At the end of Romans Chapter 12, Paul states that the church should overcome evil with good. How can the church accomplish this audacious task? In an outline form look at the way Paul lays out the pattern of ministry that can bring victory to any church.
Offer your bodies as living sacrifices
- Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world
- But be transformed by the renewing of your mind
- Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment
- In accordance with the measure of faith God has given you
So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts
- Prophesying
- Serving
- Teaching
- Encouraging
- Contributing to the needs of others
- Leadership
Love must be sincere
- Hate what is evil
- Cling to what is good
- Be devoted to one another in brotherly love
- Honor one another above yourselves
- Never be lacking in zeal
- Keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord
- Be joyful in hope
- Patient in affliction
- Faithful in prayer
- Share with God's people who are in need
- Practice hospitality.
- Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse
- Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn
- Live in harmony with one another
- Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position
- Do not be conceited
Do not repay anyone evil for evil
- Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody
- If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone
- Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary:
"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." - Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Take a few minutes and slowly read down the outline and see how evil is defeated when Christians give themselves to God and allows God to renew their minds. Finding and using their gifts I the love.
1 comment:
Wow these are all really good things and every one of them true.
I find it disappointing that so many in the church have knowledge of just the things you have posted but very few can honestly say that they live this way or represent Christ accordingly.
Maybe viewing Good and evil through a different lens or from another perspective ….?
Evil can only exist in the absence of Goodness the same way that darkness can only exist in the absence of Light.
Who ever walked into a room that was light and said turn up the darkness, NO the only way to make it dark is to turn down the light.
To overcome evil there has to be goodness displayed to overcome darkness there has to be light.
The problem is that most people do not display enough goodness to displace the evil and the darkness prevails only because there is a lack of light.
So again all these things in the list you’ve posted are good but now it is the responsibility of the Christ-ian (little Christ like one) to model or represent (re-present) Christ.
If you are afraid because some one might make fun of you, laugh at you, spit on you or disrespect you in some way be of good cheer, don’t let it get to you because we have been called to suffer for Christ.
1 Peter 2:21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
Philippians 1:29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him,
Acts 5:41So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.
In Revelation 12:11 we all like to quote And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony;………. But somehow we never quote the next part………. and they loved not their lives unto death.
What if every one did the things in the list you posted.
But what if we did them not only in the church building but throughout the week, at work, at school, in the marketplace at Wal-Mart, at the Grocery Store?
We probably would overcome and the light of Christ would probably be more noticeable than the darkness that seems to be encroaching into our everyday lives.
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