Charles Whisnant Sunday December 28 2014

 

 

I made a commitment when I started expositional preaching (read the text, give understanding of the text, teach the text, and made application of the text) back in 1982, that I would not skip a passage of scripture if I did not agree with it or lived it, but I would try to live up to the passage.  This is one passage that I have struggled with.

Romans 12:14

• Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.  (NASB:
• Bless them which persecute you; bless, and curse not. kjv
• Greek: eulogeite tous dokontas [humas], eulogeite  kai me katarasthe. (
• Bless those who persecute you [who are cruel in their attitude toward you]; bless and do not curse them -(Amplified Bible -
• If people persecute you because you are a Christian, don't curse them; pray that God will bless them.- (NLT -
• as for those who try to make your life a misery, bless them. Don't curse, bless.)
• Be constantly blessing those who are constantly persecuting you; be blessing and stop cursing.- Wuest)
• Bless those persecuting you; bless, and curse not; Young Literal
• Bless those who make a practice of persecuting you; bless them instead of persecuting them – Mof
• Call down blessings on your persecutors –neb
  

 

Main Idea: When someone you know is mean to you, for any reason, it is not a normal reaction to pray for blessings over their life.  Even adults struggle with being kind to those who are unkind to us.  God asks us to live this way because we are called to live differently than those who don't believe in Christ.  By living in such a dramatically kind and loving way, we are showing the world how God loves them!

BLESS THOSE WHO (continually) PERSECUTE YOU: eulogeitetous diokontas  (humas):

Romans 12:21; Job 31:29,30; Matthew 5:44, 48, Luke 6:28; 23:34; Acts 7:60; 1 Corinthians 4:12-13; I Thessalonians 5:15; First Peter 2:21.