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Forgiveness

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Romans 12:14-21
An Exegetical Paper on Forgiving Your Enemies

Romans 12:14-21
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble n the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all. 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.” No, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
I. Introduction In our life, there will be people we run across that will not like us no matter what we do. At that moment we will need to make a choice, payback or forgiveness. One of the most prevalent problems plaguing modern Christianity is an insincere attitude when it comes to loving our enemies. George Washington Carver said, “I will never let another man ruin my life by making me hate him.” It all comes down to our attitude. Romans 12:14 (NLT) talks about attitude and how we need to act towards people who treat us wrong. “Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them”. Why is this easier said than done? Human nature we want payback or at least what we think is payback even if it is irrational. In Romans 12:14-21, Paul is reminding us to not allow ourselves to be consumed with revenge/payback. Instead give it over to God and allow him to pass judgment. R. C. H. Lenski quotes, “God has long ago settled the whole matter about exacting justice from wrongdoers. Not one of them will escape. Perfect justice will be done in every case and will be done

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