It’s hard being a Christian today. We live in a culture that shouts that truth is relative, where people are screaming from both sides of the party aisle, yet the voices that are the loudest don’t seem to actually understand the Jesus that we love and follow. It’s hard to know where to stand when everything feels like it exists in two extremes – one being incredibly right and the other offensively wrong. The Church, then, feels too politically charged or too wishy washy on subjects that the Bible isn’t wishy washy on. At all. The vocabulary of the culture has become filled with “isms” and “phobics,” and everything is just so polarizing.
We are living in a figurative Egypt. We know God’s Kingdom is already but not yet, and we are living in the tension of that “not yet.” So how do we interact with the culture around us? How do we practice our day to day knowing that “we’re in the world but not of it?” (John 17:14-15).
We lead with love.
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Romans 12 contains practical teaching that works to conclude the body of the letter written by the apostle Paul to the Roman Christians. In this particular passage, Paul discusses the responsibility of the individual for worship and personal transformation, the variety of spiritual gifts given to the Church, and the priority of love above everything else: “In short, Paul calls the Roman believers to a new code of ethics of love and humility on the basis of God’s mercy” (Faithlife Study Bible).
He begins the chapter by writing, “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” (vv. 1-2).
The basis of Paul’s code of ethics is completely dependent on God’s mercy, or the undeserved kindness that God shows to sinners, shows to you and me. Because of God’s mercy, we are able to take ownership of our worship and give the totality of our being continually in service to God – we once were dead, but we are now alive in Christ. The idea of our worship being “holy and acceptable” means that it is set apart for God alone. The Greek word that is used for “acceptable” can be translated as “proper,” “indicating worship that reflects a correct understanding of the gospel message and a rational response to it” (Faithlife Study Bible). This correct understanding of the gospel and subsequent response is the prerequisite for interacting with our culture as Christians. It prepares our hearts and our minds to “not be conformed” and aligns our minds to be “renewed” by instead conforming to the truth of God’s word. This mental renewal results in a transformed life that is marked for the kingdom of God.
Paul moves the conversation into the diversity and variety of spiritual gifts that have been given to the Church. As in his other discussions regarding spiritual gifts (Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27), Paul paints an image of a body with many members. This image suggests that each individual within the church has a specific role that works to a unified goal in humility and love.
Paul’s argument about the role of spiritual gifts and the role of Christians within a secular context hangs on acting in love. He continues, “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” (vv. 9-13). Paul is calling Christians to resist the patterns of the world around them by practicing humility and an active, intentional affection for one another. This kind of love is antithetical to the love shown by the world and is marked by hospitality and caring for the needs of others.
Knowing that Christians would face relational and ideological adversity, he goes on to remind the Romans to “turn the other cheek” to those who persecute and to have empathy for those who are hurting. He commands them to “Repay no one evil for evil,” and to live in the confidence that God Himself will one day in the future have vengeance on injustice by quoting Deuteronomy 32:35. It is not up to the Church to execute judgment and vengeance, but it is the role of the Church to uphold the values of the Kingdom of God by practicing mercy, humility, justice, and love.
It is the character of God that has to define all that we say or do as His body. We can exist in the tension of two sides of the spectrum without feeling the need to take a side because that is where we can experience God’s holiness. On this side of Heaven we won’t have all the answers to every question or claim thrown our way, but we do know that we have the promise of life in Christ Jesus, and that we have the supernatural ability to love like no one else can.
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Romans 12:2
Galatians 3:28
1 Corinthians 9:19-23
1 John 2:15-17
John 15:19
1 Corinthians 11:1-2
Luke 12:23
Revelation 7:9-10
Acts 10:34-35
Colossians 3:11
Colossians 2:16-17
Ephesians 2:14-19
Isaiah 56:6-8
Colossians 2:8
Daniel 1:1-21
Hebrews 13:1-25
John 14:6
Romans 10:12
Esther 5:1-14
Zechariah 2:11
James 2:1-4:17
Daniel 3:1-30
Genesis 11:1-11
Jeremiah 10:2
Deuteronomy 4:2-19
1 Timothy 4:7
Leviticus 20:22-27
Proverbs 2:21-6:25
Joel 1:1-3:21
Deuteronomy 32:35
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