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Chip Ingram: The true test of our genuine maturity in Jesus Christ—are you ready? It's how we treat our enemies. Let me ask you, how are you doing with that person who betrayed you? How do you deal with that person in a way that honors God and brings about change? That's today. Don't miss it.

Dave Drewery: In the book of Romans, Paul lays out one of the most demanding and most liberating instructions in all of Scripture: what to do when someone has genuinely hurt you. I'm Dave Drewery, and today on Living on the Edge, Chip Ingram brings that teaching to life through a story from his freshman year in college that put every one of Paul's principles to the test in real time.

It's raw, it's honest, and it just might be the most practical thing you'll hear all week. We're starting in Romans 12, verse 14 for today's message, "How to Overcome the Evil Aimed at You."

Chip Ingram: I want to break down very specifically and practically what it looks like to bless those who persecute you. The command is this: bless them that persecute you. That's what you're called to do. There are three components here. The first component of blessing others is forgiving them. The process of forgiveness is a choice. Forgive, forgiving is a process, and then "forgiven" is when it is done.

Here's how you know when it's done: you can spontaneously rejoice at blessing in their life. That's the positive side. Bless those who persecute you. They are after you. The second command is a negative one: don't take your own revenge. Romans 12, verses 17 through 20. Do not repay evil for evil.

Then, in a fallen world, he says to take thought for what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take your own revenge, but leave room for God's wrath. He's the one who's going to be the judge. He's going to mete out justice.

Personal retaliation is a prohibited response for God's people. They did evil to you; you get them back. They did this to you; you say bad things about them. If you're a Christian and you have some experience, you can do it in such passive-aggressive ways. You add a verse to it or throw in that it’s a prayer request. It works, believe me. You go left-handed like that and you whack them because your real goal is revenge. It’s payback.

You use your power, your intellect, your relationships, and your nuances. You think, "One more drink of poison, please. It's going to kill him sooner or later." But it doesn't. Never pay back evil for evil. Instead, take thought and consider how people think. Respect and realize that they don't have your values. They're not going to act the same way. The field is not level. They are really focused on themselves.

Sometimes I hear Christians get all upset about non-Christians living like non-Christians. "That guy's really greedy. She's so sexually immoral. I can't believe he just drained the whole company and all the employees." What were we like before Jesus was controlling the interior of our life? Take thought for how people think. It will help you live in harmony with them.

Personal retaliation is prohibited for two very important reasons. One, it usurps God's role as judge. "Vengeance is mine." God says, "Look, I'm just. Yes, I'm holy. I'm compassionate. I'm slow to anger. But I'm just." The word "justice" is rooted in the concept of the scales of justice. Justice is rooted in a very clear concept of retribution. Retribution is simply this: when you do evil stuff, there are evil consequences. When you do good stuff, there is a reward. Every man will get what they deserve.

You need to take the ball of judgment, hand it to God, and say, "I'm tired of trying to figure out all the ways in my anger fantasies and different ways to get back at my boss, or my ex, or one of my kids, or the person who abused me. I'm going to put that ball in Your hands from now through all eternity. I'm going to trust that since You are just, You will do what's right. I will never get a raw deal. But I'm stepping out. You own it, God. I release it to You. You're fair. You're just." Either on this side of heaven or on the other side of death, the scales will be absolutely and perfectly balanced.

You can release that wound, that hurt, and your desire for payback because He knows all things. He knows all the "whys." He knows all the circumstances, and you don't. You can give that to Him. But for a lot of us, if you demand to be the judge, then God doesn't get to be the judge. When you judge people and decide you're going to pay them back, you reap what you sow.

The second reason that personal retaliation is prohibited is because it's an ineffective means of bringing about peace. When you go tit-for-tat—evil for evil—it's like there's a little fire brewing. It's like taking one of those big fireman hoses and, instead of water coming out of it, you fill it with gasoline. That's what people do. They do it in their families, their marriages, with their in-laws, and at work. "They did this; I did this."

Sit in some coffee shop sometime this week. This is sort of raw to say, but listen to other people. You can't help it because they're so close. Usually, you're trying to concentrate. See how many conversations—I bet it's in the 80th percentile—where people are talking about someone who's not at the table. "Your mom did that... I can't believe your sister... Bob, the supervisor, can you believe they're doing that at work?"

They carry this attitude and they poison their own soul. Paul says don't do that. It's ineffective. In fact, he goes to the other extreme and says, "If your enemy is hungry—the person who's wounded you—help them. Give them some food. If they're thirsty, give them a drink. In so doing, you heap burning coals on their head."

This picture of burning coals is not meant to blow out their brains. It was an Egyptian ritual in the ancient Near East. If a person in Egypt realized they had offended someone, there was an argument and they were wrong, then they would build a fire. They would take the coals out of the fire and put them in a pan. Then they would take a towel, put it underneath the pan, put it on their head, and walk through the village. It symbolized, "I'm burning the bad thoughts out of my mind. I was wrong." We would use the word "repent." I've had a change of mind.

This is what you see happening in Scripture. This is when you do good for people and they know deep in their heart and their psyche that they don't deserve it. It brings about a shame, even in evil people. This is a picture of David. David is running for his life. All he has done is won battles and cared for Saul and cared for the King of Israel. Saul really went off the deep end and was chasing David, trying to kill him.

David is running and dodging. Finally, he gets surrounded and finds himself in a cave. He and his men are all the way in the back of this cave. Saul has them surrounded. It looks like it’s over. Lo and behold, Saul comes into the cave to relieve himself. David's buddies go, "Hey, God's delivered him! This is it. Nail him!"

David gets this. "I'm not the judge. I will not touch the Lord's anointed." His buddies were saying God put him right here as an answer to prayer. David says no. But he gets close to Saul, gets out his knife, and he cuts a little section off the bottom of his robe. Saul leaves the cave, goes down a piece, across a ravine, and gets on the other side.

David steps out from the mouth of the cave. "Saul! Saul! Why? What have I done? God brought you in this cave." He holds up the cloth. "Look at your robe. I could have killed you." Then he makes this very interesting statement. He says, "Let God be the judge between us. If you are more righteous than I, then I accept full responsibility. May God take me out. But what have I ever done?"

He gave good for evil. Very interestingly, Saul begins to weep. It's like in this flash and in this moment, he realizes the truth. When people do evil things, they repress it. Then they go into denial. There's demonic stuff that happens with people that do progressively evil things to where they don't think they're doing anything evil. It's addictive.

In this moment of grace, Saul realizes it. He weeps and says, "David, you are more righteous than I." Unfortunately, it's a very short and temporary repentance. But can you imagine if we said, "You know what, God? I'm going to forgive so-and-so." Then you started on the journey of praying for them and then even anonymously doing something good for them to bless them. We tend to demonize people when they've hurt us. Everything they do is terrible and everything we do is good. We reframe the whole story. Most stories aren't quite that clear. It doesn't mean they didn't do something terrible. But what would happen just where we live if we loved our enemies? If we blessed them? If we said, "God, You be the judge"? If we were free? Here's the supernatural result: good will overcome evil.

Dave Drewery: You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and Chip will continue today's program in just a minute. Today's message is part of Chip's series, "God's Dream for Your Life," and you can hear it anytime at livingontheedge.org. Whether you want to revisit what you've heard today or pass it along to a friend, this message and hundreds more are available online. You'll also find small group resources and opportunities to help you live out God's dream for your life. It's all there at livingontheedge.org. Now, here's Chip.

Chip Ingram: Now, I realize that what I've said so far for some of you—there’s still a little bit of a feeling that I don't really understand. You might think I can't possibly grasp what you've been through. And you know what? I don't. But some lessons you learn later in life and some early. This lesson I learned as a very young Christian in a powerful way that shaped my future.

I came to Christ in the summer right after high school. I went away to play basketball on a basketball scholarship. I was a freshman, and if you could do pretty well, you could make the traveling team. A guy came in who was supposed to be the big hero. He came from inner-city New York. He'd grown up in the projects. He'd been to Vietnam. He'd been in prison some. He was supposed to be this rehabilitated drug addict and drug dealer.

The reason he came to our school was because his nervous system was kind of damaged. His reflexes weren't terrible, but they just weren't all that great. He had a 40-inch vertical leap and he was about 6'7" or 6'8". There were times where I thought that guy was going to knock his head on the rim. Something happened in his life—I don't know if it was Vietnam or his upbringing—but he hated Christians. He didn't just dislike them; he hated Christians.

I was six months old in the Lord. We were in basketball season now. I was just brand new, reading my Bible in the morning. I hadn't even made it all the way through the New Testament. But I decided I was going to walk with my Savior. This guy finds out I'm a Christian. He knew a little bit of the Bible and he would quiz me on that. Then it got to just humiliation. If you've ever been in a locker room, you know what guys talk about. He liked to say my name in a way that sounded like a cuss word. "Chip. Chip, come here." That's the way he talked to me.

I was a freshman, so I kind of became his slave. "Put my bag on the bus." Then I'd come back. "You know what? I want my one shoe out of that." I'd go back and get the shoe. "I don't really want that shoe." He would just mess with me. At the training table: "Go get me a Coke. Get me a second helping of meat." Then he would just ridicule me. The coach would walk out the door and he'd say, "Hey, we've got a big game. I wonder if this skinny little white virgin's going to be helpful. You know how them Christians are." He would multiply that tenfold.

I hated his guts. My hero was Pete Maravich, and so I did all those drills for years and years and could handle the ball. In warmups, I'd go behind the back as hard as I could because I knew his reflexes weren't very good. Bam! Right through his hands into his face. Then I'd be on the break and I'd slam one through my legs and I'd watch it come right up and the coach would yell at him. A no-look pass—it was really fun.

I hated him so much. I'm smarter than that. I'm 18 years old. I just came to play basketball in college. I was scared to death because there was no bluff in this guy. I started getting ulcers in my stomach and I couldn't sleep at night. I had anger fantasies—really bad ones—like doing something that you would regret the rest of your life. It dominated my life.

I went to a guy that was making disciples, and I was in a Bible study. I just shared the whole story. He said, "Do you want help?" I said, "Are you kidding? Yeah!" He says, "Well, what I'm going to tell you is really hard, but I guarantee it'll work." I said, "I'll take anything." He grabbed a Bible, opened to Romans 12, and read verses 14 to 21. He explained what I just explained to you.

I looked at him like he was on drugs. "Bless this guy? I want to shoot him." He said, "You said you were willing." He said it's not a feeling; it's a choice. "At this table right now, you need to forgive him. Because God wants to forgive him." I willfully chose to forgive him.

He says, "Now you need to bless him." I prayed for him every day. For the next four months of our season, Jerry never had to ask for anything. I got his bag. "Jerry, you want this on the bus? Jerry, you need anything else? Jerry, need another Coke? Hey, what can I do for you, Jerry? I'm here for you." When he would go in the shower, his dirty clothes had to be put in this mesh bag. I took all the sweaty stuff, gave it to the trainer, took his clothes, folded them, and put his shoes next to it. I didn't say a word.

I just blessed him and blessed him. When he said stuff to me, by the grace of God, I didn't say anything back. No more behind-the-back passes. "Jerry, good shot!" After a month or so, he's asking, "You trying some Christian trick on me?" I said, "No, I'm just doing my best to love everybody like Jesus said."

I'd like to say this is one of those stories where two and a half months in he walked into the locker room, knelt down, and said, "Oh Jesus, please forgive me." That story isn't going there. Two months, three months, nothing changed. He just ridiculed me all the time. Except for one thing. About a month into it, I changed. My hate was gone. My fear was gone. I got out of prison.

I actually saw him differently. This guy was brilliant. He used to wear this skullcap. He was an amazing artist. I actually got to where I could say, "I wonder what happened to this young man? Where he came from? Where he's been?" He'd take his shirt off; he had a scar that went from here all the way around to here. I had no idea what he'd been through or how other Christians treated him. All I know is I got to the point where I actually cared about him. Why? I blessed him. I prayed for him. I did good. When you do that, God does something in you.

We closed the season, and we always closed with a big tournament in a major city at a big coliseum. All the teams in our conference would come and you'd play a bunch of games. We were eliminated. Jerry and I—I'm only 6'0" tall, so I've got my platforms and my blue leather jacket and my apple hat and I'm sort of strutting. Jerry is about 6'7" or 6'8", so he's got his platforms and his fro and his hat—so he's like 7'2".

It was real windy, and I remember those images in my mind sometimes. I remember him taking his leather coat because it was windy and putting it up here. He turned to me and said, "Chip." I said, "Yeah?" He said, "You know, there's only two people I respect on this whole team. I've been messing with these guys' minds. They are so punks. Me—because I am evil and I know it, and if there's a hell, I'm going there. And you. Because I disagree with everything you stand for, but you actually live it. I would never, ever want to be a Christian. But if I ever even thought about it, I'd be one like you. You know what? I'm done with you. It's no fun to diss you anymore. So you're done, kid. Get out of here. Chip."

Here's what I want to tell you: God wants you to love your enemies. For your good and for His glory.

Dave Drewery: This is Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Today, we learned what it actually looks like to love an enemy—not as a theory, but as a daily choice that costs something. Chip's conclusion says it all: God wants you to love your enemies for your good and for His glory. That's the heart of God's dream for your life.

If today's message is one you want to come back to or pass along to someone who's in the middle of a painful situation, you'll find it anytime at livingontheedge.org. For over 30 years, Living on the Edge has been committed to one mission: helping believers understand what it truly means to follow Jesus. Not religious activity, not trying harder, but relational, practical, measurable Christianity that transforms every area of life.

Teaching like this reaches people every single day because listeners choose to support this ministry. If Living on the Edge has been a source of growth and encouragement for you, we'd be so grateful for your partnership. Would you join this mission today? Give online at livingontheedge.org or call us at 888-333-6003. You can also mail your gift to Living on the Edge, P.O. Box 3007, Atlanta, Georgia 30324.

And if you haven't already, subscribe to the Living on the Edge podcast and check out the new Chip Ingram Sermon podcast featuring Chip's complete unedited messages just as he originally preached them. Subscribe wherever you listen. Now, a final question for Chip. In light of all we've heard today, how do we as the church respond to all the injustice we see in the world?

Chip Ingram: We as the church need to be not doormats, but we have to give good for evil. We have to follow what Jesus commanded us, what Paul tells us here. By giving people what they don't deserve in the power of the Holy Spirit—to bless them, to pray for them, to actually do good for those that persecute and hurt us—that's how injustice gets solved.

My prayer is that literally tens of thousands of the Living on the Edge family will dig into this series, share it with others, do it as a small group, and say, "We are going to be the kind of people that are just like Jesus." Father, forgive them; they know not what they do. We will do good in His power because good is more powerful than evil. Amen. Let's do it together.

Dave Drewery: I'm Dave Drewery, and we'll see you next time for more practical, insightful Bible teaching on Living on the Edge. Today's program is produced and sponsored by Living on the Edge.