What is honorable in the sight of all?

We are commanded in Romans 12:17 to repay no one evil for evil, but to give thought to what is honorable in the sight of all. Ever since the days of Lamech (Genesis 4:23–24) it has been a normal practice among humanity to take revenge in reaction to being wronged. The Lord, however, desired to bring Israel back from this path by instituting a fair and reasonable administration of justice and by establishing cities of refuge to which a person could flee to escape the avenger of blood. The law of the Lord must now also become the law of Gentile Christians. They are called to act impartially and seek the good for their fellowman. A good church member must also be a good neighbour, because love inside the church is not a private moral code, but the very restoration of God’s image.

Cranfield¹. argues that the expression enopion panton anthropon should not be interpreted as doing good to all people, but rather as doing good in the presence of all people. The emphasis would then lie on the fact that Christians publicly strive to promote the good (of the gospel) for everyone. Schreiner² disputes this, and in his opinion the coherence of Romans 12:17a and Romans 12:17b necessitates that it should be understood as teaching us to seek peace with all people without exception by doing good to them (see also Légasse³).⁴