A.It is every person’s responsibility to practice good deeds.This is especially true of Christians, for we are "created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).
B.However, good deeds are often received with a reaction of evil.Why is this so, and how should we respond to such evil?This will be the topic of our lesson.
II.THE EVIL RESPONSE TO GOOD
A.The Scriptures are filled with examples of people who returned evil for the good they had received.
1.Despite the many good things David did for Israel, his enemies quickly multiplied and rejoiced for his hardships.
a.Notice David’s words and consider his prophetic foreshadowing of Christ’s trials in Psalm 35:11-16 – "Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I do not know.They repay me evil for good, to the bereavement of my soul.But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer kept returning to my bosom.I went about as though it were my friend or brother; I bowed down mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother.But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together; the smiters whom I did not know gathered together against me, they slandered me without ceasing.Like godless jesters at a feast, they gnashed at me with their teeth.”
b.How sad it was that some men for whom David had prayed and others whom he did not even know were quick to turn against him and falsely accuse him of evil.
2.When Jeremiah told Judah how to survive the coming captivity, most of his fellow Jews hated him for it and tried to destroy him.
a.Consider Jeremiah 18:18-20 – "Then they said, ‘Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah.Surely the law is not going to be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the sage, nor the divine word to the prophet!Come on and let us strike at him with our tongue, and let us give no heed to any of his words.’Do give heed to me, O LORD, and listen to what my opponents are saying!Should good be repaid with evil? For they have dug a pit for me. Remember how I stood before You to speak good on their behalf, so as to turn away Your wrath from them.”
b.Because these men refused to believe the truth, they hated Jeremiah, who was the bearer of truth.They sought to silence him, but they could not change the truth of his message.
3.When the Lord Jesus taught the gospel and performed wonders and miracles among the Jews, they hated Him and demanded His crucifixion.
a.Notice the words of Peter to the Jews in Acts 2:22-23 – "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know – this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.”
b.The trials and crucifixion of the Son of God were the worst injustice ever done in the history of the world.Christ’s words and works were the best the world has ever known, and they were answered with the most evil deeds ever done.
4.Even within the church, Paul received resistance, resentment, and slander for teaching the truth.
a.The Christians of Galatia had begun to treat Paul as an enemy, so he asked them in Galatians 4:16, "So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?”
b.Among the Galatians and other churches, it was often necessary for Paul to defend himself in order to defend the gospel.Just as the Jews attempted to silence Jeremiah, so also some Christians attempted to silence Paul to prevent him from preaching the truth.
B.Why do people respond to good words and deeds in such evil ways?
1.There is a strange but common mindset that is recognized in Isaiah 5:20 – "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”
2.It is this tendency for indulging self-deception and twisting the truth that leads many people to return evil for good.Jesus explained this in John 3:19-20 – "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”
III.THE GOOD RESPONSE TO EVIL
A.When we receive evil for good, our response should be twofold: trust in God for justice, and do more good.
1.This response is summarized in Romans 12:17-21 – "Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men.If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.‘But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
2.This faithful response to evil should replace any urge we may have to take the opposite course of action, i.e., to take our own revenge and to do harm to our enemies.
3.In Matthew 5:43-45, Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
B.Trusting in God in the face of evil means that we are willing to endure evil while waiting for His reward and that we will leave justice in the hands of God.
1.The Lord prepared His disciples for the likelihood that they would be persecuted for believing in Him so that they would persevere and not lose heart.
a.Notice His guarantee and motivation of a future reward in Matthew 5:10-12 – "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
b.Likewise, when He warned the Christians of Smyrna of their coming persecution, He said, "Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10).
2.While we would often prefer to see swift justice come to those who do evil, we must wait, trust in the ultimate justice of God, and allow room for His mercy.
a.We need not worry that justice will not be done, for Galatians 6:7-8 says, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”
b.Justice will be done at the final judgment, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2Cor. 5:10).
c.While we wait for justice, let us recognize that the delay is an opportunity for the wicked to repent and receive God’s mercy, for God is "not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2Pet. 3:9).Let us pray that they all come to repentance.
C.Doing good to our enemies is actually a means of wounding their consciences and turning them from evil.
1.Notice again Proverbs 25:21-22, which was quoted in Romans 12:20 – "If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.”
2.God’s prescription for overcoming evil is to do more good (Rom. 12:21).This is the pattern the Lord Jesus set for us, and we must follow it in order to be disciples of Christ and children of God.
IV.CONCLUSION
A.Returning evil for good is a wicked standard of behavior that governs truly evil men.Returning evil for evil or good for good is the normal standard of behavior that governs the worldly minded.However, returned good for evil is a truly divine standard that governs the children of God.
B.Which standard governs your behavior?Are you among the evil, the worldly minded, or the children of God?
