The Christian attitude toward evil is to abhor it and overcome it with good, not to be overcome by it.
Scripture commands believers to hate what is evil, cling to what is good, and leave vengeance to God. Les Feldick explains that God never changes, so what He called evil in the Old Testament is still evil today, and believers are to be a separated people who actively stand against wickedness.
Romans 12:21 — This is the direct command for the Christian response to evil: do not let it overcome you, but overcome it with good.
Romans 12:9 — This verse tells believers to abhor evil and cling to good, defining the basic inner attitude toward evil.
Romans 12:19 — This verse shows that vengeance belongs to God, so believers should not repay evil personally.
The Bible is explicit about the believer's attitude toward evil. Romans 12:9 says, "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good." The word "abhor" is not a mild dislike; it is a determined rejection. Romans 12:21 completes the thought: "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." Instead of returning evil for evil, the believer is to do good even to an enemy. Romans 12:19 explains why: "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." Judgment belongs to God, not to the believer. Scripture also describes the evil the believer is to reject. Genesis 6:5 shows a world in which "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Romans 1:29-31 catalogs the unrighteousness of those who are opposers of God. And Matthew 24:12 warns that "because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." The Christian response is therefore to stay on the side of good, not to drift with the tide of evil.
Les Feldick consistently points his listeners to the unchanging character of God in a changing culture. He reminds us that "God does not change. God hates the same things today that he hated back here in Israel's history" (Clip 3). Because of that, believers cannot excuse or accept evil just because society tolerates it or redefines it. Les makes the same point from the Old Testament: what God judged in the days of Noah and Sodom was and remains evil, and God's grace is still available to bring the vilest sinner to Himself (Clips 1-2). When it comes to personal response, Les highlights Romans 12:19-21: do not avenge yourselves, leave vengeance to God, feed your enemy, and "be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good" (Clip 4). He says he would rather let God do the repaying because God will be a lot tougher than we could ever be. In a broader sense, Les teaches that believers are to be a separated people — visibly different in behavior and lifestyle, not oddballs, but holy and joyful (Clip 7). He also declares that the believer and the church are the only deterrent to wickedness in the world today, so when iniquity abounds, the believer's presence and testimony matter more than ever (Clip 5).
Les says that human nature has not changed and God has not changed. He points out that the things God hated in the Old Testament, He still hates today, and living under grace rather than the Old Testament economy does not change that (Clip 1). He also answers the common cultural objection that "we're living in different times than Bible times" by saying, "Yes, people change, economies change, society changes, but there's one who never changes. God does not change. God hates the same things today that he hated back here in Israel's history" (Clip 3).
Les emphasizes Paul's instruction in Romans 12:19-21. He says God has said, "I will repay," and he would rather have God do the repaying because God is going to be a lot tougher to deal with than a human being could ever hope to be. The believer's job is not revenge but good works toward the enemy: "If thy enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink" — and in doing so, overcome evil with good (Clip 4).
Les observes that Christianity has gotten to the place where most people cannot tell the difference between a Christian and an unbeliever by looking at his behavior and lifestyle. That is not what God intended. Believers are to be a separated, holy nation of people, distinct from the surrounding culture — not oddballs with long faces, but joyful and different because they belong to God (Clip 7).
Les notes that iniquity will abound and false teachers will have a heyday in the tribulation period, but even in the present age the only deterrent to wickedness is the believer and the church. He cites sociologists beginning to recognize that a society without religion is doomed. This means believers are not merely passive observers; they are the restraining presence against evil in the world (Clip 5).
Be Not Conformed: What Romans 12:2 Really Means for You
Exhortation. Not everybody can exhort somebody without making them mad. I know what it means to exhort someone. Push them. Encourage them. Now a lot of people will rebel at it, if it's from the wrong person. But if you have the gift of exhortation, if you can push people, get after it.
God's Unchanging Hatred of Evil
Les explains that human nature has not changed and God has not changed; the things God hated in the Old Testament He still hates today, so believers today should not treat evil as though it no longer matters just because they live under grace.
Noah's World of Continual Evil
Les uses the days of Noah to show a society whose thoughts were only evil continually, highlighting the kind of wickedness that believers must not drift into and that God will judge.
God Never Changes
Les responds to the argument that times have changed by insisting that God does not change and hates the same things today that He hated in Israel's history, while also saying believers are not to force these truths down people's throats.
Overcome Evil with Good
Les emphasizes Paul's command not to be overcome by evil but to overcome evil with good, and he notes that vengeance belongs to God alone, not to the believer.
Believers as the Deterrent to Wickedness
Les says the believer and the church are the only deterrent to wickedness in the world today, and when iniquity abounds, false teachers will have a heyday.
The Biblical Catalogue of Evil
Les reads God's list of unrighteousness from Romans 1 — including being haters of God and disobedient to parents — to show that what God calls evil has not changed.
Separated and Holy Lifestyle
Les teaches that Christianity has lost its distinction because most people cannot tell a believer from an unbeliever; God intended believers to be a separated, holy people, different in behavior but not oddballs.
Romans 12:9: Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
This is the direct biblical command defining the Christian attitude toward evil.
Romans 12:19: Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Les emphasizes that believers are to leave vengeance to God rather than repay evil.
Romans 12:20: Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
This is the positive response to an enemy that Les underscores in his teaching.
Romans 12:21: Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
The central verse Les quotes for the Christian's attitude toward evil.
Genesis 6:5: And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Les uses the days of Noah to show what a society given over to evil looks like.
Matthew 24:12: And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Les notes that when iniquity abounds, the believer's role as a deterrent becomes even more important.
Romans 1:29-31: Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Paul lists the sins that fill those who reject God, which Les says still describes those in opposition to God.
No. Les teaches believers are to hate what God hates — evil — but to show grace even to the vilest sinner. He says God's grace is still anxious to bring sinners to a knowledge of Himself.
No. Les points to Romans 12:19-21 and says God says "I will repay." He would rather let God do it because God will deal with it more seriously than the believer could.
Les says Christianity has gotten to the place where most people can't tell the difference between a believer and an unbeliever by their behavior. God's intent is for believers to be a separated, holy people, though not oddballs.
Watch the Teaching: Be Not Conformed: What Romans 12:2 Really Means for You