Welcome to Mill Creek Church in Belleville, Texas, where our worship service is in progress. Today, Pastor Monty Byrd continues with his sermon series on the Book of Romans. Thank you, Bonnie. You didn't recognize that hymn. wonderful peace. The words of that song are absolutely incredible. And not only is it a wonderful song, but it tells us the peace that you and I enjoy as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. And as Paul says, it is a peace that surpasses all understanding. And I know that you can testify as well that the more you give your life over to the Lord Jesus Christ, the deeper that peace becomes, no matter what your circumstances are in life. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we thank you that we have peace through your son, Jesus Christ. That there's no more warring. There's no more strife. The victory has been won. The battle is over and we can rest in the victory of Jesus. I pray Lord that as we open up your word this morning, that you might speak to us through your truth in Jesus name. Amen. Well, open your Bible with me to Romans chapter 12 as we continue our study of this wonderful chapter in the letter to the Romans. And I have to say, we've got a lot of Bible verses to cover this morning. So get your Bible ready and buckle up your seatbelt and we'll go ahead and get started. And while our focal verse is mainly 17, the theme is going to go 17 through 19. We'll be here for a while, but 17 is definitely the focal passage this morning. Romans 12, 17, Paul wrote this, repay no one evil for evil, have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. Well, as we begin studying these verses, let me first state the obvious. There is a built-in assumption here in verse 17. And that assumption is, is that someone has committed an evil act against you. Repay no one evil for evil. And as our society continues to decay, I think that we can all relate to the question that Habakkuk posed the Lord in chapter one. Habakkuk chapter one, starting in the first verse, he says, Oh Lord, how long shall I cry and you will not hear? Even cry out to you violence and you will not save. Why do you show me iniquity and cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me. There is strife and contentions arise. Therefore, the law is powerless. Injustice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous. Therefore, perverse judgment proceeds." I could say that we're living in Habakkuk's time. where we live in a society as we look around, right is wrong and wrong is right. And when you live in that type of society, it is quite normal to feel despair and injustice. And it is also quite normal to try to take matters into our own hands. But this is the world's way, isn't it? The world's way is one of vengeance. And already we've seen in Romans 12, that Paul is telling us how to live as believers in living as a believer is living the opposite of the ways of the world. You can see that in just the preceding verse in verse 16, which we studied last time, when Paul wrote, be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. That's the opposite of the ways of the world. The opposite of the ways of the world is to seek a higher level. Have a higher opinion of yourself. And Paul says, be the opposite of that. But living differently is difficult, and especially when you find yourself in a situation of being wronged. Now, before I progress, let me first say that if you look at that verse and you spend a little bit of time and you think about it, verse 17 says, repay no one evil for evil. That means me or you seeking vengeance. It does not mean that we don't fight for our rights here in this country. It does not mean that we can't appeal to the court. It does not mean that we suffer wrongdoing by crime and we just accept it. It means that you don't avenge. You don't, I don't avenge. We don't take matters into our own hands. And of course, if there's not a crime involved and we're just interacting with people, you can suffer an evil or wrongdoing that may not be criminal, but it would be immoral, wouldn't it? And so as we interact with people, what should we do? And here Paul tells us, don't. Don't repay evil for evil. The great Puritan preacher, John Flavel, addressed this difficulty in a book that he wrote titled, Keeping the Heart. And in that book, he gives eight reasons why we shouldn't avenge, why we shouldn't act out, And we're going to go through those rather quickly for a matter of time. It will take us, I think, the full time of this morning to go through these. And the first of the eight reasons of why we shouldn't avenge is that we're prohibited, plain and simple. And in fact, if you look at Proverbs 24, 29, it says, do not say I will do to him just as he's done to me, I will render to the man according to his work. That's the world's way, isn't it? You wrong me, I wrong you. And unfortunately, sometimes that becomes pervasive in thought, even among us as believers. If I'm wronged, I can act out. I can take matters into my own hand. In other words, we are prohibited from meeting out our own form of justice. That's number one. we must remember the pattern of Jesus Christ. That's what Jesus Christ is, isn't he? He is our example. We can see that in the Old Testament, the pattern of Christ and the prophecy of Christ in the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, starting in verse seven, where Isaiah prophesied he was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before its shears is silent, so he opened not his mouth. In the New Testament, in 1 Peter 1, verse 21, Peter wrote, For to this ye were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example. Leaving us an example. That's so important to remember. Christ is our example. So let me read that again in 21. For to this you recall, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps. Look at verse 22, who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth, who when he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously. He didn't rely on himself, he relied on God. And that's what we should do as a believer. We should rely on God. Our confidence should be in God. We shouldn't be our own judge and jury. Flavel's third point, consider the man. And he used the parable of the prodigal son. And we'll see an interesting phrase here that I think is definitely worth thinking about. Have you ever committed an evil? Of course you have, and I have too. Does that mean that we're all bad? No, no. I mean, there are people that are just evil through and through. But as we interact with others, we're capable, aren't we? We're capable of wronging someone. And when you look at the parable of the prodigal son in Luke chapter 15, starting in 15, it says, referring to the prodigal son, then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country. He had already left the dad. And it said, and he sent him into the fields to feed swine and he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate and no one gave him anything. But look at what is written in verse 17. But when he came to himself, When he came to himself, he said, how many of my father's hired servants have bread enough to spare and I perish with hunger. I will arise and go to my father and I will say to him, father, I have sinned against heaven and before you and I'm no longer worthy to be called to your servant. Make me like one of your hired servants. He came to himself. Ever been there? I remember years ago I was upset about one particular thing in church and I was just absolutely determined to get my way. It can be a problem of mine. And I was absolutely determined. And in fact, I thought at that particular time, I was going to reach out to one of the staff members at the Southern Baptist Convention, and they would give me the ammunition that I needed to prove my point. And so I got the person on the phone, and I laid out my case, and it got real quiet on the other end of the phone. And he said, well, Monty, you might be right, but is that really the hill that you want to die on? And I remember as soon as he said those words, I thought to myself, I am really being stupid. I came to myself. I came to myself. And that's what the prodigal son did. Yes, there are people out there that we have to deal with that are primarily evil, that don't know the Lord Jesus Christ. But unfortunately, sometimes in church, we can experience an evil because after all, we're not all perfect, right? As I've said before, you hang around me enough, I'm gonna stick my foot in my mouth somewhere along the way. And we're not perfect, but we're not all evil, are we? and we need to consider the person that we're dealing with. And as brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, we need to recognize that we're believers in Christ, we're part of God's family, and we need to consider the man. Fourth, forgiving conquers self, the devil's temptation, in the enemy's heart. Self, the devil's temptation in the enemy's heart. Acting out for vengeance doesn't do any of those. And the example that Flavel uses is in 1 Samuel chapter 24, and it's a discussion between Samuel and David. And if you know that history, I think we can all agree that that was definitely an acrimonious situation. And in verse 15 of the 24th chapter of first Samuel, David finishes a speech and he says, therefore, let the Lord be judge and judge you and me and see and plead my case and deliver me out of your hand. And in verse 16, it says, and so it was when David had finished speaking these words to Saul that Saul said, is this your voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. Then he said to David, you are more righteous than I, for you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil. And you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me. For when the Lord delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me. For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him get away safely? Therefore, may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day." David could have acted out in vengeance, but he acted out in grace. And because he acted in grace, He had all that wonderful experience that we see here in the passage. Let me ask you a question. Would he have experienced that if he had acted out in vengeance? Absolutely not. Number five, ask yourself, is there profit in the evil that you've endured? I think that this is one of the most important ones of all the points. Because if we truly believe in the sovereignty of God, we believe that God's at work and he uses all things. And we could quote Romans 8, but instead I want to look at Genesis 50. And the reason why I want to look at Genesis 50 is that it deals with Joseph and his brothers. And years and years had gone by since his brothers had sold him into slavery. He had a bone to pick, right? He did. He would have been justified. And his brothers, after their dad had died, They thought, oh boy, here it comes. We're gonna get the wrath of Joseph. But look at what Genesis 50 says in verse 19. Joseph said to them, do not be afraid for am I in the place of God. But as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. in order to bring about, as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now, therefore, do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your little ones.' And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them." And as you give that some thought, and as you think about the times when you have endured evil, have you ever looked back to see the hand of God and to see the fruit that came out of you enduring the evil of another person. Another example that I could have used, but I didn't is the apostle Paul and the thorn in the flesh. Remember, he prayed three times for the thorn to be removed. And everybody says, oh, that's a physical element. That's not a physical element. That was a person. You look at the original language, that was a person who was the thorn. We've all had those, haven't we? We've all had those. And he prayed three times. God told him he wasn't gonna remove the thorn. And why? My grace is sufficient. for thee. God is at work. God uses all things. And for you and I to be graceful, we have to rely upon the sovereignty of God. There's profit and there's a use. Got ahead of myself a little bit on that one, but number six is God uses all things. And I used for that verse James 1 verse 2, which reads, my brethren count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing the testing of your faith produces patience, but let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind." God uses all things. He uses trials. He uses trials. I remember years ago, and it stuck with me, I've used it numerous times in sermons over the last 25 years, but I remember hearing a sermon by Chuck Swindoll, and he said something I think that was profound regarding trials. And of course, trials always involve people, don't they? We don't live in a vacuum. I mean, if you're going through a trial, it always involves a person. Swindoll in that sermon said, if you find yourself in a trial, the first thing that you have to ask is, is there a sin that I need to confess? Is there a sin that I need to confess? And if you don't have an egregious sin that you need to confess, a habitual sin that you don't need to confess, the second question that you should ask is, Lord, what do you want me to learn from this? What do you want me to learn? Because he uses all things, doesn't he? And he says here in James, in the verse I quoted, let patience have its perfect work. In other words, you got to walk through it, don't you? You got to walk through it. Now, what happens if I repay evil for evil? I'm acting out, aren't I? I'm acting I'm not exhibiting the character of Christ, which I'm supposed to and you're supposed to in your daily walk. I'm not exhibiting Christ. I'm acting out. I'm trying to fix. But instead, one should let patience have its perfect work and ask God, what am I to learn from this particular situation? Number seven is that we should examine our own life. And the great example for that is the parable of the unforgiving servant. And if you look at verse 32 of Matthew 18, It says, then his master, after he had called him and said to him, you wicked servant, I forgave all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you? And his master was angry and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. Isn't it important that we remind ourselves that we've been forgiven? that we recognize the grace that has been given to us through the Lord Jesus Christ. Have I wronged him? Absolutely. Do I deserve grace? Absolutely not. And it only takes a little bit of time as we remind ourselves that we have not only wronged others, but we've wronged the Lord. To recognize that we too can be graceful because grace has been exhibited to us. And lastly, we need to rest in God's justice. Look with me in the fifth chapter of James. James five, look at verse seven. It says, therefore be patient brethren until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until he receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts. for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the judge is standing at the door." There's a day of the Lord. There's a day of the Lord. And one of the things that should keep us in acting out is to recognize that there is a great judge, and he will meet out justice perfectly. Perfectly. So the judge is at the door. Now, we live in a time of, let's be generous, judges that might not judge correctly, right? I think we can all agree on that. That there are judges for you think we're in the world. Did you get that from? Isn't it comforting to know that that never happens with God? That God's the perfect judge. So I don't have to worry. I don't have to worry that God will not judge correctly. There will be a day of justice. He is standing at the door. In addition, if God is standing at the door to be a righteous judge, we here on earth, as we interact with people, should exhibit the grace of Jesus Christ with the hope that as you exhibit that grace, that someone else might come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Are they gonna come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ if I exhibit revenge? Nope. No, they're not. Could they possibly come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ if I exhibit grace? Absolutely. Not saying it's easy. It's not. But if we focus our eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ, if we're reminded that we've been saved by grace, we can be a witness as we dispense grace to other people. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we just thank you, Lord, for the grace that we have. I pray, Lord, that you'll remind us That we should exhibit grace because we've been the recipient of grace. That every sin that we've committed has been forgiven. Yesterday's, today's, and tomorrow's. And we stand in your presence to the blood covering of Jesus Christ without fear and with boldness. And I pray, Lord, that people might see Christ in us and that we might be a witness to others. In Jesus name, amen. Thank you for joining us as Pastor Bird continues this sermon series. If you wish to hear more, you may find him at millcreekchurch.org or go to sermonaudio.com slash millcreekchurch. Prayer requests may also be left at millcreekchurch.org. Our church services are as follows. Sunday morning Bible study is at 9 a.m., followed by our worship service at 10 a.m. We have Wednesday night prayer meeting and Bible study, and they are at 6.30 p.m. For more information and our mission statement, please visit our website millcreekchurch.org.