Romans 12:21, Overcome Evil With Good
Romans 12:21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
We must not allow evil to overwhelm our heart so that we respond evil with evil. To Christians are these words given in Galatians 5:1 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke” and in Galatians 5:16-17 “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. f bondage…”
The Apostle Paul tells us that the believers are not standing fast but entangled with their old sin. He tells them to start living in the freedom that Christ has won for them. They are to choose to walk with God and obey His will. “Walk” means to make progress in your spiritual life. It is a command. We are to do so continuously. It short, we have to make a choice each time the Holy Spirit prompts us of the carnality of the flesh seeking to overwhelm us to say no! This verse is giving to us a promise that when you depend on the Holy Spirit, you will not fulfil the lust of the flesh. You have been freed from the bondage of sin by your faith in Christ’s finished work. And He has given to you this freedom. Before your salvation, we are not able not to sin. After your salvation, you are able not to sin. And you have to exercise this choice for your spiritual benefit!
“Ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” – When you choose holiness, when you choose sanctification and when you choose to make progress spiritually you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. The sense of the tense is that you will not begin to fulfill the lust of the flesh. It is volitional, it appeals to our will and our mind, we have to exercise this freedom that Christ has given to us to say no to the flesh! You know the effects of gravity pulls us to be earth-bound. How does the hot air balloon overcome the gravitational force and fly? The same for the jet plane, the propulsion of air from the engine at high speed gives it the lift to overcome forces of gravity to enable it to fly. The Holy Spirit is that hot air in the balloon that helps the balloon to overcome the forces of gravity. Realise that the Holy Spirit power is a supernatural power. We have to rest in the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome the flesh. Try holding a book by your own strength for a while to overcome the force of gravity, after a while you get tired, you will not last relying on your own strength. The believer’s power with God comes with prayer.
The Apostle Paul tells the believer not to retaliate with evil when we have suffered wrong. God’s love is at work in the believer’s life enabling him to overcome. This is the true test of holiness. May God help us to bear forth the spirit’s fruit. Amen.