1. Romans 12:20 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Should Christians rejoice when our enemies are judged?

Romans 12:20 (ESV)

20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”

No, even though in Romans 12:20 it is noted that a believer can actually make cause distress for an enemy by simply helping and caring for him. This is what is intended with heaping burning coals on an enemy’s head. The purpose of this distress, however, is to lead to repentance rather than to condemnation. It is unlikely that the burning coals are an indication of divine judgment, as though the Christian loves his enemy because of his knowledge that God will carry out his judgment eventually (see in this regard the biblical scholar John N Day’s1 article following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack). Love is, after all, not intended to fan the flames of judgment, but to bring the enemy to repentance.2