seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[d] says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”[e]
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”[e]
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
a. Romans 12:6 Or the
b. Romans 12:8 Or to provide for others
c. Romans 12:16 Or willing to do menial work
d. Romans 12:19 Deut. 32:35
e. Romans 12:20 Prov. 25:21,22
So.... according to Paul... testifying in front of Caesar ...... and "eye for an eye" doesn't work anymore..... we are not to repay evil with evil.
The commentary this morning is from the easy English site.
Christians must offer their bodies as a sacrifice to God. Paul is not writing about death here. He is explaining how Christians should live their lives in this world. They should try to use every part of their bodies in a manner that pleases God. They will use their feet. They will go where God wants them to go. They will use their hands to give practical help to other people. With their ears, they will listen to other people’s problems. With their mouths, they will speak to encourage other people and to tell them the good news about Christ. The right use of the body will be like the perfect sacrifice that pleased God. Their worship would not just be a ceremony. This is the right kind of worship. It is spiritual. It is the worship that God asks for.
What Christians think will affect what they do. Christians will think differently about the use of money. Christians will remember that money belongs to God. So they will try not to waste it or to use it selfishly. They will have a different opinion about sex. They will make careful choices about what they read. They will select carefully what they watch on television. The Holy Spirit will guide Christians as they try to please God. They will want to obey God, so that they can ‘reflect the Lord’s glory. Then they will continue to change and to be like him’ (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Christians are like a family. So we should love each other. The Greek word for this kind of love is ‘agape’. This is the love that God has for us. So this love benefits everyone. Paul gives a list of brief rules. Christians should do these things. Their actions will show that their love is real. There are 12 different rules.
1. Love must be sincere. The word ‘sincere’ is a translation of the Greek word. It means that a person is not pretending. People used that Greek word to describe an actor in a play. The actor hid his real character behind a mask (cover) on his face. Christians must not be like actors. They must not merely pretend to love each other.
2. Hate everything that is evil. Love everything that is good. Sin should disgust us.
Sometimes people do not hate their sin. They only hate the thought that someone will discover their sin. They are afraid. Someone may find out what they have done. Such an attitude is not right. A Christian should confess his sin to God. And that Christian should pray for God’s help, so that he does not sin in the same manner again. Instead, that Christian should try to do the things that please God. Christians must desire greatly to love all good things.
3. Love other Christians, like brothers and sisters. Paul uses words that describe the good feelings between relatives in a human family. Christians form a spiritual family. So Christians should show the same kind of love to other Christians. They should look after each other like sisters and brothers.
4. Christians must give honour to other people. Christians should not insist on their rights. In other words, they should not always argue for their own benefit. They should not want thanks and honour for themselves. They should be humble and they should give honour to other people.
5. Christians must work hard in their service for the Lord. With the Lord’s help, Christians are opposing sin and the devil, so they must not be lazy. They must use all their energy in the battle on God’s side.
6. Hope, patience and prayer. A Christian can eagerly expect his future glory with the Lord. But he needs to be patient when he suffers in the present. He must continue to pray on behalf of himself and other people as they all wait for the Lord’s return.
7. Share with people who are poor. In the first church in Jerusalem, the Christians gave to anyone who needed help (Acts 2:44-45). The Christians in Antioch sent gifts to Jerusalem when there was not enough food for the Christians there (Acts 11:29-30). We often read in the New Testament about such gifts. And Christians should continue to act in the same manner today.
8. Invite other people to stay in your home. In Paul’s time, there were not many places where travellers could stay. Travellers often had to sleep in unsafe places. So Christians should invite travellers into their homes. The writer to the Hebrews said, ‘Do not forget to entertain strangers. Some people did this. And they did not even know that angels were their guests’ (Hebrews 13:2)
9. Bless those who insult you. Pray for those who attack you. Be kind to them. Do not speak bad things to them. Paul was saying the same words as Jesus (Luke 6:27-28). To bless and to pray for enemies is the evidence of Christian love.
10. Sympathise with other people. Christians should share other people’s joys and pains. Christians should care about other people. And Christians should look after other people.
11. Christians should live in agreement with each other. This does not mean that they must always have the same opinions. But they should work together with the same purpose. They all should serve Christ. Paul told the Christians at Philippi to have ‘the same love and to be united in spirit and purpose’. If they do this, their work is more likely to be successful.
12. Christians must not judge other people by their wealth or by their important position in society. They must not be too proud to be friendly with poor people. Christians should be friendly with people whom the world considers unimportant. Jesus was not afraid to be in the company of those whom other people did not approve of. James said that a poor person might not receive the same welcome at a meeting as a wealthy person. This was wrong because they were Christian brothers and sisters (James 2:1-4).
Christians must refuse to do what is wrong. But they must also show that their actions are good. They must do everything possible to encourage peace. It may not be possible always to live in a quiet manner. Enemies may oppose Christians, even when the Christians are behaving well. And sometimes it is right for Christians to protest against wicked acts. Especially, a Christian should protest if other people are suffering rather than himself. But the Christian must do everything possible to avoid quarrels.
A Christian must not attack back when someone has hurt him. Paul gives three reasons why.
1. Only God has the right to punish actions. Paul uses words from Deuteronomy 32:35. In the present, human law courts have the responsibility to show God’s wrath. In the end, God himself will show his fair judgement.
2. If an enemy receives kindness, he may be sorry for his actions. He may change his ways. Paul uses words from Proverbs 25:21-22. ‘Hot coals’ means that the enemy will be very ashamed.
3. A Christian must not hate someone who hates him. Such behaviour only makes the situation worse. And a Christian who hates is not behaving in the proper manner. A Christian should show love, not hate. The enemy will have succeeded if the Christian starts to behave in a wicked manner. Evil deeds cannot defeat someone who is evil. Instead, Christians overcome evil powers when they do the right things. They do the things that God wants them to do. And that is the only way to defeat sin.
Boy the commentaries are wordy this morning. I am guilty of one of the things Paul warns about in these verses. I do tend to judge people by their wealth.... Oh I don't think they should have a special pew..... I don't think I should bow to them when they enter the room.. I don't over revere the wealthy.... I figure anyone who is wealthy is hiding something.... I figure during the period they were gaining all this wealth.... little demons invaded their souls.... I am mindful of the wealthy.... as if they were armed and ready to do me harm.
To be honest.... I've never met an honest wealthy person. I'm sure they exist.... maybe a handful of them.... in the whole world.... but I've never met one. I've met good men who were wealthy..... but they were hiding secrets..... little demons were trapped in their hearts over things they did or didn't do while they were gaining their wealth. I was a bookkeeper for several wealthy people.... and not one of them was without plenty of demons.... to cover up.... I left a lot of jobs refusing to "let it go".
I need to make it clear..... doing the right thing.... serving people.... feeding people.... loving people.... taking people in..... turning the cheek..... refusing to do evil.... NONE OF THAT WILL GET YOU SALVATION...... These are things Christians do for one another because they want to......
When I received Christ, I announced it in front of people..... and my body had a physical reaction... a shiver went down my spine..... I believe that was the Spirit entering..... and since that date.... since that action..... since that reaction..... when I get into a situation that requires God's attention.... the hairs on the back of my neck stand up..... and I know I'm doing something that requires me to think twice and act once.....
NOTHING I CAN DO WILL GUARANTEE MY SALVATION.... God handles that part..... when I confessed that Jesus was the one running my life..... and that chill went down my spine.... I knew I was going to at least try to do things the right way.... like my Brother Jesus of Nazareth......
The other day I was watching the History Channel.... that show about what the world would be like with no humans. There was a dog that takes care of sheep.... it even looks like a sheep..... they say that dog will not change if something happens to all the humans.... that dog will just go on protecting those sheep.... it will never do anything that would destroy the protection of the flock...... now that's family.....
