Reflect on the path of the gospel in Romans 12—humility, love, reconciliation, faith, and overcoming evil with good—through the sermons of Pastor David Jang.
Victor
Hugo’s Les Misérables contains a strange night that changes
the destiny of one man. Jean Valjean, hardened by hunger, anger, and the
memories of prison, steals silverware from the bishop’s house. Yet when he is
caught and brought back, what he receives is not punishment but unexpected
kindness. The bishop even gives him the silverware he had stolen as though it
were a gift, quietly reminding him that his soul belongs to God.
That
scene calls to mind the gospel paradox spoken of in Romans 12: the way of
overcoming evil not with greater evil, but with good; the way of subduing
hatred not by force, but by shaking its roots through love. The sermons of
Pastor David Jang, founder of Olivet University in the United States, ask where
the Christian life must descend before this Word. Faith is not the ability to
judge others from a higher place, but the path of obedience that stands in a
lower place, rejoicing together and suffering together.
True
Understanding Begins in the Lowest Place
“Live
in harmony with one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate
with the lowly.” This word does not simply speak of a gentle temperament. It is
a deep call of faith within the church community: to receive one another as
brothers and sisters, to descend beneath another person’s circumstances, and to
understand that person’s heart.
The
sermon teaches that love and knowledge are not separate from one another. To
know someone does not mean possessing much information about that person. It
means drawing near with a heart that does not ignore their pain and that seeks
to bear their circumstances together. True understanding does not arise when we
look down from above. Rather, only when we support someone from below do we
begin to see the weight that person carries.
For
this reason, humility is not an ornament of the Christian life, but the root of
a gospel-shaped life. Without lowliness, love easily becomes mere words, and
understanding remains trapped in self-centered interpretation. If the church is
to become a community of love, it must ask not who can prove themselves more
right, but who will lower themselves further in order to care for a brother or
sister.
Wisdom
Is Proven Through Love
Paul
exhorts believers, “Do not be wise in your own eyes.” This word does not reject
knowledge; rather, it warns against the arrogance of knowledge without love.
True theological insight does not come from logic that defeats others, but from
faith that humbles itself before God.
The
wisdom of Proverbs is the same. At times, one must not answer a fool; at other
times, one must answer. On the surface, this may appear contradictory, but
within it lies discernment rooted in love. There are times when silence saves a
person, and there are times when exhortation awakens a person. What matters is
not how sharply I have spoken, but whether my words and my silence are
accomplishing what is good.
Pastor
David Jang shows the practical form of this wisdom through the book of
Philemon. Paul does not pressure Philemon with authority. Instead, he earnestly
appeals to him to receive Onesimus as a brother. He seeks the restoration of
relationship not through command, but through loving exhortation. This is
wisdom that has grown within the gospel. It does not force people into
submission by power, but opens the door of the heart through humility.
Faith
Is Revealed When Retaliation Stops
Romans
12 calls us to an even more difficult place: “Repay no one evil for evil, but
give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.” Here, goodness is
not a vague kindness. It is an act of faith that consciously chooses the will
of God when a wounded heart is tempted to return to the ways of evil.
When
people suffer injustice, they easily try to stand in the place of judge. Yet
the sermon clearly reminds us that vengeance belongs to God. This is why David
held back his sword even when he had the opportunity to kill Saul. He did not
disguise his anger as justice. He left the place of judgment to God.
This
is not weakness. Rather, it is the strength of the deepest faith. The moment I
try to repay evil with my own hands, I am drawn into the evil of the other
person. But the moment I entrust it to God and choose goodness, the chain of
hatred begins to break. Grace then becomes freedom within us: the freedom not
to collapse even without revenge, and the freedom to believe that choosing
goodness does not mean the end is loss.
The
Way of the Cross That Overcomes Evil With Good
“If
your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.”
This word seems impossible by human nature alone. Yet the gospel reveals God’s
possibility precisely in that impossible place. Love is not merely the warmth
of emotion; it is intentional obedience that entrusts oneself to the Word of
God.
The
cross of Jesus is the fulfillment of this Word. The Lord did not repay hatred
with hatred, but gave Himself for sinners. Therefore, Christian love is not
simply ethics or morality. It is life flowing from the cross, and it is the
power of the Holy Spirit that keeps us from being stained by the ways of evil.
The
question Pastor David Jang’s sermon leaves with us today is clear: Am I
lowering myself in order to understand someone, or am I standing in a high
place in order to judge? Is the anger within me being entrusted to God’s
justice, or am I preparing retaliation in the name of righteousness?
Bible
meditation begins quietly at a desk, but in the end, it is tested before the
most uncomfortable relationships. Before the person we find hard to love, the
memory we find hard to forgive, and the wound we do not want to face again, the
Word asks us: Where will we practice today the calling not to be overcome by
evil, but to overcome evil with good?
The
world says that power creates peace. But the cross shows a deeper hope.
Lowliness saves people, love puts evil to shame, and faith entrusted to God re
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