Chapter 14 continues with instructions for Christian behavior and begins to even teach general principles for living.
Romans 14:1-3
As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.
Once again we need to deal with the word adiaphorous. Things which are adiaphorous are those things which God has not commanded nor forbidden. So what is God telling us in this Scripture? First of all we are not supposed to argue with a person who has decided that they should eat or not eat or drink or not drink something. In fact, we are not even allowed to judge or despise someone who observes a dietary restriction. If someone feels that something which is adiaphorous is something that should not be part of their life then that is fine and you don’t really have anything to say about it. However, the knife cuts the other way too. Someone who has decided to abstain from something which is adiaphorous may not think that it makes them any better or more righteous than one who does not abstain (and if they do then they are sinning). It is ironic but when we set up laws to make ourselves more righteous it has the opposite effect. We are not generally aware of that at the time and we can even get drawn into acting in ways we associate with the Pharisees.
Getting specific examples these topics is generally a good way to get someone upset with you. A real life example that is relevant to you is your behavior while fasting. Jesus assumes that we will fast so it is not a question of if we will practice this behavior but how we will practice this behavior. God gives specific things to do and attitudes to have when we fast (Isaiah 58) but it isn’t a magic practice that forces God’s hand. It is a good way to bring humility into our lives and focus on spiritual growth but it is all about us conforming to God and His will and not about getting God to conform to us and our will.
However, over the last however many decades I’ve heard of a “Daniel Fast” and of course all that is required for an evangelical to develop a new spiritual discipline or even sacrament is a misinterpreted Scripture. The practice is based on Daniel 1:12-15. Daniel and his friends ate vegetables and drank water rather than Nebuchadnezzar’s food and drink. There was a particular motivation for Daniel and his friends to do this and God blessed them and performed a miracle and they gained weight and looked better and answered the king’s questions better than anyone. Some modern Christians have decided that if they eat only vegetables and drink water that they too will gain weight and smarter. No I’m teasing. I wish it was that simple. They seem to think that they will be more spiritual based on thinking that this special fast (not really a fast but a kosher diet for life in Babylon) will, somehow, make them more holy. Now there is nothing wrong with this type of dietary restriction unless you think it works in some magical way. We are told to crucify the flesh. We can fast all sort of things. One Norcross GA church says that your Daniel Fast can include potatoes, beans, and soybeans. None of those would have been available to Daniel. They suggest fruit juices which would not have been available. And they suggest you avoid grains that Daniel probably would have used. They suggest a single meal a day. Biblically I suppose that you should believe God for weight gain so I guess that raises the bar a little. No one seems to teach that you’ll be smarter and I’m not sure why. Some teach that you can use a Daniel Fast to lose weight! You can even buy a 76 page cookbook for your Daniel Fast.
Now you can do a Daniel Fast if you feel that God is calling you to that type of fast. In fact, you can fast anything that God puts His finger on. He may have you fast something that is taking on too large a role in your life. But these things are adiaphorous. Many Christians fast something for the 40 days leading up to Easter and it can be a very personal thing. I’d encourage you to ask God if He would lead you into a fast. Fasting of some sort is supposed to be part of the normal Christian life. I was once confronted by a Korean immigrant who was almost a nominal Christian who had been friends with my Roman Catholic sister-in-law for a long time. She decided that she was going to fast her “cussing” until Christmas. I told her she could not fast a sin and only after my protesting for a while did the Roman Catholics break the news to her that they agreed that she probably couldn’t fast a sin. You can’t fast sin! For sin, you repent right now and stop sinning.
You can’t feel superior because of the type of fast or because of anything you do or don’t do that is adiaphorous. If your brother or sister in Christ decides to pursue a “Daniel Fast” then that is fine and you should not offer them roast beef in the middle of it. However, if they begin to teach that you must fast in a particular way in order to be righteous then they are sinning and you must lovingly indicate that.
Romans 14:4-6
Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.
We sometimes need reminding who the boss is and it isn’t us. Each of us will answer for our behavior to The Boss. However, here we also see the promise that each Christian has that we will be kept by God. We will be upheld because God will uphold us. In every case we are to honor God in our life. You are called on to serve God each moment so it is by doing what you believe God would have you do that you serve God. You are to be “fully convinced” in your own mind that your behavior honors God. Even in our eating we give thanks to God and honor Him. Even in our fasting we do so to honor God.
Romans 14:7-9
For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
All of our life and whatever we do is to be done to glorify God. God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him as John Piper says. Our position within the Body of Christ is for God’s glory and we serve Him according to His direction.
Romans 14:10-12
Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
We will each explain why we did what we did. We don’t need to be trying to figure out what is in someone’s heart when they decide what to fast … unless they want to fast a sin. The Bible never tells us not to call a sin a sin in order to avoid “judging” one another. Our problem is with things which are adiaphorous or in the way a brother or sister follows God. You certainly don’t want to feel superior or despise your brother over these things but that is often what happens. Fasting, mode of baptism, mode of communion, observance of a day of rest, frequency of church attendance, and worship style are all things that can cause deep differences among Christians. Sometimes it has something to do with serious scriptural issues. For example, communion can be practiced in a way that I would not participate in; however, we often encounter differences that should be tolerated.
Romans 14:13-19
Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
Therefore, because you’ll answer to God for your behavior, do not judge the behavior of your brother’s and sister’s that is not in conflict with God’s commands. You also are told not to put your freedom or your lack of freedom in the face of another in a way that might cause them to sin. Remember that if a person thinks something is sinful, and you encourage them to do it, and they do it, then you have caused them to sin. The attitude in the act makes it a sin. If we think God would have us do something or not do something and we do it or don’t do it then we have sinned. The act is a sin because the sinner’s heart is acting contrary to the perceived will of God. You don’t want to push a person into that. We are supposed to pursue peace and mutual upbuilding. God expects us to be able to fellowship within the diversity of the Body of Christ discerning the essentials of the Christian Faith and passing over the things which are not essential.
Romans 14:20-23
Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
So if you are pursuing those things that make for peace and mutual upbuilding then you will not make an issue of nonessential aspects of the Christian life. You will clearly need to know Scripture to be able to separate essentials from nonessentials but that is no excuse for stumbling your brothers and sisters in Christ.
In chapter 13 we continue to receive instruction for how we are to become sanctified by following Christ.
Romans 13:1-2
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
We resist the governing authorities whenever we find it convenient and remember that the governing authorities were radically more hostile in Paul’s day than they are today. The TV show “Cops” is a show about resisting the authorities that God has appointed. It is an eye opener if you haven’t seen a really good liar or amateur track athlete with more motivation than skill.
We, especially as Americans, have issues with being subject to anyone. We’ll consider to being subject to God but it rarely moves beyond our consideration and outward into action. I got caught speeding the other day and I think the policeman was waiting for me to give him a hard time. Now the speed limit was 30 and I did thirty until I thought it wasn’t 30 but I was wrong and when he hit his lights I figured I had done something wrong and pulled over before he was really out in the road. My charge from God in that situation is to be subject to the policeman and not resist him. He asked me if I wanted to challenge the accuracy of his radar gun. He seemed a little surprised when I said no. Apparently we in Georgia have been given the right to request a recalibration whenever we are stopped for speeding based on the results of a radar gun. I think that if a person were convinced that they were not speeding then it might be appropriate but to request it just because you are able to request it would appear to be resisting the authorities that God has appointed.
We live in a society in which urban myths exist on how to radar proof your car (no they don’t work) and you can buy radar detectors to make it possible to resist the authorities with reduced risk of penalty.
Governing is naturally thought of in a political sense but it would include your secular employment and church leadership as well. We need to seriously consider our actions when we have differences of opinion with those in authority over us. God would have us always respect the position even when the individual in the position is behaving in an ungodly way. That is because they are instituted by God. In the way taking revenge shows a lack of faith in God, we show lack of faith when we panic over individuals who are in positions of authority. God will still be in control next year when we have a new president regardless of who wins the election. God’s sovereignty is not shaken by democracy. We participate in our government as a privilege of citizenship but we still know that God says:
2 Chronicles 7:14
if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
We may be subject to the judgment of God (as the context of 2 Chronicles 7:14) but we are never outside His control.
Romans 13:3-4
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.
Only a man of great faith could have written this with the rule of Caligula, Claudius, and Nero in view. I’ve lived long enough to watch Republican and Democrat Presidents lie and face impeachment on television but the worst sins of the past few decades in the United States are nothing compared to what was going on when Paul wrote the book of Romans.
We have no wiggle room for aligning our minds with this Scripture and being law abiding citizens. To be law abiding in this democracy is a trivial command compared to being law abiding with Nero in charge. If you had lived in that age you would likely have believed that Nero was the antichrist.
Romans 13:5-7
Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
So our good citizenship is not just so that God will not judge us but so that we can have a clear conscience and not live in opposition to God’s revealed will. We can never cheat on our taxes because God commands us to pay. As Jesus instructed, we pay our taxes and then give to God what you find His image imprinted upon (Romans 12:1). Notice also that we are told to give respect and honor to authorities. Not because of the individual but because we recognize the office is filled by authorities who are ministers of God. If you have a problem with this then talk to God and begin by thanking Him that we are not governed by anyone who is even in the same ballpark with those who were in authority when this verse was written. Study Caligula and Claudius and then praise God for His mercy and grace in your political life.
Romans 13:8-10
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Now Paul is moving from a discussion of our life in society to a discussion of our interactions with other individuals. This is a restatement of Jesus command and a reminder to keep short accounts with each other. Here, as in many other portions of Scripture, the word love is not a warm fuzzy feeling this is God’s purposeful love that works in the heat and cold.
Romans 13:11-14
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
I think that it is remarkable how mankind hasn’t changed in 2000 years. Those who are saved are warned to wake up, cast off sin, and put on our spiritual armor. The warning specifically warns us to abandon substance abuse, sexual sin, and selfishness.
We can put on the Lord Jesus Christ because the law of the Spirit of life has set us free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Before moving into Chapter 12 we need to review context. We need context because we are coming up on a “therefore” and we need to realize what it is there for. This is also a pivotal point in the book of Romans. Paul is preparing to move on to our participation in sanctification. We need to keep the big picture in view so I’ll do a brief review of what we have covered so far.
Greetings and Introduction (1:1–17)
Mankind’s Universal Sinfulness (1:18–3:20)
---Our Condition Apart from Christ (3:10-20)
Justification (3:21–5:21)
---Provided in Christ by Faith (3:21–31)
---Abraham is an Example of Justification by Faith (ch. 4)
---Justification Guarantees Blessings for the Righteous (5:1–11)
---Imputed Righteousness from Christ in Justification — the New Adam (5:12–21)
Sin’s Dominion Broken and We are Captured by God (ch. 6)
Believers Dead to the Law’s Condemnation, Not Yet Made Sinless (ch. 7)
---'Simul iustus et peccator'
Those Living by the Spirit Prove Victors over the Flesh (ch. 8)
God Demonstrates His Righteousness and Mercy in Election (chs. 9–11)
---God’s Righteousness Established in History (ch. 9)
---God’s Righteousness Received Only by Faith (ch. 10)
---God’s Righteousness Revealed in Jew and Gentile (ch. 11)
Paul is moved to worship and adoration of God for His sovereignty in salvation and for His actions in Grace … at the end of Chapter 11 Paul writes:
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?” “Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?” For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen
Briefly then Justification and God’s saving Grace in your life is why Paul says “therefore” in the following verses.
Chapter 12:1-3
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
What God revealed in the first 11 chapters we now begin to see worked out in lives. What is it that justification should produce in you? Worship as we saw in Paul’s praise of God and a submission of yourselves as living sacrifices. This is your worship. Your soul should be moved to worship in this way if you are thinking rightly. It is appropriate to worship in this way because of the Grace that has been poured out on you. You are told to fight against being conformed or shaped by the world. You are supposed to fight for a renewal of your mind. We learn (by experience in pursuit of God) to discern His will and to recognize “good”, “acceptable”, and “perfect”.
Here is where the Laodiceans fell short (and lots of others). In Revelation 3:14 and the verses that follow we find that the Laodiceans were neither hot nor cold and Jesus tells them they are about to be rejected as a Church. We know we have an assurance of our individual salvation but God is under no obligation to keep moving in a place that apathetic. We must ask God for mercy when we see our church or nation heading in this direction and do our best to keep our hearts pure before God’s face. The natural reaction is to look for a new program or change the order or style of worship. That is just like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. We need a miracle for a fellowship at that point and not new sales techniques. The really tragic thing is that programs can give an illusion of success in numbers while the Holy Spirit moves out the door.
It is ironic and perhaps telling of our hearts in the way we quote the Scripture, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me (Revelation 3:19-20).” The verse is often quoted in evangelism and I’m sure was in the Will Thompson’s mind when my least favorite hymn was written (Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling). In context, the verse has nothing to do with evangelizing the unsaved. It is written to the church at Laodicea. They were lukewarm. They were well fed and fat and sassy. As it says in Romans 11: 9, “their table had become a snare to them.” It is written to believers who must move contrary to the spirit of their age and seek God with all their hearts while others in the Body of Christ do not seek God with all their hearts. I beg you by the mercy of God to become a living sacrifice. Don’t live a sick weak Christian experience when Christ can feed you and renew your mind. The way the culture of the United States glorifies sin is bad but the way the Church fails to respond to God is a greater tragedy. He promises if you’ll pursue Him in your sanctification that He’ll respond and if you can stand against the lukewarm in your age and in your church then the promise is in Revelation 3:21, “The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.”
Romans 12:3-8
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
What are you going to do with the gifts given you by God? He breathed life into you when you were dead in your trespasses and sins. He has promised to keep you and now what will you do? Sleep in the light or run with patience the race that is set before you? There is a bunch of sleeping and discouragement in the Church. The enemy of your soul wants you bundled up in discouragement and/or asleep in the light of the Gospel. We have different gifts to use in service. You must find your place in the Church to obey God and to fulfill your reasonable worship. Yes of course you will be fulfilled and enjoy the fruits of the Spirit but that is not to be your motivation. You were taken from the kingdom of darkness and made a Child of Abraham and it was all by the Grace of God. You need to let that truth drive you to seek God’s place for you in the Body of Christ. God has given you purpose and it is grounded in your brothers and sisters in Christ.
Tom Brady is quarterback of the New England Patriots. He was interviewed by Steve Kroft on 60 Minutes for CBS. Brady’s team is one win from an undefeated season. If they win the Super Bowl it will be the first undefeated season in 35 years. He won Super Bowl MVP twice and been to the Pro Bowl 4 times. He dates actresses and supermodels and makes millions of dollars a year. In his interview he said:
"Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there's something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, 'Hey man, this is what is.' I reached my goal, my dream, my life. Me, I think, 'God, it's got to be more than this.' I mean this isn't, this can't be what it's all cracked up to be."
When Kroft asked him, "What's the answer?" Brady responded, "I wish I knew. I wish I knew. I love playing football and I love being quarterback for this team. But at the same time, I think there are a lot of other parts about me that I'm trying to find."
Sometimes a striking contrast is what we need to see. Brady has very little sense of meaning in his life. Another victory won’t mean anymore than the last one. He is a fantastic quarterback but so what. He’s gained the whole world but, by his own words, has a lost soul. There are probably plenty of Patriot fans who hope he won’t let it trouble him at least until his football career is over.
God has purpose for your life. Any Christian regardless of resources can give an answer to a question of purpose superior to that of Brady. It isn’t a question of our ability but of Gods.
Listen to just a little of a poem titled, “The Hound of Heaven” by Francis Thompson (1859-1907) in which Thompson describes the way in which he ran from God but how God, as the Hound of Heaven with unhurrying chase and unperturbed pace ran him down.
I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated,
Adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears,
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.
But with unhurrying chase,
And unperturbèd pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
They beat--and a Voice beat
More instant than the Feet--
"All things betray thee, who betrayest Me."
Thompson was a smart guy who lived in the late 1800’s but he had some health problems and ended up addicted to heroin. He was homeless and would send poems in for publication but without a return address because he didn’t have an address. Some editors tracked him down and tried to care for him but things didn’t go very well. Eventually he damaged his brain on heroin and was essentially a vagrant. He died from tuberculosis when he was 48. Now his poem, “The Hound of Heaven” has blessed many for many years and will continue to do so. He had nothing except some paper and a pencil. Almost no resources were available to Thompson but God used him anyway. Do think a Sunday School class in 100 years will have a reason to be talking about something that Tom Brady wrote or said this year? Unless he changes his ways then the best he can hope for is that he might be the answer to a sports trivia question. Tom Brady, the Laodicean Church, and the American Church have wealth and blessing in common and they are neither hot or cold just lukewarm with respect to God.
Our behavior as God’s children is supposed to be different than our behavior before our salvation. We are blessed by God with a purpose to our blessing. We are to take the physical and spiritual gifts of God and spend them as God directs on others.
Romans 12:9-13
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
We are not supposed to be generating a hypocritical love but on the contrary we are to release God’s love. God’s love isn’t dependent on a feeling. God loved us while we were unlovable. It was Grace and mercy. We can, in God’s strength, display Grace and mercy while functioning in God’s love. People don’t have to be lovable all the time. Pat works at the Food Pantry once a week and we talk about some of the folks that are blessed in this Mercy Ministry. They aren’t all wonderful or even thankful. We don’t need them to have a certain demeanor for us to bless them. We are to reject evil and love good things. Popular media has developed a fascination with evil and the effort to be on the “cutting edge” is putting some violent perverse stuff into the living room. We need to be very careful about what we view as entertainment since God has told us to abhor what is evil. We are to be disgusted by evil and not fascinated by it.
Showing brotherly affection and honor toward each other is also something we are commanded to do. This is a command of God and not a suggestion. So you really should be asking God how that Scripture applies to you and how you can obey God. In contrast to the Laodiceans, you are commanded be zealous and fervent in spirit as you serve the Lord. Well what if we don’t “feel it” right now? Then how about asking for forgiveness and God’s grace to be poured out so that we won’t sin by having a cold heart?
We rejoice in hope because we know that we will live forever with God. That hope helps as we face tribulation and keeps us constant in prayer. As we live within the Body of Christ we will clearly pay attention to those around us seek to minister to their needs. We seek to show hospitality. Things as simple as our breakfast in Sunday School become spiritual disciplines if we seek to do it in Jesus’ name as we are supposed to live our entire lives.
Romans 12:14
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
Guys have a tendency to spend more effort on what this Scripture doesn’t mean rather than what it means. This is stated pretty clearly and it is at least a little funny that we are so worried about what it doesn’t mean. In the time it was written Christians were being placed in prison, were losing property, and losing their lives. So yes you are to bless those who persecute you. It is a very good spiritual discipline for you to pray for those who persecute you. God will judge those who attack you. This is a command not a suggestion. I remember I was sharing one time about the importance of blessing those who are persecuting you and we had a person who just flat said that they pray for God to beat the daylights out of people who persecuted them. So rather than obey God they decided to pray contrary to the command of God. I know that I waste plenty of time but praying that God would honor my prayer when I pray contrary to His revealed will is just too dumb of a way to spend your life.
Romans 12:15
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
This should be obvious to us (and generally is) but sometimes we do respond in an inappropriate manner. In an effort to encourage we may fail to mourn with someone who is in an appropriate time of mourning. On the other side we may fail to rejoice with those who have been blessed in some way. We need to be happy when we see our brothers and sisters blessed. I really can’t watch “American Idol”. However, I caught part of a show the other day and Simon said something interesting. Folks would wait outside for their family member or friend to audition and when they are successful there is screaming and hugging and all sorts of carrying on. After one especially loud display after a person’s successful audition, Simon said that he couldn’t imagine being happy for someone he knew in the same way that we are all over the United States. I feel sorry for anyone so self absorbed that they are only happy when they succeed and I’m certainly happy that there are enough Americans around to rejoice with those who rejoice. It is revealing when we don’t rejoice with those who rejoice.
Romans 12:16-18
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
What a recipe for a healthy church fellowship! However, with recipes you can pick a different one each time you cook and these attitudes in Romans are not optional or elective. These verses are commands and not a menu for you to look over and consider for adoption. So as long as it involves only personal preferences and doesn’t depend on Scripture and the commands of God … your effort should be to live peaceably with all.
Please realize that you are never asked to compromise Scripture. Paul makes it abundantly clear that when the Gospel is involved it is time to stand up and hold fast to the truth. The general principle is that you only dig in your heels when it comes to the essentials of the Faith. Justification, atonement, sanctification, and the person and work of Christ as taught by Scripture do not depend on you and they are not negotiable.
Romans 12:19-21
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
These are some serious commands. God tells us to never avenge ourselves. That is hard because we always seek to avenge ourselves. The only time we don’t is when we didn’t get the opportunity. Once again we are, by nature, more concerned about what we can get away with than what we are commanded to stop doing. Keep in mind that the attacks that were facing the first century Christians were more serious than most Christians in our nation ever face. If you had a friend or family member martyred in the Roman arena then I think you’d find this command more challenging than when you suffer by being cut off in traffic or the victim of poor service at a restaurant.
If we are going to live like children of our Father then we need to respond to our enemy’s the way God responded to us while we were still His enemy. While we were sinners rebelling against God, He saved us. Most of us don’t even acknowledge that we have sinned when we fail to comply with the commands of this chapter and yet our Father loves us and cares for us. How dare we have a problem with Him telling us that we need to leave vengeance to him and to be kind to our enemy?
