Romans – A Treatise
Chapter Twelve
HOW TO OVERCOME ENEMIES
Scripture Reading: verses 20, 21 (Darby translation)
IF THEREFORE THINE ENEMY SHOULD HUNGER, FEED HIM; IF HE SHOULD THIRST, GIVE HIM DRINK; FOR, SO DOING, THOU SHALT HEAP COALS OF FIRE UPON HIS HEAD. BE NOT OVERCOME BY EVIL, BUT OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD.
If we take the teachings of this chapter seriously, then we will be deeply impressed by the exacting demands professing Christianity makes on each one of us. Throughout this entire chapter, it is as though Paul is on an ever-ascending scale of exhortation concerning Christian behavior, and he reaches his climax in these closing verses.
Let us remember the subject of the entire chapter is described in verse 1, where Paul beseeches us to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God which is our intelligent service. If we have any hazy ideas regarding what it means to present our bodies a living sacrifice, we only need to consider the teachings presented throughout the entire chapter. The way in which we present our bodies a living sacrifice in intelligent service to the Lord is by obeying those exhortations. The demands made on us are exceedingly exacting. In fact, they mean total self-abnegation – the putting of our own selfish desires for gratification in the place of death. Too frequently we think of offering our bodies a living sacrifice as being some kind of visionary attitude toward the issues of life, as if we ought to wander through this world in a spirit of detachment like a recluse or a stoic.
On the contrary, offering our bodies a living sacrifice is a vibrant and realistic occupation. In sum and substance it means behaving as a Christian should behave. As the Lord from heaven watches the believer who walks according to the outline of Romans 12, He sees in him a living exponent of Christ, an offering that goes up to the Lord as a sweet-smelling savour. The Christian who behaves according to Romans 12 is a veritable replica of the life of the Lord Jesus here on earth, and His life, as well as His death, was a constant offering for the good pleasure of God, His Father.
We should have no ethereal ideas of detached holiness about the living sacrifice. It is downright practical Christian living, affecting every avenue of our activities on earth. It reaches its climax in these few closing verses: “If therefore thine enemy should hunger, feed him; if he should thirst, give him drink; for, so doing, thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head.” It is interesting that this is a direct quotation from Proverbs 25:21, 22, written by Solomon in the days long before Christianity was inaugurated.
Sometimes in our religious pride we are prone to look down on the Hebrew Bible saints as being in a sphere of inferiority to ourselves. Of course, the Hebrew Bible does not have the blaze of light concerning the knowledge of God which we have in the New Testament, but it should be a reproof to us that, even under the candlelight of Hebrew Bible days, God required this kind of conduct on behalf of His people: “If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for, so doing, thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head.”
There is nothing ethereal or imaginative about this. The person who can show kindness to one who is at enmity to him is on the winning side of life's battle, whether in the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament. If Christians truly realized the potentiality of the manifestation of kindness toward others, no matter who they may be, they would go in for it more wholeheartedly. In the scheme of life, it is an investment of tremendous value which pays large dividends.
It is a pity we should live in a scene where we have enemies. However, the only person without enemies in this world is one who is neutral in the battle between good and evil. Far too many Christians are in that category and they seem to think that because they are getting along with everybody and have no enemies, they must be living a life of devotion to the Lord. Such may not be the case. A man or woman who is loyal to Christ has both friends and enemies. We are living in a Godless world; a world in which Satan is the proud dictator, whose spirit is constantly at work in the children of disobedience. Sad to say, many Christians succumb to his temptations and become evildoers. Therefore, the man or woman who shines for God in this world will become the object of the attack by people who profess to be Christians as well as those who do not.
The sixth chapter of Ephesians was written to encourage the man of God to stand against the wiles of the enemy, and having done all to stand. Some Chris-tians are bewildered because they want to be genuinely friendly with others, and yet, in spite of all they do, their enemies still raise their heads against them. Down through the ages every man of God has experienced this, and it was sadly true of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He never did an ill turn to anyone, yet He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. His own familiar friends lifted up their heel against Him. “They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head,” was first said by David, who was perhaps the most lovable character in all the Hebrew Bible; but it was prophetically true of the Lord Jesus. What then shall we do in the face of enemies? Let us pray for the grace to heap coals of fire upon their heads. It is a picturesque expression which indicates putting them to what we might call “a burning shame.”
In the twenty-fifth chapter of Proverbs, Solomon adds a comment that is left out of the twelfth chapter of Romans. He says, “thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head and Jehovah shall reward thee.” It would be interesting to know why Paul left this out, but he was guided by the Spirit of God to do so. Perhaps his eye was more on the reward for what we do. Christian conduct, i.e., showing kindness to our enemies, in the New Testament is largely based on what the Lord Jesus has done for us. “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God in Christ has forgiven you.” Solomon looked forward to the day of reward. When God gave His Son, Christians were given an unspeakable gift. However, even apart from any future rewards, the adventure of being a Christian is well worth while. Then Paul sounds a note of triumph as he brings this chapter to a close: “Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Here the apostle presents the real reason for extending kindness to enemies. If the child of God should retaliate in kind for acts of enmity, he would shortly find himself engaging in all kinds of shameful and wicked conduct. To prevent such an unwholesome development, the servant of the Lord must launch a counter-attack, returning good for evil; deploying good actions against the evil actions of the enemy.
Here in Romans 12:21 is the grand strategy of God regarding human evil. The natural man finds himself living and operating in a world where one rotten apple can spoil a barrel of good apples; but the spiritual man, having the mind of the Spirit, proceeds on the premise that one good apple might make a barrel of rotten apples sound. The divine nature of this priceless precept has elicited the most extravagant praise, as well it should. This is truly a noble strain of Christian courage, prudence, and goodness, that nothing in Epictetus, Plutarch, or Antonine can vie with. The moralists and heroes of paganism could not write and act to this height. The last sentence of this chapter is an admirable summary of the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount, about what is called non-resistance expressing the most creative element in Christian ethics.
This is not suffering silently, sitting under a juniper tree bemoaning our lot. This is triumphing over our enemies by recompensing evil with good. We need much grace and wisdom and the power of God to pursue this path.
