The sermon by Jason Dohm, titled 'The Transformed Life Continued,' focuses on Romans 12:14-21, emphasizing the transformation that should occur in the life of a born-again believer. It highlights the importance of living a life characterized by love, humility, and peace. Believers are encouraged to love without hypocrisy, abhor evil, and cling to what is good. The sermon discusses the need to bless those who persecute, rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. A transformed life involves not repaying evil for evil, living peaceably with all, and leaving vengeance to God. The sermon underscores the role of the Holy Spirit in enabling believers to draw from God's mercies and live a life that reflects Jesus Christ. It concludes with a call for believers to overcome evil with good and to walk with Jesus, allowing His nature to become second nature to them.

Our sermon text today is from Romans chapter 12. We'll be looking at verses 14 through 21, but I'll back up to verse 9 for context. So please follow along as I read Romans 12, 9 through 21. Let love be without hypocrisy, abhor what is evil, clean to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love and honor giving preference to one another, not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer, distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you, Bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. We have 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.

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 therefore if your enemy is hungry feed him if he's thirsty give him a drink for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Let's pray. God, we pray now by your spirit that you would come and bless this time, that you would open our minds, our hearts, our ears, and eyes to see and hear your your truth that we would taste this morning and see that you are good and God that you would lead us by your word that we may see how we ought to live and relate to one another in a way that is a blessing to all of us in a way that brings you glory. We pray all these things in the powerful name of Christ. Amen. I can't tell you how often it is that I'm so eager about what's in the text.

I want to dislodge Taylor or Josh and just compel them to go sit down so that I can get on with preaching. I love the singing, but sometimes I just can't wait to preach. So this morning is delightful. They did it voluntarily. Didn't have to try to dislodge somebody bigger than me?

The title of the sermon this morning is The Transformed Life Continued. We really started this last week, maybe more accurately the week before. Our subject this morning and our subject for the chapters to come is the transformed life. Chapters 1 through 11, Paul brought us to how sinners can be born again. How can someone who's born dead in their sins and transgressions be brought to life?

So Paul takes 11 chapters to just take us through the glories of the saving gospel. Now in chapters 12 through 16, Paul brings us to how the born again should be and are transformed. So the born again should be transformed because we start out so far from the image of Jesus Christ, God wants us to look like His Son, and we are transformed. How do we know that will be true? Because all true believers are indwelled by the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is almighty so sometimes the progress is slower than we wish it would be but if you're really born again there will be progress because you are indwelled by the Almighty Spirit of God.

The born-again had this bottomless well to draw from. So if you're born again, I want you thinking of it this way. I have a well that doesn't even have a bottom to draw from. What is that well? The many colored mercies of God.

Think of all the mercies of God and how they're new every morning. The well really is bottomless. So Paul's whole argument starting this chapter is so in view of that, in view that the born-again are drawing from a bottomless well the many colored mercies of God that are new every morning because of that they should present themselves as living sacrifices they should offer these purchased lives back to God and and live to him and that means being transformed That means being less and less and less and less like the old man that we were before God brought us into His kingdom by His mercy, made us sons and daughters. And we should be more like the new man. The ultimate new man is Jesus Christ.

So this is really about conformity to the image of Jesus Christ. How did Paul lead this off in last week's text? Verse 9, Let love be without hypocrisy. In the next chapter he's going to say love is the fulfillment of the law. So if you want to know what the law of God is all about, you can sum it up in one word, love.

Everything we're talking about is under the banner of love. Paul was actually telling us how to love. How to love the brethren, how to love people who are not brethren, even how to love your enemies. We're going to get into a lot of that today. Under the heading of love, last week Paul described this other-centered, heaven-centered disposition that the born-again should be and are cultivating.

So this is really what this is about. An other centered, heaven centered disposition that all people who are born again should be and are cultivating. Let's pray. Our God, thank you that we aren't left to wonder how these things look in real life. That we can Simply go to Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, see your son live his life, and know what it means to live a life of love.

And to obey your commandments, to fulfill the law by loving. Loving the brethren, loving unbelievers, even loving our enemies. Oh make us like Jesus. Please use this text to make us a little more like your son. What a profitable day this will have been if that happens.

Please, please God do this. In Jesus name we pray, amen. We have almost as many subdivisions as we have verses. I couldn't figure out a way to do it more elegantly, So let's just dive in and look at verse 14. We're in Romans 12.

The scope of verses for today is 14 to the end of the chapter, so 14 through 21. Let me reread verse 14 and we'll just stop and talk about that. Romans 12-14. Paul writes, bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse.

The born-again Learn to love their enemies. So if you're taking notes on the handout, you'll notice there are no blanks on the handouts today. I dispensed with all blanks. I'll just give it right to you. The born-again, those who have received the many-colored mercies of God and are subject to them every morning as they're renewed every morning.

These born-again people learn to love their enemies. So if you look through all the subdivisions on the handout, they all have the same format. The born-again learn to, why did I pick learn to? It means that we're going from one state into a better state. We started a state where we don't do very many of these things very well at all.

But we are indwelled by the Holy Spirit and we have the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit takes the Word of God and begins to change us, to transform us by the renewing of our minds. And so these are all things that we'd love to see in full bloom in our lives. Can anyone look at any one of these things and say, this is in full bloom in my life, I can't, you probably can't either if you're honestly assessing. So, I am born again, but I am learning to do all of these things. These are things that we all need to grow in.

The born again learn to love their enemies. Now you might look at verse 14 and observe this. This verse doesn't use the words love or enemies. But I've summarized it as the born again learn to love their enemies. Why would I use the word love or enemies when neither one are words that are used in the verse?

It's for this reason. When Jesus said almost the identical words as verse 14, Jesus put it in the context of loving our enemies. So let's go there and look at that. This is Matthew chapter 5. Turn to Matthew chapter 5.

Matthew chapter 5 is the Sermon on the Mount, probably the greatest sermon that's ever been preached in human history. Forget Charles Spurgeon, Jesus was a better preacher by far, I'm sure, than Charles Spurgeon. Matthew chapter 5, I'll be reading 43-45. Matthew chapter 5, verses 43-45. Here's what Jesus says.

You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. Oh, wait, let me just stop right there. Love your enemy is Scripture. But to conclude from that, love my enemy. Oh, I only have to love my enemy.

I can, I only have to love my neighbor? Love my neighbor is scripture. To conclude from that though, that you only have to love your neighbor and that now you're free to love your enemy, to hate your enemy. Wow, I'm really struggling with the English language, aren't I? Do you know what I mean?

Don't you? I hope so. This is why we brought the sermon forward, because you need all of your powers to interpret what I'm trying to say. The Word of God says, you shall love your neighbor, but you shouldn't conclude from that that you're free not to love other people and that you're free to hate your enemy. That's what the spirit of the age was at the time when Jesus came.

You did have to love your neighbor, but you could hate your enemy. Jesus corrects that in verse 44. But I say to you, love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Do good to those who hate you.

Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For he makes his Son rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." So the born-again learn not only to not respond in kind, you did it to me so I can do it back to you. The born again learn more than just that and includes that but they learn more than that But to actually respond with the exact opposite. You do that to me, but I do good to you. They hate us, we return love.

They curse us, we return blessing. They mistreat us, we do good to them. They spitefully use and persecute us, we pray for them. Oh God, Don't leave them as they are. God be merciful to them.

God use me as a channel for your mercy into their life. Why? Why when they hate us would we return love? Why when they curse us would we return blessing? Why when they mistreat us would we do good to them?

Why when they spitefully use us and persecute us, why would we pray for them and ask God to use us as a channel of His mercy in their lives to be children of our Father in heaven because that's what God does. And to imitate His Son, Jesus, that's what Jesus does. What did Paul say in Romans 5? Think back to Romans 5. Remember this, Paul said, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of the Son.

When were you reconciled to God through the death of the Son? When I got my act together. When my heart was tender towards the Lord, then I was reconciled to God. No! God reconciled you to himself through the death of his son when you were his enemy.

Does imitating this God quality come naturally? Now I'm born again so it comes naturally. No way. Even when you're born again in a new creation, you have remaining corruptions. Every remaining corruption that you have strains against blessing people who yell at you, and say terrible things to you and about you, and cut you off from relationship because of your faith, and in some parts of the world even physically harm you, and in some places even take your life, you don't want to bless them.

You want to curse them. Paul says, no, don't you curse them. What if God cursed you when you were his enemy? But he didn't. He reconciled you through the death of his son when you were his enemy.

So let me say this, and this applies to everything in today's text. You must be born again. You must have the Holy Spirit. To tell an unregenerate person, a person who hasn't trusted savingly in Jesus Christ, a person who's not indwelt by the Spirit of Christ. Bless those who persecute you.

Don't curse those people. Bless them. Do good to them when they spitefully use you. When they say bad things to you and about you behind your back. Just bless them.

You have no resources. You don't have a bottomless well to dip out of to even start down that track. You must be born again. You must have the Spirit of God giving you the power to do things that are so unnatural to the corrupt human spirit. Verse 15, Back to our text.

Moving on a little to verse 15, Paul says, rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. The born again learn to adopt the joys and sorrows of others. They make other people's joys their own joys and rejoice right alongside them. They make other people's sorrows their own sorrows and sorrow right alongside them. It seems simple enough.

If someone is rejoicing, go rejoice with them. If someone is weeping, go weep with them. And it is simple, but is it easy? Not always. In fact, sometimes it's very difficult.

Sometimes God has brought into this person's life something you have wanted forever. Something you have waited for forever, but for whatever reason God has withheld it from you and given it to them. Now, go rejoice with them. Can you do it? Can you really do it or do you just go and put on a show?

Sometimes God has brought sorrows into this person's life as a result of the things that You've warned them about a hundred times! Now, go weep with them. Now they have the self-inflicted wounds, you try to tell them, you try to tell them, you try to tell them, you try to tell them. And they wouldn't listen, and they wouldn't listen. And they wouldn't listen.

And now they're weeping from their self-inflicted wounds. Now you go weep with them, can you do it? Can you really? Rob Ventura, help us. He's going to help us.

Rob Ventura says this, how do we do this? How do we weep with those who weep? Says something very profound. Showing up is most of the job, right? You do not need a great speech.

Just be present with the hurting. So this is how we do it. You don't need time to work up a great speech. In fact, when people are weeping, they don't want your great speech. Showing up is most of the job.

Go be with the hurting. That brings us to another point that James pointed out to me this week. The window closes fast. When someone is rejoicing or someone is weeping, there's a window of opportunity and it doesn't stay open for long. When they're rejoicing, you have to go then and rejoice with them.

When they're weeping, you have to go then and weep with them. There's a chance to go and be beloved by them in a particular way because of how valuable it is that you would come to their elbow to rejoice with them when the sweetness of rejoicing is upon them, or that you would come to be at their elbow when the bitterness of weeping is there and you've come not with a great speech but just to be present with them the window closes fast. If you're going to do it, you better do it when you notice. God has made some people very sensitive to these things. I won't name names, but God has made some people here very sensitive to these things.

That's a blessing. Watch them. Learn from them. Heaven help you. Don't watch me.

Myro is laughing. Myro knows. Don't learn from me. Find the people who are very sensitive to rejoicing with those who rejoice, weeping with those who weep, and they pick up on it really fast, and they don't let the window shut. Watch them and learn from them.

Have you ever thought this? There are plenty of people who will be happy with them. Who has a hard time finding people to be happy with you when you're happy? There will be plenty. There's no need for me and I'm busy.

Have you ever thought that? That's a mistake. There's probably not as many people to be happy with them as you think. It will still be meaningful even if there are a lot of people already being happy with them. It will still be meaningful with them if you go and rejoice with the people who are rejoicing.

Or this, have you ever thought this? I'm full up with my own problems. No tears to spare at the moment. I already have all my tears allocated. My own problems.

So we need help from the Holy Spirit. It would be so easy to map the things that Paul is calling for here in Romans 12 to the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5. I haven't done that, but if you wanted to do the crisscross, put this list on one column and that list on the other and start matching them up, it would be a really interesting exercise and not hard to do, I'm confident of that. We need help from the Holy Spirit. But we're getting help from the Holy Spirit today.

The Holy Spirit inspired this text. The Holy Spirit has us in this text. The Holy Spirit is telling us to learn to rejoice with those who rejoice, to go be at their elbow, to weep with those who weep. Don't prepare a great speech. Show up and be present.

Paul says go cultivate it. This is something to be cultivated. Go cultivate it. One last comment before we move on. Who knows how God can and will use the impact of this?

This is something that if you just give a minute's thought to it, you can see how this has an impact. When you go to the elbow of the person who is rejoicing to rejoice right alongside them or to the person who is weeping to weep right alongside them, can't you see the potential impact of that? Can't you see that when you rejoice with a brother or sister who is rejoicing or weep with a brother or sister who is weeping, how this expands your ability to encourage them. Why is that? They know, they're on my team.

When I'm rejoicing, here they come. When I'm weeping, here they come. They're clearly for me. You have expanded your ability to have a good encouraging influence on their life. We should be expanding our ability to encourage our brethren.

And this is one way, absolutely we can do this. Or with an unbeliever, Maybe rejoicing with an unbeliever when they're rejoicing or weeping with an unbeliever when they're weeping breaks the ice and gives you influence for the gospel that you never had before. You've known them for five years and you never had any influence for the gospel But now you've come to rejoice with them when they rejoice or weep with them when they weep and all of a sudden The ice is broken and the door is open to talk about things that they never wanted to hear from you about before Verse 16 Romans 12 verse 16 All right to 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 opinions.

The born again learn to clothe themselves with humility. They wear humility like clothes. Peter says this in 1 Peter 5, 5, yes, all of you be submissive to one another and be closed with humility. It takes humility to submit ourselves to one another. I think that accurately reflects the point Paul is getting at in verse 16.

It is a call to a shared humility that nurtures deep and wide relationships among brethren. Do we want that? Do we want deep relationships with brethren? Do we want wide, lots, lots of deep relationships with brethren? If you want that, a shared humility serves that so well.

Clothing ourselves, all of us together, clothing ourselves with humility serves that so well. It follows what Paul just said in the beginning parts of verse 3. Just look up in a few verses, Romans 12 verse 3. For I say through the grace given to me to everyone who is among you Not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly. Don't think of yourself more highly than you ought to think.

Think soberly. This is certainly wonderfully good for the health of the church. If we all just proactively made a point to clothe ourselves with humility, all of us did it together, would that be wonderfully good for the health of our church? You better believe it. There are three specific things said by Paul in this verse.

First, be of the same mind toward one another. This does not mean that believers can reach a state where we all see everything the same way all the time. That's called heaven. We can have some sweetnesses here. What we can't have is full-fledged heaven.

So we're not all going to see everything the same way all the time. This is about our mind toward one another. My thoughts toward you and at the same time your thoughts towards me. And what came before in the text and what comes after in the text describe what our thoughts towards each other should be. What came before?

Learning to adopt the joys and sorrows of others. What comes after? This comes after. Second, do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble.

Paul is describing a disposition that is so full of genuine humility, that no lawful task is beneath me if it serves you and no person is below me and not worthy of my service." Reformation Heritage says this, This is their study Bible, a note in their study Bible. Do not set your minds on position and honor, but mingle freely with the lowly. People who have fallen on hard times, mingle freely with them. They're not beneath your notice. They're not beneath your time and attention.

Don't set your minds on position and honor. You've heard the expression, stop being so full of yourself. Paul is describing here a person who has stopped being so full of himself. Remember, Paul said this in verse 10, be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love in honor giving preference to one another. I prefer you.

If it serves you, it's not beneath me no matter what it is and who you are. You prefer me. If it serves me, it's not beneath you no matter what it is and who I am I have that disposition towards you my that mind towards you and you have that disposition towards me, that mind towards me. Listen to John 13. Just listen.

This is from John 13. The supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him. Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside his garments, took a towel and girded himself. After that he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples feet and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. So when he had washed their feet, taken his garments and sat down again, he said to them, do you know what I've done to you?

You call me teacher and Lord and you say well for so I am. If then I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Nothing was beneath Jesus. Yes, Him. Nothing was beneath Jesus, the Son of God. Nothing was beneath God in the flesh. These were fishermen.

It was a tax collector. He was washing the feet of a tax collector. The task wasn't beneath him. The man wasn't beneath Him. Jesus said, go do that.

I'm making you kings of the church. No. I'm making you servants of my people. Nothing is beneath you if it serves them. No one is beneath you if they belong to me.

Nothing was beneath Jesus. No one was below Jesus's notice or attention or even service. Third and finally, do not be wise in your own opinion. John Murray says this in his commentary, it strikes at the opinionated person who has no regard for anyone else's judgment. They don't need you, they don't need me, they don't need our perspective.

They got it all figured out all the time on every topic. You can't tell them anything. Do you know a person like that? Are you a person like that? Do You have at least a little of that in you.

If you said no, go back to square one. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. It strikes at the opinionated person who has no regard for anyone else's judgment. In Job chapter 12 verse 2, Job says this of his friends who were false counselors, No doubt you are the people and wisdom will die with you.

He's actually mocking them. Oh, no doubt you're the ones, all figured out. You don't need my perspective, you don't need their perspective. You know it all. When you die, wisdom will die with you and there won't be any wisdom on the earth.

Paul is saying, don't be that guy. Don't be that guy. Now, imagine if we all learned to adopt each other's joys and sorrows. You were like that. You were like that.

You were like that. You were like that. I was like that. Imagine if none of us set our mind on high things but no lawful task was beneath any of us and no person was below any of us. Imagine if all of us learned not to be wise in our own opinion but we were all ready to consider each other's counsels we would have a little slice of heaven here.

That's what Paul's trying to bring us into, a little slice of heaven on earth. He's trying to get groups of believers to latch on to this and believe that we could have a little slice of heaven together if we would cultivate these things in our lives. It's true. We should cultivate these things in our lives. Only be the better for it.

Verses 17 and 18. Paul continues, 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. The born again learn to strive for peace with everyone.

Paul says three things here too. First, Repay no one evil for evil. I've already talked about this a lot under the heading of bless those who persecute you. In some ways it's saying the same thing in different ways. At the heart of this is learning not to respond in kind.

You doing wrong to me doesn't give me license to do wrong back. That's not how Christians think or act when they're acting like Christians. When they're acting like Jesus. Those who were born again are not at the mercy of others conduct. Consider that for a minute.

Just consider that. Consider how freeing that is. You want to live free? You want to live free? Don't be at the mercy of others conduct.

Since you have a bottomless well of many colored mercies to draw upon, you don't have to be at the mercies of other people's conduct towards you. When someone perpetrates evil on a born-again person and towards a born-again person, the born-again person can break the cycle of evil right then. Think of how many times the cycle of evil has just escalated and escalated and escalated. Evil done to me has given me permission to respond in kind and responding in kind has given them permission to escalate it one up and and up we go. The Hatfields and the McCoys and We don't even remember what started it.

Because the cycle of evil just goes on and on. Born again people can break that. Born again people are called to break that because we have this bottomless well of the many colored mercies of God. They're new every morning, and we can just keep drawing and keep drawing from the mercies of God. Unregenerate people don't have those resources, and so in many ways they're a slave to the conduct of other people.

They just feel like they're unbreakably drawn to return evil for evil. We don't have to live like that. Second, have regard for good things in the sight of all men. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men." Remember what Paul said in Romans 2, when Gentiles who do not have the law, By nature do the things in the law these although not having the law are a law to themselves Who show the work of the law written on their hearts?

Their conscience also bearing witness and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them. Do you remember that? Paul's condemning the Gentiles because even though they didn't have the written law like we have, Paul asserts what's true, which is that we've all been born with an inborn sense given to us by God of what's good, what's not good, what's true, what's not true. And we can dull that and we can pervert that over time by repeated sin, but we all have this sense in our hearts, the law of God written on our hearts. So there are things that are good in the sight of all men, even unbelievers.

And it matters that those who are born again are careful to uphold and promote those things. To have regard for the good things in the sight of all men. I shudder to think of the things evangelicals are known to champion. Politically and otherwise. And how that relates to our mission to win over unbelievers.

I'm going to read that again. I shudder to think of the things evangelicals are known to champion politically and otherwise and how that relates to our mission to win over unbelievers. You can't find any manner of Christless conservatism that an evangelical will not fall for. It's a whole category of things. We don't mind if Christ is absent, we just want conservatism.

I'm talking about evangelicals. What about our mission to win over unbelievers? They know when we're compromising our principles. They know that we're violating things that we say are the good things, but we're willing to make a swap. Listen to this from the Qualifications for elders.

1st Timothy 3 has a list of things that elders must be. Listen to this from the Qualifications for Elders. He must have a good testimony among those who are outside. Oh why? He's not an elder out there, he's an elder in here.

Who cares what they think? Paul says we should care what they think. Is that an absolute principle? Sometimes you actually stand for what's good and you're hated on the outside. Paul's not talking about that.

He must have a good testimony among those who are outside. This is a person who has learned to have regard for the things that are good in the sight of all men. He's careful to promote, cultivate those things. Third, if it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men." Listen to Matthew Henry. Matthew Henry says, thus we must labor to preserve the peace, that it be not broken, and to piece it together again when it is broken.

Matthew Henry says, you just make sure you're working to preserve the piece so that it's not broken. Don't you be the one who breaks the peace. Then he says, if it is broken, labor to mend it. Don't just leave broken peace broken. Try to mend it if you can.

But then a little later he says this, Peace without purity is the peace of the devil's palace. Oh yeah, the devil has peace in his palace, but it's peace without purity. That's not the peace we're trying to keep unbroken and to mend. So the born again person should have a peaceable disposition towards all people at all times. Paul is clearly teaching that.

The disposition of your art, what you desire is peace. What you will strive for with everyone at all times is peace, but it is also so clear that Paul is teaching that your peaceable disposition and your striving for peace with everyone does not guarantee peace with everyone. Wow, if you don't get that, you are set up for some major disappointments in this life. Your ongoing disposition of peace, You want it, you love it, you'll work for it. You're striving for peace.

It does not guarantee you peace with everyone. If it is possible, What does that imply? It's not always possible. As much as depends on you, what does that imply? It doesn't always depend on you.

Sometimes People are unchangeably determined not to be at peace with you. Sometimes the price for peace is a price you cannot in good conscience pay. You can have peace, just compromise your principles. You can't make that deal, not in good conscience. So peace is our objective.

We love it. We desire it. We carefully preserve it. We strive for it that peace cannot be our ultimate objective. So don't make peace an idol.

I know situations in this room where people want peace, but others are unchangeably determined not to be at peace. To you I'd say do your part. Do your part. Try to mend it and then what? Then try to mend it some more and then what?

Try to mend it and keep, fight to maintain your disposition where you love it and desire it. You'll get it if the price can be paid with a clear conscience. Verses 19 and 20. Paul continues, beloved, and you love how tenderly he writes to these Roman believers, beloved, do not avenge yourselves but rather give place to wrath, For it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay says the Lord. Therefore, quote, if your enemy is hungry feed him, if he is thirsty give him a drink, for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.

The born again learn to leave vengeance to God. Paul quotes two Old Testament passages to ground his teaching. First is Deuteronomy chapter 32 verse 35. This is from the Song of Moses, where God speaks of the wicked and lays claim to vengeance. He says, vengeance that's mine.

I own vengeance. The very next words, Paul doesn't quote this, but if you go to Deuteronomy 32.5 you see the very next words are, their foot shall slip in due time. Yes, they're wicked people. I own addressing that. Their foot will slip in due time.

God knows just the right time to repay. You and I don't. We don't know the right time. And God knows just the right way to repay. You and I don't.

We don't know the right way to repay. All sins are ultimately against God, not me. Even when someone sins against me, ultimately they've sinned against God. And but for the grace of God there go I anyway. Isn't that true?

If God hadn't entered your life when you'd be doing the same things that people who are sinning against you are doing? No, I wouldn't be like that. You were like that. I was like that. We were all like that.

If it wasn't for the grace of God, we'd be doing those same things and worse. So I should just leave room for the anger of God and the vengeance of God. God does anger well. I don't do anger very well. God does vengeance well.

I know I don't do vengeance well. Paul also quotes Proverbs 25 verses 21 and 22. If your enemy is hungry feed him, if he is thirsty give him a drink for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head. So God has His turf. Staff is turf.

What is His turf? Anger and vengeance. He does both perfectly well. You're not good at either. That's his turf.

Leave it to him. He has given us our turf, giving our enemies food and drink. You stay off my turf, you do your thing. The thing I'm giving to you is feeding your enemies and giving them drink as we have opportunity, doing them good when they do us evil. Are you kidding me?

That's my turf. Yeah, that's your turf. Now, I want you to listen to this. Just listen. And I'm not telling you where I'm going, so you have to just listen.

Now it happened when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, and it was told him saying, take note, David is in the wilderness of En Gedi. Saul took 3, 000 chosen men from all Israel and we went to seek David and his men in the rocks of the wild goats. So he came to the sheepfolds by the road where there was a cave and Saul went in to attend to his needs. David and his men were staying in the recesses of that cave. Then the men of David said to him, said to David, This is the day of which the Lord said to you, Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand that you may do to him as it seems good to you." David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul's robe.

Now it happened afterward that David's heart troubled him because he had cut Saul's robe. And he said to his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master. The Lord's anointed to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord. So David restrained his servants with these words and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way.

David also arose afterward, went out of the cave and called out to Saul saying, My Lord, the king! When Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth and bowed down. And David said to Saul, Why do you listen to the words of men who say, Indeed, David seeks your harm? Look, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, I will not stretch out my hand against my Lord, for he is the Lord's anointed.

Moreover, my father see, yes, the corner of your robe in my hand. For in that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet you hunt my life to take it. Let the Lord judge between you and me, and let the Lord avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you.

As the proverb of the ancient says, wickedness proceeds from the wicked, but my hand shall not be against you. After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A flea?

Therefore let the Lord judge and be judged between you and me and see and plead my case and deliver me out of your hand." 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 hands, 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." Saul was doing evil towards David. If he had found David first, he would have killed David. David did good towards Saul. God delivered into his hand.

He was within arms reach. He was completely in David's power. David did him good. And this activated Saul's conscience in a way that nothing over years had activated his conscience. That moment his conscience was activated.

David heaped burning coals on Saul's head. MacArthur says that this mimics an ancient Egyptian practice where if you wanted to show public contrition or public repentance you would put a pan of hot coals on your head to signify that your conscience was burning you, that your conscience was bothering and you would go out and actually do this figurative sign that you publicly repented. This is a great example of what Paul is calling for. David entrusted himself to God. God, if there's going to be vengeance, you'll have to take the vengeance.

He returned evil with good. Verse 21. Finally, verse 21. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. The born-again learn to overcome evil with good.

Question, when does evil overcome you? When you respond with evil. That's when the born-again person has been overcome by evil, when they respond with evil. Evil doesn't overcome you when you experience the evil. The born-again have an indomitable spirit.

Not even if you were to die would you be overcome by evil if you're born again? For the believer to die is gain. Evil only overcomes you when you respond with evil. Here are two helpful quotes from two Matthews. Ready for two quotes from two Matthews.

First, Matthew Poole. Matthew Poole says, to be overcome of evil is to be moved and provoked thereby to impatience or malice. That's when you're overcome by evil, when you're provoked to impatience or to malice, to hatred. He continues, in revenge of injuries, he is the loser that gets the better. Think about that.

In revenge of injuries, so now we're going to have a contest. I'm going to hurt you and you're going to hurt me back. Who's the loser? The one who hurts the most, The one who does the most hurting, that's the loser. In revenge of injuries, he is a loser that gets the better.

Congratulations on causing the most harm. You're the loser. Here's what Matthew Henry says, our other Matthew. Matthew Henry says, In all matters of strife and contention, those that revenge are the conquered. Those that forgive are the conquerors.

Amen! Really they're saying the same thing. You took revenge, you got conquered. You got overcome by the evil. You forgave, you're the conqueror.

You overcame the evil with good. Let me close with this. 1st John 3, 8 says this, for this purpose the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil. Why did Jesus leave heaven, take on flesh? To destroy the works of the devil.

How did Jesus overcome evil? In his life and in his death he overcame evil with good. He wasn't repaying evil for evil, he was overcoming evil with good. The cross is the ultimate example of that. Nothing overcomes evil like the cross.

In the end, the calling of the born-again is to walk with Jesus and walk like Jesus. That's the punchline for the whole text. Calling of the born-again person is to walk with Jesus. If you walk with Jesus, These things will become second nature to you. You'll learn them over time.

Learn to walk with Jesus. You won't have to make an acronym for the nine things or whatever it was in our text. I don't even know what the number is. The however many things you won't need to acronym. You walk with Jesus.

These things will become second nature to you because they are His nature. Learn to walk like Jesus. Learn to walk with Jesus. God, thank you for our text. Jesus, your image is a beautiful image, so unlike the things that come so naturally to us as we were born.

Human nature out of the womb is nothing like this. We need a new heart. Even when we have a new heart, we need your Spirit to give us progress in these things. But thank you for the examples that we have in the Gospels of Jesus walking this out in a life. Thank you for the work of your Spirit producing these dispositions that work their way out into these actions.

Thank you, God, in Jesus' name, Amen.