Overcoming Evil with Good (Part 3)
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Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
Paul continues his address to the Romans by saying “let love be without dissimulation.”
The word dissimulation encompasses several meanings.
Let love be unfeigned. Which means let your love be sincere or real. Don’t let your love be with hypocrisy.
Let love be undisguised. Let not your love be hidden.
Let it be irrevocable.
Let love be absence of pretense (hidden motivation or agenda).
Because by doing so, you’ll be less likely to fall into sin. You’ll be less likely to do something that may hurt someone. But not only that, it could possibly keep your brother or sister from sinning as well. It will keep them from thinking evil, it will keep them from saying something that God would not be pleased with, it will keep them from doing something that would cause division or hurt.
Most of all, we love because Christ loved us. We should reciprocate the love that Christ has towards us with others.
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
The commandment that the LORD gave us is that we love one another, and the love He is talking about is not a counterfeit love, it is not a love that is revocable, it is not a sometimey love, but a sincere, unfeigned love.
Then Paul says
“Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.”
Hate what is wrong, not enjoy what is wrong. We should hate anything that God hates. For example, anytime I’m around or see alcohol there is something that rises up within me. I feel uncomfortable and I don’t care to be around it.
Why?
Because I remember what it was like when I consumed it. I remember the day that it became repulsive to me. When God delivers you from something that he hates you hate it too. Hate is a strong word, and if there was a word stronger than hate (maybe despise) then you would use it.
That’s why sometimes people don’t achieve the deliverance that they need to achieve because they still love the thing in which God hates.
This can apply to anything. For instance some of us still love to gossip. What does the word of God say about gossip?
For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.
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.
Do you see that? Peter begins to name offenses that are deemed to be serious offenses, and right up there along with a murderer, a thief, and one who practices evil is a busybody who is in other men’s matters.
You know everyones business, you love to know the latest scoop, and your just like a bucket with holes in it, you can’t hold nothing to yourself, got to tell everyones business.
And the problem is that you love doing it, it makes you feel important, makes you feel like you are abreast on what is going on around you. It makes you feel better than someone else when you hear the trouble that is going on in someone else’s life.
I’m just using one example, because that might not be your struggle, but you have a struggle of some kind:
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
BUT BROTHER PREACHER? HOW DO I OVERCOME IT? You must hate it, and you may have to go before God and ask Him to help you to hate what He hates.
Verse 10
Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
Simply put, have genuine (real) affection and take delight in honoring each other. To honor someone is to show someones worth, it means that they are valuable. It is to show favor and consideration towards an individual.
We must understand that if we are all part of the body of Christ that everyone is important. We must honor one another, show favor to one another and be considerate towards one another.
New members ought to feel like they matter here.
My wife told me after the last time we went to Greater Refuge in Jacksonville that she missed being there. I was in shock a little bit, but I told her, “now you see why I love it there.”
Because everyone makes you feel like you are important there. Not only that, you can walk in the church and it’s not dead, you can feel the presence and the power of God there.
Part of soul-winning is making people feel that they matter. We do this by honoring one another. You should take delight in honoring each other.
Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
We said last week, when it comes to God and God’s house we should not be lazy, but work hard and serve the LORD enthusiastically.
You shouldn’t come up in here dragging, looking like it is a burden for you to be here, barely got anything to say, half sleep. If it is that much of a struggle, then maybe you should’ve stayed home.
We should be excited to serve the LORD. David said “I was glad when they said unto me, let us go to the house of the LORD.”
We have members right now that WANT to be here but they can’t. Here it is, you have the activity of your limbs, you can talk, you can think, you can move, no one had to help you come in here, but you sit there stiff as a corpse and get an attitude when someone encourages you to praise the LORD. God didn’t have to bless you to be here. But you ought to thank God that you are alive, and that The LORD has given you another opportunity to serve Him in the house of the LORD.
We need to do all that we can for the LORD while we are able to. Work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.
LORD it is a pleasure to serve you.
LORD you been so good to me, it is an honor to serve you today.
What can I do for you today? What can I do today that will give you glory? What can I do today that would be pleasing to you?
YOU WANT TO OVERCOME EVIL IN YOUR LIFE??? THEN SERVE THE LORD!!! SERVE THE LORD WITH GLADNESS, COME BEFORE HIS PRESENCE WITH SINGING!!!
Tell someone about the goodness of the LORD!!! We telling every thing else, we telling everybody else’s business, but won’t tell nobody about Jesus!!! Take that negative energy and make it positive by telling someone about the goodness of Jesus!
What else do I do to overcome evil with good?
Paul then says:
Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
Rejoice in hope. That means we have joy, we praise the LORD in hope. Hope is expectation. You won’t throw a pity party when you have hope. You won’t be depressed when you have hope/expectation. You may experience tribulation in your life, things may not always go as planned or expected, but when you experience tribulation, you can be patient in it, because you have expectation in God. I expect God to move, I expect God to deliver, I expect God to bring me out, I expect God to act.
It is through the vehicle of prayer that we can be patient. It is through the vehicle of prayer that although we may be knee deep, neck deep in trouble that we can yet rejoice, because our expectation is in God!!!
It is a confident hope. It is a hope that the LORD will not forsake me, it is a hope that He shall supply all of my needs according to his riches in glory. It is a hope that when I walk through the valley of the shadows of death, he is with me. When I walk through the fire, it won’t consume me, when I walk through the floods it won’t overtake me.
Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
When the saints need help, help them and be eager to practice hospitality.
Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
Bless them who persecute you. Huh? Yes, you won’t overcome evil by persecuting those who persecute you, it will lead to more persecution. It will lead to sin and evil. But if you want to beat it, if you want to beat those who are giving you a hard time. God’s way is to bless them who persecute you.
To bless means to ascribe praise upon them. WHAT!?!? You mean I can’t talk bad about them?? NO!!! BLESS THEM!!! You mean I can’t retaliate? NO!!!! THE LORD SAYS BLESS THEM!!!
Bless means to confer a favor upon them or do a favor for them.
Jesus himself said “Pray for them that persecute you.” Jesus just didn’t talk a good game but he did it when he was dying on the cross. He said “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Stephen as he was being stoned to death, prayed for those who were stoning them and said “Lord do not hold this sin against them.”
If you want to overcome evil in your life, then do what the word says do!! Bless them that curse you, pray for them who persecute you, love your enemies, then you can overcome evil with God!!!
Paul says in another portion of scripture:
We appeal gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world’s garbage, like everybody’s trash—right up to the present moment.
It seems like we let people walk all over us. But that’s fine because the scriptures says:
“Vengeance is mine, I shall repay.” and again “Fret not thyself because of the evil doer, for they shall soon be cutoff.”
I’m not going to worry about it.......I’m going to let the LORD fight this battle for me.
Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
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.
What Paul says here, is that if you want to overcome evil in your life, then when it comes to your brothers and sisters in Christ, be of the same mind, BE UNITED, BE IN HARMONY WITH EACH OTHER.
To condescend to men of low estate means to have an heart of empathy. Put yourself in their shows, sometimes it means to experience what they are experiencing. Don’t be condescending, don’t think that you are above someone. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people.
For instance “I’m saved and I don’t want to have anything to do with this sinful person.” Be longsuffering toward them, so what if they say a couple of swear words, as long as you don’t say them. Bare it, and try to win them to Christ if you can.
Then Paul says “Don’t think that you know it all!” Be humble, be teachable, don’t be full of pride because you think you know a scripture or two. Even a child can teach you a thing or two if you pay attention enough.
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. 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.