Christians should respond to being wronged with love, not retaliation, leaving the matter to God.
According to Les Feldick, love is the fulfilling of the Law, and since believers are under grace, love should be the dominant force in their lives. This love prevents them from committing adultery, killing, coveting, or other wrongs, and it should guide their response to being wronged. Rather than seeking revenge, believers should trust God to handle the situation, following Christ's example of sacrificial love.
Romans 13:8-10 — Paul teaches that love is the fulfilling of the law, which directly addresses how believers should treat others, including those who wrong them.
The Bible, in Romans 13:8-10, states that love is the fulfilling of the law, and that loving one's neighbor as oneself keeps one from committing adultery, killing, coveting, and other wrongs. This shows that love is the guiding principle for Christian conduct. Additionally, 1 Corinthians 13 describes love as not easily provoked, thinking no evil, rejoicing not in iniquity but in truth, and bearing all things, which implies a non-retaliatory attitude.
Les Feldick teaches that since believers are under grace and not under law, love is the dominant force in their lives. He emphasizes that love is the fulfilling of the law, so when love operates, believers do not commit adultery, kill, bear false witness, covet, or violate other commandments. He points out that Christ is the primary example, having gone to the cross out of love for mankind, even though He could have rejected it. Les also applies this to forgiveness, noting that if Christ forgave us, we should forgive others, and to the restoration of believers who fall into sin, which should be done with meekness and a desire to help, not with pride or joking.
Les Feldick teaches that love is the fulfilling of the law, and when love is operating, it prevents believers from committing adultery, killing, bearing false witness, coveting, and other wrongs. This love should also guide how they respond to being wronged—choosing not to retaliate but to act in love.
Les Feldick points to Christ as the primary example, who, out of love for mankind, chose to go to the cross and purchase salvation. Even though He could have rejected it, He didn't, showing that love should motivate believers to respond to wrongs with self-sacrificial love rather than retaliation.
Les Feldick teaches that believers should not condemn or joke about those who fall into sin, but should go to them in a spirit of meekness, realizing they themselves could be tempted. They should bear one another's burdens and help them overcome weaknesses. This applies to those who have wronged the believer—restoration and love should be the response.
Les Feldick explains that if God forgave us as sinners, we should certainly forgive others who wrong us. Rather than grudgingly forgiving to earn forgiveness, believers recognize they are already forgiven and can therefore forgive others freely, just as Christ forgave them.
Les Feldick clarifies that while believers should love others, they are never to stop abhorring that which is evil. This means they should not condone evil, but they should still respond to personal wrongs with love, not hatred of the person.
Love Fulfills the Law
Les teaches that love is the fulfilling of the law, and when love operates, believers won't commit adultery, kill, covet, etc., which guides their response to wrongs.
Christ's Example of Love
Les points to Christ as the example of love, who went to the cross out of love for mankind, showing that believers should respond to wrongs with love.
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But I'm going to temper it somewhat by assuring people that even though we are guilty of the sin of adultery by virtue of remarriage and so forth, yet every sin is forgivable. There is nothing that the Lord will not forgive. But again I think society as a whole, and especially the Christian community, has to understand how God looks at these things, and that's what we have to go by.
Restoring with Meekness
Les teaches that when a believer falls into sin, they should be restored with meekness, recognizing they could also be tempted, which applies to responding to those who wrong us.
Forgiveness Because We Are Forgiven
Les explains that since Christ forgave us, we should forgive others, making it easier to respond to wrongs without retaliation.
True Love is Not Provoked
Les discusses that true love is not easily provoked and thinks no evil, which is essential in responding to being wronged.
Hate Evil, Love the Person
Les stresses that while believers should never stop abhorring evil, they should still show love without dissimulation, treating others equally.
Bearing One Another's Burdens
Les teaches that believers should be heartbroken over a Christian's sin and seek to restore them, not joke about it, showing love in response to wrongs.
Romans 13:10: Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
This verse directly states that love does no harm to a neighbor, which is the basis for responding to wrongs with love.
1 Corinthians 13:5: Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
This describes love as not easily provoked, showing that believers should control their reactions when wronged.
1 Corinthians 13:7: Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Love endures all things, including wrongs, without retaliation.
Galatians 6:1: Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
This guides how to respond to a believer who has sinned, emphasizing restoration in meekness.
While anger may be a natural reaction, the Bible teaches that love is not easily provoked (1 Corinthians 13:5). Les Feldick emphasizes that love should be the dominant force in a believer's life, guiding them to respond with love rather than retaliation.
No, Christians should not seek revenge. Les Feldick teaches that love does no harm to a neighbor, and rather than taking vengeance, believers should leave the matter for God to handle, following Christ's example of sacrificial love.
Restoring a believer means going to them in a spirit of meekness, helping them overcome their weakness, and bearing their burden, as Les Feldick explains from Galatians 6. It is done out of love, not pride.
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