The annual solution is found in the letter of the Apostle Paul to the congregation Ge ¬ in Rome, in a place that can ken the way, well ¬ mer, namely Chapter 12, verse 21 It says:
"Let not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."Paul says that we "overcome" either or "let us overcome. The word used here Nikeo comes from the military, it is therefore a victory in a battle to the destruction of the enemy. The indicated in our verse either-or of victory or defeat can also for a fight Close the can not win by the way, and in some areas, but requires our full efforts.
Which fight it is the process of making the con ¬ text clearly, from which I would like to read a few verses:
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies as a sacrifice hingebt, the holy and God wohlge ¬ is due. Which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you can examine what God's will, namely the good and acceptable and perfect. For I say through the grace given to me is, each of you that no one think of himself as is fitting to hold, but that he moderate to think of himself, a per ¬ of how God has dealt the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but not all members of the same task, so we who are many are one body in Christ, but to each other is one of the other member [...] Let love be without hypocrisy. Hates evil depends on the good. The brotherly love for each other is welcome. One of the others come with reverence before. Do not be lazy in the, what you should do. Be fervent in spirit. Serve the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persevere in prayer. Take the needs of the saints at. Practicing hospitality. Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. [...] Be an ¬ nes harmony with one another. Mind not high things, but condescend to the small. Keep yourself wisely does not arrange for. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do good to everyone. Is it possible, as much to you is, so you have peace with all men. Do not avenge yourselves, my friends [...] Rather, "if your enemy siege hun ¬, feed him, if he is thirsty, give him drink. If you do this, you will heap burning coals on his head, collect "(Proverbs 25.21-22). Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil . With good "(Romans 12.1 to 21)What sounds at first glance like a hodgepodge of good advice, is the second such thing as a summary of the Sermon on the Mount - yes, the proximity is such that this Text not a few boom led to the question of whether Paul has even recognized the Sermon GE ¬. As in the Sermon on the Mount is also in this text far more than the call, a total of a little nicer to each other. Because if we want to implement the more-insoluble, then we have our natural inclinations ¬, overcome our old self, our comfort ¬ speed and become the people God has in mind.
It is about the following Jesus to what has been called earlier ¬ establish the imitatio Christi, his imitation, therefore, to be more like Him. However, this is a battle that can not lead the way, but set only gan ¬ A ¬ zem. Or to put it in military language that Paul uses in our verse: This is not a skirmish, not even one battle, but a war, which is maintained resolute ¬ sen or lost. There is also a war that, according to Paul knows no neutral side: either win the bad or the good. Sorry, we do
it far too often that Christians give up this fight already, before it has even begun. They point to their own weaknesses and limitations ¬ zen, the problems that we have already carries around with him ¬, and the fact that in this life anyway not reach their destination. Paul would have been excited about it not sure. He attempts here to send an army into battle and reaps a whine of soldiers hobble knee ¬ like in the infirmary.
is even worse when we beat Paul to speak at his own game. Although many of the Romans have ever read in full, we take the content but often only the first three chapters to know ¬ nis, which it gave to the sin of man and the non ¬ grace of God goes to then to jump into the seventh, which speaks of human inadequacy. So you can fill ¬ did mainly just the infirmary. And comes out at us so often a Christianity that moves somewhere between ¬ between self-help and wellness religion be ¬, ¬ but on anything to do with overcoming, has the solution in our year is mentioned.
So if we out of the infirmary and will go out to the battlefield - and in the context of our definition of res ¬ we have no choice because that is what the Christian life! - Then we have to deal with the rest of Romans, for Paul there is shown how this struggle must be led. After the first three chapters, namely, we read in the fourth, as true faith looks like: It is a unreserved confidence in the gene ¬ Verheißun God, that he will establish justice in this world. As this happens, we read in the fifth chapter, where the previous humanity that keeps Paul in Adam, the new is compared with that comes from Christ. Part of this new humanity will be by baptism, as Chapter 6 runs.
The seventh and the eighth chapter, these two humanities again facing each other: on the one hand, the weak, natural humanity, which is under the curse of sin and death - from the squall is overcome ¬ sen, to put it in words of our text - on the other hand, redeemed by Christ, contrary to the lives of the Holy Spirit strengthened the renewed creation, and precisely to overcome evil with good. How does this new humanity to God's ancient people Israel, Paul explains in the Ka ¬ piteln 9 to 11, that we not continue to employ sol ¬ Len. In our twelfth chapter, the apostle now turns to the question of how different the life of the new humanity of which the old ones. And so as we are with our ¬ verse
If you look at the book of Romans so only as a medical card that helps you to stay more in bed, it has fundamentally misunderstood ¬ legend. It is rather a call to the world, the community and ultimately themselves be regarded with different eyes: As a baptized Christian com ¬ we men not from Adam, but from Christ, through his resurrection, the new world in the midst of the old already begun is. So we are God's people, reaching out to new creation and is to reflect in the middle already. We are the community in which so evil can not triumph as elsewhere in the world, but in ¬ but it is overcome and will reach its end.
condition, however, a profound change of perspective, just a "renewal of our minds, or thinking of at the beginning of our chapter. We must We can characterize this great history of God with the world, the current high ¬ point was the resurrection of Jesus. The world as we know it is not the ultimate reality, but only the last but one. It is preliminary and will be passed and on ¬ going in the coming age in which God will provide justice ¬ ACTION - just the righteousness which is now already run our lives as Christians.
When I look around me - and I do not mean "out there in the evil world", but ¬ in our community the, here at the Bible Seminary and also with myself - I wonder however, whether we ben this vision really ha ¬ and whether this renewal has actually taken place. All too often, I fear, we consider her the incarnation, the incarnation of God in Christ, from the wrong perspective. Then it is not the beginning of the end of this world, but rather the confirmation of the GE ¬ genwärtigen states. Because God became man, so the ¬ ken we need him, we not only look human, but he also has the humanity and their paths at some ¬ how justified or even ennobled. The way of God becomes the way of a good man who is good, but just can not get out of this world. The stitch ¬ words that are often led into this field, are "the Greeks a Greek," and as Christians we live still "in the world." Accordingly, we human
go with the faith in order: I can think again and again how little we differ from our environment - or to put it another way: how little we are shaped by Christ and the kingdom of God. Our evangelistic missions are based on the usual advertising campaigns, our pastoral care draws mainly from the insights of psychology, conflict is resolved with the well-known strategies, and our Diakonia was even a theologian once described as "social ¬ work within the church" . Such Christianity combines ideally only the best of human knowledge and skills-insoluble, but it is not a fundamentally new approach, because it draws only from the resources that are available to all anyway. However, this evil is not overcome, but at best only made to serve for the good - we hope anyway.
In the fifth chapter of his Epistle to the Romans, Paul is preparing However, the fundamental point of view changes, he demands the twelfth: Because God in Christ, man ¬ GE has been, shall we not now look at God with human eyes, but humanity with God. Adam and his ways is no longer our reference point, all our thoughts, feelings and actions should rather start from Christ, and be determined. The
Romans, like the rest of New Testament therefore sees the church as a renewed humanity between the cross and resurrection. We live between the poles of a world that is in many ways not the old, but still not the new one. Christ died and risen ¬, but we have not.
What does this mean that Paul makes in his letter to Ver ¬ distinctly different places, especially at the beginning of our chapter. We Christians are a "living sacrifice" ¬ Who the (12,1). The language of sacrifice is by no means fortuitous. It's actually a death: to first only to their own needs and desires, selfishness, inability of the relationship. Then presumably ¬ lich of selfishness at a higher level, the urge to want to be in front, to rule, instead of serving to stand in telpunkt with ¬. Finally, under certain circumstances, entirely material: The Imitation of Christ can actually help lead Ren advantage that we end up like Christ - despised by all and killed violently. The verses speak of nothing between the mention of the victim and our text. The evil can be overcome, then, by letting off steam, it in itself by allowing it to absorb into itself, by itself it can find on the final frontier.
Our verse is anything but an invitation himself together a bit. It's about much more, namely to ¬'s self-denial in the widest sense. The military language that Paul uses in it, is therefore entirely justified: As a soldier throws himself into battle, giving his life for the cause, it should also do the town. Therein it overcomes evil with good.
too, is a relationship which at this point does not appear for the first time. Already in the eighth chapter of his letter, when it comes to the glory of God's children is, Paul writes: "Are we children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him, that we also Herrlich ¬ speed to be raised. "(8:17). Ren's death and resurrection of belonging ¬ So together, with Christ as ours. Who wants to go to ¬ resurrection, it must pass through death. That's imitatio of Christ in the most basic sense. After ¬ logical successor is the cross of Jesus.
But this unfolds the entire panorama of faith ¬ bens, which draws us Paul before in his letter, eyes suddenly we understand why he faith defined as adherence to promises, Who with Christ in suffering, then we must believe that he also will rise with him. And more, in the self-belief task, shows, shows how seriously we take the confession of Jesus as Lord, as certainly our hope on a renewed in the resurrection world.
The cross, the sign of death for Christians So the key to life. We should not only have Christ crucified before our eyes, but also to understand ourselves as human beings who bear the cross of his successor. For a comfortable persistence in the infirmary so that is no more room on the contrary. Those who do not in this fight makes the cross, by the fact that he does not believe in the victory of good over evil - and that he was also the promises of God not in relation to the resurrection and the coming world trusts. Following Christ or Christian, you can call it is not.
Although the challenges facing us at the beginning of the 21st An ¬ Century are, are different in many respects than those faced by the Roman Christians were almost two thousand years ago, the road remains the same. Also we will be able to recognize the cross wearing the cross be with us the key to our life, we too are called to sympathy with Christ, we too shall overcome evil with good.
The "us" is no accident. Christ did not refer individuals to follow, but a community founded ¬ nity, happens in the succession. Not only un ser ¬ verse, but just before that show us how such a community should look like: It is a common ¬ nity, in which each "moderate's view of itself," as a "member" of the other understands his gifts to good of others exercises. It's about "love without deceit, without hypocrisy, and one behind the thoughts to a" warm "and" fraternal witha ¬ other. Instead of "inertia" to the "burning in the spirit" determine the community, as well as charity, "hospitality". The unit is to be achieved by and maintained that no one under the "high things" seeks, but rather "to contain small turns. And above it all is the unconditional forgiveness and reconciliation ¬ tion readiness.
I do not want to run more deliberately, because I'm scared by concrete examples of the total income-pressure to blur. Is it clear that Paul wants us to live as a community, following the example of Christ who gave himself up to the last detail to allow this community. What that means for you and me in detail means we have to discover every day. But this much is clear: It would be wonderful if we could at the MBS shall be a community.
This is however necessary that we take the cross as the key to our lives more into view. As evangelical Christians ¬ Scheme we have become accustomed to regard the cross as a sign of redemption, but not as a path and destination of our lives. This leads to a Christianity that is strangely affected by her master hinlebt on.
The changes only when we understand discipleship and Christianity as a Way of the Cross and live. I can therefore only ask you to take the job in the truest sense of the word toternst, because it is about nothing else. Addiction you left out of this year at least one area of your Le ¬ bens, where you carry the cross, where you aware, for Christ's sake, and in his succession to life possibilities that you actually Had. Where are hinhaltet the other cheek, go along the second mile. Where have you emptied himself and servant annehmt. Where have selflessly serves without something to be expected. Where do you get without abgebt. And if you have found this sector, then expand it out, until your life only through the cross is to be understood - as it is with Christ and turned ¬ sen.
All our theology should aim at. Of course, it's also about knowledge, skills and competencies. But this is not the most important, but what it does to us. Whether we understand our theology, reflected in the fact that we take the cross for us. It may just not make us comfortable, but has cost us et ¬ what must guide us in the gift of self, and thus to the cross.
Only This shows how seriously we mean it more ¬ only possible if we speak of our hope and our faith. God promises to those men, the cross, neh ¬, the resurrection. And he promises them are already established community this hope again play ¬ gelt. Both, however, is connected: Who winds here on ¬ is received there life.
Let us not overcome of evil are the ¬, but overcome evil with good in this sense! God bless us. Amen. Thomas made
Weissenborn
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