“The Importance of Self
Denial”
When Steven was being stoned, he
prayed that God would not charge the men with their sin: his murder.
Steven was a humble man and full of
the Spirit. If he had requested that God
avenge him instead of denying himself, God may have obliged him. If that would have happened, we would not
understand the requirement of salvation, or recognize that the sufferings of
this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed in us (Romans 8:18, 10:9). We
would not understand that the most important attribute to have and display is
love (1 Corinthians 13). We would be
oblivious of the fruit of the Spirit that God requires us to have (Galatians
5:22-23). We would not be aware of the
armor of God that is essential for us to wear while engaging in spiritual
warfare (Ephesians 6:13-17). We would
not know to meditate on the things that are noble, pure, just, true, lovely,
and of a good report (Philippians 4:8).
We would not understand how to address sin and the necessity of avoiding
sin (Colossians 3:1-17). We would not
understand that not only do we need to avoid evil; we need to abstain from all APPEARANCES
of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22). We would
not understand that we are to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). And we would not understand sound doctrine (1
Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus).
The reason we would be ignorant of
all of this DOCTRINAL information is because Paul is the person who instructed
us in these areas. He was present at the
time of Stephen’s murder and would have suffered God’s wrath if Stephen would
have prayed for vengeance and God would have honored his request. Stephen’s self-denial has benefitted the Body
of Christ for the past 2 millennium.
It is difficult to experience ill
treatment by others and refrain from retaliation. Although we may desire to “handle” the
situation our way, God expects for us to respond righteously. We have to remember that our vision is
myopic, but God has a panoramic view.
Romans 12:17-21
17 Never
pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you
are honorable. 18 Do
all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
19 Dear friends, never take revenge.
Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take
revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord.
20 Instead, “If your enemies are hungry,
feed them.
If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
burning coals of shame on their heads.”
21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but
conquer evil by doing good.
