Now take your Bible with me, turn to Romans chapter 12, and isn't it nice we can be so flexible at Faith Baptist Church? We have to be because we're disorganized, okay? But you just never know what's going to happen. I love our church staff, by the way. Our church staff is an amazing staff because they know how to roll with the punches. Boy, I appreciate that so much. And they don't even get flustered. They just continue on going with something. would be amazed. Sometimes you notice when we have a little issue with the order of service, but a lot of times you don't notice. That's because people step right up, step right in, and just take care of it. I, by the way, am typically the author of confusion when it comes to the order of service. I don't know, I blame my contact lenses for it. Now, Romans chapter 12, Romans 12 in your Bible. Again, just to recap what we said moments ago, the Apostle Paul presented great doctrinal truths in the early part of Romans, but then in Romans 12 he gives us, and we'll describe it tonight almost in shotgun fashion, he gives us a series of commandments, of requirements, things that Christians ought to be. In other words, I believe certain things, and that means that I should reveal in my life, my life should manifest the things that I claim to believe. It is remarkable to me that religion is the only realm of life where you can profess to believe something, but then live totally opposite of that. And by the way, that's called hypocrisy. And I don't put a lot of confidence in hypocrisy, so pardon me. There are certain things that should be part of the Christian life. Now, we've considered, I think, 11 or 12 of these in the last couple of weeks. we will finish tonight. In the last several weeks, we said that Christians are to be loving, they're to be discerning, to be kind, to be busy, not slothful in spirit, but rather slothful in spirit, but fervent, they're to be happy, they're to be prayerful, they're to be generous, to be gracious, to be empathetic or sympathetic, to be unified, and to be forgiving. Now, that's quite a list. But those are practical things from Romans 12, one after another, that should characterize the Christian life. In other words, it affects me that I believe in Christ. And we don't have time to do it tonight, but if you went through that whole list in Romans 12, you would find that these are the characteristics of Jesus Himself. And when I'm revealing these characteristics, then Christ is living through me. Now, Romans 12, v. 17. We'll read the whole verse, but we're going to focus on the second part tonight. Romans 12, v. 17. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Remember last week we said no paybacks. No paybacks. As a Christian, you don't pay people. Ah, Pastor Monty, he did so-and-so to me, so I'm going to do so-and-so to him. Wrong answer. You are a born-again Christian and don't have a right to do paybacks. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Now, here it is. Verse 17. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. Our next point, be honest. Be honest. This, ladies and gentlemen, should be obvious, but in our day and time when truth is so easily bent out of shape, as to be non-recognizable. It is natural that that philosophy of fudging on the truth could even potentially enter Christian circles. Now listen carefully. No lie is of the truth. We who are Christians have believed on Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life. One thing our lives should reflect is honesty and truth. We live in an age of deception. The other day, my family and I were spending some high-quality family time together in front of the television. And a commercial, a commercial came on where a fella, I suppose probably in his mid to late 50s, I think it was a commercial for some, I can't remember now, maybe some kind of pharmaceutical product, I'm not exactly sure, something, but mid to late 50s, he comes on and he's standing in the woods. kind of, and there's a beautiful lake, there's a beautiful lake, and he's standing there, and it's a kind of a rocky, cliff-like area, maybe a 10-foot high rocky cliff, and there's beautiful pine trees, really look like Minnesota, got my attention, look like Minnesota, beautiful pristine lake, and he's standing there, looking out over this lovely lake, and there's these rocks he's standing on, and he's gonna give a sales pitch in just a minute, but he started his sales pitch, now listen, he started his sales pitch by saying, When I was just a little boy of nine or ten years old, something along those lines, I used to jump off these rocks and into this lake, and I enjoyed swimming in this lake. That's how he started a commercial. Now, I am fairly confident that that never happened in that man's life. And I stopped watching TV and started to make a big deal about this in front of the family. Because he's an actor, okay, he's an actor. And I said, now listen, I said, that man, I mean likely, I don't think this could possibly be the case unless he was one of those non-paid testimonials, which he wasn't, he looked too sharp for that. People giving non-paid testimonials look like they just can't get by anyway. And so he was standing there declaring this. This is the first thing the commercial said. And I looked at that and said, here's an actor. Here's a guy who'd probably never seen this lake a day in his life until they set up to do the shoot for the commercial. Now listen. And right out of the starting gate, he lied. Oh, come on, Pastor Monty. You know, it's a commercial. I mean, these are actors. They're trying to get the message across. No, no, Christian, listen to me. He lied. Why would I purchase that product when the very first thing out of the mouth of the pitcher, the sales pitcher, is a lie? And if he really didn't swim in that, you say, Pastor Monty, you're going too far. No, no, no, no, no, no, listen. If he really didn't swim in that lake as a child, why should I believe one word he has to say about the product? But we, as Christians, let the world rub off on us to the extent that we think, oh, come on, it's just a commercial, he's an actor, and we all know and understand that. Let me ask you a question. Why are we so receptive of a lie? Does the truth not mean anything to us? Several years ago, I was looking to purchase a vehicle, and I saw the owner of a prominent car lot who has a million commercials on TV. He was on TV, and he said in a kind of squeaky, high-pitched voice, he said, here's this beautiful truck, and I've got 45 to choose from on my lot right now at this price. And the price was phenomenal. Wow! I can't believe you can buy that brand new truck for $11,995. And he's got 45 to choose from right now on the lot in Plainfield. Well, you know what I did? I wanted to buy a new truck. I went down to Plainfield. I said to one of the salespeople, show me one of those 45. He said, what are you talking about? I said, those trucks, those trucks for $11,995. And you've got 45 of them to choose from on this lot in all different colors. He said, I don't have a clue what you're referring to. He said, we have no truck for that price on this lot. Now wait a minute. The owner said there were 45. And then when he finally realized he was referring to a commercial, the salesman said, oh, those commercials. That's just to get you on the lot. Now, let me ask you a question, Christian. Are you going to buy there? No. See, you lied to me right out of the starting gate. And a lie is a serious problem, especially for a used car salesman, or new even. It's a serious issue. It's not something that we as Christians should play with because lies are of Satan. Mom and Dad, hear me about something tonight. When your children lie, it is at that juncture in their disciplinary career that they should receive the most severe discipline at your hand. Because when we lie, we are at that moment the most like Satan himself. Hear me, ladies and gentlemen. It's not just something we should accept culturally, a culture of deception. It is something we should resist, and it should never be named among Christians. Now look back at verse 17. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. He doesn't just say be honest. That's our little phrase for tonight, but he says provide things honest. It is then my responsibility and yours as a Christian to make sure people interpret me as honest. And I am to provide the evidence of that in my life. And to go above and beyond in trying to make sure that my reputation is something of honesty, character, and integrity. Pastor Monty, someone so misunderstood me, but that's okay. I don't care. No, no, no. Providing things honest. Now, Christian, I'm going to be very blunt. How vital that is. in our day-to-day dealing with people and in our business dealing. Those of you who are members of this church, you will come sometimes on a Wednesday night business meeting. By the way, let me pause there. May I encourage you about something? Members of this church show up and stay for the business meetings on Wednesday night, usually the first Wednesday night of the month. Show up and stay for the business meeting. That's important. It's important for you to know what's going on. You know, Pastor, you just go ahead and run the church. Not a good idea. That's how we have trouble in churches. Members should show up and stay for the business meeting. Those of you who do that understand that there's a 15 or so page financial sheet that is provided to you. And I've had people say, oh, Pastor Martin, that page after page, that financial sheet, there's so much information. Why so much? Just give us one balance sheet. No. provide things honest in the sight of all men. It is important to me as pastor, to our deacon leadership at our church, that you can look at every nook and cranny of the financial sheet and examine it and have the right to ask questions. And if I can't answer the question right off the bat, I can find somebody who can. That is providing things honest. It's my responsibility to make sure honesty happens in my life. That is part of character. Now you hear me. You hear me. Folks, it goes down to the details of life. If you give your word about something, you had better come through. To not do so is dishonest. If you run a business and you promise something to someone, to not deliver is dishonest. Now, oh, Ambassador, there are problems, OK? If there are problems, go honestly and explain the problem honestly. I'll never forget. Years ago, it was in Deacon's Meeting here. Years ago, we were in Deacon's Meeting. And in a previous Deacon's Meeting, someone had been assigned to do something. And then the next meeting rolled around. They were going to have their little thing done by the next meeting. And we were all sitting in the meeting, and someone, I think I said on the agenda, so-and-so, did you do so-and-so? And one of our men said this. He said, you know, he said, I didn't. He said, I just didn't do it. I didn't get it done. And then he said this. He said, I give you no excuse. It's just something I didn't get done, and I'll have it done by the next meeting. And I look here. That is character. No excuses, no lies, no cover-up, just character. That is honesty. We don't always meet every obligation that we have, we wish we could. When we fail in an obligation, rather than cover up, blame somebody else, or give some reason why we failed, it is best for us to simply say, we didn't do what we should have done, no excuses, but we'll get it done. That's honesty. Now, my job as a Christian is to make sure that my testimony is one of honesty. That what I tell you and say to you is true. Well, now, Pastor Monty, I'm going to ask you some private information about somebody in the church. I don't have to tell you anything, but I won't lie to you. Does everyone understand that? There's a difference. You don't have to tell all you know, but you don't practice deception. Providing things honest in the sight of all men means that when I have said something, people can bank on that. It means that not only am I trying to be honest with the general idea of the statement, but I seek to be accurate in the detail. It means I strive in everything I say to tell what is true. Now, drop down to verse 18. He says this, If it be possible As much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." Number one, be honest. Number two, quickly, be peaceful. Be peaceful. This is another mark of living my Christian life. It means that I am to seek peaceful relationships to the fullest extent that is possible. Look at verse 18. If it be possible. You say, preacher, is there wiggle room there? Yes. It is not possible for you to live peaceably necessarily with everybody. You should try. But there are some people who simply don't want peace. But understanding as a Christian, to the fullest extent that I can, as much as lies in me, to the fullest extent, I should seek to be at peace with others and to make sure relationships are right. Look this way, how many know that in the Christian life, friction sometimes develops? How many know? Yeah, it sure does. You know, it can develop in a church. It can develop in a home. It can develop in relationships that are more far-flung than that. Do you know what is my job as a Christian? To seek to live at peace with every individual to the extent that is possible. It means that my heart will be right whether theirs will be or not. Some time ago, I had been involved in a little tiff with someone not a member of our church. Someone who lives in a distant state. Far away. In another part of the country. Someone whose name you might or might not recognize. Don't you love it when we hint around? You're all wondering and now you're off the sermon. I had a little tiff with somebody. And I had an opportunity to go up to that person and to make sure it was right. And the minute I brought up the issue that had caused the tiff, The minute I did this, this person stiffened like that. You know, like clenched fists, ready to go ahead, just stiff, got stiff as a board. And I said, hey, I said, I'm not going to discuss the issue so much as just make sure that I'm right with you. I said, I want you to know that I don't harbor any hard feelings over some exchange that we'd had. And boy, the minute I said that, this person just relaxed, calmed down, and he said, you know, he said, I feel the same way toward you. That's an illustration of living peacefully. It doesn't mean that we'll never have a conflict. We must earnestly contend for the faith. By the way, I really believe in that. I really believe in that. I am willing to cross swords with anyone over the Bible. I'm just willing to do it. Now, I'm not looking for a fight, but I won't back down from one. But, but, as much as lieth within me, I want to live peaceably with all men. It is a command of Scripture. In other words, I'm not to be a browler or to be one who wants to be involved in a physical fight of any kind. It might not be possible. Conflict may arise and it may erupt and it may continue, not because I promote it, but because the other party does. but the conflict should not start with me. As much as lieth in me, I live peaceably with all men. Drop down to verses 19 and 20. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath. The words give place mean to move over. Get out of the way. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath. For it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him. If he thirsts, give him drink. For in so doing, thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head." Quickly tonight, number three, be patient. Be patient. We've spoken of the concept of no recompense. Recompense, verse 17, to no man evil for evil. Verses 19 and 20 expand upon that thought, not only meaning that I should not exercise revenge but I should be patient to wait for the justice of God." Christian, look this way. God always prevails. We have a tendency to become frustrated because God's timetable is not ours. Somebody offends us. We think, oh, how awful. They've offended us. And in our mind's eye, we think God's going to reach down from heaven any moment. Zap! And they're gone. I'll never forget this. This is funny. It really happened. Years ago, my brother and I co-pastored a church. That was mistake number one. Two big people with big personalities and big mouths. This lasted five years. But I remember we had a family in the church, a couple in the church, that had tended to cause trouble. They had been to every church in town, were at our church, because it was the last stop before they became Muslims. No, just kidding, just kidding. It was the last stop. There was no other fundamental Baptist church they could join. They'd been to every single one of them. They had thoroughly worn out their welcome wherever they went. And they were in our church. And I was brand new. I'd come from North Carolina to help assist my brother. And I was brand new. I'd only been there a few months. And boy, there was a lot of stress and strain and pressure from these people. And a lot of angst was caused. And I was learning all about this. This couple just had all kinds of issues and problems and really attacking my twin brother. I remember one Sunday afternoon, my brother had said, Mark, you'll preach the evening service. I said, OK, I'll preach the evening service. And we were young when this happened. We probably wouldn't behave this way now, necessarily. But I said to my brother, I named so-and-so, and I said, I said, Mike, I said, at the end of the service, do you want so-and-so to be a member of this church, yes or no? He said, what are you talking about? I said, just give me a yes or no answer. These people really cause a lot of trouble in church. He said, no. I said, OK, by the end of the service, they won't be. They told us in Bible College to never do stuff like this. But I learned it's awfully fun. I preached a message. I preached a message. By the way, some of you got nervous this morning in the morning message. Nervous, nervous, nervous. That was nothing. compared to the message I preached. I preached a message that I'm glad, this was as a young man, I'm justifying it now by my youth. I preached a message that I'm glad that, as far as I know, I am the only person in the world that has a copy of this sermon. I would cringe were you to ever find a copy of this message. It was stunning. It was a simple sermon entitled, Who Smote Abimelech? I dealt with an Old Testament text, and I zeroed in on a problem in the church. I never will forget during the invitation time. My target had been hit. I realized this because she was the treasurer, and she had the church books. It was one of those big, big business-sized church book things. And during the invitation, while we were singing, I Have Decided to Follow Jesus, During the invitation, she picked up the checkbook of the church just like this. Now, no exaggeration. She picked it up just like this. And I'm giving the invitation. Heads are bowed, eyes are closed. With the exception of Wiley Baptists who are watching. There's a few of those in the crowd. Checkbook up like this. She threw it down, boom, on the church pew next to her. And stomp! Ow! Ow! with several other ladies who met and had a ladies conference in the lobby. There was a glass wall out there so I could see what was happening. Wound up. Her husband had been sitting in a different part of the church. I don't blame him. Don't know why. He was a good Christian who kept his head bowed and his eyes closed. He didn't notice his wife's angst. Right afterwards, he came to me and said, Preacher, there was a wonderful message. God bless you. Let's go soul winning this week. I said, OK, we'll go. Thinking, you're a devil when you get home. That week, she told him what to think about the sermon. So then he started thinking the right way. And they decided to leave the church. They had donated a lot of stuff to the church. Now, by the way, when you give something to the church, you give it to the church. Okay? You don't take it back. But one night this week, my brother and I were driving past the church, and the lights were all on. I said, well, Mike, what's going on? He said, oh, they must be having a revival. Let's go see. This is such a long story. We went to the church, and here these people were carting out all of their donated items. I stopped the man at the door as he was carrying out a silver tea service. And he was carrying out the door. And I said, so-and-so, what are you doing? He said, I'm taking. We lent this. We didn't give it. So he was going to load it back. And my brother was trying to talk to him very kindly. And I'll never forget this. This guy drops to his knees like this. Just like this in the church lobby. Isn't this interesting? This really happened. Drops on his knees in the church lobby, and he tries to call fire down from heaven. I'm just standing there wondering what's going to happen. My twin brother says, calls on my name, so-and-so, get up! Just like that. He got up to his feet. He said, that's foolishness. And then they parted. Oh, by the way, by the way, he said, oh, preacher, you had a real tiff with those folks. I did, but several years later, I made sure it was right. I should have done it earlier than several years, but several years elapsed. But here's my illustration. He called fire down from heaven. I think it was more to consume my twin brother than me. It didn't happen. You know what? God's timetable is not ours. Someone hurt you and offended you and bothered you. God's not just going to zap them. Because God is patient with them just like He's patient with you when you hurt and bother and offend somebody. And the Bible says that rather than exercising vengeance on an individual, rather than getting back, getting even, I need to just step aside, watch this, and patiently let the Lord work. Let me tell you something. You say, well, preacher, what if those people never face divine judgment? I hope they have grace. I should as a Christian. I hope they have mercy. Just to finish that story, a couple years had elapsed. One day I was driving down the road. This was, I think, after I'd moved here. I was up in Minneapolis visiting and was driving down the highway and I saw the exit sign for where these people worked. They had a business. You know, I'm sure it was the Lord. Because I was just driving, I saw the sign, Silver Lake Boulevard. And I thought, you know, I need to go make sure that things are right." Here's what happened. I walked into their place of business. And I smiled at the lady. And you know, there was at first that real, like, this is an alien from outer space reaction. But then I said, you know, and I called her by name. I said, I'm here because we're both Christians. I said, I just want to make sure we're right with each other. She started to cry. She called her husband back from the back. her mother from a different room. And we all stood there together and just said, you know, some things transpired, didn't they? But let's be right with one another. Those people, by the way, when they left, they had no other church to go to, so they started their own. And right after that little conversation, they said, would you come preach at our church? I couldn't because I was going somewhere else. But here's my illustration. Let God, rather than you taking it out on somebody else, be patient and see what God does. Evidently, God did something in their hearts. I know God did something in my heart. Does everyone understand this? Be patient and allow God. And then lastly, be victorious. Look at verse 21. It really sums up everything we've covered in the whole chapter. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Now look, look, look, look. Preacher, how do you know if you're overcome with evil? If you continue to hold those feelings toward that person, you are overcome with evil. If every time that person's name is mentioned, you bristle and then you have to say something bad about them, you are overcome with evil. Preacher, how do I get over that? I overcome evil with good. I show that person the love of Christ. Well, Pastor Monty, that was the biggest explosion you ever saw. Okay. Okay. Let the dust settle. Sometimes people don't want to get right right after the dust, you know, the explosion. Let it settle. But then you be the person who overcomes the evil with the good. I'm never going to speak to those people again. I'm done with them. I'm going to shake off the dust of my shoes. I'm out of here. If you take that attitude, you have been overcome with evil. And as long as that remains in your heart, you are chained to those people. Have you ever thought about that? Your heart, your attitude, your bitterness. Every time that name comes up, I just get so angry. They won. They won. But... If in love, I say to the individual, let's talk about offenses here, I say, listen, let's just be right. If I take that step, I have overcome all the evil with good. I'm just waiting for them to do it. No! You do it. You be the big man. You be the one who says, I'm going to obey Let me tell you folks, and I'm done with this. A lot of what we covered in Romans 12 in the last four weeks, a lot of what we covered deals with human relationships. I have been pastoring for 23 years. There is no realm in existence where good Christian people more rapidly dismiss the teaching of Scripture than in the realm of human relationships. And it ought not be so among Christians. We ought to be the first to say, let's be right with one another. And folks, listen to me. There's anybody in this world that you're angry with, offended, upset, get it right. Let the dust settle a little bit, but get it right. And do the right thing. And overcome all that evil with good. One final thought. Years ago, I think it was 1996, I was standing at the casket of my pastor, Dr. Richard B. Clearwaters, standing at his casket. He had passed away, I think it was on September 30th of that year. I was standing at his casket and watching people walk by. Thousands of people were present for viewing and funeral. He had such a huge influence in people's lives. I was watching people walk by. It is interesting that this same couple that I had my little tiff with that I told you about a moment ago, they walked by, and they walked by weeping. In 1979, that same couple had stood with pamphlets outside the doors of Fourth Baptist Church, anti-Clearwater's pamphlets, handing them to members as they walked in. But now here they are at a funeral viewing, and they have tears in their eyes. Why can't that happen before the funeral? It means a whole lot more. We have the funeral service. Dr. Clearwaters was a strong leader. He made some... I don't want to use the word enemy. He made some enemies. He was a strong leader. At his funeral, it was remarkable because there were people who loved him and were loyal, There were people who, eh, he had an impact, so we're here. And there was even some people that didn't like him at all, but they came out of respect for the man. But you know what's surreal about that funeral service I'll never forget? I looked at people who'd had church fusses and splits and carry on with one another. They're all in the same room, and here's this funeral. I looked at people who probably hadn't talked to each other in 20 years, because after all, Gareth Rood, She's going to get hers in the end for what she did at the church picnic. I saw all of that, and I thought to myself, wow, this whole gathering in one room, some people who love each other, other people who can't stand each other. I thought, this is what heaven's going to be like, except we'll all be right. Why don't we just be right now? Why don't we just get a little taste of heaven on earth and be right now? Boy, it'd be good. And do you know what it would do? It would show people, this is revolutionary, it would show people that what we believe in our hearts, we live in our life. In other words, somebody might really see Jesus Christ. And isn't that what we want? Heads bowed and eyes closed. Father, thank You for the commands that we've looked at tonight. Father, thank You for the practical nature of these. I pray, Lord, tonight that we would not just profess to believe in these things, but that we would in our lives demonstrate them because of a willingness to submit to Your Word, to do what is right, and ultimately, Lord, to overcome evil with good. Help us, Lord, not just to profess a set of doctrine, but help us to live Christ through our lives. That this world may see that the things we believe and tenaciously hold to are those things that have transformed our lives. I pray, Lord, You'll speak to every heart. Use this invitation to bring glory to Thyself. We pray in Jesus' name.