Unit: Romans (Part 3)
Theme: Holy
Lesson Text: Romans 12:1-21
Supplemental Text: Philippians 2:1-8, 14-18; Galatians 2:20
Aim: Commit to living as a pure and holy sacrifice to the Lord.
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Download a PDF of this week’s lesson material (the Study by Mark Scott, Application by David Faust, and Discovery Questions by Michael C. Mack): LOOKOUT_Mar27_2022.
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By Mark Scott
In How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart called the Epistles “task theology.” Raymond Bailey called the Epistles “performance literature” in his book, Paul the Preacher. In other words, the Epistles were written to cause something to happen. Information was not enough. Transformation was needed. Salvation was to show up in tangible and measurable ways. After 11 chapters of doctrine, Paul shifted his focus to duty in this chapter.
Offering One’s Body
Romans 12:1-2
Paul made his appeal to the church in view of God’s mercy. This is not the normal word for mercy. This word means “pity shown to others that have been through suffering.” That would be true for both Jews and Gentiles. Paul called these believers who had been “through it” to offer (cause to stand up) their bodies as a living sacrifice. The phrase “living sacrifice” is odd. A person who offers their body as a sacrifice typically dies. A living sacrifice, by contrast, would be someone who reckoned themselves dead but went on living for Christ. Paul said three things about this: it was holy, pleasing (acceptable), and true and proper worship. It is the most and least that a Christian can do in light of God’s mercy.
This living sacrifice was offered via transformation. The world will try to “squeeze you into its . . . mould” (J.B. Phillips translation) to match the world (age). God’s way is transformation (a total change in form) by the renewing of your mind. In living this way, a believer affirms the will of God, which is good, pleasing and perfect (complete).
Serving the Body
Romans 12:3-8
Individual bodies fold into the larger body of Christ (i.e., church). We will “really feel good about ourselves” (as Bob Russell said in a sermon series on Romans 12) if we offer our bodies to the Lord, but also if we use our spiritual gifts to serve in the church. God’s grace (charis) and the gifts coming from that grace (charisma) are to be used to serve others. In humility (thinking with sober judgment, and not thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought), we should recognize the gifts God has given us and employ those gifts, as distributed by the Holy Spirit, in faith for others.
Verses 4-5 give the analogy of a human body with its varied parts. Verses 6-8 give a list of seven spiritual gifts. The church functions like a human body. These are not all the gifts of the Spirit (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:8-11, 28-31; Ephesians 4:11; 1 Peter 4:10-11); the list also includes prophecy (inspired speech), generic serving (deaconing), teaching (formal instruction), and encouraging (lifting others up). It also includes giving, which can take many forms: giving money, providing leadership (which should be done with great energy or diligence), and acts of mercy (which should be done “hilariously”).
Love Inside and Outside the Body
Romans 12:9-21
The greatest gift of the Holy Spirit is love (1 Corinthians 12:31ff.), and the gifts of the Holy Spirit should always be employed with love. So, in this closing section, Paul used imperatives and cryptic and proverbial sayings to teach the church what love looks like when applied to those inside and outside the church.
Seth Wilson said, “To love the things God loves means that we must hate the things that God hates.” When believers really love as they should, everything else in the text follows. Goodness is embraced. Devotion for others is so strong that honoring them beyond ourselves becomes natural. Our zeal for God and for doing his work becomes second nature. Maintaining joy in hardship, enduring affliction, being faithful in prayer, giving generously, and practicing hospitality in the church body become like breathing.
Loving those outside the body (vv. 14-21) has its challenges, but it also gives evidence of living and holy sacrifices. Blessing persecutors is upside-down behavior to the people of the world. Identifying with the joys and the tears may gain us a hearing with others. A commitment to live in harmony and “work the back of the room” demonstrates humility.
A commitment to peace and living by the golden rule (Matthew 5:44; 7:12) is the best approach in a fallen world. While we cannot demand peace from others, we can do our best to live at peace with everyone. It is wise to leave vengeance to God (Deuteronomy 32:35; Hebrews 10:30) since he does that better than we do. In verse 20, Paul quoted Proverbs 25:21-22 to show how proactive we should be toward the truly needy and those who desire to harm us. Most of these commands are countercultural, but they bring a smile to the face of God.
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