VIDEO Pay Back Evil With Good – Overcome Evil With Good

Pay Back Evil With Good

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21

The horn on your car is amoral—like the tongue, a weapon, or money, it is dependent on its owner to be used for good or bad. The auto horn has become a tool of road rage in our culture, long blasts signaling our disapproval of another driver’s actions. And maybe that driver’s actions were wrong. But Scripture exhorts us to overcome evil (wrongs) with good (patience, understanding) rather than with evil (anger, retaliation).

In the Old Testament, burning coals were a symbol of judgment (Psalm 11:6; 140:10). But there are gentle ways to “pass judgment” that have better outcomes as illustrated in Proverbs: harsh words stir up anger, gentle words turn away anger (15:1); a gentle word can break a bone (25:15). For that reason, Solomon advised treating enemies kindly (25:21) as a way to “heap coals of fire on his head” (25:22)—advice repeated by the apostle Paul (Romans 12:20).

Paying back evil with evil is out. So, when you feel tempted, ask God to show you something good you can do for another person. It is possible to overcome evil with good. That’s how God overcomes our sin every day—with love and goodness.

Injuries cost more to avenge than to bear.  John Blanchard

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Steve Green Overcome Evil With Good Romans 12:21

The Great Crescendo

The Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 1 John 4:14

My parents taught me to love all sorts of music—from country to classical. So my heart beat rapidly as I walked into the Moscow Conservatory, one of Russia’s great music halls, to hear the Moscow National Symphony. As the conductor drove the musicians through a masterful Tchaikovsky piece, themes developed that gradually built to a powerful crescendo—a profound and dramatic musical climax. It was a magical moment, and the audience stood to roar its approval.

The Scriptures move toward the most powerful crescendo of history: the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the moments following Adam and Eve’s fall into sin in the garden of Eden, God promised that a Redeemer would come (Genesis 3:15), and throughout the Old Testament that theme moved forward. The promise rang out in the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:21), the hopes of the prophets (1 Peter 1:10), and the longings of the people of God.

First John 4:14 confirms where that story had been going: “We have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.” How? God accomplished His promised rescue of His broken world when Jesus died and rose again to forgive us and restore us to our Creator. And one day He will come again and restore His whole creation.

As we remember what God’s Son has done for us, we celebrate the great crescendo of God’s grace and rescue for us and His world—Jesus!

Father, Your Son has impacted Your world like nothing else. I’m grateful He has come for my rescue and will come again to restore Your world.

 

Celebrate the gift of Jesus!

By Bill Crowder 

INSIGHT

First John 4:14 declares that Christ is the “Savior of the world.” Our response to His sacrificial death on the cross so we might be saved puts us in one of two categories: We’re either among “those who are perishing” or “[those] who are being saved” (1 Corinthians 1:18). The apostle Paul says the Greeks laughed at the ludicrousness of a dead man giving eternal life to others (vv. 22–23). But to all who believe in Jesus, the cross is “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (v. 24). The Scriptures tell us, “This Good News about Christ . . . is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16 nlt), for “Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin” (1 Corinthians 1:30 nlt).

K. T. Sim

Where Will You Spend Eternity?

1 Corinthians 15:1-4

In our homes, we use smoke detectors to warn us of fire. Our car’s dashboard has lights to indicate a malfunction. We’d be foolish to ignore these warnings. In the same way, Scripture   passages warn us about the terrible consequences for rejecting God’s provision of a Savior.

The Bible tells us how to be reconciled to God so we can spend eternity with Him. We need to understand and accept the following truths:

Sin separates us from God (Rom. 3:23; Col. 1:19-22). Because of Adam and Eve’s rebellion, we are all born with a nature bent away from the Lord. His justice requires that we pay for our transgressions.

God sent His Son Jesus to make that payment for us (1 Corinthians 15:3). Only the death of one who was perfect would satisfy the Father’s righteous judgment. Jesus lived a life without sin, which qualified Him to become our substitute. He willingly took our place and died on the cross in order to pay our penalty. God accepted His death in place of ours and declared us righteous in His sight (Rom. 3:22).

Salvation is a free gift, received through faith in Jesus (Eph. 2:8-9). Our good works will neither satisfy divine justice nor pay for our transgressions. They are not what God requires for forgiveness or adoption into His family. Faith in Jesus is the only way to God (John 14:6). When we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, heaven becomes our eternal destination.

God wants you to live forever with Him. If you haven’t yet made your eternal destination certain, do so now.

Been Persecuted for Righteousness’ Sake?

“Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.” (Luke 6:22) 

“Blessed” means “happy,” and it would seem paradoxical to try to find happiness by being persecuted. Most Christians are extremely reluctant to do anything that might make them less popular with their peers, let alone anything that might lead to social ostracism or even physical suffering. Yet, Jesus said that this is the way to find true happiness.

He did not say that blessing comes through suffering for foolishness’ sake, or for carelessness’ sake, or for sinfulness’ sake. “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake” (Matthew 5:10). The principle is amplified by Peter: “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye. . . . But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf” (1 Peter 4:14-16).

It hurts, of course, to be “cast out—as evil” when one is sincerely seeking to do right and to honor God. This was the experience of the blind man to whom Jesus gave sight. The religious authorities responded to his testimony with: “Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out” (John 9:34). Nevertheless, he now could see! Likewise, the religious leaders “raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.” Nevertheless, “the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 13:50, 52).

The situation exists today in many countries—soon perhaps in America. If so, may the Lord enable us to honor His name in suffering with joy and without compromise, for “Christ also suffered for us” (1 Peter 2:21). HMM

By grace ye are saved

Ephesians 2

We have already seen how Paul describes what God’s grace has done for us; we shall now hear him recite what it has wrought in us if we are indeed saved.

Ephesians 2:1

we were without spiritual life, but now we are made alive unto God; regeneration is as great a wonder as if the corpses in the churchyard should burst their graves and begin life again. Grace is life, sin is death, conversion is a resurrection.

Ephesians 2:2, 3

What a humbling passage! The best of men were by nature no better than the worst. Satan found a willing servant in each one of us, and such we should still have been had not grace interposed.

Ephesians 2:4, 5

That little sentence, “By grace ye are saved,” is the key of true divinity. Study it well, and believe it thoroughly, and you will escape a thousand doctrinal errors. Carry this text in your heart, and you will be sound in the faith.

Ephesians 2:6

We grovel in the dust by nature, but grace sets us up above all earthly things. What manner of persons ought we to be who sit with Jesus in heaven!

Ephesians 2:7

In saved men the love of God is more clearly seen than in all the universe besides. The new creation is the crown of all the works of God.

Ephesians 2:13

The distance was infinite, and the nearness is intimate. The blood of Jesus works marvels, it annihilates distance, breaks down partition walls, and transforms aliens into sons.

Ephesians 2:18

Here we have the Trinity in one verse all uniting to help us to pray. All the three divine persons must aid us before we can offer a single acceptable petition.

Ephesians 2:19-22

The saints of God are not so many loose stones, but they are parts of a building, and it is for each one of us to fill his place in the church for the good of others and the glory of the Lord, who dwells within his church as a king in his palace. Let us remember this, and seek above all things to promote the unity, edification, and holiness of all our brethren in Christ.

 

Is Yours A Cheap Religion

Neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing. (2 Samuel 24:24)

What passes for Christianity in our day is cheap religion!

To listen to the current concepts of Christianity, we would conclude it is little more than bits of beautiful poetry, a man-made bouquet of fragrant flowers, a kindly smile for our neighbor and a couple of good deeds on behalf of a brother or sister.

When I consider some of the elements now offered in Christianity as acceptable religion, I have to restrain myself lest I speak too disapprovingly. I fear my words would be so strong that I would have to repent of them! And I read in the Scriptures that there are some things God does not want us to say even about the devil.

What do we find surfacing in much of our Christian fellowship? The complaint that God takes a long time to work out His will. We do not want to take the time to plow and cultivate. We want the fruit and the harvest right away. We do not want to be engaged in any spiritual battle that takes us into the long night. We want the morning light right now!

We do not want the cross—we are more interested in the crown!

 

Because of Us

“For the elect’s sake those days be shortened.” Matt. 24:22

For the sake of His elect the Lord withholds many judgments, and shortens others. In great tribulations the fire would devour all were it not that out of regard to His elect the Lord damps the flame. Thus, while He saves His elect for the sake of Jesus, He also preserves the race for the sake of His chosen.

What an honor is thus put upon saints! How diligently they ought to use their influence with their Lord! He will hear their prayers for sinners, and bless their efforts for their salvation. He blesses believers that they may be a blessing to those who are in unbelief. Many a sinner lives because of the prayers of a mother, or wife, or daughter, to whom the Lord has respect.

Have we used aright the singular power with which the Lord entrusts us? Do we pray for our country, for other lands, and for the age? Do we, in times of war, famine, pestilence, stand out as intercessors, pleading that the days may be shortened? Do we lament before God the outbursts of infidelity, error, and licentiousness? Do we beseech our Lord Jesus to shorten the reign of sin by hastening His own glorious appearing? Let us get to our knees, and never rest till Christ appeareth.