The 12th chapter of the book of Romans marks a transition from more theological teaching to more practical teaching. The former underpins the latter. Chapters 12 through 16 are devoted to training us as the Bride of Messiah - - to quote Francis Schaeffer “How Should We Then Live?” And, Paul does not pussyfoot around either. He just dives right in.
I don’t know about you, but I wrestle with my body every day. On the one hand, my body is part of who I am, in this earthly plane. And, on that same hand, my body is key to my eternal destiny. That may sound like a strange statement, but let explain. When you study the resurrection of the dead, you realize that for some reason, Almighty Yahweh, our Father, needs our decomposed, dematerialized in many cases, bodies, in order to give us our eternal, heavenly bodies. WHY? The Creator of all that exists can literally do anything. Why, then, does He need to reconstruct that dust, those molecules we view as “long gone”, in order to give each of His beloved a heavenly body, an eternal form? I don’t know. But, according to Scripture, He does. So, for that reason alone, our bodies matter (if you’ll pardon the physic pun.)
On the other hand, it was not for my body that my Savior died. It was for the regeneration and salvation of my eternal soul He made that supreme sacrifice to leave the vast reaches of heaven to clothe Himself in flesh similar to mine. And, that regenerated soul constantly wars against the baser desires of my body. I’ve been feeling that especially strongly these past few days. Maybe that battle has been raging so within my spirit to prepare me to attempt to teach Romans 12.
Hearkening back to Romans 7, where we studied recently...let me remind you that Paul was not immune from wrestling with his flesh. “Oh wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death?” I thank God for verses like this. Truly, his example encourages me to keep wrestling.
So, we have this love/hate relationship with our bodies, right? At the beginning of Romans 12, Paul exhorts us to have the proper balance between those conflicting emotions. Let’s look at these two masterpiece verses.
1 I plead to you, therefore, my brothers, by the mercies of Elohim, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, set-apart and acceptable to Elohim by a reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world; but, be transformed by the renovation of your minds: and discern what is the good and acceptable and perfect pleasure of Elohim.
First of all, because Paul knows what a battle this is, he PLEADS with his readers to take authority over their bodies, as opposed to letting the satisfying of the body stunt the growth of the spirit. Remember also that he is talking to those who have the Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit, inside them, because otherwise such a task is pretty much impossible for the unregenerated person. 1 Corinthians 2:14.
It is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit to harness the willpower to do this, that is to present our bodies a living sacrifice. What does that mean? By definition, a sacrifice, in Old Testament terms, was to set apart a living, breathing animal, to humanely slay it (kosher slaughtering) and then to offer its body on an altar to God. The idea here is to slay the carnal impulses of our bodies as surely as if we were offering them on an altar, yet while continuing as a living, breathing person who is set apart and consecrated to the service of Elohim.
AGR has a text note about “reasonable service”. What is that? What might be reasonable to one might be unreasonable to another. The standard is affected by one’s calling. If one is called to be a missionary to Ghana, Africa, that would not be unreasonable. But, if one is called to a different type of ministry, going to live and serve in Ghana might be “unreasonable”. At any rate, let’s see AGR’s text note here.
He says, “That is a service of the heart that comes from a persistent and intentional desire to please Master Yahweh.” If that is the case, whatever He requires of each of us is “reasonable”, true?
Verse 2 gets into the next dimension of this exhortation, not being conformed to the things of this world, but instead being transformed by the renewing of our minds. The term “world” represents the anti-biblical world view, the popular way of living that rejects Elohim and His written revelation as a guide for living.
In 1 John 2:15-16, the apostle helpfully defines “worldliness” as follows: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. In other words, those ungodly impulses that originate inside of our bodies, those ungodly impulses which originate because of something we see with our eyes and taking pride in anything we shouldn’t. On that last point, the final verses of chapter 11 remind us that “all is from Him, and all in Him, and all is by His hand.” Therefore, we have no justification to take pride in any gift we receive, or any accomplishment we achieve. It’s all from Him, by His grace, for His glory.
But, if we only avoid conforming, we have only won half the battle. “Nature abhors a vacuum”, as the saying goes. We need, then, to go on from not conforming to transforming. And, how do we do that? By the renewing of our minds.
A good friend of mine was sharing this past weekend how a book by Joyce Meyer has made a tremendous difference in her life. The book is called “Battlefield of the Mind”. It is probably the best work Meyer has ever done. I used to have the book, but loaned it out and then never saw it again. I need to get another copy and re-read it. I also noticed that she is doing a conference in Charleston, SC, in late April, based on this book.
At any rate, that resource aside, how do we allow the Holy Spirit to do this? Day after day, we are prompted to fill our minds with the things of the world. We are quite literally bombarded. The most potent weapon in our arsenal is to fill our minds with the Word of God. The Scriptures clean our minds and act as an antidote to the poison pills we absorb, willingly or unwillingly, from the world’s godless system. We can do this through personal Bible study, attending services, small group Bible study - - or preferably a combination of all these. As Yeshua prayed for us in John 17:17 - - “ Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth.”
The next step is to have an attitude of quick repentance as we encounter the truth of God’s Word. It’s not enough to hear. What’s then required is to act on what we hear. The Greek word that is translated as “repentance” has connotations of the changing of our mind. The way we think must be transformed, changed, from the way the world thinks to how Elohim thinks. We need new, godly ways of thinking. Once that happens, right actions will follow.
To finish up verse 2, it is also by immersing ourselves in the Word of God that we receive guidance in making life’s decisions. Look again at what Paul says, “and discern what is the good and acceptable and perfect pleasure of Elohim.
Followers of Messiah Yeshua frequently ask, “I need to know the will of God on this matter.” Well, read the Bible. In it His will is revealed, especially on a macro level. What I mean is that, for example, you may not see the name of the next business you are supposed to work for. But, you will find general principles that describe a godly business. Applying those to your decision can help to inform it. The more you read God’s Word and apply it to your own life and your own situations, the more you will grow in grace and truth, and the more discernment you will have.
Let’s move on now to verses 3 through 5.
3 And, by the grace given to me, I say to you all: Do not carry thoughts beyond what you should think; but think with modesty, as Elohim has distributed to each one his measure of faith.
4 For as we have many members in one body and all those members have not the same functions;
5 So also we, who are many persons, are one body in Mashiyach, and are naturally members of each other.
There was a man influential to the first century believers, named Clement of Rome. Perhaps he was one of the members of this first Roman ecclesia, and was one who heard Paul’s letter read aloud the first time it was read to that congregation. Feasible, but impossible to conclusively say. Clement, it is said, was taught about Yeshua HaMashiach by the apostle John. Before Clement died in 99 CE, he wrote a letter to the Corinthian congregation. It apparently was quite a long letter because in chapter 46 he said this: “Why do we divide and tear to pieces the members of Messiah, and raise up strife against our own body, and have reached such a height of madness as to forget that we are ‘members of one another’?”
The key to avoiding backbiting and other types of strife in the local congregations, or in larger groups of Yeshua’s followers as a whole, is to forsake pride and to embrace meekness. Or, as the CJB put it: ...not to have exaggerated ideas about your own importance. Instead, develop a sober estimate of yourself...
In our local congregation I am one of the teachers of the ladies’ discipleship group. One of the other teachers taught a lesson this past Sunday on “meekness”. Although TAW translated this word as “modesty”, I tend to think of external appearance when I hear that word. I guess that comes from me being a woman. The term is actually broader than that.
The problem is that sometimes we start “believing our own press”, that is, believing everything said about us is true, particularly if it is flattering. We want to believe those types of reports. And, then, accordingly, we think we should have more influence, more power, more “pull” in the ecclesia than perhaps we should. Furthermore, we get more entrenched in our belief positions, particularly those that are subject to interpretation. It becomes a matter of “personal pride” that we be right. In fact, some of us had rather be “right” than anything else!
6 But we have different gifts according to the grace given to us. There is that of prophecy, according to the measure of his faith.
We need to “stay in our lane”. Each of us has a unique calling from Elohim, and a set of gifts that make us unique. When an ear tries to be a knee, or a spleen tries to be a tongue all sorts of devilish mayhem can spread through to handicap the assembly. Paul goes on to detail seven of these gifts, as examples.
7 And there is that of ministration, possessed by one in his ministry. And there is that of a teacher, in his teaching.
8 And there is that of a consoler, in his consoling: And that of a giver, with simplicity: And that of a ruler, with diligence: and of a merciful person, with cheerfulness.
Seventeen spiritual gifts can be found in Scripture. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, chapter 12, is where the 10 additional gifts can be found. I’m not going to dive off into an explanation of each gift here, but at gotquestions.org there is an article that delineates and describes each gift. I’ll put the link in the pinned comment for this video.
There are various “inventories” (that is “tests) to determine what your own spiritual gifts are; I’ve even taken some of them myself. I have to say, though, that while they can be indicators, they are not iron-clad assurances. The real proof is in the believer’s walk, his or her “output”, you might say. Another relevant factor is if the exercising of a gift brings you joy. If it does not, then it is probably not your God-given spiritual gift.
For example, I love to help people in times of distress, particularly when there has been injustice involved. I’m not as merciful if you got yourself into your own mess, but if you were done wrong and I can help you? Then, I’m your gal. Doing this brings me great joy.
I have a word of caution to add here, though. Sometimes, followers of Yeshua wrap themselves in their perceived spiritual gifts like a straitjacket, so that if they are asked to exercise another gift they refuse. But, I’ll tell you - - our Elohim is endlessly creative, always wanting us to grow in Him, and furthermore, He has a sense of humor.
The great theologian Henry Blackaby, in his book “Experiencing God” made the excellent point that “God does not call the equipped; He equips the called.” The call comes first. You are not expected to feel totally confident in fulfilling that call. Otherwise, why would you need faith?
Also, I believe that some spiritual gifts are just for a season or a certain situation. For example, you may not believe you have the gift of “word of knowledge”, which means “understanding the deep things of God and His Word” and applying them in your own life as well as the lives of others. However, Elohim may give you a specific application of His truth to sow into your own life or the life of someone else for a specific situation.
Allright let’s move on to verse 9.
9 Let not your love be full of deceit: but be haters of evil things and adherers to good things.
Deceit is not a word we use often today, in our everyday speech. But, basically it can mean outright lying or leading someone to believe something that is not true. Other translations substitute “genuine” or “sincere”, as antonyms to “deceit”. The NKJV and the ASV use the word “hypocrisy” for “deceit”. Our love for others should be open, honest and characterized by truthful interactions. Love should not have any taint of evil about it; otherwise, it is not love. Instead it is self-love.
Verse 10 flows from loving genuinely, as described in verse 9.
10 Be affectionate to your brothers: and love one another. Be foremost in honoring one another.
Exercise brotherly love. How do we do that? By having meekness, and esteeming others more highly than we esteem ourselves - - taking time to send the card, making some soup for a neighbor who has had surgery, making a phone call to check on a friend, truly praying for someone in dire need, not just saying you are going to, listening to that friend who is “on the edge” without sermonizing to them. Basically, it’s selflessness, in action.
Verse 11 admonishes us to “get up off our duffs”, as the expression goes. We are to be eagerly engaged in kingdom work.
11 Be active and not slothful. Be fervent in spirit. Be laborers for our Master Yeshua.
What are you doing to advance the kingdom of Elohim? Are you being lazy for the kingdom? You may be a very active person, but allocating your time on things that don’t matter so much, in the light of eternity. Really look at how you spend your time. Don’t spend it being attracted to the “shiny object”. Put in the work on the things that truly will last forever, have eternal consequences. How much time does each of us have left to do this? We never know. There was a hymn in the church hymnal as I was growing up. It was called “Work for the Night is Coming”. The basic premise was based on that verse John 9:4, where Yeshua said, “It is necessary for me to do the works of Him who sent me while it is daytime. The night is coming that man is not able to work.” And AGR says in a footnote to that chapter that the semitic root “plkh” can mean either work, service or worship. The point is, we need to “redeem the time, for the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16). It’s a mistake to assume we will have “all the time in the world”, to serve the Lord fervently later.
12a Be joyful in your hope.
What in the world does that mean? AGR points out in footnote 123 for this verse that the Aramaic word used here for “hope”, “sevartha” is also elsewhere the original Aramaic word for “good news” or “gospel”. So, another way to read this verse would be to be joyful in your gospel. Let’s link verses 11 and 12 together with that in mind. As you are working for the kingdom, for Master Yeshua, be joyful! Joyful people are more attractive. If you want someone to listen to your testimony about your Messiah, then be genuine in your joy! Let His joy infuse every aspect of your life.
Remember that joy is not situational. That would be happiness you are thinking of. Happiness is an emotion that can come and go, depending on the situation. Joy, on the other hand, should be a constant, an abiding confidence in the heart of the believer that no matter what comes, your beloved Bridegroom is in control, that His love for you is unfailing, and that He will work out all things to your good and to His glory. I find visual reminders to be of help in remembering Scriptural principles. For example, in my kitchen, I have an unassuming little plate, in a hanger on the wall. It simply says “JOY”. I think it is supposed to be a Christmas item. But, joy is not just for that season! In fact, Succoth is called, “The Season of our Joy”, isn’t it? Even so, joy should be in every season, in every circumstance. I know. It’s a tall order, at times.
Aph, one of the early church fathers, had this to say about our hope: “Let us rejoice in our hope at every time, that He Who is our hope, and our Redeemer may rejoice in us.”
At about this point in Romans 12, I feel like that child who is being sent off to summer camp by her mother, after having to hear a recitation, a laundry list of dos and don’ts.
Listen to your counselor.
Don’t wander off into the woods by yourself.
Dont’s wander off into the woods with a boy.
Write me a letter every week. (Yeah, I’m that old.)
Don’t play a joke on a cabin mate that you would not want pulled on you.
Etc.
Like mom, who could be found to repeat herself, Paul does a little of that in verses 16 and 17.
But, we have to remember that Paul is trying to give the Romans (and us) the most practical list of admonitions he can think of, in order for them to live out Torah in the imitation of their Messiah.
The next one assumes that trouble is on the way. Better grab that flask of joy you keep handy.
12b&c Be patient under afflictions. Be persevering in prayer.
In TAW, verse 12 is a triple-header. These admonitions in parts b and c pretty much assure the follower of The Way that tough times WILL come. What do we do when they come? Well, speaking for myself, I try to fix it in my own strength. If that does not work then I squirm and squeal and beg to be out from under the affliction as soon as possible. If I’m persevering in prayer about it, I’m persevering in asking to be released from it!
One of my family members recently had a health crisis. The recovery time for that is at least six months, maybe more. Patience, endurance and steadfastness are required to reach total healing. I went through something similar last summer when, for five months I had a frozen shoulder condition. I was not very patient or cooperative at first. In fact, I was mad about it and just wanted to sulk. Fortunately, by the grace of God, and with much physical therapy and diligent work on my own, the condition resolved.
When we are in the midst of an affliction, we should be introspective, pray, and try to figure out what we can learn from it. We also need to ask the Lord in our prayers to reveal to us how it can best be used for His glory, for the advancement of His kingdom. Look at the example of the prophet Daniel, who went to Father Yahweh in prayer regularly, not just when a crisis hit. He was the model for praying three times a day, the model the rabbis adopted later on for the Jewish people. When trouble came, and it surely did come to him, then prayer was his ingrained, first reaction.
13 Be communicators to the wants of the set-apart believers. Be kind to strangers.
The wording is a little odd here in TAW, but this verse contains a bit of a contrast. It reminds me of a passage from the book of Mark, where I was reading this morning, as part of my daily read-thru-the-Bible-in-a-year program. It was in Mark 7:28. There, a Gentile woman is asking Yeshua to heal her demon-possessed daughter. Yeshua, to make a point to the onlookers, said, basically, that those blessings were for the Jews. The woman, with great faith, did not contradict Him or belittle the Jews. She merely made the point that sometimes when a people are blessed, the blessings overflow to other people groups as well. So, how does this tie in to Romans 12:13
The first part of the verse is telling us that it is our duty to support and help the members of our local congregations, not to turn a blind eye to their needs. We all need help from time to time, whether that is a shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, some money in an envelope taped to a car windshield (something I read about yesterday here locally), etc. The first people of The Way modelled this in an extreme (or so it seems to us) way. It’s recorded in Acts 2:44-45.
44 And all those who had believed as one, everything they had was held in common.
45 And those who had a possession would sell it and divide it to each one according to whatever was in need.
The earliest believers believed that the return of Mashiach was imminent, not only that He would return within their lifetimes, but that He would return sooner, rather than later. So, they lived out a communal lifestyle. This is generally not the model in believing fellowships today. However, it should be common that ordinary that we help our brothers and sisters in the Lord who badly need it, when they need it. People don’t care how much you know about God, if you don’t live for Him. This level of caring opens hearts to the truths of the Word of God. Yeshua said that when we give a cup of water in His name, it is though we are giving it to Him.
The second part of this verse tells us to show kindness to strangers, but showing kindness is a lower standard of caring than how we are to behave toward our brethren (and sisteren). This should not be an either-or proposition, but a both-and. When we give to our brothers and sisters in the faith, we feel a certain amount of control over the situation, don’t we, whether that is true or not. On the flip side, when we give to strangers, those we don’t know and may never see there is a total lack of control over the outcome. We are then giving and leaving it totally up to God to work. So, in a way, it takes more faith, I think, to give to a stranger.
That does not mean that we should be stupid in our giving. Some forms of giving only enable a person to persist in destructive behaviors. We need to pray for discernment in how to give wisely.
This next one is a fun one (not!)....
14 Bless your persecutors: bless, and do not curse.
This one is hard for me. Here’s a contemporary example, and I’ll try not to offend by “talking politics”. Over the past several years and some of you may feel that way even now, because the two main political parties in America are so VERY polarized, at opposite ends of the worldview spectrum, at one time or another most of us have felt persecuted by the government. Although the Bible commands us to pray for those who are in positions of authority over us, I have often found this very challenging. The tendency is to ask the Lord to curse those responsible. Verse 17, though occurring a little later in the chapter, is a good corollary to verse 14. Let’s look at it now.
17 And repay to no man evil for evil: but be diligent to do good before all men.
We can really harm our testimony before the unsaved, when we act ugly in arguments of any kind. It’s not unkind to disagree, but it is very harmful to the kingdom when we lower ourselves to the level of the lost. This takes diligence and discipline, for sure, because when we feel strongly about our worldview and the things of Torah, the commandments of God, things can get heated. We must always remember to show love and compassion, while speaking and doing truth.
Back to verse 15 now, which is a command to show love to others through empathy and compassion.
15 Rejoice with them who rejoice: and weep with them who weep.
We all get busy in our lives, occupied with our own pursuits. It is often a sacrifice to “show up” for people in times of great celebration or in times of great sorrow. About two years ago, our older son got married. He had asked a friend to stand up with him, in the wedding ceremony. The young man agreed, but then, two weeks before the wedding said he had to attend an animé convention instead! And, it was not like he was a bigwig or a presenter or anything. He just wanted to go! It severely hurt my son’s feeling that this person he thought was a good friend would treat his wedding so cavalierly. Another example - - I was talking to a good friend yesterday morning. She is not a confident driver. But, a family friend had lost a loved one, and she is going to make a two-hour drive, over busy interstate roads, to attend the funeral. That is sacrificial love, in action. That is “weeping with those who weep”. We mustn't be too busy to love sacrificially, especially through others’ highs and lows.
Verse 16 is very similar to verse 3, where we are exhorted to be modest in our estimation of our abilities. Verse 16 expands on it as follows:
16 What estimation you make of yourselves do likewise to your brothers. And do not indulge in arrogant thoughts but unite yourselves with the humble-minded. And be not wise in your own estimation.
There is an element in this verse pertaining to whom we hang out with. The people we surround ourselves with will become those we listen to, those we begin to look like and sound like. So, if you unite yourself with other humble individuals, their example will help to grow more humility in you as well. There’s a proverb that says, “Bad company corrupts good morals.” TAW says, “Evil conversations corrupt good minds.” And, it is so true. That’s 1 Corinthians 15:33, actually, a proverb though not actually from the book of Proverbs.
Well, we are out of time for today. So, we will take up here and finish chapter 12 next week.
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