ROMANS 12:17–21

Forth Sunday after Trinity

Pastor Volker Lubinetzki 

“May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”

Dear Congregation, dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Let us turn to the sermon text for today, the 4th Sunday after Trinity; we are now in that part of the church year in which the Sundays gradually spell out what follows from faith in the Triune God, and how I can, should and am allowed to live out this faith. What it means to be part of a Christian congregation and to live by the power of the Spirit. And sometimes that really gets to the heart of the matter.

You may recall that a few years’ ago, the Motto for the Year drew attention to these words of the Apostle Paul: ‘Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.’ This, so to speak, is at the heart of our sermon text from chapter 12 of the Epistle to the Romans. ‘Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.’ This is undoubtedly a passage that makes one pause time and again ; it doesn’t go down all that easily – it’s too jarring, too challenging. But that’s often the case with biblical wording, when you really let them sink in. Immediately, what we like to call common sense pipes up: Isn’t that asking a bit much, Paul? Isn’t that perhaps a bit naive? Isn’t it obvious where being naïve or too good-natured leads in this world? In the end, aren’t they the strong, the ruthless, the hard-hearted and, indeed, the wicked who come out on top? Whilst the gentle, the meek and the good-natured usually get crushed? It goes against the grain for me, this teaching; it goes against my nature and my own temperament when someone tells me: do not strike back, do not turn evil against the evildoer, do not say: ‘an eye for an eye’.

The trouble is simply this: this commandment is not a minor exhortation in the Bible. Elsewhere, too, Jesus’ followers are called upon to do precisely this: not to strike back in anger; to turn the other cheek; indeed, to do even more than what one’s adversary demands and requires of me. Nowhere is this summed up as succinctly and precisely as in Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount: ‘You must love your enemies’ (cf. Matt 5:38ff.) – no ifs, ands or buts… And if the Lord himself expects this of us, and Paul emphasises it so strongly here once again – well, then I cannot simply talk my way out of it.

Let us therefore hear some further verses from Chapter 12 of the Epistle to the Romans: ‘I urge you, therefore, dear brothers and sisters, by the mercy of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. Let this be your reasonable act of worship. 2 And do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may test what is the will of God—namely, what is good, pleasing and perfect.’ This is how Paul begins the chapter; this is how he paints a picture of the Christian life for us—life in the church, life as worship. For this is the first thing Paul impresses upon his Roman readers – and thus upon us too: worship is not a special event once a week, for which one dresses up a little and puts on a pious face. For Paul, worship is simply another word for the Christian life itself: offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. Let this be your reasonable worship! (v.1f.) With this resounding declaration, Paul immediately sends out a decisive signal against any unhealthy separation between faith and the world, between Sunday and everyday life, between Christian and citizen, between the sacred and the profane.

However, we must not overlook the fact that this demand does not come out of the blue. As is always the case with Paul, the gift comes first, then the task; grace comes first, and then it is a matter of the fruits and consequences. Over the course of eleven chapters, the Apostle has first set out in great detail what the Gospel actually consists of; he has taught the church in Rome that God’s grace is given to us freely, without merit, without obedience to the law and without our own piety. Time and again, he has emphasised this one crucial point: ‘We maintain, then, that a person is justified by faith alone, apart from the works of the law’ (3:28). It is not human piety or social decorum, nor noble sentiments or reasonably civilised behaviour that count when it really matters, but solely open hands that understand that God bestows and grants us His Grace out of pure love.

This, then, is the crucial introduction to the words and exhortations that follow: first comes grace, then what follows from grace; first the Gospel, then the call to live accordingly. And Paul refers to such a life in accordance with God’s grace as the ‘worship’ of Christians. He explicitly calls it ‘true, reasonable worship’, because this service to God does not consist of rituals that are more or less comprehensible, but because this service has clear criteria. ‘God’s Will is what is good, pleasing and perfect’. Three standards which, in very concrete and very worldly terms, ask what this might mean in each individual case: the good, the pleasing, the perfect (whereby ‘perfect’ here does not mean human perfectionism, but rather an attitude oriented towards God’s perfection—that is, one that emulates God in what we do). For Christian worship specifically sets my reason free; according to Paul (as indeed according to Jesus), Christian ethics and Christian action are always rooted in the individual case, in the specific person and the specific situation. A rational, independent assessment of the situation and the corresponding alignment of my words and deeds with God’s will – this, according to Paul, constitutes true, rational worship in the everyday life of the world; this is what we are called to do and – this is important! – this is also what we are capable of. God desires our hearts and our minds free for grateful service; we may, indeed we ought to use both to serve God with our lives.

Paul then goes on to discuss a few specific situations and challenges that Christians may face – areas of life in which what Paul has called ‘reasonable worship’ is now to be put to the test. And it is no coincidence that he begins within the church: ‘Let your love for one another be sincere,’ he writes, and: ‘Look after the needs of the saints’, and: ‘Practise hospitality’ (which, in his time at least, would also have included the travelling apostles and missionaries). If I understand this correctly, surely this means that the church is the first and foremost testing ground for Christian life and Christian ethics. That sounds trite, but perhaps it is not at all. All too often, unfortunately, people present themselves to the outside world as Christians and seek to make the life of discipleship appealing to others; one would like the church to grow and grow, but woe betide anyone who takes a closer look at what it is really like inside the church. If we cannot even manage to apply within the church the standards that Christ expects of us – how can we then expect the church to be welcoming and the faith we speak of to appear attractive? (Incidentally – and I say this explicitly – this is not a specific criticism of this church; that would be entirely beyond my remit; it is rather a general warning– (but it is certainly an important and urgent reminder!). And it is only after these words addressed to the congregation that the call finally comes to live a life in the wider world that is wholly guided by God’s love and goodness:

“9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good [...] 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be at peace with everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge yourselves, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath; for it is written (Deuteronomy 32:35): “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 Rather, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. If you do this, you will heap burning coals upon his head’ (Proverbs 25:21–22). 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

 Four brief observations and reflections on these words: Firstly, three times in this passage Paul repeats the central exhortation to avoid evil, not to repay evil with evil, and to overcome evil with good (vv. 9, 17, 21). This is therefore not merely the Apostle’s personal opinion; it is the very core and foundation of the Christian life: ‘Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good!’ We can safely assume that both Jesus and Paul knew very well what the world is like and how things work. And yet – or perhaps precisely because of this – they expect the following of those who earnestly wish to be Christians: not to allow themselves to be overwhelmed by evil, but to meet it with goodness and in this way to overcome it. Why? I can't find any other answer than that God himself has chosen this path: not to shatter human guilt, godlessness and wickedness with a clap of thunder, but to overcome them through the way of love. Christ himself is the archetype of a life that has not succumbed to the whisperings of evil. The suffering Christ, whom we see so impressively on the cross here at the front, is God’s answer to the wickedness of the world. And that means: We, who are named after him, should take Christ himself as our guide. We should be driven by nothing less than God’s love for this world, and we should treat the world in exactly the same way. A formidable challenge, no doubt. But one that is not entirely beyond the realm of reality. For, if we stop to ask ourselves: is there really anything to be gained by responding to evil with evil? Has striking back ever solved a problem in the long run? I think the answer is clear, even if the world still does not seem to have learnt the lesson

Secondly that struck me was that Paul explicitly quotes the Old Testament twice in this short passage. On the one hand, as evidence that we humans have no right to take revenge on others, and on the other, as a reminder that love for one’s enemies is by no means an invention of Jesus or the early Christians. Rather, it is – and always has been – the very nature of the God of Israel, even if this is framed in the Old Testament by many other voices that are not always so unambiguous. But the longer God’s history with His people and humankind continues, the more clearly this emerges: God does not want vengeance; God does not want to respond to violence with violence; He wants to break the cycle of retaliation and further retaliation. This is, so to speak, God’s trend throughout history, and it is upon us to continue this trend, to allow this movement of God to become ever clearer – through our lives.

Through my life and through yours, to be precise. For that is the third thing that struck me: in the last verse, Paul now switches entirely to the personal ‘you’, having previously always spoken of ‘we’ or ‘you all’. Here, you are truly called upon on a very personal level. Here, there is no hiding behind others, behind what everyone else is doing – not even behind the others in the congregation. Here, in this passage, God challenges you quite personally: ‘Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.’ This is no longer about what ‘people’ generally do, nor even about what ‘people’ generally do as Christians, but about what I, quite personally, must do in this situation, relying on my conscience, which is rooted in God’s love and imbued with God’s mercy.

Fourthly, and finally, Paul makes a very specific and thoroughly pragmatic appeal in this context: ‘As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.’ Of course, maintaining peace is our duty. But this duty only extends as far as the limits of our own influence and our own capabilities. ‘As far as it depends on you’ means: do your best, do what you can, but do not make yourselves dependent on how others react to it. This is somewhat reminiscent of Jesus’ exhortation to the disciples he sent out: ‘Wish peace upon every town into which you enter.’ But if the inhabitants are not interested in this peace, then shake the dust from your feet and move on. I have a duty to extend my hand in peace. But I am also very aware of my limits: it is not my duty to bring peace to the world; that would be beyond anyone’s capabilities. I have a duty to maintain peace as far as I am able – and that alone would be an incredible achievement, if we were to succeed here and there. Remaining realistic and not expecting my actions to be the salvation to the world – that, too, is a feature of the Christian life, in all its provisional nature.

Here, from the pulpit, I must now remain silent, for this: what this means for you, what you make of it in your life – no one else can tell you that or dictate it to you. When, where, and in what situation you are particularly challenged by this word – that is something each day must reveal anew; no one can tell you that in advance. There is only one thing that matters: trusting in God’s nearness and support, and knowing His love and goodness, walk the path with Him, and hope and pray that, hopefully, at one point or another, I may succeed in making the following words come true: ‘As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.’ And: ‘Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.’ Is the world ready for this message? To be honest: I do not know, and I often have my doubts. All I know is this: as Christians, we have no alternative if we are serious about our faith. Christ himself suffered greatly on this path; we must not forget that. And yet it remains true: more evil does not help against evil; if anything, only goodness does. But who says that the Christian message is meant to be a harmless, conformist message?

No, I do not claim to be able to change the whole world. But I do not want to give up hope that my life and actions might, here and there, touch one or two other lives, so that they may be transformed by the love of God, who wants what is good and does what is good, and who walks with us humans with forbearance and love. It is often only a faint, flickering hope, but we have no other.

“And may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.”