HOW TO LIVE THE CHRISTIAN LIFE (PART 2) - ROMANS 12:14-13:7

 

We show hospitality. We are welcoming. We make people part of the group and fellowship with them. 

Dealing With People

12:14-21

Every Christian who lives boldly for Christ will have adversaries. (14) We do not do evil even to those who do it to us. We do not seek vengeance. (19) We leave that to God. (19) Here, Paul quotes Deuteronomy 32:35. This passage is part of the last words of Moses to Israel before he dies. 

Vengeance is God’s because God is just. He will judge people for their sins and, especially, for their persecution of God’s people. He promises to vindicate his people. (Deuteronomy 32:36) 

In fact, not only do we not take revenge on our enemies or opponents, we meet their needs where we can. We overcome evil with good. We bless them rather than curse them. (14) Doing so, heaps burning coals on them. (20) That means our honorable acting toward them may prick their conscience and lead them to repent of their actions. And, if not, their judgment will be greater because they persisted despite your benevolence toward them. 

We seek to live in harmony with all people. (16) They might not let us, but we will do so for our part. We have empathy, rejoicing and weeping with them as they do. We do not rejoice when others experience calamity. 

We do not discriminate against the lowly, but associate with them as much as anyone else. (16) James tells us that showing partiality to the rich over the poor we are committing a sin. (James 2:9) 

We are not loving our neighbors as we love ourselves, part of the greatest commandment according to Jesus: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”  And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40)

Instead of looking down on those in need, we come along side and help them. We can benefit from the example of the first Christians. “Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common…There was not a needy person among them.” (Acts 4:32)

Subject to Government Authorities

13:1-5

Before we get into these verses, let’s remember the circumstances under which Paul wrote. He lived in the Roman Empire. He was a citizen of Rome as well. 

Paul was subject to several layers of governmental authority. There was an emperor. There were regional governors. There were city authorities. There were magistrates who were city judges. And, if things got out of hand, there were centurions with armies to back them up. 

Paul did not get to vote for any of these authorities. Many of them were hostile to Christianity. 

Yet, Paul instructs us to be subject to the governing authorities. (1) The reason is the Lord has given these people authority and instituted them. Paul is not the only one who said this. 

Peter also said: 

“Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.” (1 Peter 2:13) 

Jesus told Pilate he only had the authority given him by God. (John 19:11)

Daniel 2:21 says God removes and sets up kings.

God, in his sovereignty, appoints rulers. 

Therefore, those who resist the authorities resist God and the structures he has ordained. (2) Those who resist will incur judgment. Certainly, you may be judged by the authorities themselves. But, the implication is judgment from God. 

If you want to stay on the good side of the authorities, do what is good. God instituted government to restrict evil and punish wrongdoers as agents of God. (4) They can be agents of God without knowing they are.

The church has always recognized an exception to this command. Christians will not obey the government if it requires them to worship someone other than God or tries to prevent the worship of God.

An example of this occurs in Acts 4:19. The Sanhedrin instructed Peter and John to stop preaching in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John responded that they would listen to God rather than the Sanhedrin. 

Chapter 17 of the Baptist Faith & Message states: “Civil government being ordained of God, it is the duty of Christians to render loyal obedience thereto in all things not contrary to the revealed will of God.”

Pay Taxes

13:6-7

As further obedience to the civil authorities, we are to pay taxes imposed on us by them. Paul repeats that even the taxing authorities are ministers of God. 

Jesus taught the same thing. When asked if the Jews should pay taxes to Caesar, Jesus said to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s”. (Matthew 22:15-22)

Takeaways

God’s standards often counter humanity’s natural desires and motivations.

God’s standards are high (because he is perfect) and often difficult to maintain.

Only those who have been changed by Christ and indwelt with the Holy Spirit can do so.

No matter how difficult, it is our duty to God to live as he prescribed.

 

And it will be a great witness to his glory and righteousness. 

Love One Another

 "Do everything, anything, however menial, measuring it not by hours or by dollars, but by love."

Amy Carmichael, missionary to China. 

THE TRANSFORMED CHRISTIAN, PART 2 - ROMANS 12:9-13

 

The Traits of the Christian Life

12:9-13

In this passage, Paul lists behaviors and attitudes that should be present in a Christian’s life. These are instructions and commandments.

First, we should love with genuine love. We do not fake it. We love even the unloveable. We love those with whom we disagree. We love those who struggle. 

Paul describes this love for us in detail in 1 Corinthians 13. And he tells us that, of the faith, hope, and love that abide, love is the greatest. It is mandatory. Jesus commanded it: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another”. (John 13:34) 

It is important. That is why Paul lists it first in this passage and devotes 1 Corinthians 13 to it. Love is also the first fruit of the Spirit listed by Paul. (Galatians 5:22)

Our churches and our denominations need more of it. It is vital to our witness. Jesus said: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another”. (John 13:35) 

In addition to love, we are to abhor (hate or be disgusted by) evil and hold on to what is good. Our culture, and then the church, are constantly confronted by evil things and told to accept them. Generally, over time, many become accustomed to these things and gradually come to accept 

them.

We must guard ourselves against this. God does not change. In Malachi 3:6, God said “I, the LORD, do not change”. Hebrews 13:8 says: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”. This is part of the doctrine of divine immutability. 

We are to show honor to each other. (10) In fact, rather than seeking more honor for ourselves, we are to outdo each other in showing honor to others. We do not ridicule others or “put them down”. We do not discriminate based on wealth or appearance.

We are to serve the Lord with zeal. J. C. Ryle, a 19th century evangelical Anglican bishop, described zeal this way:

“Zeal in Christianity is a burning desire to please God, to do His will, and to advance His glory in the world in every possible way. It is a desire, which is not natural to men or women. It is a desire which the Spirit puts in the heart of every believer when they are converted to Christ…This desire is so strong, when it really reigns in a person, that it impels them to make any sacrifice-to go through any trouble-to deny themselves anything-to suffer, to work, to labor, to toil, to spend themselves and be spent, and even to die-if only they can please God and honor Christ.”

The next three are connected. We are to rejoice in the hope of eternal life (12), to be patient in tribulation, and to pray constantly. No matter how difficult the problems of this life are, the believer has hope. Biblical hope is a confident expectation and desire for something good in the future. A Christian believes in the blessing and bliss of eternal life. Even in struggles, that hope gives us the ability to rejoice. 

That also helps us to be patient in tribulation. If you are a believer, you will experience tribulation. Do not be fooled by the prosperity gospel’s teaching that you can avoid suffering by faith. Jesus said it plainly: in this world you will have tribulation. (John 16:33) Paul taught it to Timothy: “…all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”. 

But, tribulation is temporary as this life is temporary. The older you get, the more you understand the shortness of this earthly life. But we can be patient because we know what comes next. Walt Harrah captured this thought in his song, “No More Night”:

No more night. No more pain. 

No more tears. Never crying 

again. And praises to the great "I 

AM." We will live in the light of 

the risen Lamb.

The last of this triad is the instruction to be constant in prayer. (12) It is prayer by which God supplies grace that is sufficient to for every trial and tribulation.

Paul experienced this first hand. God gave him a “thorn in the flesh”. He did not tell us what this was specifically, but it was painful enough that he prayed three times for God to remove it. God did not remove it, but gave him sufficient grace to endure it. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)  

We are also to contribute to the needs of our fellow believers (13). We treat their needs as our needs. Paul demonstrated this when he took up a collection from the Gentile European churches and delivered it to the church in Jerusalem. Likewise, he received support from various churches while he was in prison. We are to help each other during hardships.

We show hospitality. We are welcoming. We make people part of the group and fellowship with them. 

A classic quote from C. S. Lewis

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. 

He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. 

You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. ... 

Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God."

C. S. Lewis 

Mere Christianity

"Now the great thing is this: we are consecrated and dedicated to God in order that we may thereafter think, speak, meditate, and do, nothing except to his glory...we are not our own, we are God's."

Institutes of the Christian Religion, 3.7.1, John Calvin

 

THE TRANSFORMED CHRISTIAN - ROMANS 12:1-8

 Living Sacrifice

12:1-2

Chapter 12 begins a shift of topic in Romans, as Paul transitions from the theology of salvation to Christian living. It is an application of his theology to daily life.

Having established that salvation comes, not from works, but as a matter of God’s grace and mercy, Paul tells us how we should live in light of such mercy.

We are to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice. But, “bodies” here mean our whole selves, not just our physical bodies. We see this because Paul speaks of our minds in verse 2. 

The word “present” is used in conjunction with offering a sacrifice. In the Old Covenant, animal sacrifices were required. A person would present the animal to the priest, who would kill the animal and offer it, or parts of it, by burning it on the altar.

We present ourselves to God as a sacrifice, but a living one. We live holy lives that are acceptable to God. How do we know what is acceptable to God? By studying his word, we see all the places where he tells us what we are to do and what we are to refrain from doing. Since God is holy, we are to be holy. (1 Peter 1:16)  The best evidence of conversion is tuning from sin. 

From the Old Covenant moral law to the teachings of Jesus and the apostles, we see the behaviors and attitudes that please God and the ones that do not. For example, Jesus said we are to love each other. (John 13:34)

Living a life that is holy is our spiritual worship. We live holy lives to please God, but also to reflect God’s character to others. To do so is worship. It is spiritual service, not a mechanical observance of ritual. 

Living a holy life requires a transformation of our mind. We are not to conform to the thinking and standards of the world. (2) We have been changed from the darkness of the world to the light of Christ. (Ephesians 5:8) But this is always a work in progress . 

The world constantly tries to seduce or intimidate us into conformity with its thinking. So, we must constantly seek transformation by faith and the spiritual disciplines. “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18) 

The renewal of our mind comes with the work of the Holy Spirit in our life, our reading of God’s word, and our prayer life. With this renewal of mind comes discernment. We become able to discern what God accepts. This is part of the process of sanctification. “And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:17)

Humility In Judgment And Service

12:3-8

We are not to think more highly of ourselves than is warranted. Humility is frequently mentioned in the Bible and pride is often condemned. Self examination requires sober, or serious, judgment. We look at ourselves honestly.

If we claim a gift we do not have, from ulterior motives, we are not using sober judgment. Likewise, if we deny our gifts or claim to have nothing to offer, we do not use sober judgment. 

The context for Paul’s admonition is our spiritual gifts and our service to the church. This is in accordance with the amount of faith God has given us. 

Paul uses an analogy of the human body. Every body has many different parts. Each part has a different function that benefits the whole. (4) Similarly, each believer belongs to the body of Christ and to each of the other members. We belong to each other. (5) I am a member of you and you are a member of me. 

In this body, each member has a gift given to us by God in his grace. (6) Each one should use his or her gift for the functions of the body and for the good of the body and for the good of all the other members. 

Paul lists some of the gifts as examples. If you have the gift of prophecy, then prophesy. Other gifts are serving, teaching, exhorting, giving (contributes), leading, and mercy. (6-8) All should be used for the benefit of the church.

You can read more about gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4. 

A believer's mind is transformed to think like God rather than the world. This transformation should affect both our living for God and for each other.