Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Be on guard against him yourself, for he vigorously opposed our teaching.
(2Ti 4:14-15)
These two little verses have been a HUGE help to me over the years and I hope they are for you as well. What do we see here?
- It is not improper to name a wicked person.
- It is not wrong to specify the evils that such a wicked person has done
- It is not inconsistent with true forgiveness to go no contact with a wicked person
- It is not inconsistent with forgiveness to warn others to beware of an evil person
- It is not inconsistent with true forgiveness of an enemy to hand them over to the Lord, and to look to the Lord to exact perfect justice upon that enemy.
These points cannot be denied without denying the plain truth of God’s Word. Yet in practice many churches, pastors, professing Christians and counselors do deny them. Victims of evil are told that they must not tell anyone about the evil person or they will be guilty of gossip. They are told that to announce the evil done is to be unforgiving. They are told that it is sin to desire the Lord’s vengeance upon the wicked person. And on and on and on the distortions go.
Beware of ___________ he/she has done me great harm. The Lord will repay them according to their deeds.
You fill in the blank.
Rhonda Honaker
Thank you so much for this scripture.
Em
Thank you Pastor Crippen, your clarification of this passage helps me a great deal as I deal with the RASNs in my family.
Tracey
The hard part is we often don’t see the repaying. I’ve moved away and have no contact with these people anymore but I trust in what God says He will do. Thanks for reminding me of this scripture Pastor.
Jeff Crippen
You’re welcome. And the Day is coming when we will see the payback.