"Bless them which persecute you:bless, and curse not…. Recompense to no man evil for evil….
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" (Rom. 12:14,17,19-21).

The Christian’s whole life and ways are to be characterized by blessing, not cursing. This precept
carries us far beyond the power of nature. And it is only in proportion to the Christian’s
conformity to the good and perfect will of God that he is enabled to manifest this practical grace
toward his enemies; He has been exhorted to the exercise of love and benevolence among his
brethren in Christ; but now he must go a step further and bless, and never curse, even his enemies
who are persecuting him. To possess this spirit and to practice this precept is to-be a heaven-born
child of God. "But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them
that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully Use you, and persecute you; that ye may be
the children of your Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 5:44,45). This is surely a noble calling for
the Christian. He is a child of the ever blessed God; he is blessed with all spiritual blessings; his
present and future are unmingled blessing; and he is called while here to imitate his heavenly
Father in returning blessing for cursing.

”Bless, and curse not." The repetition of the precept adds greatly to its divine energy and
importance. It is the peculiar privilege of the Christian to pray for all men_friends and enemies.
God has given him this place of honor here_to bless others by means of his prayers. He should
be like a vessel from which flow the precious blessings of Christ to the enriching of many around
him. So far from wishing or praying that evil may overtake our persecutors, we must sincerely
pray to the Lord to pardon and bless them. Nature would return evil for evil and cherish vindictive
feelings; but grace says, following the example of the blessed Lord and His martyr Stephen,
"Father, forgive them, for they know not f what they do."

"Recompense to no man evil for evil." The apostle now forbids the smallest indulgence in a
contrary spirit toward anyone. Nothing is more natural to man than to return evil for evil. It has
been observed that those of the most indolent and passive dispositions may be aroused to the
strongest feelings of revenge under the sense of injuries, real or supposed. This is the old nature,
not the new; law, not grace; the first, not the last Adam. But whose are we? Whom do we follow?
Which is it, law or grace? The Christian is called to be a witness, not of the first, but of the
second Man; not of law, but of grace. He is to be the witness of grace for His absent Lord hi this
selfish, self-seeking world. If he falls from the exercise of this Christian virtue, he may be
ensnared by the enemy to show a spirit of revenge and retaliation.

How lovely, how heavenly, are the ways of grace! And oh, how contrary are the offensive,
contemptible ways of wretched self! May we seek to be like Him, "Who, when He was reviled,
reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that
judgeth righteously; who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being
dead to sins, should live unto righteousness:by whose stripes ye were healed" (1 Peter 2:23, 24).

Did He bear my sins in His own body on the tree? Did He die for me and put them all away? And
shall I, who have been freely forgiven ten thousand talents, unmercifully insist on the last farthing
being paid of the hundred pence owing to me by my fellow servant? Could anything be more
unseemly in the eyes of heaven? But surely, you will say, none who know Christ could ever
cherish this spirit; none who are walking in the light and the joy of His presence. But if we are
not living in the enjoyment of this grace ourselves, we shall be but poor witnesses of it to others.
Nothing short of living, abiding, daily communion with the blessed Lord and His grace will keep
us above the temptations of making everything minister to the aggrandizement of self.

"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath; for it is written,
Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, saith the Lord." This is a kindred precept to the previous
injunction not to render evil for evil. The Christian, under any provocation, must never avenge
himself; we must leave that matter to God who, in His own good time, will certainly avenge His
"dearly beloved." Nothing can be more touching and beautiful than these terms of endearment.
Just when provoked and excited to retaliation by wicked and unreasonable men, the voice of
tenderest love is heard rising above the strife of human passions:"Retire from the scene; give
place to My government because of the injury you have received; it is My prerogative to punish."
See Deut. 32:35.

The knowledge that God is the avenger of His people’s wrongs is not intended to awaken in our
hearts the smallest desire that the divine vengeance should overtake our enemies. This we must
watch against as a secret desire, for we are prone to count on the divine vengeance falling on those
who have injured us. This must be guarded against; it is natural to us and borders on the principles
of the world. It is a most unhappy thing to be dwelling, either in our own minds or in conversation
with others, on the injuries_supposed or real_which we have received. How much happier to
forget them and commit ourselves and all our affairs into the hands of the Lord. See Prov.
24:17,18.

"Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink." The true Christian,
notwithstanding his inoffensive walk, may have enemies, but he must not be the enemy of any
man. Such is his position of grace in this world. He is called by the loftiest motives to be the true
friend of all mankind. Instead of being his own avenger, he bends before the storm, looking to
God, and seeks to render good service to his enemy in his need and distress. He not only abstains
from vengeance, he manifests love. How truly sublime is the standard of the grace of God for His
children’s ways! He returns good for evil, kindness for injury, blessing for cursing. The
expressions, feed him and give him drink, are figurative of all the duties of benevolence. By these
means he seeks to conquer the enmity of his persecutors and even change them into his friends.

"For in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head." Among the many interpretations which
have been given to this somewhat difficult passage, we accept the one most generally received,
and which best suits the whole context. To heap coals of fire on an enemy’s head is to care for
him, feast him, and treat him kindly, as the most effectual means of subduing him, of melting him
down. Who ever conquered an enemy’s heart by revenge? How many, rather, have been
conquered by love? What was it that dissolved the hardness of our unyielding hearts? A Saviour’s
love. Few hearts are so hard as not to melt under the energy of patient, self-denying, burning

love. If your enemy will not recompense you for all the good done to him, do not concern yourself
with that. The Lord shall reward you. The God of love will honor His own image in His own
children.

"Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." This short verse should be the
Christian’s motto through life. How beautiful, how heavenly, how unselfish, how Christ-like,
when displayed in all its practical effects on the many details of real life! How God-like, who
overcame all our evil with His good in Christ our Lord!

The burden of this beautiful chapter of precepts is plain. We are never to conquer evil by evil, but
to treat our enemies with kindness. In the world we shall often have to experience evil in some
form, but we must never allow ourselves to be provoked to the indulgence of a spirit of retaliation.
The first display of temper is a defeat; the enemy has gained a victory. Men in general suppose
that to resent an injury is only to show a proper spirit. But the Christian’s rule is Christ; not to be
overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good.

(From Meditations on Christian Devotedness from Romans 12.)