TKO Romans 12:14-21

As we finish up our trip through Romans 12, Paul really hits us with a jab, cross, hook, and uppercut right into a TKO. Paul packs a punch in this one.

Romans 12:14-21
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 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. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave itto the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

If the previous posts weren’t too difficult to do for you, these pull out all the stops and truly show that we are to do everything opposite what our flesh wants to do.

Paul tells you to bless those people who harass, oppress, ridicule, and hate you.

Bless them?

I’ll be honest. . .I used to get angry at God when that type of person was living what appeared to be a “blessed and highly favored” type of life while I was left struggling. The fact is, I have no idea what was happening behind closed doors. I have no idea what was happening inside. I only know what I saw from the outside.

Despite that, it’s really none of my business, and I had to realize that if I truly trust God, I’ll also trust God to extend grace and mercy to others just as He did to me. I also trust when consequences are to be dealt, He’ll make sure it’s in the right time and the right way, and my way is almost always wrong.

Say it, and say it again. . . “Lord, bless that person who has been horrible to me.” Goodness, that’s hard.

On the flip side of that, we are to celebrate other people in their success and celebrations.

Do you rejoice when others rejoice, or do you only do that when it somehow positively affects you?

Without even realizing it, I was doing the last one most of my life. Earlier this year, I read these verses, and immediately, I remembered the time I prayed for a baby, and my body was failing me. I couldn’t conceive, and doctors kept piling on the tests, medicine, and specialists to figure out what was going on. I remembered how it felt when it seemed like every other day, someone new was pregnant, and many were unplanned.

Not only was I feeling like God wasn’t listening, but I definitely didn’t want to rejoice with these pregnant women! I felt slighted.

But Paul tells us we should rejoice and celebrate with them even when it’s difficult for us.

What about the time you had some amazing news and you were ready to celebrate it only to hear some devastating news from someone? How did you react? Were you upset that they ruined your moment? Were you angry that your celebration was short-lived with those you love? Did you feel like the other person “upstaged” you with their bad news?

This is all a part of those selfish desires we talked about at the beginning of this trip. The enemy wants us to focus on self and how other people affect us, while God wants us to focus on others and place our self behind them.

This is what submission is, and Paul later tells us in Ephesians 5 that we are to submit ourselves to one another.

It’s hard.

It’s not natural.

It’s SUPERnatural.

And you can do it as long as you are leaning on the strength of the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5 tells us that when we walk in the Spirit instead of in the flesh, we will have His fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Look at this list again. Do any of those show the fruit of the spirit?

In Matthew 7, Jesus warns against people who say they are followers of Him because they do look a lot like Him, but there will be indicators of whether they truly belong to Him or not – “You will recognize them by their fruit.”

You can certainly look at others to see if they are truly followers of Christ, but it’s just as important (if not more important) to look at yourself on this one. What fruit is being produced in your life? Is it the fruit of the spirit mentioned in Galatians 5, or is it that list from several posts back?

Ouch.

Paul really knows how to put things into perspective for us to look within and see where we are the ones at fault for our relationships gone wrong.

He gives us some final words about never looking down on others because we aren’t superior to anyone. We should live in peace with others.

When our relationships are filled with hate, hurt, anger, and bitterness, we are not living at peace with them. This is yet another reminder that we as disciples are to look different than the world.

It doesn’t make sense to people who don’t know Jesus. Since it doesn’t make sense, they will likely mock you for it. That’s just another reason Jesus gave warning to those who wanted to follow Him. It’s so much more than just saying the words, “I will follow you.”

Do you really want to follow Him? Then, surrender yourself to Him.

Sometimes people say they want to follow Him when it’s really that they want the grace and mercy He extends to His followers. Those are two different things.

One is a life of surrender, and one is a life of false security.

I encourage you to read through Romans 12 again, and see what God wants you to learn about who He is through that chapter.