SERMON TITLE: Conquering Evil with Good
SCRIPTURE: Romans 12:14-21 (ESV)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 7-13-25
Take notes here
As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.
We’re returning to our series in Romans this weekend. After taking a few weeks to explore the topic of suffering — we’re returning to the apostle Paul’s letter to Christians living in the city of Rome. And — if you remember — the chapter that we’re currently in — chapter twelve — is the pivotal point in Paul’s letter.
After eleven chapters of rich theological truths — he gets to the so what? Meaning — how does all of the theology — of the first eleven chapters — play itself out in how we live — or at least — how should it influence how we live? That’s the journey we began earlier this year with Paul’s big “therefore” statement — when he writes…
Romans 12:1–2 ESV
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
In light of the theology he’s taught us — Paul now tells us to live our lives as sacrificial offerings to God — where our lives are acts of worship that make our God look glorious to the world.
And since the beginning of Romans twelve — and for the majority of our remaining time in Romans — we’re getting very specific with ways that our lives can make God look glorious. We’re getting into the nitty gritty of life so we see how — what we believe — shapes how we live. And how — as Christians — what we believe — is to change how we live compared to how we lived when we didn’t believe in Jesus. So incredibly practical stuff — how the Christian faith changes us.
With that — if you have your Bible — please turn with me to Romans chapter twelve. We’ll be in Romans chapter twelve — looking at verses fourteen through twenty-one. There Paul writes…
Romans 12:14–21 ESV
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
The summary verse — of all we just read and will encounter today — is verse twenty-one. If you want to know the point of this sermon — where we’re headed today — it’s in Paul’s words:
Romans 12:21 ESV
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Everything else is an explanation of this summary verse. So our goal for today — is to understand what it means to not be overcome by evil — but instead — to overcome evil with good. For this is a change Paul says we should expect in those who believe in Jesus.
But a few important ground rules before we begin.
If you’re here today and wouldn’t consider yourself to be a Christian — I know this may be hard — but I need you to set aside whatever definitions you have for evil and good. We’re reading Paul’s letter and so Paul gets to define for us what he means by evil and good. All I’m asking you to do is to give Paul the same consideration you’d want us to give to you if you were the author of the letter — you’d want us to use your definitions of evil and good.
A quick example: If you’re a business owner and you make a contract with a company to supply you with a certain number of items for a specific price — definitions matter. You want the exact number of items for the exact cost you agreed to. If the shipment contains less items than you paid for — or if the bill comes back at a much higher price than you agreed to — I don’t think anyone would simply accept the excuse, “Well, I was using different definitions than you when we made the contract.”
When Paul uses the words evil and good — he’s using biblical definitions. He was highly trained in the Jewish religion and — after an encounter with the resurrected Jesus — became a follower of Christ. So — for Paul — evil is anything that is “morally disgraceful, sinful, or wicked.” And evil — biblically speaking — usually falls into two categories: evil against fellow humans (murder, theft, adultery, and so on…) and evil against God (unbelief, idolatry, blasphemy, and so on…). Though you may have your own opinion on what is evil — Paul would be thinking biblically.
Good is biblically defined by God’s nature — meaning his character — and his actions. And this means that for us — humanity — to do good — whatever it is we do must be done with God’s nature and actions in mind. Which means that the good we do is only truly good if it’s done to make God look glorious.
Again — a quick example may be helpful. Helping an older gentleman reach something off of the top shelf at Walmart is a good deed. But — biblically speaking — if the act isn’t done with the intent of making God look glorious — then it missed the mark. “How dare God demand that our good deeds be done with making him look glorious in mind!” Think of it this way — though admittedly this is an imperfect illustration.
If while helping the old man get something off the top shelf — you simultaneously steal his wallet — did you do a good deed? Yes and no, right? You did help him get something off the top shelf — good — but you stole his wallet — evil. When we do good things without the purpose of God being glorified — we’re doing the equivalent of robbing from God what he deserves.
“Well that’s a high standard Josh. Am I really supposed to have God on my mind that much?” That’s what Paul’s “therefore” statement is all about. If you believe what the Bible says — your goal in life will be to grow in glorifying God in all that you think, say, and do — because — your life is not your own — but belongs to God. For Jesus gave his life in love for you — and now in response — in love — you give your life — all of it — for him.
That’s the goal of the Christian — to give more and more of our life — in love — to Jesus. And — today — we’re learning how to give more of our life to him by not being overcome by evil — but by overcoming evil with good.
To this we now turn — how do we avoid being overcome by evil and — instead — overcome evil with good? Part of Paul’s answer is that we do so by blessing others. We’re in verse fourteen.
Romans 12:14–16a ESV
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.
We have a repeated command — and its counterpart — and then a description of what obeying this command looks like. The repeated command is to “bless.” Paul tells us to “bless those who persecute you; bless…” and then comes the counterpart — “do not curse them.” The rest of the verses just read explain what it means to bless and not curse.
Now right away — if you’re familiar with the Bible — you may be thinking, “This sounds awfully familiar — ‘this whole bless those who persecute you’ stuff.” And you’d be right. In fact — it seems that Paul has words that Jesus spoke on his mind. For Jesus said…
Luke 6:27–36 ESV
27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. 32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
In a day and age when it was acceptable to love those who were part of your tribe and hate those who weren’t — Jesus says something radically countercultural. Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who abuse you.
In saying this — was he just being idealistic? Sentimental maybe? Or was Jesus showing us what it means to live a “therefore” kind of life — a life that exhibits a change between who we were — before we believed — and who we are — having believed?
Think of some of Jesus’ final words while he hung on the cross. He said…
Luke 23:34 ESV
34 “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Even as he was dying — Jesus blessed those who were murdering him.
What do you make of Jesus’ words — or Paul’s rendition of them? Are these options that we can pick and choose from? Or are these expectations that God has for those who are his people? I think the answer is obvious — though it’s not easy, right? Jesus isn’t giving us options to choose from — he’s giving us the characteristics of a life that’s been changed by him.
A life like Stephen’s who…
Acts 7:59–60 NLT
59 As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.
Stephen shows us that it’s possible to live a “therefore” life. A life where — because of what we believe — we bless those who persecute us — even as they kill us — we bless and do not curse them.
Blessing others doesn’t mean we have to put ourselves in potential danger — for example — if someone abuses you — it’s good to remove yourself from them and the situation. But that doesn’t mean you can’t bless them. And pray for them — as Jesus said. Their sin doesn’t justify you disobeying what God has said in his Word: do not curse them.
Now I know — because it’s the cultural air that we can’t help but breathe in — I know we’re told to get revenge, to take back what’s ours, and so on. That’s the way of the world but not the way of Jesus. You can either follow the world or Jesus — but you can’t follow both — for they’re headed in two very different directions.
Back to Paul. In fleshing out what it means to be a blessing to others — Paul tells us to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Rejoicing with those who rejoice can be incredibly hard, can’t it? Why is this? If we’re honest it’s because we can easily be jealous of others' success and achievements and reasons for rejoicing.
Rejoicing when others rejoice can be incredibly challenging — impossible even — when we try to live with any other goal than God being glorified in our life. For when that’s our goal — God gives us everything we need to overcome evil with good.
And we’re to weep with those who weep. Generally speaking — we Christians are much better at this than we are at rejoicing with others. I think this is partly due to our society still viewing it to be pretty nasty to not be sympathetic with those who are in the midst of sorrow.
We recently had to put down our family cat. He lived a long good life — but his body started to shut down and it was time. One of our Gateway families is a vet in town and they were so kind to us throughout the process. The whole staff were very gracious. About a week later — we received a sympathy card in the mail that the staff had signed.
Weeping with those who weep is still valued in our culture.
Though we must be careful to neither rejoice or weep when the cause of either is dishonoring to God — it’s good and godly to rejoice with those who are rejoicing and weep with those who are weeping when what we’re rejoicing or weeping is biblically justified. And all of this is where our value of being a family is best experienced — a value most clearly expressed when we gather in Life Groups.
Though I know it’s summer — and many Life Groups are taking a break — may I encourage you to check in with each other? Reasons to rejoice and weep don't take the summer off — and there may be folks you can come alongside — even during the summer — and bless them as you rejoice or weep with them.
Paul also tells us that — to bless others — means we live in harmony with one another. This is one of Paul’s favorite ways to describe the “therefore” life — a life of living in harmony with your fellow Christians. For example, later in Romans he writes…
Romans 15:5–6 ESV
5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
To the Corinthians he writes…
2 Corinthians 13:11 ESV
11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
And to the Christians in Philippi he writes…
Philippians 2:1–2 NLT
1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
And to two Christian women who found themselves in a disagreement Paul writes…
Philippians 4:2–3 NLT
2 Now I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement. 3 And I ask you, my true partner, to help these two women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. They worked along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life.
Notice why Paul appeals to us living in harmony with one another.
The purpose of living in harmony with one another isn’t self-serving — it’s not about what we’ll get out of it — it’s about who we belong to and who we honor by living in harmony with each other.
Finally — to be a blessing to others — Paul tells us to not be haughty — but to associate with the lowly. To be haughty is to be proud — and God opposes the proud.
As Jesus’s younger brother — James — reminds us.
James 4:6 ESV
6 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
And as Peter tells us…
1 Peter 5:5 ESV
5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
For as David writes…
Psalm 18:27 ESV
27 For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down.
And…
Psalm 31:23 ESV
23 Love the Lord, all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.
And — though these warnings against pride should be sufficient in themselves — there’s the positive example of Jesus that Paul puts before us.
Philippians 2:3–11 NLT
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. 9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Christ — the only Savior — humbled himself for our sake. He didn’t look out for his own interests — but ours. He gave up his divine privileges and took the position of a criminal on a cross. He did so in love. And in keeping with Paul’s theme — “therefore” — we who benefit from Christ’s humility are to be men and women of humility — who are not proud or haughty — who associate with the lowly. The outcasts of society. The lonely and forgotten. The discarded.
The people of God are at their God-glorifying best when they humble themselves and serve those the world has forgotten. This is how we conquer evil by doing good.
But this isn’t the only way that we do so. For — not only are we to bless others — we’re to have a biblical view of ourselves. We’ve touched on this briefly — but now Paul turns our attention directly to the idea — when he writes in verse sixteen…
Romans 12:16–20 ESV
16b Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Here there’s just one command — but this single command comes with a lengthy description of what it means to obey it. The command is “never be wise in your own sight.” Other Bible translations say, “Don’t be conceited.” (NET/NIV) Or, “Don’t think you know it all.” (NLT)
Who wants to raise their hand when I ask, “Who thinks they’re a know it all?” Though many of us may want to raise our hand for someone else — few of us really desire to be the “know it all” in our circle of friends, family, co-workers, and — hopefully — the church.
Something I find interesting about the age in which we live is how we can’t get enough of “know it all” types. There’s a whole group of people who are popular solely because they’re conceited. This is the person who records street interviews where their sole goal is to make the other person look like an idiot. We can’t get enough of this junk — as long as the people they go after aren’t our kind of people, right?
Yet — when this kind of individual shows up in your life — well — we all know how we feel about a “know it all”.
And though some of us enjoy having a conversation with a “know it all” — for me — my enjoyment doesn’t come from a very God-honoring part of my heart. I once had to kick a “know it all” out of my house — the only person I’ve ever had to kick out of my house. But it was intolerable. I mean — I enjoyed it for a while because his assertions were so ridiculous. But when he started saying that we — Gateway — have a basement here at our County Road 9 Campus where we sacrifice chickens — and I couldn’t convince him that we don’t even have a basement — much less sacrifice chickens — and my kids were present — well — my enjoyment was over — so I kicked him out when he wouldn’t apologize. I remember laying in bed and just waiting for my wife to let me have it for not being patient enough with him. So I brought it up — and she totally surprised me. She said something like, “I can’t believe you lasted as long as you did.”
Don’t be a “know it all” — no one will like you. You wouldn’t even like yourself if you weren’t so blind to who you are.
Having a godly view of ourselves also influences how we treat others. We saw this earlier — but Paul repeats the idea. Don’t repay evil with evil — do what’s honorable instead. We live in a “pay back evil with not only evil — but amp it up a notch” culture, don’t we? We even see justification for striking with evil first — “get them before they get you.” Whether it be celebrity feuds or the way politicians speak about each other — we live in a culture that lacks being honorable — and far too many of us are taking cues from culture instead of God’s Word. For God’s Word tells us…
Ephesians 4:29 NLT
29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
I wonder how many of us are surprised to find out that God forbids us using foul language? It’s a biblical idea, not just a “wash your mouth out with soap” conservative cultural one.
Peter tells us to…
1 Peter 2:12 NLT
12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.
Additionally, we’re to live peaceably as Paul says. For those who follow the Prince of Peace are to be peacemakers in this world at war. To do so we must be aware of ourselves — our tendencies — ways in which we promote war and division and dishonor instead of the peace that God has called us to. And Paul tells us to live peaceably with all people. And “all” means “all” here.
What a high expectation in our “therefore” lives, right? This doesn’t mean we won’t experience conflict or disagreement, but what it does mean is that we each have the responsibility to not leave things there. We’re to pursue peace — meaning — if you find yourself in a conflict — even if you think it’s the other person’s fault — you’re responsible for pursuing peace with them.
“But, Josh. Don’t you know how stubborn people can be? How they can be so convinced that they’re right and I’m wrong that there’s no peace to be had.” I didn’t say you had to convince them that they’re wrong and you’re right — you may be right, they may be wrong — they may be right, you may be wrong — even both of you may be wrong. What I said is that you must pursue peace with them.
In having a proper view of ourselves — in our effort to overcome evil with good — Paul tells us to never avenge ourselves. Never. Like ever. You and avenging yourself are like Taylor Swift and an ex-boyfriend. You’re never ever getting back together. That was for my daughter.
For God’s people are to trust him when he says, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” Instead of getting revenge — what we’ve been commanded to do is to love our enemies. If they’re hungry — feed them. If they’re thirsty — give them a drink.” For as we heard Jesus say earlier…
Matthew 5:43–44 NLT
43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
You see — in the end — the way we overcome evil with good — is by being people who love God and love others — who obey what Jesus called the greatest commandments. Neither creating our own god to love — a god who always agrees with us, never challenges us, never asks us to change — nor choosing who we’ll love. Instead — we follow Jesus and obey his commands. And — when we do — evil will be conquered in our lives and in our world — and good will prevail — as we live a “therefore” life. Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for your word to us today. Reminding us that evil can be conquered — that it doesn’t have to prevail — that it doesn’t have to rule our lives — but instead — good can overcome it. Good as you define good to be — not us — for you are God and we’re not — and we must submit — not only our lives — but also our definitions of good and evil to you.
Holy Spirit, we need your help and power to live this “therefore” life we’ve been called to live. To be a blessing to others — to have a proper view of ourselves. To love. To be peacemakers. To not seek revenge. All of these things — and more — can only be done by your powerful presence in our lives. May we live by your power and not our own.
And to you — Jesus — the Prince of Peace. The One who first loved us. The One who lived honorably. The One who conquered evil with good…thank you. Thank you for all that you’ve done — in love — for us. May many respond to your love today — resting in your love — receiving your love — and allowing your love to change them so they now live a “therefore” life. And we pray all of this in your name. Amen.
Μay you gο conquering evil with good — by being a blessing to others as you follow Jesus and all he’s commanded. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.
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