Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
Those who are persecuted are commanded to respond with blessing and to refuse to curse in return. To bless is to speak and wish good for persecutors and to seek their good rather than wishing them harm, while to curse is to turn one's own words against abusers in reviling, accusation, condemnation, and wounding thrusts. This belongs to the conduct laid out in Romans 12 for Christians toward one another as members of the heavenly family, alongside brotherly love, patience, prayer, sharing with the needy, sympathy, and tenderness. It is shaped by Christ's life and teaching and by renewed minds, requiring natural self-centered impulses to give way to Christlike love, goodwill, and self-sacrifice. What matters most is holding the line under opposition, even from fellow believers who act suspiciously or unjustly, by walking humbly, refusing retaliation, keeping natural indignation under self-control, valuing the opposer's soul, praying for him, and answering with unity, kindness, and unselfish love.
Meaning and Context
Those who are persecuted are commanded to answer with blessing and to refuse to curse in return. This is definite, practical instruction to be taken to heart and followed in daily life, to be carefully lived out as part of the chapter's teaching. It belongs to overcoming as Christ overcame in order to win heaven. To bless is to speak and wish good for persecutors and to seek their good rather than wishing them harm, never speaking evil toward them. Kindness and courteousness in doing so are not weakness.
To curse is to speak one's own words against abusers, telling them what is thought of them and pouring venom upon them. It includes reviling the revilers, accusing, condemning, and dealing hard thrusts that wound and bruise. Indignation when truth is falsified, misinterpreted and slighted and Christ is insulted is natural, yet it must be held under caution and self-control, with self closely criticized lest vindication of truth become a display of self, pride, and an overbearing, offensive temper that closes ears and shuts doors otherwise open. Blessing instead values the opposer's soul as purchased by the blood of the only begotten Son of God, prays silently for God to touch his heart, and deals wisely and considerately with him as Christ's property, and such calm, dignified, just and tender manifestation learned from being with Jesus keeps power to convince and frequently softens and subdues the opponent's heart.
The command is one of the principles of Romans 12 for the conduct of Christians toward one another as members of the heavenly family, requiring them to help and strengthen one another. It stands alongside brotherly love, patience, prayer, sharing with those in need, and words marked by sympathy, tenderness and love, as part of practical Christian service. Believers are thereby required not to shut themselves up within themselves but to love one another as brethren and to be kind and courteous. A variety of gifts is to be brought in to find its proper place and to grow into an holy temple in the Lord, with cheerfulness and looking on the bright side through unity, sympathy, kindness and unselfish love toward one another.
This duty is shaped by Christ's life and teaching and by renewed minds, not left to personal choice. Natural self-centered impulses must give way to Christlike love, goodwill and self-sacrifice. Christian character formed by this instruction may still require reproof and sharp rebuke when needed.
Faithful Practice Under Opposition
The principle is to be carefully studied and done, obeyed in small matters as well as large, as one of the directions for how Christians as members of the heavenly family are to conduct themselves toward one another by helping and strengthening each other. To bless persecutors and refuse to curse belongs to overcoming as Christ overcame in order to win heaven. Men appointed by God are sustained only as they are doers of His Word in this way.
Such obedience belongs to a humble life of working while seeking wisdom from Him, and only those who so work does He use as His instruments. Neglect brings positive danger, for Satan tries by every device to weaken workers and to exalt them in their own opinion so that he can gain power over them, and the result is self-exaltation and weakness. Practicing the command therefore requires a change of attitude from pride, independence, and dictatorial self-exaltation to sober, humble, self-denying cooperation with brethren under Christ's leading. Self must be kept under control and Christ's yoke worn, in order to continue in usefulness and to reach the standard of perfection. Heeding the warning keeps past success from being lost and enables standing firm on the eternal Rock through intelligent, pure, cordial belief in the grace of Christ which brings salvation to all.
The command applies when opposition, suspicion, injustice, unadvised speech, and perplexity come from fellow believers who lack faith yet think they are doing God service, and when people treat believers suspiciously or unjustly. It then requires walking humbly before God with His honor first, cultivating kindness and true heavenly courtesy even when others count it weakness. Kindness and courteousness are not weakness, and there is to be no drawing off, hostility, or retaliation, because the church militant is not yet the church triumphant and it always pays to be kind. God's workers fulfill the command through unity, sympathy, kindness, and unselfish love toward one another, with cheerfulness and looking on the bright side, showing that love by speaking good toward those who persecute and never speaking evil toward them.
When truth is falsified, misinterpreted, and slighted and Christ is insulted, blessing persecutors forbids reviling the revilers, accusing, condemning, or dealing hard thrusts that wound and bruise. Indignation is natural, but it must be held under caution and self-control, with self closely criticized lest vindication of truth become a display of self, pride, and an overbearing, offensive temper that closes ears and shuts doors otherwise open. To bless is to value the opposer's soul as purchased by blood, to pray silently for him that God will touch his heart, and to deal wisely and considerately with him as Christ's property. Such a calm, dignified, just, and tender manifestation, learned from being with Jesus, keeps the power to convince and frequently softens and subdues the opponent's heart.
Those who are persecuted are commanded to respond with blessing and to refuse to curse in return. To bless is to speak and wish good for persecutors and to seek their good rather than wishing them harm, while to curse is to turn one's own words against abusers in reviling, accusation, condemnation, and wounding thrusts. This belongs to the conduct laid out in Romans 12 for Christians toward one another as members of the heavenly family, alongside brotherly love, patience, prayer, sharing with the needy, sympathy, and tenderness. It is shaped by Christ's life and teaching and by renewed minds, requiring natural self-centered impulses to give way to Christlike love, goodwill, and self-sacrifice. What matters most is holding the line under opposition, even from fellow believers who act suspiciously or unjustly, by walking humbly, refusing retaliation, keeping natural indignation under self-control, valuing the opposer's soul, praying for him, and answering with unity, kindness, and unselfish love.
Meaning and Context
Those who are persecuted are commanded to answer with blessing and to refuse to curse in return. This is definite, practical instruction to be taken to heart and followed in daily life, to be carefully lived out as part of the chapter's teaching. It belongs to overcoming as Christ overcame in order to win heaven. To bless is to speak and wish good for persecutors and to seek their good rather than wishing them harm, never speaking evil toward them. Kindness and courteousness in doing so are not weakness.
To curse is to speak one's own words against abusers, telling them what is thought of them and pouring venom upon them. It includes reviling the revilers, accusing, condemning, and dealing hard thrusts that wound and bruise. Indignation when truth is falsified, misinterpreted and slighted and Christ is insulted is natural, yet it must be held under caution and self-control, with self closely criticized lest vindication of truth become a display of self, pride, and an overbearing, offensive temper that closes ears and shuts doors otherwise open. Blessing instead values the opposer's soul as purchased by the blood of the only begotten Son of God, prays silently for God to touch his heart, and deals wisely and considerately with him as Christ's property, and such calm, dignified, just and tender manifestation learned from being with Jesus keeps power to convince and frequently softens and subdues the opponent's heart.
The command is one of the principles of Romans 12 for the conduct of Christians toward one another as members of the heavenly family, requiring them to help and strengthen one another. It stands alongside brotherly love, patience, prayer, sharing with those in need, and words marked by sympathy, tenderness and love, as part of practical Christian service. Believers are thereby required not to shut themselves up within themselves but to love one another as brethren and to be kind and courteous. A variety of gifts is to be brought in to find its proper place and to grow into an holy temple in the Lord, with cheerfulness and looking on the bright side through unity, sympathy, kindness and unselfish love toward one another.
This duty is shaped by Christ's life and teaching and by renewed minds, not left to personal choice. Natural self-centered impulses must give way to Christlike love, goodwill and self-sacrifice. Christian character formed by this instruction may still require reproof and sharp rebuke when needed.
Faithful Practice Under Opposition
The principle is to be carefully studied and done, obeyed in small matters as well as large, as one of the directions for how Christians as members of the heavenly family are to conduct themselves toward one another by helping and strengthening each other. To bless persecutors and refuse to curse belongs to overcoming as Christ overcame in order to win heaven. Men appointed by God are sustained only as they are doers of His Word in this way.
Such obedience belongs to a humble life of working while seeking wisdom from Him, and only those who so work does He use as His instruments. Neglect brings positive danger, for Satan tries by every device to weaken workers and to exalt them in their own opinion so that he can gain power over them, and the result is self-exaltation and weakness. Practicing the command therefore requires a change of attitude from pride, independence, and dictatorial self-exaltation to sober, humble, self-denying cooperation with brethren under Christ's leading. Self must be kept under control and Christ's yoke worn, in order to continue in usefulness and to reach the standard of perfection. Heeding the warning keeps past success from being lost and enables standing firm on the eternal Rock through intelligent, pure, cordial belief in the grace of Christ which brings salvation to all.
The command applies when opposition, suspicion, injustice, unadvised speech, and perplexity come from fellow believers who lack faith yet think they are doing God service, and when people treat believers suspiciously or unjustly. It then requires walking humbly before God with His honor first, cultivating kindness and true heavenly courtesy even when others count it weakness. Kindness and courteousness are not weakness, and there is to be no drawing off, hostility, or retaliation, because the church militant is not yet the church triumphant and it always pays to be kind. God's workers fulfill the command through unity, sympathy, kindness, and unselfish love toward one another, with cheerfulness and looking on the bright side, showing that love by speaking good toward those who persecute and never speaking evil toward them.
When truth is falsified, misinterpreted, and slighted and Christ is insulted, blessing persecutors forbids reviling the revilers, accusing, condemning, or dealing hard thrusts that wound and bruise. Indignation is natural, but it must be held under caution and self-control, with self closely criticized lest vindication of truth become a display of self, pride, and an overbearing, offensive temper that closes ears and shuts doors otherwise open. To bless is to value the opposer's soul as purchased by blood, to pray silently for him that God will touch his heart, and to deal wisely and considerately with him as Christ's property. Such a calm, dignified, just, and tender manifestation, learned from being with Jesus, keeps the power to convince and frequently softens and subdues the opponent's heart.