A Study of the Book
of Romans: Romans 12 Being Transformed
Dr. Jerry A. Collins
Have you ever
noticed that much of the New Testament commandments deal with the mundane? They
deal with the dynamics of interpersonal relationships, the importance of hard
work, keeping guard over your tongue, etc. Joy, bliss, terror, and pain take up
about 10% while we spend the other 90 living life, washing dishes, doing work,
paying bills, pulling weeds, grocery shopping, and relating to family and
friends. The reason for this is most of life is mundane. Christ’s disciples do
not live perpetually on a spiritual high, just as Jesus did not when he walked
on the earth. Much of his life was routine. If you wish to glorify God in your
life you must do it in the mundane. It requires your dedication.
BECOME DEDICATED TO GOD
Verse 1: This takes awhile. Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God. The importance of his subject is made
plain to us with ‘I urge you’—not a
command to us but an appeal as strong as possible without commanding. The basis
of this appeal is by the mercies of God. It is that mercy which delivered us from
our sin and its consequences. It is that mercy which released us from the
condemnation we deserved. This is to become the basis of our own dedication to
God.
--The character of my dedication is to present your bodies a holy
sacrifice acceptable to God. The nature of the sacrifice is to be
holy—separating ourselves from unholy. Presetting ourselves to God is
decisively separating ourselves from unholy. It is not offering parts of our
lives from time to time—but our lives completely in dedication to God. Every
time we decide to commit ourselves we should do it
completely.
Our physical body
is to become the agent through which our new life in Christ is to express
itself. Though our bodies once were a vehicle for sin, they, too, will be
redeemed, and as such, must be yielded to God—every member of it (Romans
6:14)—to God’s control essential to authentic Christian living.
PT—Notice the emphasis is on living as a sacrifice, not necessarily as someone headed for martyrdom. Nothing against martyrdom, but Paul is talking about living a life of sacrifice. The three attributes of the sacrifice specified here are found in the terms living, holy, and pleasing to God. Such then is the sacrifice Paul enjoins his Christian brothers to present. Thus to call upon his brothers to present their bodies as a sacrifice, which in turn was a service to God, was to urge them to live in the atmosphere of priestly activity.
--which is your spiritual
reasonable service of worship. Interestingly, living as a
sacrifice is a word which is used of service to God. And he emphasizes
the fact that it is logical or reasonable. So
the text reads: which is your logical service. Our dedication must be thoughtful and deliberate. We are
priests—each one of us—offering all of ourselves to God in service for Him. What
follows this appeal based on God’s mercies is a call to a conscious religious
orientation to life.
Verse 2: If Christian living can be described as the presentation of a “living sacrifice,”
the process involved in such living can be characterized as a process of
transformation. Neither in
Romans, nor elsewhere in his epistles, did Paul regard Christian experience as
a simple, automatic transition from defeat to victory. Instead
he regarded Christian living as a process of spiritual change accomplished by
the work of the Holy Spirit.
The first point
is a negative one. If his brothers are to make a living sacrifice of their
bodies, they must not be conformed to
this world. The
word for world is the normal word for world, but usually
translated age or eternity. The call to make this
commitment is followed by the need to
maintain it throughout life. The world is the spirit of this age wanting to
exclude God from life. Don’t be squeezed into that mold. The world’s thinking
will never teach you dedication to God. The struggle will always be learning
how to think on earth like they think in heaven. Worldliness can happen
subconsciously through regular exposure. So minimize
the exposure.
The second point is
positive: But be transformed by the
renewing of your mind. Returning mentally to the decision to dedicate yourself to God—reaffirm
that decision. Our responsibility is to act decisively in this matter, but to
do so constantly will result in our transformation. The mind seems to be the
battleground for my affections, ambitions, and desires. That transformation is
from within—it is Christlikeness—godliness (Discipleship is…) George Slavin—a once for
all act that is renewed everyday. BR Laken—I plan
like I’m going to live for the next 50 yrs and then
live as if each day is last I will ever have. The HS is
the unidentified transformer who is set in contrast to world (8:9-11; 2 Corinthians
3:18; 6:17-18).
The realization
of the divine will is the intended result of this
transformation. So that you may prove
what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. The
point is: we are not to think like this present age, but transform our minds
into thinking in the direction of that which is good (has an intrinsic excellence)
and acceptable (a favorable
effect on God) and perfect (possesses an inherent superiority and completeness) according to the
will of God. Paul is saying that
when we actually perform the will of God in our lives, we will discover for
ourselves that His will is good and pleasing and perfect.
PT—Sometimes the will of God becomes fuzzy and blurred
especially when our commitment wavers. So we clarify
what God’s will is by dedicating ourselves fully and wholeheartedly to God
often. The temptation is often to believe that I have my own interests at heart
and God does not. So we subvert the will of God in our
lives. To circumvent this means that I must believe that God always has my
greater good at heart and dedicate myself to His will revealed in His Word to
me in all my life. The maintenance of our dedication to God impacts three major
arenas in life…
IN YOUR MINISTRY TO EACH OTHER
Verse 3: To avoid the way of the world remember it is for through the grace given to me. Paul’s admonition to
dedicate ourselves to the will of God, he states, comes via (through) his own
experience of the grace that has been given to him. I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than
he ought to think. Our tendency is self-centered aspirations that could
exist when spiritual gifts were taken as badges of status within the Christian community.
A man with a lesser gift might easily aspire to one that was more prestigious.
Instead, but to think so as to have sound
judgment. Aim for service in Gods household that conformed to your
actual ability and gift. This sensible approach meant that each person should
take account of the manner in which God had distributed to him faith’s portion as God has allotted to each a measure of
faith. God does not give every gift to every person, but instead
the Spirit sovereignly determines the role each person will have in the Body of
Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:13-31). Paul’s readers are being urged to sensibly assess their giftedness and
not to aspire beyond the spiritual status that God has assigned to them in the
Christian Church.
Verse 4: To “to think so as to have sound judgment”
(Rom 12:3) involves the realization that the Christian Church is analogous to a
physical body which has many members.
For just as we have many members in one body. The result is that there
is a variety in the functions performed by these members. And all the members do not have the same function. Since
there is some difference in the gifts specified between Romans 12, 1
Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4, these are probably meant to be examples of
some possible spiritual gifts or some basic categories for gifts, not an
exhaustive list of all the gifts.
Verse 5: The result is so we, who are
many, are one body in Christ. Just as many parts form one body so each person’s
contribution profits every other person all throughout the city and world of
believers. This is a supernatural bond we have together. And individually members one of another.
We should recognize the basic fact
that we who are many in number are all a part of a single whole (one body in
Christ) and therefore we are individually members who actually are part of one
another.
If a believer
“aspires” to some gift that God has in fact bestowed on another believer rather
than on himself, such an attitude fails to recognize the diversity in function which
is inherent in the one body. Thus, each member should perform the function that
he or she was intended to perform in the one body.
Verse 6: Inasmuch as the functions of the members of the body are not identical,
it follows that each person should apply himself to the exercise of his own
particular gift. Since we have gifts
that differ according to the grace given to us. In that way, the grace that had been given
to each one can be used for the profit of the whole body. Implicit is the fact
that the Body of Christ benefits when every gift is actually exercised each of us is to exercise them
accordingly. So, what are these gifts?
Paul was stressing here the need to recognize that the members of the body
contribute to the common welfare. In each case he
spoke of the way we use these gifts. Here are seven selected examples.
(1)
If prophecy, according to the proportion
of his faith. The
possibility was all too real that individuals claiming prophetic inspiration
might express ideas that ran counter to true Christian doctrine. The true
prophet prophesies in agreement with the faith. Prophecy is communicating God’s message like prophets did in Bible
for encouragement or comfort or warning. This was done ‘according to proportion of his faith’ meaning that which had been
given to Him to say by God agreed with what already has been said. Spiritual
gifts are tools to build with, not power to control.
Verse 7: (2) if service, in his serving. Service contributing to peoples
needs generously.
--Or he who (3) teaches, in his
teaching. Teaching is explaining God’s Word and will. Whereas prophecy is a speaking gift,
service is an activity. A
teacher, then, should be occupied in teaching. It is noteworthy that although a
teacher stood third in the hierarchy of gifts (1 Corinthians 12:28), it is here
placed after the humbler gift of service.
Verse 8: or he who (4) exhorts, in his
exhortation. The same
principle is true of an exhorter: he should utilize this gift in the activity or
skill at stirring the proper response to truth, whereas the teacher (v 7) would
be particularly gifted in expounding and explaining truth.
--he who (5) gives, with
liberality. The fact that the
giver should give with generosity is therefore best understood as applicable to
all who give. Giving is a general Christian responsibility (Ephesians 4:28; cf.
Luke 3:11) and is never elsewhere called a gift. Remove the profit motive from giving.
--he who (6) leads,
with diligence. But
irrespective of their individual gifts, the various leaders should vigorously
apply themselves to their ruling responsibilities. These responsibilities
should be carried out with diligence, forethought, and earnestness.
--he who (7) shows
mercy, with cheerfulness. Mercy, alleviating what is deserved,
extends to those whose circumstances are difficult or distressing. In the
latter case, the mercy should not be given grudgingly or under duress, but with
graciousness.
IN YOUR RELATING TO
ONE ANOTHER
This section has 18 commandments for believers. The focus is on serving fellow believers as a means of serving the Lord. Ultimately, we are to serve God, not people. But God has a lot to say about how we are to serve Him, and a big part of that is being a servant to one another, best illustrated by Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. Notice, we must pursue these.
Verse 9: (1) Let love be without hypocrisy (tolerating another is not love—love is action). The essential attribute of love is
sincerity. It should be without hypocrisy. This is God’s love and its very
nature is sincere. Our love must be like that. No pretense. No Hypocrisy. Not
skin deep. Genuine. Real. Sincere. True. It takes initiative. It is proactive.
(2) Abhor what is evil cling to what is good. While hating evil we are also to love
good by nature, as God defines that. Literally, to be glued to it. We should
not just hate the obvious evil we would all agree exists, but to be horrified
by, utterly detest evil in every form in which it appears. Evil exists because
good exists. Good is the tangible character of what is truth. Truth is the way
things actually are. Evil will overwhelm good until it snuffs it out. Then all self destructs since evil no longer has
a host.
Verse 10: (3) Be devoted to one another in brotherly
love. Genuine brotherly
love should not be reduced to a mere superficial cordiality, but involves a
real feeling for the worth and welfare of our brothers and sisters in Christ. The idea of devoted and brotherly love is that natural affection we have in
family relationships. All believers are in Christ and have a special bond
described as the natural affection of family.
(4) Give preference to one another in honor. The believer should be in the forefront of
bestowing honor on others. When it comes to giving honor, the believer should
lead the way; that is, he should be a model of bestowing honor on others in
Gods household, rather than grasping for honor himself. Giving recognition and appreciation to
one another in Christ. Outdo one another in showing honor to each other.
Verse 11: (5) Not lagging behind in diligence. The believer should possess an obviously strong dedication to all his
genuine responsibilities. Thus the Christian should be
a person who takes his responsibilities very seriously, and who discharges them
with commendable energy and
effort. An enthusiastic person
in every worthwhile pursuit. If he had responsibilities in any area of his
life, he was to manifest diligence and be zealous about them.
(6) [Be] fervent in spirit serving the Lord. But specifically in regard to the Lord, this
diligence and zeal should translate into genuine slave-service. Paul always
taught the Christian slave not to do his service as if his human owner were his
true master. Rather he was to serve as a slave to the Lord (1 Corinthians
7:22-23; Col 3:22-23). The idea here is to not be lacking in speed. Urgent and in a hurry. Time
is short. If you have been a believer for a long time don’t pass the baton, but
speed up your service for the Lord. Now is not the time to slow down. Don’t
stagger.
Verse
12: (7) Rejoicing
in hope. Thus the basic attitude of believers in all
their endeavors should be characterized by the joyous expectation of future
glory and reward. No one has more to look forward to than Christians do. They
should always be able to rejoice.
(8) Persevering in tribulation. However, rejoicing may often seem impossible in the face of earthly
affliction. But the proper attitude toward any such experience is not despair
or depression. Instead, the Christian is called to endure, to bear up under
hardship and suffering.
(9) Devoted to prayer. Enduring cannot be done without prayer, and
the habit of persisting in prayer is valuable at all times, and especially in
times of stress. The Christian should habitually persevere in prayer as a
fundamental practice of his spiritual life.
Verse 13: (10) Contributing to the needs of the saints. The final member of the series (that began
with “in regard to brotherly love,” v 10) focuses on the obligation to be
charitable to fellow Christians (the saints) who have material needs. The verb
share is used several times in the NT of the process of alleviating the
material needs of other Christians (e.g., Rom 15:26, 27; 2 Cor 9:13; Phil 1:5; 4:15;
Heb 13:16).
(11) Practicing hospitality. Concluding with the virtue of hospitality as a final manifestation of
Christian love. Here, as elsewhere in Paul’s letters, hospitality is regarded
as an appropriate Christian virtue (cf. 1 Tim 3:2; Titus 1:8; cf. also Heb
13:2; 1 Pet 4:9). In particular, Christians who traveled benefited from the
hospitality of their Fellow-Christians since accommodations for travelers in
the Empire were poor and often disreputable. An open heart—an open hand—an open door. Whatever
resources God has given you, use them—keep it available.
Verse 14: (12) Bless those who persecute you. We should not assume that the command to bless those who persecute you
is exclusively applicable to our non-Christian relationships. Obviously it is usually the case that those who persecute us
are the unregenerate, but this is far from being the only source of
persecution. As is abundantly illustrated in the history of Christian churches,
even within the Christian fellowship vendettas easily arise. These may be
motivated by personal or doctrinal matters, or by both.
(13) Bless and do not curse. Whenever we feel anyone is against us and seeking to harm us in some
way (not necessarily physically), it is then we are tempted to use harsh and disparaging
language either about them or to their face. It is this type of verbal assault
that Paul is forbidding. Instead, we should wish such people well or express
the hope that God’s goodness will be theirs. In that way we bless rather than
curse, and in doing so we manifest the love of Christ (cf. 1 Pet 4:21-25). The temptation is to respond tit for
tat. But we should never retaliate and that goes against every grain of our
humanity.
Verse 15: (14) Rejoice with those who rejoice. Be joyful and genuinely
happy when a fortunate outcome brings joy to another. We are reminded of the compassion of our Lord Jesus Christ who wept
for the bereaved even as He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead (John
11:35). The appeal by Paul challenges Christians to desire that their emotions
should be appropriate to the circumstances of others.
(15) And weep with those who weep. Become so other-centered that you have no concern for
your personal profit. Be moved by the joys and sorrows of others in body of
Christ. We can secretly wish the worst on others or refuse to join in on others
victories because we think of ourselves first. Jealousies take over.
Verse 16: (16) Be of the same mind toward one another. To have the same aspirations for each other
instructs us to desire that others should experience what we ourselves would
like to experience. This contrasts sharply with what often actually happens in
a church, where one’s own ambition is to “get ahead” of others.
(17) Do not be haughty in mind. The command just stated is achievable if we do not aspire to high things.
This is basic to being
able to empathize with one another. Negatively, don’t feel superior thinking of
yourself more highly. But associate with the lowly. Instead
of unrealistically aiming for high things (status, reputation, etc.), we should
instead associate with humble people.
(18) Do not be wise in your own estimation. Work out being a family. Pride sets
you against another. Paul
is here especially concerned with the “social climbers” who might be in the
various Roman congregations. The effort of aiming after high things could lead
easily to a self-presentation that stressed one’s own knowledge, skill, and
insight. In other words, it was easy to pose as, and actually believe that one
was, a person possessing special wisdom that should impress other people.
IN YOUR DEALING WITH THE WORLD AT LARGE
Verse 17: Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. There should be no exception to the principle he is stating (such as,
“but he really deserves it!”). The impulse to get even is intrinsic to our
sinful nature, and rationalizations for retributive actions are easy to come
by. Paul knows this, of course, so he emphasizes that such actions are not
justified toward anyone at all.
--Respect what is right in the sight of all men. [Not every single person, of course, but we should respect what is generally right in the sight of reasonable people (Romans 2:1).] Instead of seeking retribution, Christians should make provision for things that are good in the sight of all men. The verb here for make provision implies forethought and perhaps even careful forethought. Whatever actions one takes, in or out of the church, they should stand up under scrutiny. We should aim for our actions to look truly good to whoever observes them, that is, in the sight of all men.
Verse 18: If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. [If you are in a conflict, make sure you are not the one causing the conflict. The gospel message and the truth of God’s Word will cause conflict with the world. But our desires and preferences (personal, social, or political) should not cause conflict. Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). If we are not to return evil for evil received, and if we are to be careful how our actions are perceived by others, it follows that our real aim is, or should be, peace with all men to the extent to which we are able to achieve this.
The qualifying phrase if possible, so far as it depends on you on your part is an obvious recognition that this may not always be possible. But if it is not possible in any given case (Paul himself often faced this impossibility), at least we should seek that the cause for the conflict does not lie within ourselves.
Verse 19: Never take your own revenge, [A theme repeated throughout Scripture (Deuteronomy 32:35; Psalms 94:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:6; Hebrews 10:30).] Despite his best efforts, the believer will in all probability face injustice and undeserved mistreatment in one form or another (cf. 2 Tim 3:12). When this occurs, however, he must be careful not to pursue revenge. Revenge, however, goes further and aims for a balancing of accounts. With such a mentality we are seeking to settle the score.
--beloved, but
leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will
repay” says the Lord. Remarkably,
when we decline to avenge ourselves we leave room for
the expression of God’s wrath toward the offending party. The idea is that we should not preempt God’s
action through our own vengeful behavior. Our own ill-considered or inappropriate revenge can short-circuit what
God would otherwise do Himself. Vengeance,
therefore, is a divine prerogative.
Verse 20: “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him
a drink. How then should a
Christian respond to a person who is hostile to him? Paul gives the answer in
words drawn from Proverbs 25:21-22. He should show him kindness by meeting his
needs when the occasion presents itself.
--for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” [The first part of this sentence is a clear example of Love your enemies (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27, 35). The meaning of the last part of the sentence is unclear.] From the perspective of divine wisdom, acts of kindness to one’s enemy place that enemy in a more precarious position than would a refusal to assist him. In the light of v 19, and especially of the command to “leave room for wrath,” to perform such kindness to one’s foe is to augment divine wrath against him. As mentioned above, the first part of this sentence is a clear example of Love your enemies (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27, 35). I have no idea what the second part of the sentence means. I have heard many interpretations (burning coals are conviction, motivation, shame, guilt, judgment, ???), but none are convincing. Paul’s point in Rom 12:19-20 is not that we should pretend that nothing wrong has been done. His point instead is that vengeance is not our business but God’s.
Verse 21: Do not be overcome by evil. In short, kindness to our enemies is a significant spiritual triumph. Each of these seem to say same thing in different
ways. The idea is that there is no revenge or retaliation for us. So do we just allow evil to triumph then? Not according to
the context. 3 positives counter balance these. Do not respond evilly to
evil. Responding evilly will only double it—add to its tally. Now we have
double-trouble.
--but overcome
evil with good. In fact,
behaving in this way is in reality a victory over evil. To behave in a vengeful
and ungracious way toward an enemy is to be conquered (overcome) by the very
evil that animates and controls that enemy. But to rise above such evil and to
behave in a truly Christian way is to conquer (overcome) that evil by means of
the good we do. Good
reduces evil’s tally and diminishes it. Do good, bring peace, serve humbly, win
over enemies—this is the kind of transformation that God brings into our lives.
So What?
·
Dedication
to God and His will is a once for all act renewed every day
·
My
dedication to God is maintained by separation from the sprit
of this age
·
Maintaining
your dedication to God allows for an effective God honoring Christlike life in
the church and in the world