Life Project Blog

Romans 12:9-16

Paul continues in these verses with his discussion of our response to grace. Here, he sets the tone with verse 9: Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Our response to God’s grace must be one of love, both love for God and love for others, and this love must be sincere. It is interesting that Paul should modify this sincere love statement with the concept of hating what is evil and clinging to what is good; it would appear that in our sincere love, we are to maintain the highest of ethical standards, not allowing ourselves to misuse our new freedom.

So then, what does love in action look like in practice?

Paul begins shedding light on this question in the verses that follow, first of all with an emphasis on what we should do to put love into action:

Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves (12:10). Because our response to grace is that we love others, we should be devoted to one another, and we should put others ahead of ourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord (12:11). Because our response to grace is that we love God, we should serve Him with enthusiasm always. Because our response to grace is one of love, our attitudes should reflect that love for God and other people: Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer (12:12). Since we have a whole new attitude because of the grace we have received, our love should result in generosity toward other people: Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality (12:13).

Many commentators refer to this section as the “Law of Christ” but at least for me, it doesn’t really read that way; I highly doubt that Paul is intending to give us a list of rules that we check off as we go. Instead, I think he is simply pointing out some no-brainers as if to say that since we love God and love others, these are the natural kinds of things that should follow. In the next three verses, his emphasis shifts slightly, but he is still speaking of sincere love:

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Romans 12:14-16

As we read these verses, notice that they are not things that are common in this world. I’ve never met someone who blessed their oppressors, for instance; have you? I don’t always see people rejoicing with their friends who are rejoicing, for all too often a person sees their friend rejoicing while harboring resentment because their friend was fortunate in an area where they hadn’t been as fortunate. Harmony is surely lacking in our world, while pride and conceit are commonplace; and so many decline to associate with the less fortunate. Real sincere love is a very rare thing in our world, but within the church, it is supposed to be a given.

In fact, the apparent lack of love in some church bodies is a sore subject for many people. Some of them complain loudly and criticize bitterly about the lack of love in this or that church, some even leave church entirely because of it. While on the one hand I might be inclined to feel for such people, on the other hand, after going through these verses, I can’t help thinking that they aren’t exhibiting love either. Thus, I’ll add a response to grace that Paul alluded to in verse 14, but hasn’t mentioned yet by name: Sincere love requires quite a lot of forgiveness, for all of us are works in progress.

Romans 12:3-8

Paul set out his proposition in verses 1-2, that we offer ourselves as living sacrifices and be transformed by the renewing of our minds as a response to grace− in verses 3-8 we have our first lesson on how to go about it: Serve the body of Christ in humility.

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. (12:3)

So, it would seem that the first step in the transformative process is that we adopt an attitude of humility. Right away, we can see that not being conformed to this world was something Paul was very serious about (v. 2) for in this age of “game”, “swagger” and “bling” humility is very much out of style. Verse 4 uses the metaphor of our bodies in the same way that Paul uses it in 1 Corinthians 12 as he shows that each of us has a unique part to play in the Body of Christ. While this is easy enough to grasp, he takes another shot at the attitudes of this world in verse 5 when he says each member belongs to all the others. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen Christians bristle at that one.

In verses 6-8 Paul refers to spiritual gifts that each of us has received by the Holy Spirit.

I hope you will consider this carefully: In a context of humble service, a context that is not only counter-intuitive but also counter-cultural for most of us, Paul tells us to exercise our spiritual gifts in humble service to the Body of Christ. Think about the magnitude of the implication of this…

Not only are we to adopt an attitude of true and honest humility, not only are we to consider or positions as members of and belonging to the Body of Christ, but we are to serve the Body of Christ. Yet even more striking than that, we are to rely upon our spiritual gift from God in our service, which is to say that we are not to rely on our own strength, ability or talent, but on God’s grace alone.

Now, let’s think about what we’ve already seen in Romans, again let’s consider why Israel did not obtain righteousness by the Law. They relied on their own strength and ability to follow the Law, but they did not rely on God for His righteousness. How are we to live as Christians? We are to rely on God in all things to serve His purpose and not our own abilities.

Paul is just getting started in these life lessons; there’s a lot more to come See you next time…

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. 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.

Romans 12:1-2

As all of you know, whenever we see the word “therefore”, we are reading a passage that draws a conclusion from what has preceded it. While that is certainly true here, this one isn’t just referring to the verses just concluded, for this is the beginning of a new unit (12-15) and thus, “therefore” is drawing a conclusion from the preceding unit (1-11), which is a very important distinction. The first unit in Romans discussed grace; the second unit discusses our response to grace. Thus, Paul is telling us that in response to God’s amazing grace, we are to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God.

Verse 1 is, in a sense, a counterpoint to the Old Testament worship in which animals were sacrificed and rituals were observed. Notice the presence of the words “offer”, “sacrifice” and “worship”, all three of which are terms that pertain to worship in the Old Testament. The old system of worship involved symbols and ceremonies, but worship in the New Testament involves “spirit and truth”. Consequently, the proper and true manner of worship for the Christian is for us to offer ourselves to God as living sacrifices. Please understand: This is no platitude; it is an imperative. A fair question right about now would be, “OK, but just exactly how do I do that?”

You will no doubt be relieved when I tell you that Paul has provided the answer in verse 2: Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. 

My goodness, how we love to quote this, but how many of us actually do it? How many of us actually believe that it is possible? Surely this is nothing more than an abstract ideal, a goal that cannot be realized in this life!

Maybe we should all pause and re-read it; look carefully at the words, the grammar…

Holy heart attack! This is no abstraction; it too is an imperative!

So, here’s another question: Would the Apostle Paul command us to do something if it is impossible? Perhaps we need to think about this some more. Do you recall what Paul told us regarding Israel’s failure to attain righteousness? Yes, that’s right: They never obtained righteousness because their faith was in their ability to conform to the Law, but what God wanted was for them to put their faith in Him… and with God, all things are possible.

Notice that in the imperative of verse 2, there is a contrast, a duality that is set up by the word “but” “Do not be conformed… but be transformed” Thus we have a choice to make: Either we live as the world does with its values, activities and ways of thinking, or we allow the Holy Spirit to transform our minds so that we have an entirely new way of thinking with different values that lead us to a different way of life; this is our choice, and to be quite candid with you, it is very much like the choice that Israel had to make.

As Paul continues in 12:3-13:14, he will fill in many blanks for us, so that we can see more clearly how to accomplish this task; I don’t know about you, but I can hardly wait to see what comes next!

The last major section in Romans is comprised of chapters 12-15, and takes an entirely different tone than we have seen so far. Many commentators assert that chapters 1-11 are “doctrinal” in nature, while 12-15 are “practical” and in a sense they are right. However, I maintain that all of them are “doctrinal” because they are all teachings, which is what “doctrine” means. To me, the main difference between 1-11 and 12-15 is that 1-11 teaches spiritual truths of the Christian faith, while 12-15 applies these truths into daily practice.

We might notice, for example, that in 6-8, Paul sets out the reality of the new life in Christ (6) and the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit (8) in general theological terms. In those chapters Paul tells us all that God did for us when we were saved by grace, one might say. In 12-15, however, Paul shows us what this looks like in much more specific terms. In 6:4 he tells us that in baptism we were raised up from death to live a new life; now he will tell us precisely what the content of that life should be.

This section is divided into two parts, the first of which is 12:1-13:14, and teaches the ethics of the Christian life. These ethics are things which are and are not Christlike, since our goal in this life is to be as much like Him as possible. For instance, if I were to remind you that as Christians we should not run around town raping, robbing and pillaging, would you be surprised or offended? How about if I told you that it isn’t cool to have an affair with your best friend’s wife (or husband)? These are the kinds of ethics Paul gets into in 12:1-13:14; the non-negotiable kinds of things.

14:1-15:18, on the other hand, is not so obvious− and infinitely more interesting for the modern reader. This section, rather than seeming like a list of rules, covers matters of opinion and teaches that there are many areas in which a Christian is free to choose his or her unique way of doing things. Paul will make the case that we are to continue in unity and love without attempting to bend others to our will in matters of opinion. Of course, he also will teach us that in exercising our freedom in these areas, we need to be sensitive to the needs of others and thus avoid causing them to stumble.

In short dear reader, this is a thrill-packed section that we’ll jump into next time; see you there!

We have completed the fourth main section of Romans, the proposition of which was that God is faithful in all of His dealings with Israel. Remember that Romans is a persuasive essay on Christian doctrine, and I have recapped the prior main sections so that you can easily see Paul’s persuasive structure in making his case for Christ. As I mentioned when we began this section, Paul makes four points in support of his proposition; here is his supporting evidence, point by point:

Proposition: God is faithful in all of His dealings with Israel

1. Israel has become a paradox (9:1-5)
2. Israel is accursed (9:1-3)
3. Israel is blessed (9:4-5)
4. There is a distinction between ethnic Israel and Spiritual Israel (9:6-29)
5. God has always been faithful (9:6-13)
6. God’s Word concerning Israel has not failed (9:6a)
7. There are two Israels (9:6b)
8. Ethnic Israel exists by God’s choice (9:7-13)
9. The choice of Isaac (9:7-9)
10. The choice of Jacob (9:10-13)
11. God has every right to choose who will serve His purpose (9:14-18)
12. God’s righteousness challenged (9:14)
13. God’s sovereignty in election for service (9:15-16)
14. God’s purpose can be served by people who are not “saved” (9:17-18)
15. God used ethnic Israel to produce spiritual Israel (9:19-29)
16. The objection (9:19)
17. The attitude that produces the objection is rebuked (9:20-21)
18. Spiritual Israel has been God’s purpose all along (9:22-24)
19. Prophetic confirmation of God’s purpose (9:25-29)

With these first two points, Paul has established that Israel is a paradox because it is both cursed and blessed, and then shown that this seeming paradox is caused by the fact that all along there have been two groups within the Israelites, those who serve God by Law and those who serve God by faith; Then Paul goes on to demonstrate that all descendants of Abraham were called to God’s service, but this does not mean, as many assume, that they were “saved” in the sense that they had the gift of salvation and eternal life, for that did not come into the picture until Christ came upon the scene. Some among the Israelites add faith in God, but most made the choice to depend upon their own ability to be righteous by following the Law, something no one could quite manage. In spite of this, the Nation saw the coming of Christ, and produced the nucleus of the church (“spiritual Israel”), which was the service to which all had been called, and all of this had been foretold of by the prophets God has sent to them.

Proposition: God is faithful in all of His dealings with Israel

3. Israel chose Law over grace (9:30-10:21)
4. Personal righteousness versus the righteousness of God (9:30-10:3)
5. Why the Gentiles accepted God’s righteousness (9:30)
6. The Jews lost their way (9:31-33)
7. The Jews’ rejection of God’s righteousness (10:1-3)
8. Christ alone is the source of saving righteousness (10:4-133)
9. All must choose between righteousness by works and righteousness by faith in Christ (10:4)
10. The futility of righteousness by action of Law (10:5)
11. Saving righteousness comes by trusting Christ’s work on the cross, not our own righteousness in following the Law (10:6-10)
12. God’s righteousness is available to Jew and Gentile alike (10:11-13)
13. The Jews have not believed in Christ, and their unbelief is without excuse (10:14-21)
14. The necessary prerequisites of saving faith (10:14-15)
15. Most Jews have not believed the Gospel (10:16)
16. The Jews’ problem is not ignorance but stubbornness of will (10:17-21).

As you can see, Paul has clearly shown that none of us can achieve righteousness in God’s sight by our own strength and will, but if we will accept His grace by faith in Jesus Christ, all can be saved at any time.

Proposition: God is faithful in all of His dealings with Israel

4. The salvation of “spiritual” Israel is assured (11:1-32)
5. God’s true Israel is the remnant chosen by his grace (11:1-6)
6. God has not rejected His people (11:1-2a)
7. God had a remnant of believers in the Old Testament (11:2b-4)
8. Those under grace are God’s New Covenant Israel (11:5-6)
9. Unbelieving Israel has been hardened (11:7-10)
10. The hardening of unbelieving Israel becomes a blessing for Gentile and Jew alike (11:11-16)
11. The olive tree as a metaphor of judgment and hope (11:17-24)
12. Warning to Gentiles (11:17-22)
13. Hope for hardened Jews (11:23-24)
14. God’s plan for Israel’s salvation (11:25-32)
15. The mystery of Israel’s salvation (11:25-27)
16. God’s continuing love for Israel (11:28-29)
17. God’s ultimate purpose is mercy (11:30-32)

The overriding theme in this section is the assurance of the salvation of those who will choose to accept God’s mercy and grace. Even though God has hardened those Jews who have thus far refused to accept His grace, the way is open to them to come back into His arms, and as a result of God’s actions, many over the centuries have chosen to do so. Thus, Paul has demonstrated his point in support of his proposition that God has always been faithful to Israel.

Proposition: God is faithful in all of His dealings with Israel

5. Paul’s hymn of praise to God for His faithfulness (11:33-36)

In this section, Paul has clearly made a powerful case that God has always been faithful in His dealings with Israel in spite of the fact that Israel has not always been faithful to God.

In the next section, Paul will turn to living the Christian life with a series of arguments that confound many; not for their complexity, but for their simplicity, not for their difficulty, but because they are counter-intuitive. See you then!

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
“Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Romans 11:32-35

When we began this section, Romans 9-11, we began with a working theory that Paul was writing it to demonstrate that God has always been faithful in His dealings with Israel. In spite of the paradox that Israel had become, Paul has demonstrated clearly in these chapters that God is in fact faithful to Israel, even though Israel hasn’t always made it easy for God to do so.  In case you missed it, the paradox was that even though Israel had been God’s covenant people, when God sent His Son to redeem them, most Jews rejected Him and found themselves at odds with God.

We have seen Paul lay out the history of God’s dealing with Israel, we have seen the paradox, and we have seen the mystery of the present age unfolding before our eyes, the mystery by which God hardened those Jews who chose not to follow Him so that God might also save the Gentiles and redeem all Mankind who would accept His favor, and how that would in turn help many more Jews to come to repentance in the process.

Without a doubt, God has, and continues to do a mighty work of grace right out in the open for all to see. Thus, here at the summit, with this great scene spread out before him, Paul gives us a song of praise to God for His awesome work to reconcile all peoples to Himself. I don’t know about you, but I am inclined to join Paul in giving God the glory and praise He so richly deserves.

Our text here is Romans 11:25-32, and as I mentioned last time, they follow the context set up in 17-25. This is very important to keep in mind, especially for those who use the NIV. The reason I say this is that the NIV has left a word out, the word gar which means “for or because”. Verse 25 begins in the NIV, “I do not want you…” and the Greek (as well as the NASB, KJV and many others) actually says, “For I do not…” I am pointing this out because that little word “for” connects 25 ff. with 17-24 and the metaphor of the olive tree.

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written:

“The deliverer will come from Zion;
he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
And this is my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”

Romans 11:25-27

The mystery Paul refers to here is the same as the olive tree, the means by which God brings all peoples together through Christ. Old Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, meaning that those among the Jews who had rejected the Son have been hardened to allow the Gentiles to enter God’s family. Thus “all Israel” comprised of both Jew and Gentile may be saved by faith in Christ. This is followed by a fascinating quote from Isaiah 59:20-21 that so clearly refers to the New Covenant (see also Jeremiah 31:33-34). If this seems hard for you, remember that the Old Covenant Law does not take away sins and can only condemn a person. When we put this together it is clear that “all Israel” must refer to those who have been saved by grace through faith in Christ, and cannot refer to ethnic Israel.

As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.

Romans 11:28-32

If you only read this paragraph, then your understanding of it will be quite different than if you have been following along with us through the whole of chapter 11; you will probably conclude that Paul is saying that all Jews will be saved in the end whether or not they have believed, and some actually teach it that way.

But they are mistaken.

Remember, Paul is elaborating on the olive tree metaphor of 17-24 which is a warning to the Gentiles. The Gentiles are the branch from the wild olive tree that was grafted into the cultured tree after old branches were torn away because of their unbelief, and they must not become arrogant or they too can be torn out (11:22-23). Taken all together, these verses tell much the same story as do verses 11-16.

Verse 28 carries a meaning similar to that of 11:23-24. Some of the branches of the olive tree have been cut off for their unbelief, but even though they have chosen to be God’s enemies by rejecting the Gospel, God still cares for them because they were called to His service through the patriarchs, and if they will only repent, He will take them back in a New York minute, because His goal in all of this is to give His mercy not only to Gentiles, but to all people if they will only believe Him and His offer of grace through faith.

If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

Romans 11:17-21

Moving into Paul’s next point, we have an olive tree being used as a metaphor for judgment and hope. In these first several verses, Paul is addressing Gentiles who are likened to a wild olive branch that has been grafted into a cultured olive tree. The grafting has taken place so that these wild branches can take the place of the original branches that were broken off from the tree.

The tree represents the Israel of God, and when those new branches (Gentiles) are grafted into the tree, it is the tree that supports and nourishes these new branches and not the other way around, thus the new braches must not think themselves superior to the old ones (17-18). The old branches were torn away from the tree by their unbelief; the new branches were grafted in by their faith (19-20). Now comes the warning: If those new branches allow themselves to become arrogant and superior, they too can be broken off and replaced (21).

Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!

Romans 11:22-24

The warning for Gentiles continues, and the message of hope for the Jews is given in these verses. If the unbelief of hardened Israel does not continue, they will be welcomed back to the tree of faith, and it will be easier to graft the branch back to the tree from which it came, then it was to graft in the wild branches. What is the point?

To the Gentiles, Paul is warning them that they must continue in their faith with humility before God, and to the Jews Paul is saying that they are welcome to come home in faith whenever they choose to do so. Essentially, this is what he has been teaching throughout this larger unit of Romans and this metaphor is being used to begin to sum things up as we near the close of the unit. In the next section, verses 25-32, he will drop the metaphor and tell his readers in plain language about God’s Kingdom strategy. It is very important that we bear this in mind when we study it, for if we don’t, we are likely to come up with all sorts of erroneous conclusions.

Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!

Romans 11:11-12

Paul’s next point is that the hardening described in the last section will be a blessing for both Gentiles and Jews. Here he begins by repeating his earlier point that the hardening of unbelieving Israel is not irreversible. As a result of the hardening, the Gospel was preached to the Gentiles, something not likely to happen if all of Israel had listened and accepted it. Again he makes reference to Deuteronomy 32:21 and its assertion that Gentiles coming to God will make Israel envious; will Israel repent when they see so many Gentiles blessed by God? If they do, the reunion will be sweet indeed!

I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

Romans 11:13-16

As the Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul seems to understand better than anyone the power and possibility of what was happening in the Gentile world. Most of his own people had rejected God’s Son, and as a result God hardened them so that they would not want to hear the message. Then the Gospel was taken to the Gentiles, and many had responded to it and been blessed, which n turn would be likely to get the attention of many Jews who had not been willing to listen before. Again, Paul of all people knew that they were not “bad” people; their hearts were in the right place, for they sincerely wanted to follow God, and they thought that they were following God by rejecting the Gospel. The root cause for their rejection was error to be sure, but they had been blinded by their own traditions; they could only comprehend following the Law by their own strength as a means to righteousness, and as we know, this was never God’s intention.

When these well-intentioned people saw the way God was working among the Gentiles, they would surely come to their senses− and a great many did just that, to the glory of God.