Message from Scripture: 11/16/2021

 

Our message from Scripture today is Rom. 12:21; “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

 

When Paul speaks of overcoming evil with good, the word good refers to that which is profitable and useful, that which is best, especially of people. It is to show that which is upright and virtuous. This should be important to our daily walk with God, as Jesus pointed out it is an essential element of the nature of God (Mark 10:18). James reminds us that it is because God is good that He provides us with every good thing we need. “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow” (Jas. 1:17).

 

The good that the Father provides us in Christ is unique and different from what the world has to offer. John goes on to say, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:16-17). To live by worldly values will only bring sorrow, trouble, and heartache. They last only for today, not for eternity. God’s will is good, proven in everyday living by those who set it in their hearts and make it their way of life (Rom. 12:2).

 

Many in our society deny the intrinsic value of God and His word, of that which is good. We are told everything is basically acceptable and nothing holds value over anything else. If that is true, then why is there so much suffering in life, so much pain, so much discontent? Satan is the author of evil, and uses it to destroy us. May we show the will of God at work in our lives, that we can be victorious and prevail over sin, setting an example of what is good and the fruit it can bear that blesses one’s life. Let us “abhor what is evil; cling to what is good” (Rom. 12:9), and be children of God in doing so. God bless.

 

Robert