Romans 12:19-21 // Sweet Revenge

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:19-21)

A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish. (Proverbs 19:9)

That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well. (Acts 15:29)

Jesus calls us to a higher life, it is necessary for us to abstain from things that we might actually be able to get away with, not for salvation, but out of love for Christ. Too often we have asked "what can I do and not lose my salvation?" a question that a saved person surely would not ask. Rather we should ask "what can I do to honour and glorify my Saviour?" Abstaining from things of dubious morality or value is a good place to start.

As we live a Christian life, seeking to honour and glorify God we will encounter people who try to misrepresent us and give the impression we are fanatics. We should resist the desire to fight back against this. God will bring justice, nothing we will ever achieve will come close. Rather than plotting the demise of an enemy, we must plan for his good. We must try seriously to make his life better and encourage him to be connected with God.

This is not passive-aggressive, this is disciplining your mind to leave punishment up to God and genuinely try to bless those who curse you. 

Romans 12:17-18 // Unifying Leadership

Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. (Romans 12:17-18)

It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 15:25-26)

Many will intreat the favour of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts. (Proverbs 19:6)

Unity is essential to achieve Christ's mission. We need leaders that are able to attract support and loyalty, we need leaders that are willing to risk their lives for Jesus that can become focal points for the loyalty of the people.

We need to speak the truth in love, but we also have a responsibility not to antagonize unnecessarily. Certainly it is abominable to be needlessly offensive through malicious lies about our spiritual rivals, though some regard this as virtuous.

True success will come through unity of courageous loving honesty in word and deed.

Romans 12:16 // Freedom of Expression

Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. (Romans 12:16)

A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape. (Proverbs 19:5)

Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment: (Acts 15:24)

The church needs to be a safe place for ideas, where anyone can express their faith in God without fear of condemnation. Paradoxically, freedom requires authority. Without strong authority the timid and quiet are shouted down by the charismatic fools (Ecclesiastes 9:17) and there is no true freedom of expression. Authority must allow the expression of a variety of opinions, and with an equally "heavy hand" must prevent the monopolizing of discussion by the loudest voices.

In the proto-Church, the loudest voices were for Christians being merely a branch of Judaism, requiring Gentile converts to culturally convert to Judaism before a religious conversion would be accepted.
This opinion was heard, but the church leadership also listened to the quiet and reasoned voices of Paul and Peter to whom God had revealed a broader message. The Spirit moved and the right decision was taken, Gentiles were equal to Jews in God's sight.

But this alone was not enough. The church was required to take action to prevent the loud from shouting down the quiet. The church specifically ruled that those who taught Jews were superior to Gentiles did not represent the teachings of the church.

In modern terms, the church ordains preachers to speak on her behalf and his the right not to ordain everyone who wants it. This is to preserve not only the accuracy of the church's teachings, but also the freedom of the quiet from being drowned in the lies of self-appointed prophets, teachers and preachers.

With this freedom of expression in place, we can experience within the church the joy of communion with each other, with no distinction between lowly and prestigious, quiet and charismatic.

Praise the Lord!