FROM “VENGEANCE IS MINE” TO “MY DADDY WILL KILL YOU” (PART I)

“How Christians Are Commanded to Treat Their Enemies”

By Akin Ojumu

What does the Lord Jesus Christ teach about how His followers should relate to their enemies? How should Christians respond to those who insult them, persecute them, mistreat them, slander them, or do them harm?

The answer is not buried somewhere in an obscure corner of Scripture.

Jesus was explicit. His Apostles were equally explicit. And their teaching is remarkably consistent. Christians are forbidden to repay personal evil with personal evil. 

We are commanded to love our enemies. Pray for those who persecute us. Bless those who curse us. Do good to those who hate us. Forgive those who wrong us. Refuse personal vengeance. And entrust ultimate judgment to God.

That does not mean calling evil good. It does not mean refusing to expose wickedness. It does not mean remaining in an abusive or dangerous situation. It does not mean surrendering the right to lawful protection. And it certainly does not mean abandoning justice.

The New Testament prohibition is against personal vengeance, not truth, accountability, protection, church discipline, or lawful justice.

LOVE YOUR ENEMIES

Jesus could hardly have been clearer:

Matthew 5:43–45

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

Luke gives us an even fuller version:

Luke 6:27–28

“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”

Pay attention to the verbs.

Love. Do good. Bless. Pray.

Jesus does not merely forbid murdering your enemy. He commands positive goodwill toward him.

Christian love is not extended because the offender deserves it. If deserving were the standard, grace would cease to be grace. We love because we belong to the Father whose character we are called to reflect.

CHRIST FORBIDS PERSONAL RETALIATION

Jesus says:

Matthew 5:38–39

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil…if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”

Jesus was not abolishing courts. He was not abolishing civil government. He was not abolishing justice.

“Eye for eye” belonged to Israel’s judicial system and established proportional punishment. It restrained vengeance rather than encouraging it.

The problem was that sinful human beings had converted a principle of judicial justice into permission for personal retaliation.

Jesus destroys that mentality.

The Christian does not live by the creed: “You hurt me, therefore I must hurt you.”

PRAY FOR THOSE WHO PERSECUTE YOU

This is one of the most radical features of Christian ethics.

The Christian does not merely refrain from destroying his enemy. He prays for him. Jesus Himself demonstrated this while hanging on the cross. As men crucified Him, He prayed:

Luke 23:34

“Father, forgive them…”

The One being murdered interceded for His murderers. 

Stephen later followed the same pattern. While stones were crushing his body, he prayed:

Acts 7:60

“Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

That is Christianity.

Not calling down celestial assassins. Not threatening enemies with supernatural death. Not announcing that heaven will terminate anybody who crosses your family.

Prayer for persecutors. Mercy toward enemies. Confidence in God.

FORGIVE RATHER THAN CULTIVATE BITTERNESS

Jesus repeatedly warned His disciples against nurturing unforgiveness.

Mark 11:25

“Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone…”

When Peter asked how often he should forgive a brother who sins against him, Jesus answered:

Matthew 18:22

“Seventy-seven times.”

The point is not arithmetic. Christians are not supposed to maintain an Excel spreadsheet of offenses.

Offense #37.

Offense #38.

Offense #39.

Forgiveness is supposed to characterize the Christian life.

PAUL FORBIDS REVENGE

Romans 12 is perhaps the fullest apostolic commentary on the teaching of Jesus.

Romans 12:14

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.”

Then:

Romans 12:17

“Repay no one evil for evil.”

Then Paul drives the nail all the way through the wood:

Romans 12:19

“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.”

And finally:

Romans 12:20–21

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good”

There is the apostolic ethic.

The Christian refuses to allow somebody else’s wickedness to dictate his own behavior. The sinner does not get to choose what kind of Christian I become.

NEVER REPAY EVIL WITH EVIL

Paul says it again:

1 Thessalonians 5:15

“See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.”

Notice that last word.

Everyone. Not merely Christians. Not merely people you like. Not merely people who respect you.

Everyone.

Paul himself lived this ethic.

1 Corinthians 4:12–13

“When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat.”

It sounds remarkably like Jesus in Luke 6.

Of course it does. The Apostles did not invent a new religion after Jesus ascended. They taught the ethic of their Master.

PETER POINTS US TO CHRIST

Peter writes:

1 Peter 2:21–23

“Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps…When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.”

That final sentence is crucial. Christ did not retaliate because He trusted the Judge. 

Christian non-retaliation is not indifference toward justice. It is confidence that there is justice. There is a Judge. There is a throne. There is a final reckoning. Therefore, I do not have to become judge, jury, executioner, and supernatural hitman.

Peter repeats the command:

1 Peter 3:9

“Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless.”

FORGIVENESS DOES NOT ABOLISH JUSTICE

This distinction matters enormously.

Jesus never taught Christians to pretend that crimes did not occur. When He was struck during His trial, He did not strike the officer back.

But neither did He pretend the assault was acceptable. Instead, He challenged the injustice.

John 18:23

“If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?”

That is neither vengeance nor cowardice. It is accountability.

Paul did the same thing. When Roman authorities prepared to flog him without trial, he invoked his legal rights:

Acts 22:25

“Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?”

Later, in Acts 25:11, Paul appealed to Caesar.

So, forgiveness does not mean refusing legal protection. Love does not mean tolerating abuse. Turning the other cheek does not mean volunteering your face indefinitely to somebody committed to breaking your jaw.

GOVERNMENT MAY PUNISH EVIL

The movement from Romans 12 to Romans 13 is important.

In Romans 12, Paul tells the Christian:

“Never avenge yourselves.”

Then in Romans 13, he says of the governing authority:

“…he does not bear the sword in vain.”

There is no contradiction. There is a distinction.

Personal vengeance is forbidden. Civil justice is ordained. Reporting assault, fraud, abuse, theft, or other crimes is not necessarily incompatible with Christian forgiveness.

You may forgive someone and still tell the truth in court. You may love an offender and still believe he belongs behind bars. You may pray for a criminal’s salvation while cooperating fully with his prosecution.

Christian love does not require the suspension of moral sanity.

LOVE DOES NOT ELIMINATE CONFRONTATION

Jesus Himself established a procedure for confronting sin in Matthew 18:15–17.

A brother who sins is to be confronted. If he refuses to listen, witnesses are brought. If he still refuses, the matter goes before the church.

Paul commanded Church discipline for serious unrepentant sin in 1 Corinthians 5.

So, biblical love does not say:

“It doesn’t matter what you did.”

Biblical love may say:

“What you did was wicked. You must repent.”

Forgiveness and accountability are not enemies. Truth and love are not enemies. Justice and mercy are not enemies.

THE NEW TESTAMENT ETHIC

The Christian response to enemies can therefore be summarized quite simply:

When cursed, bless. When hated, love. When persecuted, pray. When wronged, do not retaliate. When slandered, do not answer with slander. When harmed, seek good rather than destruction. When offended, forgive. When evil occurs, call it evil. When necessary, confront it. When crimes occur, lawful authorities may be involved. And when justice appears delayed, entrust judgment to God.

That is not weakness. It requires extraordinary confidence in the sovereignty and justice of God.

The Christian does not say:

“There will be no justice.”

He says:

“I am not the final Judge.”

That is why Paul writes:

Romans 12:19

“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

We relinquish vengeance precisely because God has not relinquished justice. 

And towering above the entire Christian ethic is Jesus Christ Himself.

He was falsely accused. Mocked. Spat upon. Beaten. Scourged. Humiliated. Crucified.

Yet:

1 Peter 2:23

“When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.”

That is the pattern Christ left His Church.

Not vengeance. Not retaliation. Not cursing enemies. Not supernatural death threats.

But truth without hatred. Justice without vengeance. Courage without cruelty. Forgiveness without pretending evil is good. And love even toward those who have made themselves our enemies.

Now that the biblical standard has been established, the obvious question is unavoidable:

What happens when one of Christianity’s most celebrated pastors publicly announces that if anyone “touches” his wife, he will ask his heavenly “Daddy” to make sure that person goes to sleep and never wakes up?

That is where we turn next.

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART II