Scripture
A Living Sacrifice to God
1And so, dear brothers and sisters,[1] I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.[2] 2Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
3Because of the privilege and authority[3] God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.[4] 4Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
6In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
9Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10Love each other with genuine affection,[5] and take delight in honoring each other. 11Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.[6] 12Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.
14Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!
17Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
19Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,
“I will take revenge;
I will pay them back,”[7]
says the Lord.
20Instead,
“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
burning coals of shame on their heads.”[8]
21Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.
Translation notes (8)
- 12:1a Greek brothers.
- 12:1b Or This is your spiritual worship; or This is your reasonable service.
- 12:3a Or Because of the grace; compare 1:5.
- 12:3b Or by the faith God has given you; or by the standard of our God-given faith.
- 12:10 Greek with brotherly love.
- 12:11 Or but serve the Lord with a zealous spirit; or but let the Spirit excite you as you serve the Lord.
- 12:19 Deut 32:35.
- 12:20 Prov 25:21-22.
Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.
If you are a parent, aunt, uncle, or grandparent of siblings, you have likely heard the child in your life say defensively, "They did it to me first!" From the time we are young children, our human nature desires payback. We want someone to be punished when they hurt us. While our human nature wants payback, Scripture teaches that payback is not the way of Christ.
Romans encourages followers of Christ to let go of payback and to choose forgiveness instead in Romans 12. In this chapter, he explained how we must respond to each other during conflict. He said, "Bless those who persecute you. Don't curse them. Pray that God will bless them" (verse 14). This way of teaching goes against the way we tend to think. Society encourages payback and anger. Instead, Paul echoed the words of Jesus when he said, "Bless those who persecute you." Several verses later, he explained, "Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable" (verse 17). Notice the word "never" in this verse. There is never a time to respond to evil with more evil. This does not mean we cannot acknowledge that someone has done something wrong and hurt us. It simply means we can never respond to evil with even more evil. Instead, we can leave revenge to God. That is why Paul said, "Never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God" (verse 19). We can take the wrongdoings that have been done against us straight to God, and He will take care of us. Paul ended the chapter by saying, "Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good" (verse 21). Instead of responding to evil with evil, we can defeat evil with good. This is the way we are to respond as followers of Christ.
Friends, let's be people who do not need to take revenge. We have a God who fights for us and takes care of us. We can trust Him with our battles, even when we have been wronged and want revenge. His way is infinitely better.
Moving Toward Action
Memorize Romans 12:17. Let this verse remind you never to seek payback and do everything honorably. Consider this verse when you face conflict and let it guide you as you respond to the conflict that inevitably comes.
Going Deeper
Going Deeper - Romans 12:1-21
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