Now we’re ready for the fourth main theme found in Paul’s letter to the Roman church – instruction in righteous living. This section begins in chapter 12, and this is his opening statement. “This is my appeal to you, brothers, offer yourselves as living sacrifices, wholly devoted and well pleasing to God – a reasonable act of worship. Don’t try to fit into the popular, superficial culture, but be changed from the inside out by new ideals and attitudes. Then you can prove for yourselves what the good, acceptable and fully developed will of God is like for you.” (Romans 12:1-2)
My translation does differ somewhat from some others. The first obvious one is the word “worship”, where most have “service”. The Greek is latreia, usually translated, to worship. I make the distinction, first of all, simply because it’s more accurate. But, beyond that, I do so, because “worship” carries with it a more meaningful, personal emphasis. And, as is usually the case, Paul is talking about an individual, personal response in a relationship with God.
Then, the KJV and others begin verse 2 with “be not conformed to this world”, where “world” is actually “age” (aion), and is used here to represent the ever-changing cultural standards of a given time. Paul uses this to set up a comparison: don’t try to fit into what is popular in your culture at the time; instead, reject that culture by accepting new (Godly) ideals and attitudes. Again, where the KJV has “be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” is where I have “be changed from the inside out by new ideals and attitudes”. The word “renewing” is from anakainosis, literally, to make qualitatively new, used to illustrate a renovation that makes a person different (in a positive way) than they were before (compare 2 Corinthians 4:16, Ephesians 4:23, Colossians 3:10).
And just to be clear (and illustrate the accuracy of the scriptures), “transformed” is from metamorphoo, a transformation that has both a supernatural cause and affect. Simply put, when we agree with God in terms of His character (Who He is) and nature (what He does), strive to emulate Him, then we progressively become more like Him.
That brings us to the last part of verse 2, “prove for yourselves what the good, acceptable and fully developed will of God is like for you”. Where the KJV has “perfect will of God”, I use “fully developed”. The word is teleios, and does not define a state of perfection, but is used to illustrate a fully developed understanding in the believer in regards to his pursuit of Godliness. Perfection, when applied to God, is absolute – that is, He is perfect in every way. But when applied to the believer, it is relative – that is, it depends on his ability and willingness to conform to those new ideals and attitudes that make him more like God and less like one who is simply defined by his human nature and culture.
There is one more point that must be made here. The “will” (thelema) of God is what the believer does in order to conform to His divine purpose. This can be defined in several different ways I suppose. But, in the context of Paul’s statement here, it is dedicating yourself to change by rejecting popular culture and accepting Godly standards in your life in terms of how you think and how you act, so you can find out what it’s like to live in a place where you can experience His goodness and acceptance, as you become more and more like Him.
So, let me try to make the application here. Remember the subject at hand is instructions in righteous living. A personal dedication of one’s life to God and submission to His ideals and attitudes is the necessary foundation for righteous living. And Paul is getting ready to define in some detail what that looks like.
He begins by urging those in the church to evaluate themselves in an honest and realistic way. He’s getting ready to talk about spiritual gifts and there are always two possible problems here: some who think God has gifted them above what He actually has and they want to lord it over others in areas they are not really equipped for, and those who have no confidence that God has gifted them in any way.
We’ll not look at these individual spiritual gifts here, as we have already done so in another place (the article “Grace, Faith and Spiritual Gifts” on the website). Instead, we’ll go on and look at the practical applications Paul offers here related to righteous living. The first section goes from Romans 12:9 to 16 and contains 20 general instructions for the believer. Rather than break them down in detail, I’m just going to give a brief explanation.
1. Let your love be genuine (in context, make sure your thoughts and actions are based on those Godly ideals and attitudes). 2. Detest what is morally or spiritually wicked. 3. Cling to what is good. 4. Treat everyone as though they were part of your own family. 5. Put others first. 6. Don’t be lazy or careless. 7. Be enthusiastic about spiritual matters. 8. Serve God, regardless of personal gain or applause. 9. Rejoice in the confidence you have in God’s promises. 10. Have patient endurance in times of trouble.
11. Talk to God all the time. 12. Share what you have with God’s people in need. 13. Treat guests and strangers with warmth and generosity. 14. Be good to those who are cruel towards you. 15. Share in the joy of others. 16. Have genuine compassion when others grieve. 17. Live in agreement with others. 18. Don’t be exclusive or snobbish. 19. Be willing to associate with the common or average. 20. Never overestimate who you really are.
Then Paul continues to the end of the chapter (verses 16-21) with 7 instructions concerning the believer’s conduct with unbelievers in general. 1. Never return evil for evil to any man. 2. Be above reproach. 3. Do everything possible to live at peace with everyone. 4. Never take revenge on those who have wronged you. 5. God has obligated Himself to take vengeance in your place, let Him. 6. Always remember how God was good to you when you were His enemy, so prove that you’re His child by treating your enemies with kindness, making them feel a burning sense of shame for what they’ve done. 7. Don’t let wickedness change you; overcome it with goodness.
There is one more issue in Romans that I have to look at and it’s the matter of the believer’s submission to civil authority, or, to be more specific, human government. I cover this subject in detail way back in Lesson 18 and explain the fact that God gave man the principle of governmental authority early on in the Book of Genesis, because men had proven by that time that they were unable to govern themselves by following their God-given conscience. So, God gave them laws to obey and punishments to suffer when they disobeyed those laws.
Here, in Romans 13:1-7, Paul has several things to say about the believer’s responsibility towards civil authority. Here’s a brief summary: God puts all authority in place; resisting that authority is the same as resisting God; the purpose of civil authority is to prevent or punish bad behavior as God’s representative; obey the civil laws to escape punishment and maintain a clear conscience; be willing to pay taxes to support government and give them the respect and support they deserve.
Now, let’s put this in both scriptural and historical context. What Paul says here about submission to governmental authority is consistent with scripture as far as it goes, but there is an exception. In Acts 5:29 the religious leaders conspired with the Roman authorities to make the disciples stop preaching the gospel. The disciples’ response was, “We ought to obey God, rather than men.” Clearly, when authority demands we do something contrary to what we know God wants us to do, then civil disobedience is proper. However, in that circumstance, we must be willing to suffer the punishment that may come as a result (Acts 5:40, the disciples were beaten before they were released) and not expect God to intervene and rescue us.
The historical context explains Paul’s definitive statements above regarding submission to authority. Remember, he’s writing this to the believers in Rome and Christians were considered anti-social. They did not live by the Roman culture’s immoral standards. They would not worship Roman idols, participate in temple rites or pledge allegiance to the emperor and revere him as a god. And, at this point in time (Nero was emperor), violent persecution of Christians was a constant threat. And Paul is simply telling these Christians in Rome to behave themselves, be model citizens as far as is possible, don’t draw undue attention to yourselves, don’t start any trouble – so the gospel would at least have some measure of freedom.
And I can’t end this lesson without making a practical application to the issue of government. History shows us without exception that when people follow God, they will choose good leaders, but when they reject Him, they will have ungodly leaders and an oppressive government. And when this happens, it must be understood that God is still responsible for putting that authority in place. It is His judgment against those who have rejected Him, in hopes this governmental oppression will turn them back to Him. And the fact is that these changes back and forth from good to bad have always been cyclical.
However, the history of the ages under God’s control and direction tells us the time will come when men will reject God and their governments will be so corrupt that nothing men can do will set things right – only the Second Coming of Christ and His earthly kingdom will do that.
Consider this: the World Health Organization says there are approximately 3,500 abortions in the U.S. every day, or about 1.3 million a year (125,000 worldwide every day, upwards of 50 million per year); marital infidelity is commonplace; homosexuality and other forms of sexual deviancy is not just accepted, but celebrated; special civil rights are granted to certain racial groups, promoting multiculturalism and racial tension; political groups are constantly advocating the removal of any mention of God from our government buildings, memorials and currency; and an ungodly political system disguised as a religion openly advocating world-wide domination of their own violent, perverse government is welcomed into our country. Then, our political leaders make public speeches that end with this hypocritical invocation, “May God bless the United States of America!” Which begs the question, How could He?
If you’re against abortion, you’re waging a war on women. If you’re opposed to adultery, you’re old-fashioned. If you don’t agree with sexual perversion, you’re a bigot. If you don’t want special rights for certain groups, you’re a racist. If you want “In God We Trust” on your money or the Ten Commandments in your courthouses, you’re a fanatic trying to force your religion on others. And if you don’t welcome an ungodly group of people into your country who have vowed to destroy you, then you’re a hater.
Are we past the point where it is even possible that enough people in our country will turn back to God, so we can have a nation that will honor Him?