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Romans 12:19-21 - Vengeance Belongs to God.

Rom 12:19-21 (NIV) Do not take revenge, my 
friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is 
written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says 
the Lord. 20 On the contrary: "If your enemy is 
hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him 
something to drink. In doing this, you will heap 
burning coals on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by 
evil, but overcome evil with good. 

INTRODUCTION

Forgiveness is a mark of the Christian life. 
Verses 17-21 summarize the real core of Christian 
living. If we love someone the way Christ loves us, 
we will be willing to forgive. If we have 
experienced Gods grace, we will want to pass it on to 
others. And remember, grace is undeserved favor. By 
giving an enemy a drink, were not excusing his 
misdeeds. Were recognizing him, forgiving him, and 
loving him in spite of his sins - just as Christ 
did for us. [Life Application SB] 

   If impatient words are spoken to you, 
never reply in the same spirit. Remember that a 
soft answer turneth away wrath. Proverbs 15:1. 
And there is wonderful power in silence. Words 
spoken in reply to one who is angry sometimes serve 
only to exasperate. But anger met with silence, 
in a tender, forbearing spirit, quickly dies 
away. 
   Under a storm of stinging, faultfinding 
words, keep the mind stayed upon the word of God. 
Let mind and heart be stored with Gods 
promises. If you are ill-treated or wrongfully 
accused, instead of returning an angry answer, repeat 
to yourself the precious promises: 
   Be not overcome of evil, but overcome 
evil with good. Romans 12:21. MH486 

COMMENTARY PEARL

   Life is not fair. God never said it would 
be! 
   Life is unfair because there is sin in 
the world. Jesus came to make things right, and, 
one day, they will be. But, right now, sometimes 
bad people prosper. Sometimes good people 
suffer. Sometimes innocent people get hurt. 
   If you have been discriminated against 
because of your race, culture, language, or gender, 
if you've been abused, if you have been 
harassed or mistreated - that breaks my heart, and I 
am sorry for your hurt. 
   We should do whatever we can to correct 
injustice. But there's something even more important 
than the way I feel about injustice. It's the way 
God feels about it. God has seen every hurt in 
your life, and he grieves over injustice, too. 
   When somebody asks me, Where was God 
when your son died? I say, He was at the 
same place he was when his Son died - grieving 
over man's inhumanity to humanity. 
   So why didnt he stop it? God could 
stop all the evil in the world just like that. 
But it would mean taking away our freedom to 
choose. 
   God may not stop a hurt from happening, 
but God is keeping a record. Not only that, but 
the Bible says that hes storing up your tears 
in a bottle (Psalm 56:8).The Bible also says, 
Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath 
of God, for it is written, Vengeance is 
mine, I will repay, says the Lord (Romans 
12:19 ESV). 
   Because God is loving, he is also a God 
of justice. To allow evil to hurt his children 
and not seek justice would be unloving. 
   Since God seeks justice, you dont have 
to spend your life holding on to hurts. In 
fact, God doesnt want you to waste one second 
of your life on resentment, retaliation, or 
revenge. That's just going to fill you with the 
poison of bitterness. Dont waste your life on 
bitterness! 
   Some of you are allowing people who hurt 
you 10 years ago to still hurt you today because 
you're holding on to the bitterness of that hurt. 
That's foolish! They can only continue causing you 
more hurt you when you choose to remain bitter. 
You have to let it go. 
   Justice delayed is not justice denied. 
God is very aware of what people have done to 
you, and there will be a day of reckoning. 
   Do you trust him? If you do, you'll let 
it go. Surrender your hurt to Jesus, and let 
him settle the score. [Daily Devotional by Rick 
Warren: https://pastorrick.com/devotional/] 

LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

Romans 12:19-21 - Vengeance Belongs To God.

https://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220707-0951.html 

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2019/20190428-1918.html 

Romans 12:19-21 - Killing With Kindness

http://www.abible.com/devotions/1997/19970801-0001.html 

LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT

https://abible.com/links/