BIBLE PASSAGE – ROMANS 12:9-21
The Principle of Replacement
The Principle of replacement states that it is not enough to passively accept the enemy’s actions or even accept it in order to leave it to God’s intervention and justice. We are to do the opposite: we are to replace evil with good.
Why? That is the very opposite to what we have been taught!.
Because, by doing good to the one who has wronged us may shame the other person into repentance and a change of way.
Paul closes this passage saying do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. This is not easy in fact it is costly because it sometimes involves taking on the pain of someone else’s wrong doing.
But overcoming evil with good may result in gaining a friend and promoting reconciliation in the process. These words may have been written thousands of years ago but are as true today as then. Today these words are as relevant, as crucial, and, as important as they were then because we are living in a broken world today as we were then.
It is a world fraught with unkindness anger selfishness jealousy unhealthy competition social divisiveness religious animosity and so many other manners of evil.
Living in such a world we would do well to adopt Paul’s words from our passage today as an effective God honoring New Year resolution so that our light can truly shine in the dark world and point to the light of the world.
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