Peter Barnes | Romans 12:19-21
SERMON NOTES
OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD
(Romans 12:19-21)
We live in an increasingly angry and litigious society. Lloyd-Jones: ‘There is nothing worse than a quarrelling church, a church in dispute.’
1. We must leave vengeance to God.
– 12:19; see Deut.32:35.
– 1 Pet.2:23; 2 Thess.1:6-8; Prov.20:22
2. We are to show kindness to our enemies.
– 12:20; Prov.25:21-22
– coals of fire could refer to increased judgment (Ps.140:10; John Chrysostom, Thomas Schreiner) or it could mean a sense of shame which might lead to repentance (Augustine, Calvin, Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
– William Wilberforce always said that it was the second blow that started the fight. See Prov.15:1
3. Overcome evil with good.
– 12:21; see 2 Kings 6:20-23 for Elisha
– Eric Liddell in the Japanese camp in northern China from January 1942 to February 1945.