Overcomer

Overcomer Romans 12:19-21 Today’s sermon may be one of the hardest messages you’ll hear. Not because the words are confusing or the meaning hidden, but because today’s message directly relates to one of life’s greatest challenges, not seeking revenge. It’s a battle that we all face. To apply today’s verses into your life means placing yourself second. It means putting away your pride. It means submitting to a higher authority other than your own. It’s not simply saying don’t judge or seek revenge, but actually doing it. It’s not speaking for yourself, but rather allowing God’s Word to be your voice. Today’s sermon is called “Overcomer.” I called it that based upon verse 21 which says, “Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” But don’t let the title fool you. Let me explain why. In the 13th chapter of the Gospel of John, we read about the night Jesus was betrayed; He first washed His disciple's feet. As the Last Supper continues, in chapter 14 Thomas asks where Jesus is going, in which Jesus replies with the famous verse, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” As Jesus continues to teach He illustrates how He is the Vine and we are the branches. It is in this teaching about remaining in Christ when He says, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” Towards the end of His teaching, Jesus says that soon His disciples won’t see Him, and in John 16:32-33 says, “You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Here is my point: Jesus clearly says that we’ll have trouble in this world, but promises us peace when we remain in Christ because it is Jesus who overcome the world. Christ is our example of how we should live. 1 Peter 2:23 says, “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” You and me and every Christian are overcomers because only Christ has overcome. We are in a world that causes trouble, trials, and tribulation. But remaining in Christ brings peace. Being an overcomer is a process because we are still in this world. There are times when we feel like anything but an overcomer. There are times when we feel mad, sad, grieved, shocked, lost, hopeless, helpless. But if you remain in Christ, who overcome the world, you are an overcomer. To be an overcomer is a lesson learned throughout life that takes a lifetime to learn. And the only way to learn this lesson is to abide in Christ. This is the whole point of Romans 12. When you abide in Christ, you are a lifelong learner, a disciple. As a disciple, Paul has been teaching us about how to live as a disciple. In Romans 12 we learn that if you “don’t conform to this world you will be transformed by the renewing of your mind” and able to see what God’s “good, pleasing and perfect will is.” This leads to true worship, which is lived out in service through the use of God’s Grace Gifts. Last week we looked at verses 9-18 and saw how our godly service must be lived out because “Love must be sincere.” And it is when our love is sincere and we abide in Christ that we can find peace amid trouble and have the spiritual strength not to take revenge. How hard is it not to take revenge? I mean Jesus says flat out that in this world we’ll have trouble and even be hated, but at the same time find peace. But so often we look for peace through retaliation. Romans 12:19 says, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord.’” Now let's break down this verse. The first part of this verse says, “Do not take revenge, but leave room for God’s wrath,” which is the command. Why, Scripture says, “for it is written” going back to the OT, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord.” God tells us He will repay because He alone can judge fairly. God will repay because nobody can get away with anything. 2 Corinthians 5:10 says, “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.” It reminds me of a time when my family and I took a vacation, and when we got to where we were going, the lady who worked behind the counter was mean and rude. So much so that I was about to say something, then ask to speak to her manager when I overheard that woman confiding in a co-worker. I listened as she told her co-worker that her husband's battle with cancer was coming to an end and that he would soon die. It was at that moment I understood her actions. She wasn’t intentionally being mean; her heart was breaking. You and I can’t measure someone’s heart, but God can and does. Remember, verses 9-18 tell us what sincere love looks like in action. And if we are to be “patient in affliction,” “Bless those who persecute us,” and “Do not repay anyone evil for evil,” then we must abide in Christ because He alone gives us the power to overcome. But we don’t just stop there because if all we did was follow these verses, we could very easily harbor hatred. It’s easy to store up wrath when you’re being pushed around. It’s easy to build up anger and store it deep inside. You’re hardly free if you carry around all those negative feelings that find a way of building up inside. That’s why God tells us not to simply turn the other cheek and do nothing, but instead to “Bless those who persecute you” by being kind to your enemy. Remember, forgiveness involves both attitudes and actions. That’s why verse 20 says, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” This is probably the hardest part of this entire teaching because the Bible tells us to do the opposite of what we feel in the moment. Satan and evil are real, and one of Satan’s favorite tactics is luring someone into doing evil by providing a “good” excuse for it. We often justify retaliation because it feels so satisfying. Pride keeps us from being a fair judge, which is why God alone will avenge. Christ as already overcome evil. Knowing that God has everything under control frees us to feed our enemies when they’re hungry. Remember, God showed us grace, which is undeserved favor, so don’t be quick to judge and seek revenge by saying they got what they deserve. Because if God was to go by the “they got what they deserve” logic, every single one of us would still be dead in our sins. God showed you undeserved favor and love because, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Because “God is love” and shows us grace and mercy, we are to show others grace and mercy because our “love must be sincere.” Just as God showed us mercy, He will do for others. People that we are angry with right now could become our brothers and sisters in Christ. Sincere love shown through mercy not only leaves room for God’s vengeance but “heaps burning coals” upon our enemy's head. Now this phrase has been greatly debated. Many believe it means “kill’em with kindness.” By showing our enemies kindness it can cause them to become ashamed and turn from their sins. Repaying evil for evil will always hurt you just as much as it hurts them. But forgiveness can break the cycle of retaliation and may even make your enemy change their ways. The best way to get rid of an enemy is to turn them into a friend. When anger hardens another, love softens them. When you return kindness for evil, you leave your enemy alone in your evil. Your kindness displayed through sincere love reveals whose Lord of your life, and that testimony can result in someone’s repentance and acceptance of Christ. Sometimes we forget what made our redemption possible, and many times it came from someone who shared the Gospel with us. So do the same. In Victor Hugo’s classic masterpiece, Les Misérables, he tells the story of a man named Jean Valjean, who was imprisoned for 19 years because he stole a loaf of bread. Once he is released, it is only an illusion of freedom. He cannot find anywhere to work or stay because he is an ex-convict. He finally finds a compassionate bishop who takes him in, but he repays the man’s kindness by stealing his silverware and slipping away in the night. The police arrest Valjean and bring him back to the bishop to be charged, but in a stunning display of mercy, the bishop tells the guards that the silverware was a gift and demands that they release him. He challenges Valjean to take the silver and use it to become an honest man—a moment that powerfully transforms his life. With that in mind, I ask you to look at verse 21 which says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Sure the bishop could have sent Valjean back to prison, but at that moment he had power over Valjean’s life. Many of us also have an influence over another person’s life, whether we realize it or not. Someone’s life could be transformed by your acts of kindness in response to evil. Feeling overcome by evil can happen in many ways. Feelings of stress, depression, revenge, pride, along with feelings that say “I can’t do it” are all ways to be overcome. Some days you feel like you’re overcome. Other day’s you feel like an overcomer. Then there are days when you’ve experienced both. But remember, “Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world” (1 John 5:4) and “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1John 4:4). So I ask you, are you overcome, or are you an overcomer? Remember Romans 12:9 said, “Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” If you hate what’s evil, you won’t be overcome by evil. If you cling to what is good you will overcome evil with good. Romans 12:2 says, “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” When you renew your mind and focus more upon the spiritual than the physical, then you overcome worldly problems because you now have heavenly help! God will always challenge our human nature to teach us to live by the Spirit’s power. Romans 12 is all about the spiritual transformation that comes as a result of “renewing your mind” so that “love can be sincere,” resulting in you being an overcomer. If you’re feeling overcome, cry out to Jesus, because only Christ can transform you into an Overcomer! AMEN.