Teacher's Guide
Lesson 5