Pastor Darryl Bentley
Midland SDA Church
June 26, 2010
Homiletical Idea: Often times as we go through life we get the idea that people are against us or that the world itself is against us. The Bible makes it very clear that we have an adversary in Satan and his fallen angels, but when it comes down to it we can and often are our worst enemies.
Clearly Identifiable?
For millennia armies have faced each other on fields of battle. Nearly always, those armies have worn clothing or armor that distinguished them from their foes. The Greek armies of Alexander gleamed as their polished brass helmets and shields glistened in the sunlight. The Romans were known for their heavy iron shields and spears.
During the revolutionary war between the colonies of America and the British Empire, each side was easily identifiable. The colonists were often dressed like farmers and merchants while the British proudly wore their bright red coats. It was often called out, “The red coats are coming!”
When brother squared off against brother in America’s Civil War the southern Rebels proudly wore their Confederate gray in contrast against the Union Soldier’s blue.
Insignias in more recent times have become popular among national armies. When the allied forces faced their enemies during World War II they could spot the German Swastika at a mere glance. When the Americans stationed at Pearl Harbor came under attack on the morning of December 7, 1941 there was no mistaking the bright red morning sun painted on the Japanese Kamikazes. They knew right away who was bringing the fight to their door.
As guerrilla warfare became more popular during the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War it became more and more difficult to distinguish between combatants and innocent civilians who were simply caught up in the horrors of war. There are many stories that men have brought home from those two conflicts where our enemies used women, children, and even animals to deploy explosive attacks against us.
Today, as our country fights the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) our armed forces face an enemy who does not even wear a military uniform. Modern-day terrorists seek every way possible to blend in with the indigenous populations of a given area. Today, our military men and women do not know who the enemy is many times until it is too late and they are either taking fire or have had a roadside-bomb or improvised explosive device (IED) detonate beside or underneath them. Yes, today our countries enemy does not wear a uniform or wave a nationalistic flag. They are subtle, intelligent, and highly deceptive.
What About Spiritual Warfare?
Having just finished up Camp Meeting last week with the Teen Tent for Michigan conference, I am more keenly aware that there is another war raging among us. This battle is not one being waged against us at the bequest of sovereign nation who has wearied of our foreign policy. This battle is not one that is that the major news outlets of our day are covering with their knowledge. In fact, you can watch cable-based news sources 24/7 and you will see story after story that is related to this on-going battle but not one correspondent, anchor or political pundit will make mention of this battle.
No, this war is not one that is fought on the fields of battle per se; this war is the battle for your soul that is waged in every aspect of your life. Paul knew about this war. He often wrote about it in his letters to the fledgling churches of Asian Minor and the surrounding territories. Although he did not help begin the church in Rome, he still longed to see them be the shining light for Christ that they had been called to be. He wanted them to know how to respond to their enemies just as Christ wants us to know how to respond today. But we still need to ask the question, “Who is our enemy?”
Holy and Acceptable Sacrifices
In the first part of Romans 12 Paul pleads with the Romans to give up their Pagan ways completely. Pagan Rome, as many of you know, was the leader of the world during those days. Pagan tradition pervaded society in every corner, and Paul wanted to keep it out of the church. But he used terms with which they would have been familiar to both Pagan and Jew alike.
When you read the first verse of Romans 12 you see immediately that Paul is appealing to each sect’s heritage of sacrifice. The Pagans and Jews both were used to offering sacrifices in their faith traditions, but Paul wanted them to turn away from those fruitless sacrifices; the Pagans because they were serving false gods and the Jews because Christ had paid the ultimate sacrifice as the Lamb of God (John 1:29).
The thought he presents in Romans 12 would have stuck to the very core of those believers because they would have been keenly familiar with what was involved with in presenting a sacrifice. His readers would have likely seen or perhaps even performed many ritual sacrifices. They are then faced with this preacher telling them it is time to sacrifice themselves! He would have clearly had their attention at this point.
After telling them to present themselves as living sacrifices—making it clear that he was not promoting physical death but spiritual to self—he then seeks to tell them how to do that very thing. Let’s look at some of the steps that Paul outlines here
1. First he tells them, “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of the mind.” (Romans 12:2)
2. Next he attacks pride by telling them to not think too highly of themselves (12:3).
3. Then he gives them a quick lesson in spiritual gifts and unity in the body of Christ (12:4-8)
4. He moves then to touching on the Fruits of the Spirit and living the Christian life (12:9-16).
a. As he addressed how to treat those around us he makes it clear in 12:16 that those inside the church deserve to be treated with love, patience, kindness, tender care, and appropriate affection.
b. He admonishes us to support one another in any way that we can.
5. He also seeks to remind that learned society that they need to stay humble and not allow their minds to drift to the high things of this world (12:16).
6. Paul then comes to the climax of the passage as he addresses how we are to react to evil.
a. He says to not repay evil for evil (12:17). Does our society support this teaching? No, it says that if someone hurts you then you hurt them back and try to make it worse. Look at the gang violence in cities around the world and even around Michigan.
b. Gang violence and personal vengeance is at an all-time high. This is clearly not God’s will.
c. Violence is not the answer. Yes, we do not live in a world where every nation plays nicely in their back yard so we must have a highly skilled fighting force to defend freedom around the globe, but on an individual level we are to seek peaceful solutions in all of our interactions with people around us (12:18).
d. Paul seeks to take our minds back to the promise God gave in Deuteronomy through Moses where God declared, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” In other words, we should not make it our personal quest to get back at people for the ways they might have wronged us (12:19).
e. Lastly, in Romans 12 Paul tells us to feed and give water to our enemies when they have need (12:20). Have you ever tried this? It really freaks people out when you do this. Some have even called it, “Killing them with kindness.” It is the same concept Paul mentions just with different words, but how many of us have tried it?
f. He wraps us this chapter by re-enforcing the idea of repaying good for evil (12:21).
But as we finish this chapter that is filled with so many profound teachings, have we answered the question of, “Who is our enemy?” We have partially I think. Our enemy is the one who curses us (Romans 12:14). The enemy is the one who commits evil against us (12:17). Our enemy is the one is wrathful against us (12:19).
All of these qualities mentioned could surely be said to describe those who might be against us for whatever reason, but who where the majority of these verses dealing with in this chapter; us or our enemies? They deal almost entirely with us. There are 21 verses in Romans 12. Only 5 deal with our enemy being someone that is external to us. That is a mere 23.8%. The other 76.2 % of the verses in this passage deal with the ways we are supposed to act and live according to God’s plan for our life. Yes the last 5 verses of Romans 12 involves us too, so the percentage of verses dedicated to those designated as our enemies is really less than 1% because even when our enemies are mentioned it is in the context of how we should treat them and not in identifying who they are.
Finding Our Enemy
So let’s explore and discover who our enemy is. If you were to ask most Christians who the enemy of our souls is they would likely say, “Satan is our enemy.” Of course they would be right. The name Satan come from the Hebrew word Satan which means “adversary”. He became such when he fell from grace and sinned against God and all of heaven. Lucifer the light bearer of heaven who ministered in the presence of the Most High God became the one who goes about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Peter calls him the devil which comes from the Greek diabolos meaning “one who accuses falsely”. Is Satan our enemy? Yes, there is no doubt that he is. But I would submit to you this morning that Satan is not our only enemy.
Diabolos means the one who accuses falsely, but the sad part is that far too many of us are not innocent and when Satan accuses us he does so because we deserve it! How so you might ask? In that we too often claim to be sons and daughters of God, but we live like citizens of hell. We do so by how we treat each other, by what we pour into our minds through trash on television and the internet, by what we read or listen to driving down the road.
When I read over Romans 12 the enemy that I see that can cause us the most danger is ourselves. Sure, there will be those who seek to tear us down and persecute us because of the stances we take for the Lord, but worse than the enemies without is the enemy that lies within the unconverted heart.
Are You The Enemy?
Over the week we spent with the teens at Camp Meeting, the staff constantly challenged them to be real with their faith. We challenged them to stop playing around with their faith and to leave the nets of this world and follow Christ completely. At first the responses were few. Many of the young people seemed more interested in the color of the tent roof than in what was being presented from up front.
But after several days of them not having access to TV and MTV you could see a noticeable change take place in many of them. When the fake pearls of this world were taken away they were able to finally see the value in spiritual things. Thirty one of them made a decision to follow the Lord Jesus into baptism and over 130 of them made re-commitments to Christ. I praise the Lord for each of them.
But now as I am back here in our district working I cannot help but wonder if there might be some among us that are not too unlike many of those teens. You see young people are less adept at hiding their rebellion. Many are proud of it. But adults have become very proficient at covering our sins to those around us while we live in open rebellion to God at home and in our life.
How is it with you today? Are you hiding sin in your life hoping no one will discover your secret life? Have you fully committed yourself to God as a living sacrifice? Why not let today be the day that you fully surrender and stop being your own worst enemy? I implore each of you to not leave here with this question unanswered. If you have been holding yourself back from being fully committed to Christ, then today can be the day of your new beginning.
Illustration: Micah story.
Wrap-up & Appeal