In the twelfth chapter of Romans, the apostle Paul expounds on the virtues of loving others and thereby offering our lives as sacrifices – our spiritual act of worship to God. The sincerity of our behavior defines our faith and illustrates our commitment to our Father in heaven. Our spiritual identity as Christians therefore, is demonstrated through love.
Paul instructs in verse two, “Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Our mind is where sin morphs from temptation into sinful thoughts that left unchecked will develop into sinful contemplations and eventually manifest themselves through our actions (Please refer to Subduing Sin, November 5, 2022 on this website). Furthermore, James adds, “Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death.” (James 1:15).
The divergence between carnality and living in the Spirit is a relatively fundamental concept for true believers. Being devoted to doing good, showing brotherly love, serving the Lord, being faithful in prayer and rejoicing with those who rejoice should be natural responses for born again Christians. Things become more challenging when we reach Paul’s directive in Romans 12:19-21 to love our enemies.
“Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
What Does This Mean?
Varying hermeneutical explanations of this statement have created confusion regarding the meaning of the text. Paul quotes Proverbs 25:21-22 which possibly alludes to the ancient Egyptian custom of carrying a pan of burning coals on one’s head as a public sign of repentance. The coals represented the burning pain of one’s guilt and shame. When Solomon wrote this proverb it may have been an inference to this custom and he could have gained knowledge of it from the Queen of Sheba when she visited (1 Kings 10).
It has been suggested that this passage of scripture refers to an oriental custom where a fire was kept going in the center of the village day and night. Each morning the youth of the village would carry a container of hot coals from the fire on their heads to distribute to the village dwellings so families could rekindle their individual fires. On cold days, it was a job that carried the added blessing of warming the courier’s hands and head as they performed this task. Does this mean on warm days the blessing turned into a curse since family fires were still required for cooking?
This explanation seems considerably less plausible than the implication of the Egyptian practice due to both the proximity and historical interconnectedness between the cultures of Israel and Egypt. It has also been speculated that the language of heaping burning coals on another’s head is a metaphoric way of conveying the provision of a fire for their basic survival needs.
Indeed, in ancient Israel, when the fire went out in one’s home that person would go door to door with an empty fire pan and ask for coals to start it once again. This practice however was common among friends and within a community and was not necessarily extended to existential enemies or invading armies.
Let God Avenge
Furthermore, the context of these verses contrasts good and evil, blessings vs curses and leaving room for God’s wrath. Blessing one’s enemies with kindness ought to elicit a contrite response and bring about reconciliation from one’s adversaries. Romans 12:19 infers that God will avenge, which constitutes punishment when repentance is not forthcoming.
This concurs with Psalm 140:9-11 where David wrote, “Let the heads of those who surround me be covered with the trouble their lips have caused. Let burning coals fall upon them; may they be thrown into the fire, into miry pits, never to rise.” To interpret Proverbs 25:21-22 and Romans 12:20 any other way than as a calling out of wrongdoing through the application of kindness would be illogical exegesis. Therefore, the probability that Solomon had the Egyptian tradition and the words of his father David in mind when he wrote, is very high and the context of Paul’s utilization of this argument confirms this.
Proverbs 25:22 uses the heaping of burning coals on his head as a metaphor to illustrate the impact of treating an enemy with kindness. It’s similar to having egg on your face. It is an idiom and not meant as literally bringing harm to another. Verse 22b concludes with “and the Lord will reward you.” implying a reward for the kind acts of feeding your enemy and giving him water and not for literally heaping hot coals on his head.
Peter echoes these sentiments in 1 Peter 3:9, “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” Additionally, Jesus taught that we should love our enemies as recorded in Luke 6:27-28, “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
Nor is blessing one’s enemies to be considered a revengeful act in order to spite them or to incite anger. The context of Romans chapter twelve eliminates this interpretation as a possible motive. Paul’s intent is to emphasize sincere love as central to the Christian experience and he elaborates upon this concept throughout verses 9-16. Loving one’s enemies is meant to compel them to seek forgiveness and reconciliation.
Jesus Set The Standard
The pivotal reality of Christ’s redemption is that while we were enemies of God, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6-10). His payment of our debt constitutes Him taking our place on the Cross and bearing our shame. The burning coals meant for our heads were borne by Jesus! For those who react with repentance because of Christ’s love there is the immeasurable blessing of salvation. Conversely, for those whose consciences fail to evoke a repentant response there is room for God’s wrath (Hebrews 9:27).
The Bible says that even our best deeds are like filthy rags compared to God’s holiness (Isaiah 64:6). James 4:4 explains, “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” As Christians it is incumbent upon us to reject worldly values. The list is long and includes materialism, self-centeredness, sensuality, coveting, idolizing celebrities and repaying evil with evil and insult with insult.
Worldly values that result in racism, social hierarchies based upon wealth and power, or intellect only serve to segregate humanity and victimize those perceived as weak. Secular attitudes towards those who wrong us dictate that we persecute those who persecute us and take revenge upon those who mistreat us. Society calls it justice but are the judges just? Does retribution constitute legitimate correction?
Inequitable societal norms are as old as civilization itself which explains why Jesus needed to illustrate the ideals of God’s kingdom and provide the template for true righteousness. Rather than the conquering Messiah the Jews desired, Jesus exemplified the nature of a servant and totally turned the tables of the religious world upside down. He brushed aside the worldly aspirations Israel had for their Messiah and they rejected Him for it. And He left room for God’s vengeance which was delivered in AD 70.
Showing compassion to our enemies seems unnatural and contrary to conventional wisdom yet it is the exact remedy for most of humanity’s problems. This was the concept Jesus illustrated in the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). This was the example Jesus established as the template for those who profess to follow Him. This is the challenge for all who seek to draw near to the Lord.
1 Peter 4:8 sums up the discussion succinctly. “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”
