Do Not Repay Anyone Evil For Evil

Romans 12:17-18 - Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Matthew 5:44-45 - But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

1 Thessalonians 5:15 - See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.

Mark 9:50 - Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Application:

·         Prayer is one of the practical ways love expresses itself.

·         Retaliation is never a Christian option. I am called to forgive.

·         Jesus pronounced a blessing on peacemakers, and I am to cultivate peace with everyone to the extent that it depends on me

·         Strife is resolved and peace restored when I recognize in others a common commitment to Jesus and the gospel.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Honor One Another Above Yourselves

Romans 12:2,9-10 - Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect…Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 - Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 - Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

Philippians 2:3 - Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Application:

·         The love Paul speaks of is not mere emotion but is active love.

·         Paul does not say what specific tests are to be applied, but he is clear that every teaching must be tested—surely they must be in agreement with his gospel.

·         Brotherly love is love within the family of God. Honor one another above yourselves – Only a mind renewed by the Holy Spirit could possibly do this.

·         Brotherly love means love of fellow believers in Christ, all of whom have the same heavenly father.

·         Consider others better than yourselves, not that everyone else is superior or more talented, but that Christian love sees others as worthy of preferential treatment.

·         Good is that which leads to the spiritual and moral growth of the Christian.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Teaching

Romans 12:6-8 - Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

1 Corinthians 12:28 - And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.

Acts 15:32 - And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words.

1 Timothy 5:17 - Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

Application:

·         The apostles and prophets were part of the foundation of the church, and teaching was associated with the pastoral office.

·         Encouraging is exhorting others with an uplifting, cheerful call to worthwhile accomplishment. In teaching, the believer is shown what he must do; in encouraging, he is helped to do it. Let him govern is possibly a reference to an elder.

·         One of the primary functions of prophets in the early church was to encourage and strengthen the brothers.

·         All elders were to exercise leadership and to teach and preach, and all were to receive honor.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

In Christ

Romans 12:4-5 - For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

1 Corinthians 10:17 - Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

Colossians 3:15 - And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

Romans 6:11 - So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Application:

·         It is only in Jesus Christ that any unity in the church is possible. True unity is spiritually based.

·         The act of many believers partaking of one loaf of bread symbolizes the unity of the body of Christ, the church, which is nourished by the one bread of life.

·         The attitude of peace that Christ alone gives is to rule in all human relationships.

·         I am in Christ because I have died with Christ and have been raised to new life with Him.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Measure Of Faith

Romans 12:3-8 - For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

1 Corinthians 12:13,18,22-26,28,31 - For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit…But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose…On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together…And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues…But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

Ephesians 4:15-16 - Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Application:

·         It is only in Jesus Christ that any unity in the church is possible.

·         In teaching, the believer is shown what he must do; in encouraging, he is helped to do it.

·         God has given all His people the Holy Spirit to indwell them so that their lives may overflow with the fruit of the Spirit.

·         Maturity and unity are impossible without love.

·         God’s method employs diversity to create unity.

·         Christians who seem to have less important functions in the body of Christ are actually indispensable.

·         In the body of Christ if one Christian suffers, all the Christians are affected.

·         God has appointed apostles, prophets, teachers, miracle workers, healers, compassion ministers, administrators, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.

·         The right way to exercise all spiritual gifts—the way of love.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

How Inscrutable His Ways

Romans 11:29-36 - For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all. Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Ecclesiastes 8:16-17 - When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on earth, how neither day nor night do one's eyes see sleep, then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out.

1 Corinthians 8:6 - For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

Hebrews 2:10 - For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.

Romans 16:25-27 - Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Revelation 7:12 - And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Application:

·         God does not change His mind with reference to His call.

·         God allows us to do some things and does not allow us to do others.

·         God the Father is the ultimate source of all creation. God the Son is the dynamic one through whom. With the Father, all things came into existence.

·         Those who believe in Christ are made God’s children through His only Son.

·         To God be glory is the ultimate purpose of all things.

·         The sevenfold list of attributes in Revelation 7:12 expresses complete or perfect praise.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Enemies

Romans 11:28 - As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers.

Romans 5:10 - For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

Deuteronomy 7:7-8 - It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Romans 9:5 - To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

Application:

·         Man is the enemy of God, not the reverse. Since we were reconciled when we were God’s enemies, we will be saved because Christ lives to keep us.

·         The covenant of love stems from God’s love for me, based on His character and embodied in His covenant; it does not stem from any virtue of mine. His love must be reciprocated by me.

·         Christ, who is God, is one of the clearest statements of the deity of Jesus Christ found in the entire New Testament.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Covenant

Romans 11:23,26-27 - And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again…And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”

Isaiah 59:20 - “And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 - “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Zechariah 13:1 - “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.

Application:

·         Just as my salvation involves forgiveness of sins, so the Jews, when they are saved, are forgiven by the mercy of God—His forgiveness based only on their repentance and faith.

·         The deliverer will come from Zion, in the person of Christ.

·         As the old covenant was made solemn by the blood of sacrificial animals, so the new would be made solemn by the blood of Christ.

·         The new covenant does not abolish the old but supersedes it in the sense that through the new covenant the old is fulfilled and its purpose achieved.

·         True knowledge of the Lord will be shared by all—young and old, the peasant and the powerful.

·         Cleanse them from sin is one of the provisions of the new covenant.

·         Paul holds out hope for the Jews—God is able.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

All Israel

Romans 11:25-27 - Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”

Jeremiah 31:34 - And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Isaiah 59:20 - “And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the Lord.

Application:

·         The salvation of the Jews will be on the same basis as my salvation: personal faith in Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead.

·         Forgiveness of sins is the glorious basis of the new covenant.

·         Israel’s hardening is partial, not total. Israel’s hardening is temporary, not permanent.

·         The deliverer will come from Zion, in the person of Christ.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

God Is Able To Graft Them In Again

Romans 11:23-25 - And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree. Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

Mark 10:27 - Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

Romans 9:18 - So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

1 Timothy 3:16 - Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

Ephesians 3:6 - This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Application:

·         Paul holds out hope for the Jews—God is able.

·         Salvation is totally the work of God. Apart from the grace of God, no one can be saved.

·         Israel’s hardening is partial, not total. Israel’s hardening is temporary, not permanent.

·         God is said to harden the hearts of Pharaoh and the Egyptians.

·         The mystery of godliness is the secret, Jesus Christ, that produces piety in people.

·         The mystery that was not previously known: the equality and mutuality that Gentiles had with Jews in the church, the one body.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Grafted In

Romans 11:16-18,22-23 - If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you…Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.

Numbers 15:20 - Of the first of your dough you shall present a loaf as a contribution; like a contribution from the threshing floor, so shall you present it.

John 15:2 - Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

Application:

·         This concept of the firstfruits is a symbol that all blessing is from the Lord and all produce belongs to Him.

·         Cuts off is a reference to judgment.

·         Any adequate doctrine of God must include kindness and sternness. When we ignore His kindness, God seems a ruthless tyrant; when we ignore His sternness, He seems a doting father.

·         Paul holds out hope for the Jews—God is able.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Life From The Dead

Romans 11:15,25 - For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?... Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

Romans 5:10 - For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

Luke 15:32 - It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

Application:

·         The hostility must be removed from me if reconciliation is to be accomplished. To reconcile is to put an end to hostility. Since I was reconciled when I was God’s enemy, I will be saved because Christ lives to keep me.

·         Dead and is alive is a beautiful picture of the return of the younger son in Luke, which also pictures my conversion.

·         God’s merciful plan to include me in His great salvation plan should humble me, not fill me with arrogance.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Envy

Romans 11:13-14 - I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them.

1 Corinthians 10:32-33 - Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God—even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

Luke 2:11 - Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

Acts 16:31 - They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

1 Timothy 2:3-4 - This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Titus 3:4-7 - But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

Application:

·         Paul does not mean that he will compromise the truths of the gospel in order to please everybody, but that he will consider his fellowman and not cause anyone’s conscience to be offended by his daily life, thus keeping that person from receiving the gospel.

·         Many Jews were looking for a political leader to deliver them from Roman rule, while others were hoping for a savior to deliver them from sickness and physical hardship. But this announcement in Luke concerns the Savior who would deliver from sin and death.

·         Believe in the Lord Jesus is a concise statement of the way of salvation.

·         God desires the salvation of all people. On the other hand, the Bible indicates that God chooses some people to be saved.

·         Salvation is not achieved by human effort or merit but comes through God’s mercy alone.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Riches For The World

Romans 11:7-12,25-27 - What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.” And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever.” So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!...Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”

Acts 13:48 - And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

Application:

·         God’s merciful plan to include me in His great salvation plan should humble me, not fill me with arrogance.

·         Possession of eternal life involves both human faith and divine appointment.

·         The salvation of the Jews will be on the same basis as anyone’s salvation: personal faith in Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead.

·         Just as salvation for Gentiles involves forgiveness of sins, so the Jews, when they are saved, are forgiven by the mercy of God—His forgiveness based only on their repentance and faith.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Were Hardened

Romans 11:3-8,25 - “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” But what is God's reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.”… Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

1 Kings 19:18 - Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Romans 3:21-25 - But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

Romans 9:18,32-33 - So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills…Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Isaiah 6:10 - Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes,  and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

Application:

·         Elijah had been mistaken in his conclusion that he alone had remained faithful.

·         I am declared righteous in several ways: (1) freely, (2) by His grace, (3) through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus and (4) through faith.

·         Israel’s hardening is partial, not total. Israel’s hardening is temporary, not permanent.

·         God is said to have hardened the hearts of Pharaoh and the Egyptians.

·         God’s rejection of Israel was not arbitrary but was based on Israel’s rejection of God’s way of gaining righteousness.

·         One day Israel will be able to see and hear.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV