Avenge/Revenge

Learning to Forgive when you want to Fight back!

Define -

Revenge is excessive retribution. It is not only "getting even", but it is giving the other person something else besides and that is not God's way! He is the only One Who can recompense perfectly. So let Him take care of all vengeance!

The OT mentions several provocations of human “vengeance.” Samson avenges murder (Jgs. 15:7), Saul seeks vengeance on his military foes (1 S. 14:24; 18:25), as does Israel on the Midianites (Nu. 31:2). Samson avenges himself on the Philistines for the loss of his eye (Jgs. 16:28). In Est. 8:13 the Jews avenge themselves on those who planned to murder them. Joab avenges the death of his brother in battle (1 K. 2:5; here it is not in his avenging that Joab is blameworthy, but in his doing it in a period of truce).

Other passages mention acts that need not or should not be avenged—at least not by killing, or not by men. Had David avenged an insult (1 S. 25:33), this would have caused “blood-guilt,” probably because the provocation was not sufficient to warrant killing. However, the tradition maintains that Yahweh avenged this insult (v 39). A vengeance “overkill” is also found in the Song of Lamech, Gen. 4:23, in which Lamech says that he slew a man who struck him. That this response is out of proportion to the provocation is clear in v 24.

New Testament

Although Stephen recounts Moses’ avenging an oppressed Israelite by striking an Egyptian (Acts 7:24), the notion that avenging belongs to God is found in the NT also in Paul’s quotation of OT tradition (Rom. 12:19). The context of the OT passage (Dt. 32:35) indicates that God stands ready to vindicate His people when their enemies mistreat them. Vengeance, like judgment (Mt. 7:1), should be left in His hands. In Rev. 6:10, martyrs cry out to God that He avenge their blood, and in 19:2 we find a reference to God’s avenging the blood of “his servants” (on the “great harlot”), in terms reminiscent of Dt. 32:43; Ps. 9:12; 79:10; 2 Esd. 15:9.

God doesn't expect us to pretend our outrage isn't real. He does expect us to RESIST the temptation to return evil for evil, to work on reconciliation, to leave room for his wrath, and to overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:17–21 (CSB)

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord. But

If your enemy is hungry, feed him.

If he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

For in so doing

you will be heaping fiery coals on his head.

Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.

If possible - it may not always be possible! We all want a word that always works, an easy solution, a quick fix. But some things in this broken world can't be fixed no matter what we do. And then there are some situations clearly when you may be forced to defend yourself in an abusive situation.

Possible (1415) (dunatos [word study] from dunamai = referring to power one has by virtue of inherent ability and resources; see study of dunamis [word study]) means powerful, able, strong. Able describes that which has sufficient or necessary power, means, skill, or resources to accomplish an objective.

Someone has said that "I could live this Christian life with no problem if it weren't for people!"

Someone else has said,

The more I get to know the human race, the more I love my dog.

Our responsibility is to make a conscious effort. There maybe a time where we cant stop the fight, but there should never be a time where we start it or initiate it.

Romans 12:19 “Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.”

THE natural instinct is to answer enmity with enmity, and kindliness with kindliness.

Revenge is a natural human response. We agree with every movie that has it. The wife-husband child or friend etc. dies in the opening scene the audience all agrees with the revenge that is about to take place lol. It is natural. But if every eye tagged an eye, we would all look like the captain

on a pirate ship. Every tooth for a tooth, we would all need dentures.

We always feel that, if we treat others according to the way they have treated us, we are only giving them justice. We can justify this so easily. "I'm only teaching them a lesson. I'm only showing them how I feel. I'm only giving back what they've given me." But any time you argue that way you have forgotten the many times you have injured others without getting caught yourself. But God hasn't forgotten. This always puts us in the place of those Pharisees who, when the woman was taken in adultery, were ready to cast stones and stone her to death. Jesus came by and said to them, "He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone," (John 8:7). That stopped them all dead in their tracks because there wasn't one of them who wasn't equally as guilty as she. They needed to be judged too. We must never carry out revenge because we are not in the position of a judge. We, too, are guilty. We need to be judged. Therefore, Paul warns us, "Don't try to avenge yourself." You will only make a mess of it. The inevitable result of trying to get even with people is that you escalate the conflict.

Paul gives two reasons why you should not avenge yourself: One is because God is already doing it. "Leave room for God's wrath." God knows you have been insulted or hurt or injured. He knows it and he is already doing something about it.

Second, God alone claims the right to vengeance because he alone can work it without injury to all concerned. He will do it in a way that will be redemptive. He won't injure the other person but will bring him out of it. We never give God a chance; we take the matter into our own hands. And Paul says that is wrong. It is wrong because we don't want that person to be redeemed; we want them to be hurt. We are like Jonah when Ninevah repented. When God spared it, Jonah got mad at God. "Why didn't you wipe them out like you said you would?" We get angry because God hasn't taken vengeance in the way that we would like. Paul reminds us that God is already avenging, so we should leave him room, and God claims the right to vengeance because he alone can work it without injury to all concerned.

Do not be overcome -

Darby explains the first part of this verse "If my bad temper puts you in a bad temper, you have been overcome of evil." (Interesting thought!)

Forgiveness -

John MacArthur emphasizes the importance of forgiveness in his excellent commentary on Philemon (in which forgiveness is a major theme) warning that…

Failure to do so will bring at least four unpleasant results.

First, failure to forgive will imprison believers in their past. (Ed: Someone has said "To forgive is to set the prisoner free, and then discover the prisoner was you.")

Unforgiveness keeps the pain alive. Unforgiveness keeps the sore open; it never allows the wound to heal. Dwelling on the wrong done feeds anger and resentment and robs one of the joy of living. Forgiveness, on the other hand, opens the prison doors and sets the believer free from the past.

Second, unforgiveness produces bitterness.

The longer believers dwell on offenses committed against them, the more bitter they become. Bitterness is not just a sin; it is an infection. The writer of Hebrews warns,

“See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled” (Heb. 12:15-note).

A bitter person’s speech is cutting, sarcastic, even slanderous. Bitterness distorts a person’s whole outlook on life, producing violent emotions, intolerance, and thoughts of revenge. It is especially devastating to the marriage relationship. Bitterness shuts off the affection and kindness that should exist between the partners. The root of bitterness and unforgiveness all too often produces the weed of divorce. Forgiveness, on the other hand, replaces bitterness with love, joy, peace, and the other fruits of the Spirit (cf. Gal 5:22, 23-note).

Third, unforgiveness gives Satan an open door.

Paul warns believers in Ephesians 4:26, 27 (see notes Ephesians 4:26; 4:27), “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.” To the Corinthians he wrote, “Whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, in order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes” (2Cor 2:10,11). It is no exaggeration to say that most of the ground Satan gains in our lives is due to unforgiveness. (If love fulfills the law toward others [Ro 13:8-note], lack of love violates it. Unforgiveness is lack of love.) Forgiveness bars that avenue of demonic attack.

Fourth, unforgiveness hinders fellowship with God. Our Lord solemnly warned, “If you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions” (Matt. 6:14, 15). As noted in the introduction, that passage speaks not of the completed, past forgiveness of salvation, but of ongoing relational forgiveness between believers and the Father. It is a serious matter nonetheless to know that one cannot be right with God if he is unforgiving of others. Forgiveness restores the believer to the place of maximum blessing from God. It restores the purity and joy of fellowship with God.

The importance of forgiveness is a constant theme of Scripture. There are no less than seventy-five different word pictures about forgiveness in the Bible. They help us grasp the importance, the nature, and the effects of forgiveness.

• To Forgive Is To Turn The Key, Open the cell door, and let the prisoner walk free.

• To Forgive Is To Write In Large Letters across a debt, “Nothing owed”

• To Forgive Is To Pound The Gavel In a courtroom and declare, “Not guilty!”

• To Forgive Is To Shoot An Arrow So high and so far that it can never be found again.

• To Forgive Is To Bundle Up All The garbage and trash and dispose of it, leaving the house clean and fresh.

• To Forgive Is To Loose The Moorings Of a ship and release it to the open sea.

• To Forgive Is To Grant A Full Pardon to a condemned criminal.

• To Forgive Is To Relax A Stranglehold On a wrestling opponent.

• To Forgive Is To Sandblast A Wall Of graffiti, leaving it looking like new.

• To Forgive Is To Smash A Clay Pot into a thousand pieces so it can never be pieced together again. (John Nieder and Thomas Thompson, Forgive and Love Again [Eugene, Oreg.: Harvest House, 1991], p. 48)

Forgiveness is so important that the Holy Spirit devoted an entire book of the Bible to it. In the brief book of Philemon, the spiritual duty to forgive is emphasized, but not in principle, parable, or word picture. Through a real life situation involving two people dear to him, Paul teaches the importance of forgiving others. Following the introduction in Philemon 1:1, 2, 3, Paul describes the spiritual character of one who forgives in Philemon 1:4, 5, 6, 7. Such a person has a concern for the Lord, a concern for people, a concern for fellowship, a concern for knowledge, a concern for glory, and a concern to be a blessing. (MacArthur, J. Philemon. Chicago: Moody Press) (Bolding added)

Wanting revenge is a natural response.

The right response is

You Forgive and let God Fight.