Category: Romans 12

Romans 12:11 – Diligent Spiritual Service

in diligence, not slothful, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;

Truth to Learn

A Christian’s life should be characterized by diligent service.

 

Behind the Words

“Slothful” is from oknēros, from the  verb okneō, meaning “to be slow, to be lazy, or to delay.”

The word translated “diligence” is spoudē, which literally means “speed,” but by implication it refers to eagerness, earnestness, diligence, or zeal.

The word “fervent” is translated from the Greek word dzeontes, which literally means “to be hot.” However, it means more than just being overly warm. In reference to liquids, this word means “to boil” and with reference to metal objects it means “to glow.”

The word translated “serving” is douleuontes, which comes from the noun “doulos” meaning “a slave who has been purchased by, and therefore completely subservient to the will of, his or her master.”

 

Meaning Explained

Paul continues his admonition of how we ought to behave in this Christian life. In this verse there are three declarations. Literally he says, “in speed not slow, in the spirit being fervent, in the Lord being a slave.” In the first of these, Paul is telling us that whatever we choose to do, it should be done earnestly, not lazily. In other words, whatever you apply yourself to, you should do it the best you can. It should be done diligently and faithfully, as if Christ were there observing you.

In the second part of this verse, Paul tells us that we should be fervent in spirit. Whereas the first part of this verse deals with the physical part of our being, this expression refers to the spiritual part of our being. In other words, Paul is telling us that our spiritual life and effort should be fervent. That is, we should be “on fire” for the Lord.

In his evaluation of the church of Laodicea, in the 3rd chapter of the book of the Revelation, our Lord says this:

"I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” (Revelation 3:15-16)

Clearly He was not pleased with the church that was merely lukewarm, and I believe that is a warning to all Christians today. We should not simply be going through the motions in our Christian walk. God wants hot, on-fire followers, not average, lukewarm followers.

The third part of this verse is actually a continuance of the second part. Not only are we to be hot in our spiritual life, it is to be manifested in our service to the Lord. We have been bought with the precious blood of Christ and are no longer free. We are the purchased slaves of God. Therefore, we should be serving Him, not ourselves.

 

Application

Let me ask you a real soul-searching question. Who are you really living your life for? Are you your own master, or are you completely submitted to the one who bought you with the precious blood of Christ?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 12:10 – Being an Example

Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;

Truth to Learn

Christians are to treat other Christians in a special way.

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “kindly affectionate” is found nowhere else in the Bible. It is philostorgos, which is made up of philos, meaning “a friend” and a form of storgē, which refers to “natural family love” or “the kind of love that a mother has for her child.” It is that intimate fondness that binds members of a close family together no matter what happens.

The Greek word translated “brotherly love” is philadelphia. This is made up of philos, signifying “a kind of love signified by fondness or friendship” and a form of adelphos, which means “brother.”  Thus, we see that philadelphia refers to “brotherly love” or “the kind of fondness and friendship that exists between good friends.” This is a completely different word than the one translated “love” in the previous verse. That word is agape, which is self-sacrificing love in action, the kind of love that God has for His redeemed children.

“Honor” is translated from timē, which is derived from tinō, referring to “the value or the price paid for something.” With regard to people, timē denotes “esteem, respect, or honor.”

The word translated “giving preference” is the Greek word proēgeomai, which is made up of pro meaning “before or in front of” and hegeomai, which means “to lead the way.” So literally it means “to lead the way before others” and could be interpreted as “setting an example.”

 

Meaning Explained

Paul now focuses on how Christians should treat each other. We are to have a brotherly love for each other. But Paul makes a special distinction about this brotherly love. He describes it as “kindly affectionate.” That is, the kind of fondness that we are to have for fellow Christians should be more than just friendship, it should be a binding love, the kind that exists in close families. I think if I were to paraphrase the first part of this verse it would say, “Make your love for your Christian brothers and sisters be like that which binds a parent and a child.”

In the second part of this verse, Paul tells us that we are to give preference to one another in honor. As we pointed out in “Behind the Words,” he is telling us that we should set an example of each other in honor. Therefore this phrase could be translated as, “setting an example in honoring each other.

In other words, Paul is telling us in this verse that we should feel so personally attached to each other in the church that we will gladly set the example of seeking for others to receive honor before ourselves. In the opening verses of this chapter, Paul told us to present our living bodies as a sacrifice, to be used as God determines. Then in verse three he said:

For I say … to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think,  

In the body of Christ, we should all consider the good of others more important than our own good, and we should be giving honor to others, not seeking it for ourselves.

 

Application

If every member of the church obeyed this verse, there would be no strife or dissention in the church and God would be truly glorified! Who wants to go first in being an example?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 12:9 – Sacrificial Evidence

Let love be sincere. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

Truth to Learn

Here is the evidence of a living sacrifice.

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “sincere” is the Greek word anupokritos, which is a compound word made up of a, meaning “without” and a form of hupokrinomai (from which we get our English word, hypocrite), meaning “to pretend” or “to put on a false front.” This word originally referred to the art of acting on a stage. An actor portrays someone other than who he or she truly is and that is the salient meaning of the word hypocrite.

The Greek word translated “abhor” is apostugeō. This is another compound word made up of apo, meaning “from” but often used as an intensifier, and stugeō, which means “to hate, abhor, or detest with horror.” It expresses an extremely strong hatred for something.

“Evil” is from ponēros, which refers to “that which is bad or evil in effect or influence.” There is a similar Greek word, kakos, which refers to “that which is bad or evil in character.”

“Cling” is from kollaō, meaning “to be glued to something.” And the word translated “good” is agathos, meaning “that which is good or beneficial.”

 

Meaning Explained

Paul started out this chapter telling us that we need to completely surrender ourselves to God as living sacrifices to be used in His service as He chooses. He then told us that we should have a humble opinion of ourselves because we are all members of the body of Christ (the church) and that we each have gifts which we are to be using as members of that body. Having talked about some of the gifts, he now goes on to tell us what a living sacrifice should look like to others.

He says, “Let love be sincere.” Our love should be sincere and not done as an act to try to convince people that we are different than we really are.

Paul also says that we should “abhor what is evil.” In other words, we should hate that which has an evil effect or that which produces evil with as much emotion and force as that with which we love God.

This is a verse that all Christians would do well to follow. It seems that we have become soft and we tend to tolerate evil without saying much about it. When we see someone do something evil, we should not turn around and forget about it, we should be filled with indignation and absolutely hate the evil act. Incidentally, even though we should hate the sin, we need to love the sinner.

Finally, Paul says that we should be “glued to that which is good.”  When two things are glued together, they are inseparable. That’s how we should be – inseparable from things which are good.

 

Application

These are three key characteristics of Christians who are committed to God, who have placed themselves on the altar as living sacrifices. Their love is genuine, they absolutely hate that which is evil, and they are good through and through.

Is that how others see you?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 12:8 – Joy In Serving

the one who is exhorting, in exhortation; the one who is giving, with simplicity; the one who is leading, with diligence; the one who is showing mercy, with cheerfulness.

Truth to Learn

Spiritual gifts are to be used with joy in the body of Christ.

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “exhorting” is parakalon, which is a present participle meaning “assisting, comforting, challenging, or encouraging.”

“Giving” is from metadidōmi, meaning “to give to others or to share.” This gift is to be performed “with simplicity” which comes from the Greek word haplotēs, meaning “with singleness, with simplicity, or without any ulterior motives.”

“Leading” is from proistēmi, which literally means, “the one who is standing before.” This is a person who is in charge, and we are told that this gift is done, “en spoude.” This literally means “with speed” but by implication it means “with diligence.”

Finally, Paul mentions, “ho eleon” meaning “the one having compassion or mercy” It involves not only feeling compassionate for those in circumstances brought about by their own sin, but actively assisting them in overcoming their sin and circumstances. This gift is different from “helps” in that it is extended to those who deserve what they are suffering and don’t really deserve the assistance.

 

Meaning Explained

In this verse, even though he refers to individuals, Paul’s focus is not so much on the person as on the gift. He starts off by talking about exhortation or encouragement. This is one of the words that Jesus used to describe the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Christians as our “comforter.”

But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and remind you of all things that I have said to you.(John 14:26)

Do you know someone who is like a coach, encouraging and challenging other Christians to commitment and service for the Lord? That’s the gift of exhortation at work.

Someone with the gift of giving does so without expectation of receiving anything in return. The person with this gift loves to share the material blessings that he or she has with others. People with this gift are often hidden in the body of Christ because they don’t seek recognition.

Have you ever known a Sunday School Superintendent who was gifted at organizing and running a Sunday school program? This person has the gift of leadership. If you don’t like to stand up in front of others, don’t enjoy planning and organizing, and aren’t willing to make the tough decisions, you probably don’t have the gift of leadership.

Most of us have a tendency to be a bit smug and self-righteous when we see a fellow Christian who is reaping the aweful results of sinfulness in his or her life. A person with the gift of mercy, however, is compelled to reach out to that person and help them get back on their feet.

 

Application

When we have placed ourselves on the altar as living sacrifices, we find joy and satisfaction in using the gifts that God has given us. Do you find joy in serving God? That’s probably your spiritual gift at work.

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 12:7 – His Gifts, His Choice

or service, let us use it in our serving; the one teaching, in the teaching;

Truth to Learn

We all have gifts to be used within the church, but God determines which gift or gifts we have been given.

 

Behind the Words

The word that is translated “service” is the Greek word diakonian, which is translated elsewhere as “deacon.” It means “one who attends to the needs of others” or “one who serves.” This is a gift of helping others who are in need.

“Teaching” is translated from didaskō, which is a causative form of the verb daō, meaning “to learn.” Didaskō means “to teach” or “to cause someone to learn.”

 

Meaning Explained

It is at this point that most expositions on these current verses veer off and begin to talk about the various leadership positions within the church (prophet, deacon, teacher, preacher, elder). Notice, however, that Paul is talking about the gifts that God has bestowed on the various members of the body. He is not (in these verses at least) talking about the gifted people. I know it’s a subtle distinction, but Paul’s focus is on the gifts provided by the giver (God) and how they are to be used for the benefit of the body.

In the case of the gift of service, it is the ability to recognize those who are in need and being willing and able to humble oneself to the position of servant to assist them. In my mind it is one of the most important gifts within the church but one which few people aspire to.

The next gift talked about is the gift of teaching. I am sure that we all have known people who can take the Word of God and open it up in such a way that it becomes clearer to us; someone who makes learning the history and doctrines of the Bible exciting and fun. This is a person who has the gift of teaching in the church. Remember that these gifts are abilities or talents that God has bestowed on individuals. The gift does not require years of education to use it effectively, although often the proper education will enhance one’s ability to use the gift.

According to Paul, these gifts are given to individuals in the church differently according as His grace sees fit. Some of us may have several of the gifts and some may only have a single gift. How many we have or even which one we might have is not important. What is important is that we make use of the gift within the framework of the church. If God has gifted you in a certain area and you are not using that gift within the church, then you are not using that gift as God intended. If you don’t know in what area God has gifted you, instead of asking God for a particular gift, learn all you can about all of them and ask God to show you the area in which He has gifted you. Remember, when you placed yourself on the altar, you turned over all decision making to God.

 

Application

One day all Christians will appear before the Bema seat of Christ where we will receive rewards for what we have done with what God has given us. My prayer is that each of us will be able to look God straight in the eye and say, “Lord I have used what you have given me to the best of my ability to bring praise to You! You are worthy, O Lord!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 12:6 – Benevolent or Malignant

But having different gifts according to the grace that is given to us, if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;

Truth to Learn

Each Christian is gifted for the benefit of the body of Christ.

 

Behind the Words

Paul begins the verse with a coordinating conjunction de, which can be translated as “and” or as “but” or several other English words. In each case, however, the purpose is to show the direct connection between the previous phrase and the following one.

The word translated as “gifts” is the Greek word charismata, which refers to “that which has been bestowed gratuitously.” In other words, it wasn’t earned and isn’t deserved; it was simply imparted out of benevolence.

“Prophecy” is translated from the Greek word prophēteia, which is the noun form of prophēteuō. According to The Word Study Dictionary, this word means “to foretell things to come; to declare truths through the inspiration of God's Holy Spirit whether by prediction or otherwise.” In other words, it includes both the “foretelling” of events before they happen and the “forth-telling” of the truths of God’s Word. The primary gift of the prophet in the early church involved both of these.

This list of spiritual gifts is clearly punctuated as a coordinated list as can be seen by the Greek grammatical construction. Each of the gifts in this and the two following verses is preceded with the Greek word eite, which is another kind of coordinating conjunction. It is as if these had been listed as “bullet points” with each occurrence of eite being a bullet. There is no apparent order of importance or hierarchy in this list, it is simply a list.

 

Meaning Explained

Now that Paul has explained to us that the church is like a body made up of many differing parts, he begins to describe some of the functions that these various parts perform and the special enabling that we have to perform these functions. We, the members of the body of Christ, have gifts. These gifts were given to us according to, or with respect to, or as part of, the grace that was given to us. Paul is telling us that these gifts were given to us at the point in time that the grace of God was bestowed upon us, when we were given the righteousness of Christ. In other words, these gifts were given to us when we were saved. They are not part of a “second blessing” nor are they gifts that we earn as we become mature Christians. They were given to us once, for all time, just as our salvation was given to us once, for all time and eternity.

Remember, as you read through this list of gifts, they were given to us as members of a body and they are to be used to make the body healthy. They are not given for personal profit (not even to the prophet J), but for the good of the body.

 

Application

Do you know what spiritual gift(s) God has blessed you with? Are you using it (them) for the good of the body?

Keep in mind that there is a kind of cell within the human body that has no regard for the cells around it. Its only purpose is to feed itself so it can grow. It’s called cancer!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 12:5 – It’s Not Personal

so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and we are members of one another.

Truth to Learn

In Christ you do not exist alone, but as part of a greater whole.

 

Behind the Words

Paul starts off this verse with the Greek word houtōs, which means “even so.” It is the other half of the kathaper with which he began the previous verse. Therefore, this verse is a direct correlation to the previous one.

The word translated “many” is pollos, meaning “much (singular) or many (plural).” In the Greek text, however, there is also a definite article (the). Thus, we see that the Greek text actually reads, “so we, the many, are one body …”

 

Meaning Explained

Paul is using the metaphor of a physical body to teach us something. He started off the last verse telling us that we each have a body with many body parts and not all of them have the same bodily function. And, you will remember that he started off the previous verse with “very much as” or “just as” meaning that he was making a close comparison between the physical body and something else.

The current verse contains that something else. So, just as we each have one body with many members, we the many, says Paul, are one body in Christ. This body has a head and in Ephesians Paul tells who the head is:

And He [God] put all things under His [Christ’s] feet, and gave Him [Christ] to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.  (Ephesians 1:22, 23)

There is only one head in each body, and the head of “the body of Christ” (the church) is Jesus Christ, Himself. We, the many, that is, the members of the body, are united together in a single body with Christ as our head.

The last part of the current verse can be translated as, “and every one members unto each other.” Just as each of our physical bodies is made up of many parts (arms, legs, eyes, mouth, etc.) so the church is made up of many parts, and we each have a function to perform within the body. None of us are isolated members; rather, we are interdependent with each other, just as all of the members of our physical body are interdependent with each other. We are interdependent with all the other parts of the body of Christ for our spiritual nourishment, protection, and health. We need each other.

Here’s how Paul explained the body to the Corinthians:

For is not made up of one member but many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the smelling be? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.  (1Corinthians 12:14-18)

 

Application

These are important facts to keep in mind as we begin to talk about spiritual gifts. These gifts were not given to us for our personal use but for use within the church. Your spiritual gift is not for you, it is for the church. Think about that!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 12:4 – Sacrificial Body Parts

For just as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,

Truth to Learn

We are to function in the body of Christ as He chooses.

 

Behind the Words

Paul once again starts off the verse with “For” indicating that this and the following verse are closely linked to the previous verse.

The Greek word translated “just as” is kathaper, which is an adverb made up of katha, meaning “as” and per, meaning “very” or “very much.” Though this translates rather awkwardly into English as “very much as,” the notion in Greek is that there is about to be a comparison of two things that are very much like each other. He describes the first of these two things in this verse and the second one in the next verse.

The word translated “members” is the Greek word melos, which means “a limb or other body part.”

 

Meaning Explained

Paul has just told us not to “over think” ourselves. That is, we are not to think of ourselves as more important or more elevated than we really are. After all, we are only what we are because God has made us thus. He now goes on to show us that our importance, yea our very identity, exists in relation to the body of Christ, the church. Paul uses the metaphor of a physical body to show this.

He tells us, “we have many members in one body.” In other words, there are many different body parts in our physical body. In the second part of this verse Paul states that all these body parts don’t have the same function. Each part is important to the health of the entire body in a different way.

Each one of us has a body that is made up of a whole bunch of parts; arms, legs, head, spine, eyes, skin, liver, mouth, heart, sweat glands, nasal mucous, finger nails, etc. Some of these are more attractive than others and some are more obvious than others. Some we don’t even notice until they go into hyperactive mode, and then we tend to dislike them because they produce unpleasant sensations. But – they are ALL very necessary and we would be handicapped without any one of them. The same is true of the body of Christ.

This is the crux of what Paul is going to be talking about in the next 12 verses. We each have a place in the body of Christ and God has individually gifted each one of us for our unique function with spiritual gifts. But before we get wrapped up in the discussions about spiritual gifts, let’s remember how Paul started this out.

I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

There is no use in continuing the discussion about spiritual gifts if we are not first, totally submitted to our Lord Jesus Christ and totally committed to serving Him in the position and capacity that He has chosen for us! If we have offered ourselves as living sacrifices then we no longer have a say in how God chooses to use us.

 

Application

Have you offered yourself up to God to be used in whatever manner He determines? Are you a living sacrifice, or are you still in control of your own life?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 12:3 – He’s Great, Not Us

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think of yourself with reasonable judgment, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

Truth to Learn

We must make an honest appraisal of ourselves.

 

Behind the Words

Paul starts off this verse with, “For”, implying that this verse is directly connected to the previous one in thought and intent.

In this verse Paul makes one of his familiar play-on-words with the word phroneō, which refers to “the mind, thinking, or a mindset.” Literally, Paul says that each of us should “not over think ourselves beyond what we ought to think, but to think toward sound thinking.”

The words translated “reasonable judgment” is sōphroneō, which means “to be of a sound mind” or “to be mentally self-controlled.”

The Greek word translated “as” is hōs, which is a tiny word with numerous nuances of interpretation. We could interpret its use here as, “in recognition of the fact that.”

 

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul told us we should be transformed by renewing, or renovating, our minds. That is, we need to completely change the way that we think.

We in the United States, like the Romans of Paul’s time, tend to think of ourselves as a little bit better than others because we are part of a successful, powerful, influential country. And we tend to measure our own personal worth by our position, our income level, and our heritage. Couple that with the fact that we as Christians think of ourselves as better than the pagans and other unbelievers because we know the truth about God and they don’t. In other words, we are very proud of ourselves. It’s likely that the Jewish Christians in Rome felt exactly the same way about themselves.

Now that Paul has politely admonished us to offer ourselves up to God, recognizing that He is our master and we are His slaves, he tells us to quit being so arrogant! Of course, Paul is not as blunt as that, but in essence that’s what he’s saying. He gives us a guideline as to how we ought to think of ourselves; “in recognition of the fact that God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” Everything we have and are has come directly from God. Even the measure of faith that we have, as small as it may be, has its source in God alone. Do you see that? This Christian faith which we have was measured out to us by God. We didn’t come up with it by ourselves.

When we recognize that God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, for us to be holy and without blame before Him” (Ephesians 1:4), we must submit to the fact that all things are under God’s control. And no matter how great we think we are as a nation, as a church, or as a person, we must recognize that we are nothing more than sinners deserving of Hell, who have been saved by God’s grace, not by anything of our own doing. Though we are adopted children of the King of Kings, we are at our best when we recognize that we are lowly slaves of our Master who bought us body, soul, and spirit, and paid for us with the blood of His own son.

 

Application

So – don’t waste your effort thinking about how great you are! Instead, think about how great our God is!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 12:2 – Transformed, Not Conformed

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, to prove in you what the good and pleasing and perfect will of God is.

Truth to Learn

Don’t be like everyone around you and don’t let others tell you what you should be. Instead, let God transform you to into the image of His Son.

 

Behind the Words

“Do not be conformed” is from me suschematidzesthe. Me is the conditional negation particle and suschematidzesthe is a compound made up of sun, meaning “together” and a form of schēmatidzo, from which we get our English word schematic. It refers to the pattern or outward appearance of something. So Paul is telling us not to allow ourselves to look, and act, like the world around us.

The word translated “world” is not kosmos (world system) as one might expect. Rather, it is from the Greek word aion, which refers to” the age or time” in which we live. So, Paul is saying, “… do not be conformed to this present age.”

“Transformed” is from metamorphoō, from which we get our English word metamorphosis, meaning not simply a change in outward appearance, but “to completely change form.” This is the same word that is used in both Matthew 17:2 and Mark 9:2 when referring to Jesus’ transfiguration before Peter, James, and John.

“Prove” is translated from the Greek word dokimadzō, which means “to test something with the intent of finding its value.” It is the notion of proving gold by subjecting it to extreme heat, thus removing the dross and leaving the pure, valuable gold only. Some translations say “that you may prove.” The problem with this is that dokimadzō is expressed as an infinitive (to prove), and the word translated “you” is not in the form of a subject, rather it is in the form of an indirect object. Therefore, we should translate this as “to prove in you.”

 

Meaning Explained

At the end of the previous verse Paul told us that we should offer ourselves as living sacrifices because it is only logical and reasonable that we should serve God in this way. Now he continues on. Not only should we offer ourselves as God’s slaves, once and for all, but we should allow God to reshape our thinking instead of letting the world in which we live do so.

We should not take on the same appearance, habits, and attitudes as all the people around us. Instead of being this kind of a conformist, we need to “be transformed.” This transformation is one of the mind, from being worldly minded, focusing on the thing of this world, to being heavenly minded, focusing on what God is doing to and through us. And our ultimate objective is that of giving glory to God Himself. The reason that we are to be transformed instead of conformed is so that God can “prove in us what His will is.

As we are transformed by God in our minds, we become more like His son. That is, we become more Christ-like in our attitudes and actions, which is, in fact, what God’s will is for our lives.

 

Application

What Paul has told us in these two verses is that we need to surrender our physical lives to God for His use. We are to do so by not letting the things of this age influence our thoughts and actions. Instead, we are to let His Spirit transform us to be more like He wants us to be, like Jesus Christ our Lord.

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved