In Romans 12, Paul is describing what it means to live the Christian life. How should we respond to God's great mercy toward us? Paul's first response is that we should figure out what spiritual gift or gifts God has given to us, then actually use those gifts to serve other Christians in the church.

Now he begins a list-like section of quick commands about how Christians should lead their everyday lives. We all know that we should love each other, but Paul's instruction is that our love must be genuine or sincere. In other words, Christians are not called to fake an attitude of love for each other, but to find ways to express God's love meaningfully, as an extension of God's love for us and ours for Him.

Next, Paul uses a strong word often translated as "hate" or "abhor." This is the Greek term apostygountes, which implies a dislike or revulsion towards something. Proverbs 6:16–19 describes seven things God hates, using the equivalent Hebrew term. None of these hated things are people; all of them are sin. Christians, too, are called to learn to hate what is evil, meaning sin. This is especially true of sin that brings harm to the innocent. This is one of the ways we need to be transformed to think like God (Romans 12:2). Hating evil, especially the sins that intrigue us, does not always come naturally.

Finally, Paul commands us to hold fast to, or cling to, what is good. Again, it can sometimes be hard to know what is truly good. We must learn to see the world through God's perspective, to deeply invest our time and energy in securing and keeping what is truly "good."

Romans 12:9–21 is a list of numerous brief, bullet-pointed commands. Taken together, they paint a picture of what the living-sacrifice Christian life should look like. The unifying theme of the list is setting ourselves aside, to effectively love and serve the Lord, each other, and even our enemies. We must serve with enthusiasm and focus, mastering our emotions to rejoice in our future and be patient in our present. We must refuse to sink to evil's level in taking revenge and instead overcome evil by doing good to those who harm us.

In Romans 12, Paul describes the worship of our God as becoming living sacrifices to our God, giving up seeking what we want from life and learning to know and serve what God wants. That begins with using our spiritual gifts to serve each other in the church. Paul's list of commands describes a lifestyle of setting ourselves aside. Our goal as Christians is to love and lift each other up. We must focus our expectation on eternity and wait with patience and prayer for our Father to provide. We must refuse to sink to evil's level, giving good to those who harm us instead of revenge.

Romans 11 ended with a hymn describing God's vast ownership of the universe. Romans 12 begins by asking the question, ''Since He owed us nothing and has given us great mercy, how should we respond?'' The answer is a life of self-sacrificing worship spent in serving the Lord and other believers, refusing revenge and overcoming evil with good. Romans 13 will continue to describe God's intended lifestyle for those in Christ.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.

Accessed 11/21/2024 10:55:49 AM

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