1Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. 2Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.
3For I say through the grace that was given me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think; but to think reasonably, as God has apportioned to each person a measure of faith. 4For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members don’t have the same function, 5so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another, 6having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us: if prophecy, let’s prophesy according to the proportion of our faith; 7or service, let’s give ourselves to service; or he who teaches, to his teaching; 8or he who exhorts, to his exhorting; he who gives, let him do it with generosity; he who rules, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
9Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil. Cling to that which is good. 10In love of the brothers be tenderly affectionate to one another; in honor prefer one another, 11not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, 12rejoicing in hope, enduring in troubles, continuing steadfastly in prayer, 13contributing to the needs of the saints, and given to hospitality.
14Bless those who persecute you; bless, and don’t curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep. 16Be of the same mind one toward another. Don’t set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Don’t be wise in your own conceits. 17Repay no one evil for evil. Respect what is honorable in the sight of all men. 18If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men. 19Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.” 20Therefore
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him.
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
21Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
There is a great biblical truth that all should learn at an early age. My mother taught it to me when I was very young. She would tell me, “Vengeance is mine. I will repay, sayeth the Lord.” (Romans 12:19 KJV) The sooner a disciple of Jesus learns that truth, the better. Otherwise, you’ll go through life trying to even the score when you’re done wrong by others. That is a hopeless cycle of frustration. God is the scorekeeper, and He can keep score better than you and I can. In chapter 16, we are witnessing the end of it all. We are seeing God’s vengeance being poured out on the wicked. It can become tedious to read the Book of Revelation because much of what we read is God pouring out His vengeance on the wicked for their persecution of the saints. As mentioned before, I believe Scripture supports the idea that the believer will not even be here. Hence, as we read this, it is sort of like watching a movie of what is to come. We are mere observers, and not participants. This is the payback God promised. We don’t need to prosecute our rights. In the end, God will take care of all of that.
I might add that when we occasionally see it happen while we’re alive, we should never take joy in it or celebrate it. For likewise scripture tells us, “17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:18 Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.19 Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked: 20 For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out. (Proverbs 24 KJV) Mind your own business and let God mind others. He will do a far better job of evening out the score than we could ever do. What we read about here sounds something like a super solar flare. Scientists estimate that a super solar flare occurs about every 250-500 years. The sun throws off a flare 150 times more powerful than usual. This hasn’t happened in modern times, but when it does, it will take out all the electronics on the earth. The ancients described such events as “fire and brimstone” coming down. I don’t know what this is, but it scorches men with fire. It could be falling fiery hailstones or meteorites. Whatever it is, it will bring great pain to humanity. And even given such an event, mankind will STILL refuse to repent and give glory to the God who created all.
We read some really horrible things in this chapter. But we must remember that God is a loving God, but He is a just God. He will avenge the martyred deaths of His saints. All people are given a chance to live in this peaceful unity, but mankind is not free to persecute the saints of God without retribution. I know these are strange verses to read. When we read them, just remember that God doesn’t forget His own and will not suffer the righteous to be moved. God covers His anointed. And you and I are His anointed. Those whose lives will end in bitterness suffer not just because they have rejected God, but because of what they have done to the saints of God, and they suffer because that is the path they have chosen. God is not willing or desirous that any should perish, but that all live for eternity in peace with Him under His protection.