Romans 12:19 (NASB)
Vengeance is mine, and I will repay.
Seeking vengeance is not a sin or crime, but how we go about it could be. It is for God Almighty and the local law enforcement to enforce justice. When we try to do it ourselves, we usurp God's position and take the law into our hands. That's when it becomes a thirst for revenge instead of a quest for justice. That is when we have both sinned and committed a crime.
The New Testament does not do away with vengeance. But unlike in the Old Testament, with an emphasis on an "eye for an eye" and a "tooth for a tooth," the Lord Jesus Christ admonished us to love our enemies, feed them if they are hungry, and pray for their souls (Matthew 5:38-48). However, as seems to be the case in some extreme pacifist denominations, that is not a call to shun vengeance. Instead, it changes the modus operandi. The Bible tells us that "in doing so (loving our enemies, feeding them, etc.), you will reap burning coals on their heads (Romans 12:20)." Many leftist preachers ignore that verse. While you are busy showing compassion to your enemies, God is exacting revenge on your behalf. How? By causing their bones to rot and their souls to perish in anguish (Deut 32:35). God will not deny Himself or you the justice that's due.
When Christ was crucified on the cross, He prayed for the souls of those who murdered Him. That is the attitude that we believers must have. However, we should still defend and fight for the poor, the widowed, and the helpless. We may turn the other cheek, but we have no right to force others to do the same. A Christian man who does not defend his wife and children is both lazy and worse than an infidel (1 Timothy 5:8). Similarly, the same man who tries to destroy his enemy's family for the harm done to him without handing the matters over to the law has both broken the law and cursed God.
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