9月23日
标 题：报复
经 节：亲爱的弟兄，不要自己伸冤，宁可让步，听凭主怒；因为经上记着：‘主说：“伸冤在我，我必报应。”’（罗马书十二章19节）
在相信神的路上，其中最困难的一点是公义的问题。当我们遭遇不公平时，总想看到犯罪的一方受惩治。我们要伸张正义，特别当自己是受害者的时候。如果没能很快地报仇雪恨，我们会变得很没耐性。然而，神警告我们，报仇雪恨不是我们的特权。我们要渴慕公义，但是不可伸冤报仇雪恨（弥迦书六：8）。当某人伤害我们，要以饶恕回应伤害（马太福音五：44）。伸张正义是神的事。神非常爱人类，以至于不允许罪不受抑制。
彼得断言，神并不是耽搁祂给我们的应许，乃是在祂审判之前，耐心地宽容我们（彼得后书三：9）。然而，神已经预备好绝对的终极审判。到时候，没有任何罪可以不受处罚的。刑罚不是落在祂儿子的身上，就是落在那犯罪者的身上。每个人最终都得为自己所做的每一件事负责任（哥林多后书五：10）。
神是绝对公正的，只有祂可以担保公义完全得伸张。如果我们没耐性，想自己伸冤，就是假定自己比神有智慧。如此一来，也就是公然地透露出自己不相信神会做对事。只有信任神拥有最高主权的智慧，才能由自己的愤怒和专注于加害者的情绪中，释放出来。倘若拒绝相信神的公义，我们会变成苦毒与愤怒的奴隶。一定要管理自己的心，相信神必运行祂的审判在那敌对祂的人身上。
Revenge
Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give
place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”
says the Lord. (Romans 12:19)
One of the hardest areas in which to trust God is
in the matter of justice. When we perceive an injustice, we want to see the
guilty party punished. We want justice to prevail, especially if we are the
victim. We become impatient if we are not avenged quickly. Yet God warns us
that vengeance is not our prerogative. We are to desire justice, but we are not
to seek vengeance (Mic. 6:8). When someone offends us, our responsibility is to
respond to the offense with forgiveness (Matt. 5:44). God takes the
responsibility to see that justice is done. God loves people too much to allow
sin to go unchecked.
Peter claimed that God is not slow about His
promises to us, but He is patient and long-suffering before He brings about
judgment (2 Pet. 3:9). Yet ultimately God has prepared for absolute justice.
There will be no sin committed that He will leave unpunished. Either the
punishment will fall on His Son or it will be charged against the sinner, but
everyone will ultimately give an account for everything they have done (2 Cor.
5:10).
God is absolutely just, and only He can ensure that
justice is fully carried out. If we are impatient and seek revenge, we presume
that we are wiser than God, and we reveal a blatant lack of trust that God will
do the right thing. Only by trusting God’s sovereign wisdom will we be free
from our anger and preoccupation toward those who have committed evil. If we
refuse to trust God’s justice, we become enslaved to bitterness and anger. We
must guard our hearts and trust God to exercise His judgment against those who
oppose Him.
