Romans 12

Romans 12:1

III. DUTIFUL: THE GOSPEL LIVED OUT (Chaps. 12-16) The rest of Romans answers the question: How should those who have been justified by grace respond in their everyday lives? Paul takes up our duties toward other believers, toward the community, toward our enemies, toward the government, and toward our weaker brothers. A. In Personal Consecration (12:1, 2) 12:1 Serious and devout consideration of the mercies of God, as they have been set forth in chapters 1-11, leads to only one conclusionwe should present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God. Our bodies stand for all our members and, by extension, our entire lives. Total commitment is our reasonable service. It is our reasonable service in this sense: if the Son of God has died for me, then the least I can do is live for Him. If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, said the great British athlete C. T. Studd, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for him. Isaac Watts’ great hymn says the same thing: Love so amazing, so divine, demands my heart, my life, my all.Reasonable service may also be translated spiritual worship. As believer-priests, we do not come to God with the bodies of slain animals but with the spiritual sacrifice of yielded lives. We also offer to Him our service (Rom_15:16), our praise (Heb_13:15), and our possessions (Heb_13:16). 12:2 Secondly, Paul urges us not to be conformed to this world, or as Phillips paraphrases it: Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold. When we come to the kingdom of God, we should abandon the thought-patterns and lifestyles of the world. The world (literally age) as used here means the society or system that man has built in order to make himself happy without God. It is a kingdom that is antagonistic to God. The god and prince of this world is Satan (2Co_4:4; Joh_12:31; Joh_14:30; Joh_16:11. All unconverted people are his subjects. He seeks to attract and hold people through the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life (1Jo_2:16). The world has its own politics, art, music, religion, amusements, thought-patterns, and lifestyles, and it seeks to get everyone to conform to its culture and customs. It hates nonconformistslike Christ and His followers. Christ died to deliver us from this world. The world is crucified to us, and we are crucified to the world. It would be absolute disloyalty to the Lord for believers to love the world. Anyone who loves the world is an enemy of God. Believers are not of the world any more than Christ is of the world. However, they are sent into the world to testify that its works are evil and that salvation is available to all who put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We should not only be separated from the world; we should be transformed by the renewing of our mind, which means that we should think the way God thinks, as revealed in the Bible. Then we can experience the direct guidance of God in our lives. And we will find that, instead of being distasteful and hard, His will is good and acceptable and perfect. Here, then, are three keys for knowing God’s will. The first is a yielded body, the second a separated life, and the third a transformed mind.

Romans 12:3

B. In Serving through Spiritual Gifts (12:3-8) 12:3 Paul speaks here through the grace that was given to him as an apostle of the Lord Jesus. He is going to deal with various forms of straight and crooked thinking. First he says that there is nothing in the gospel that would encourage anyone to have a superiority complex. He urges us to be humble in exercising our gifts. We should never have exaggerated ideas of our own importance. Neither should we be envious of others. Rather, we should realize that each person is unique and that we all have an important function to perform for our Lord. We should be happy with the place God has dealt to us in the Body, and we should seek to exercise our gifts with all the strength that God supplies. 12:4 The human body has many members, yet each one has a unique role to play. The health and welfare of the body depend on the proper functioning of each member. 12:5 That is how it is in the body of Christ. There is unity (one body), diversity (many), and interdependency (members of one another). Any gifts we have are not for selfish use or display but for the good of the body. No gift is self-sufficient and none is unnecessary. When we realize all this, we are thinking soberly (12:3). 12:6 Paul now gives instructions for the use of certain gifts. The list does not cover all the gifts; it is meant to be suggestive rather than exhaustive. Our gifts differ according to the grace that is given to us. In other words, God’s grace deals out differing gifts to different people. And God gives the necessary strength or ability to use whatever gifts we have. So we are responsible to use these God-given abilities as good stewards. Those who have the gift of prophecy should prophesy in proportion to their faith. A prophet is a spokesman for God, declaring the word of the Lord. Prediction may be involved, but it is not a necessary element of prophecy. In the early church, writes Hodge, the prophets were men who spoke under the immediate influence of the Spirit of God, and delivered some divine communication relative to doctrinal truths, to present duty, to future events, as the case may be. Their ministry is preserved for us in the NT. There can be no inspired, prophetic additions to the body of Christian doctrine today since the faith has been once for all delivered to the saints (see Jud_1:3). Thus a prophet today is simply one who declares the mind of God as it has been revealed in the Bible. Strong says: All modern prophecy that is true is but the republication of Christ’s messagethe proclamation and expounding of truth already revealed in Scripture. Those of us who have the gift of prophecy should prophesy in proportion to our faith. This may mean according to the rule or norm of the faiththat is, in accordance with the doctrines of the Christian faith as they are found in the Scriptures. Or it may mean according to the proportion of our faiththat is, to the extent that God gives us faith. Most versions supply the word our here, but it is not found in the original. 12:7 Ministry is a very broad term meaning service for the Lord. It does not mean the office, duties, or functions of a clergyman (as commonly used today). The person who has the gift of ministry has a servant-heart. He sees opportunities to be of service and seizes them. A teacher is one who is able to explain the word of God and apply it to the hearts of his hearers. Whatever our gift is, we should give ourselves to it wholeheartedly. 12:8 Exhortation is the gift of stirring up the saints to desist from every form of evil and to press on to new achievements for Christ in holiness and in service. Giving is the divine endowment which inclines and empowers a person to be aware of needs and to help meet them. He should do so with liberality. The gift of leading is almost certainly connected with the work of elders (and perhaps also deacons) in a local church. The elder is an undershepherd who stands out in front of the flock and leads with care and diligence. The gift of mercy is the supernatural capacity and talent of aiding those who are in distress. Those who have this gift should exercise it with cheerfulness. Of course, we should all show mercy and do it cheerfully. A Christian lady once said, When my mother became old and needed someone to care for her, my husband and I invited her to come and live with us. I did all I could to make her comfortable. I cooked for her, did her washing, took her out in the car, and generally cared for all her needs. But while I was going through the motions outwardly, I was unhappy inside. Subconsciously I resented the interruption of our usual schedule. Sometimes my mother would say to me, You never smile anymore. Why don’t you ever smile? You see, I was showing mercy, but I wasn’t doing it with cheerfulness.

Romans 12:9

C. In Relation to Society (12:9-21) 12:9 Next Paul lists some characteristics that every believer should develop in his dealings with other Christians and with the unconverted. Love should be without hypocrisy. It should not wear a mask, but should be genuine, sincere, and unaffected. We should abhor all forms of evil and cling to everything good. In this setting evil probably means all attitudes and acts of unlove, malice, and hatred. Good, by contrast, means every manifestation of supernatural love. 12:10 In our relations with those who are in the household of faith, we should demonstrate our love by tender affection, not by cool indifference or routine acceptance. We should prefer to see others honored rather than ourselves. Once a beloved servant of Christ was in a side room with other notables before a meeting. Several had already moved onto the platform before it was his turn. When he appeared at the door, thunderous applause broke out for him. He quickly stepped aside and applauded so that he would not share the honor that he sincerely thought was intended for others. 12:11 Moffatt’s colorful translation of this verse is: Never let your zeal flag, maintain the spiritual glow, serve the Lord. Here we are reminded of the words of Jer_48:10 : A curse on him who is slack in doing the Lord’s work! (NEB). ‘Tis not for man to trifle; life is brief And sin is here. Our age is but the falling of a leaf, A dropping tear. We have not time to sport away the hours; All must be earnest in a world like ours. Horatius Bonar 12:12 No matter what our present circumstances may be, we can and should rejoice in our hopethe coming of our Savior, the redemption of our bodies, and our eternal glory. We are exhorted to be patient in tribulationthat is, to bear up bravely under it. Such all-conquering endurance is the one thing which can turn such misery into glory. We should continue steadfastly in prayer. It is in prayer that the work is done and victories are won. Prayer brings power in our lives and peace to our hearts. When we pray in the Name of the Lord Jesus, we come the closest to omnipotence that it is possible for mortal man to come. Therefore we do ourselves a great disservice when we neglect to pray. 12:13 Needy saints are everywherethe unemployed, those who have been drained by medical bills, forgotten preachers and missionaries in obscure places, and senior citizens whose resources have dwindled. True Body-life means sharing with those who are in need. Never grudging a meal or a bed to those who need them (JBP). Hospitality is a lost art. Small homes and apartments are used as excuses for not receiving Christians who are passing through. Perhaps we do not want to face the added work and inconvenience. But we forget that when we entertain God’s children, it is the same as if we were entertaining the Lord Himself. Our homes should be like the home in Bethany, where Jesus loved to be. 12:14 We are called to show kindness toward our persecutors instead of trying to repay them in kind. It requires divine life to repay unkindness and injury with a courtesy. The natural response is to curse and retaliate. 12:15 Empathy is the capacity for sharing vicariously the feelings and emotions of others. Our tendency is to be jealous when others rejoice, and to pass by when they mourn. God’s way is to enter into the joys and sorrows of those around us. 12:16 To be of the same mind toward one another does not mean that we must see alike on nonessential matters. It is not so much uniformity of mind as harmony of relationships. We should avoid any trace of snobbishness and should be as outgoing toward humble, lowly folk as toward those of wealth and position. When an illustrious Christian arrived at the terminal he was met by leaders from the church where he was to speak. The limousine pulled up to take him to a plush hotel. Who usually entertains visiting preachers here? he asked. They mentioned an elderly couple in a modest home nearby. That’s where I would prefer to stay, he said. Again, the apostle warns against a believer being wise in his own opinion. The realization that we have nothing that we did not receive should keep us from an inflated ego. 12:17 Repaying evil for evil is common practice in the world. Men speak of giving tit for tat, of repaying in kind, or of giving someone what he deserves. But this delight in vengeance should have no place in the lives of those who have been redeemed. Instead, they should act honorably in the face of abuse and injury, as in all the circumstances of life. To have regard means to take thought for or be careful to do. 12:18 Christians should not be needlessly provocative or contentious. The righteousness of God is not worked out by belligerence and wrath. We should love peace, make peace, and be at peace. When we have offended others, or when someone has offended us, we should work tirelessly for a peaceful resolution of the matter. 12:19 We must resist the tendency to avenge wrongs that are done to us. The expression give place to wrath may mean to allow God to take care of it for you, or it may mean to submit passively in a spirit of nonresistance. The rest of the verse favors the first interpretationto stand back and let the wrath of God take care of it. Vengeance is God’s prerogative. We should not interfere with what is His right. He will repay at the proper time and in the proper manner. Lenski writes: God has long ago settled the whole matter about exacting justice from wrongdoers. Not one of them will escape. Perfect justice will be done in every case and will be done perfectly. If any of us interfered, it would be the height of presumption. 12:20 Christianity goes beyond non-resistance to active benevolence. It does not destroy its enemies by violence but converts them by love. It feeds the enemy when he is hungry and satisfies his thirst, thus heaping live coals of fire on his head. If the live coal treatment seems cruel, it is because this idiomatic expression is not properly understood. To heap live coals on a person’s head means to make him ashamed of his hostility by surprising him with unconventional kindness. 12:21 Darby explains the first part of this verse as follows: If my bad temper puts you in a bad temper, you have been overcome of evil.The great black scientist, George Washington Carver, once said, I will never let another man ruin my life by making me hate him. As a believer he would not allow evil to conquer him. But overcome evil with good. It is characteristic of Christian teaching that it does not stop with the negative prohibition but goes on to the positive exhortation. Evil can be overpowered with good. This is a weapon we should use more frequently. Stanton treated Lincoln with venomous hatred. He said that it was foolish to go to Africa in search of a gorilla when the original gorilla could be found in Springfield, Illinois. Lincoln took it all in stride. Later Lincoln appointed Stanton as war minister, feeling that he was the most qualified for the office. After Lincoln was shot, Stanton called him the greatest leader of men. Love had conquered!