We have made it to the last day of this daily devotional study on Romans 12! A lot of ground has been covered over these thirteen verses. The apostle Paul has taken us into some thought-provoking truths, as he has shown us what true Christians are supposed to look like. He ends this section of Scripture with a powerful command. This, by God’s grace, is the power that we possess as Christians.
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21)
As Christians, this is the trump card that we possess. We must know, however, that this is gospel-driven. If you remember, as we spent a lot of time on the gospel the past month, we learned that “no one does good” on their own (Romans 3:12). Our good comes from the power of God’s grace, given to us in His Son. When we have that power, we have the ability to overcome a dark, evil world around us with good.
Look at the world around you. There is plenty of evil, isn’t there? Do you ever feel like that evil is bringing you down or even taking you out? Does it ever seem like you are being overcome by it? True Christians, according to Paul, can live without being overcome by it. How? By clinging to the God who is light shining in the darkness. The darkness cannot overcome Him (John 1:5).
So, I want to root this last study back to the gospel. I think rooting ourselves in the gospel gives us power. In fact, all thirteen verses have to be grace-driven or we will continually fail at living them out. Our wicked hearts naturally lean toward evil and sinful things. However, we have a God who paid it all for us. He empowers us, by His grace, to change and live differently. Continually treasuring the cross of Jesus Christ keeps us from evil. It also empowers us to actually triumph over evil. We can overcome evil with good.
We have good in Christ. We have His good, if our faith is in Him. Evil can have its way with the world. It cannot have its way with the Christian, however! Jesus has conquered our sin, mistakes, and evil’s grip on us. God forgives us at the cross of His Son, but then He also empowers us by the grace found there. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead, completely dominating Satan and his evil schemes, lives in us (Romans 8:11). That power allows us to throw the trump card of the gospel on the table and defeat any hand that evil may have. That power is what enables us to overcome evil with good. The good of Jesus destroys all evil.
The good of Jesus destroys all evil.
I want to encourage you, as we wrap up this study, to go and live like a true Christian. We have looked at a lot of different topics in these thirteen verses of Scripture. Please do not feel like you need to go and try as hard as you can to be a true Christian. No, instead, trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. That is where the power lies. That power changes everything about us. It empowers us to go and do the things that Paul has commanded us to do in this study. It empowers us to crush the evil around us with good. I hope this study was a blessing to you and causes you to run to the cross. You will find grace, forgiveness, and power there. Do not wait!
Don’t forget to keep up with this study on our Facebook page!
- Do you understand how God’s grace empowers you? Do you struggle with trying to do good things in your own strength?
- How can you leave this study and live in the ways that Paul has commanded us? How does the gospel help with this?