Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 1 Thessalonians 5:15

"See that none render unto any one evil for evil; but always follow after that which is good, one toward another, and toward all." — 1 Thessalonians 5:15 (ASV)

When tempers run short, the whole group has the responsibility for seeing that no member “pays back wrong for wrong.” The natural tendency to retaliate and inflict injury for a wrong suffered must be strongly resisted, no matter what the injury. The Christian stand against retaliation crystallized very early, no doubt being formulated from principles established by Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount (see comments on Mt 5:38–42). Jesus emphatically set the tone for his followers in forbidding personal revenge altogether. Paul deals with this subject in more detail in Ro 12:17–21. Peter also shows the influence of this teaching (1 Peter 2:19–23; 1 Peter 3:9). Nonretaliation for personal wrongs is perhaps the best evidence of personal Christian maturity.

Paul goes on to give a constructive alternative to retaliation: “Always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.” Eager expenditure of all one’s energies is none too much in seeking to a be kind. Christians must diligently endeavor to produce what is intrinsically beneficial to others, whether other Christians (“each other”) or unbelievers (“everyone else”). The seriousness of the abuse suffered is no issue. Some Thessalonians doubtless had been victims of unjustified harsh treatment, but regardless of this, a positive Christian response is the only suitable recourse. The welfare of the offender must be the prime objective.