Romans 12

Paul has covered incredible theological ground so far: Justification, sanctification, glorification, and God’s corporate election of Jews and Gentiles into his kingdom. At this point, he reflects on all of this and praises God for his inexhaustible and ineffable wisdom, intellect, and glory (Rom. 11:33-36). Now, Paul moves from the abstract into the practical, beginning with our individual dedication to Jesus (Rom. 12:1-2) and our corporate dedication to the Body of Christ (Rom. 12:3ff).

The Body of Christ

(12:1) “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

In Greek, the order of the words shows priority. The word “urge” (parakaleō) starts the sentence, which shows that this is the emphasis in Paul’s mind (“I urge you…”).

Commitment to Christ is not based on self-effort or willpower. It is based on “the mercies of God.” How different this call for commitment would be if it was in chapter 1, rather than chapter 12! Paul spent eleven chapters explaining his reasoning for why we should surrender the leadership of our lives to Christ. Thus, the “therefore” refers to chapters 1-11.[]

“Present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice.” God doesn’t just want what you can give to him. He wants you. He wants to lead your entire life. God doesn’t want a dead sacrifice (like in the OT system). Rather, he wants “living” sacrifices; people who dedicate all of life to him.

“Spiritual” (logikon) really means something closer to “logical,” as you may detect for yourself by reading the original Greek word. The term refers to “being carefully thought through” or “thoughtful.” This word was “a favorite expression of philosophers since Aristotle” (BDAG, p.598). Translators render it as “spiritual” based on Peter’s usage of the “pure spiritual milk of the word” (1 Pet. 2:2 NIV). But the context of 1 Peter 2 is different, because it is referring to the words of God (logion). We agree with other translations: “reasonable service” (NET), “true worship” (TNIV), or “truly the way” (NLT).

After viewing God’s enormous and gratuitous love for us, it only makes sense to give everything for Him. Why would you withhold anything from Jesus, when he gave everything for you? This isn’t merely a sinful decision, but it’s illogical and foolish! Jesus will never ask more of you than what he did, and we can never do more than what he did for us! Keller writes, “Once you have a good view of God’s mercy, anything less than a total, complete sacrifice of yourself to God is completely irrational! If you give yourself partially or half-heartedly, you are simply not thinking; you are not looking at what Jesus did. If what he did does not move you or break the ice over your soul, you must ask yourself if you have ever understood the gospel.”[]

What is worship? In the new covenant, we worship God through our daily “service” to him—not through old covenant methods (e.g. animal sacrifices, liturgy, singing, priestly duties, etc.). We worship him through our “service” in the cause of Christ. Paul “extends the sphere of [worship] into every dimension of life.”[]

(12:2) “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

“Do not be conformed to this world.” How would we know if we’re conforming to the thinking of our culture? We can’t know this from within ourselves, because we could be conforming without knowing it. A broken clock cannot know if it’s telling the right time, just as a person brainwashed by his culture cannot know if his mental faculties are working properly. We need an outside perspective to know if we’re falling into conformity (cf. 1 Pet. 1:14). The Bible serves as an infinite point of reference to give us this perspective.

“Conformed” (syschematizesthe) means “to form according to a pattern or mold, form/model after something” (BDAG). Peter uses the same term in 1 Peter 1:14.

“Transformed” (metamorphoō) is the root from which we get our English word “metamorphosis.” The Bible uses this term to refer to Jesus being “transfigured” on the mountain (Mt. 17:2; Mk. 9:2), and Paul uses it of inner transformation (2 Cor. 3:18).

To “prove” (dokimazo) the will of God means “to make a critical examination of something to determine genuineness, put to the test, examine” (BDAG). In this context, Paul could mean that we “understand and agree with what God wants of us with a view to putting it into practice.”[] Thus, we could be proving the will of God to ourselves, to others, or perhaps to both.

Questions for Reflection

Read verses 1-2. What is the basis for dedicating our lives to Christ? And what is the process for doing this?

Have you made this decision to place your life up on the altar and present yourself to God as his instrument?

#1. Don’t have an inflated view of yourself

(12:3) “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”

“I say to everyone.” This message of humility is so important that literally “everyone” needs to hear it (and rehear it!). Only a proud fool ignores this message of our need for humility before God and before others (see our earlier article “Humility”).

“Not to think… but to think.” The key to humility begins in our minds. We need to put into practice Paul’s urging to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (v.2). It’s interesting that the very first application of this principle is in the area of humility.

We shouldn’t boast in our spiritual gifts, but rather, we should fit into the role God has given us. This verse comes off the heels of verse 2. If we are “conformed to the world,” then we will have a high view of ourselves. But if we are “transformed by the renewing of our mind,” this leads to humility. Keller writes, “Despite all the warnings our culture gives about the danger of low self-esteem, the real danger is self-centeredness and egocentricity.”[] Mounce refers to people in this condition as “egoholics.”[]

#2. Instead, realize that we’re all one body—not competing individuals

(12:4) “For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function.”

Here Paul makes an analogy between Christian community and human anatomy. While the human body is composed of various parts (e.g. arms, legs, eyes, ears, etc.), these all form one singular body. Our body parts have different “functions,” and they all play a vital and unique role. Paul uses this imagery to speak against the prideful attitudes of individual Christians—namely, we all need each other.

(12:5) “So we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”

We not only have an individual identity in Christ (Rom. 6), but we have a corporate identity in the Body of Christ. Paul elaborates on this concept in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27. While Paul affirms that we are individuals with special gifts and contributions, he is not teaching individualism. Each person has a distinct “function” (v.4), but we are all interconnected in the Body of Christ. While Paul’s teaching has implications for the universal church across the globe, Paul seems to have “the local church only in view.”[] One indicator of this is the fact that Paul doesn’t mention “apostles” (contra 1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 4:11). Indeed, the church in Rome had no formal apostles. We aren’t aiming to be unified with all Christians in every part of the world. While we enjoy this objective unity, Paul’s burden is for local Christians to exercises the unity that belongs to them in Christ.

#3. Because #1 and #2 are true, we should USE our gifts to build up others—not glorify ourselves

Throughout this section, we see that Paul is referring to love in the Christian community. The expression “one another” occurs three times (v.10, 16) and “brotherly love” (philadelphia, v.10) occurs as well. See our earlier article “Spiritual Gifts” for a thorough explanation of the spiritual gifts.

(12:6) “Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith.”

God has given different gifts for the purpose of building up the Body. We aren’t given gifts to glorify ourselves, but to build up the Body of Christ. We don’t marvel at the possession of our gifts, but rather our use of them for God and others. Thank God that he didn’t fill his church with people all exactly like me! What a horrible church that would be! Thank God that he gifted all of us differently, so we can show the multifaceted nature of Jesus’ love to others.

“If prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith.” Prophecy doesn’t simply deal with foretelling the future, but forthtelling God’s leadership in the present. Prophecy “involved proclaiming to the community information that God had revealed to the prophet for the church’s edification (see esp. 1 Cor. 14:3, 24-25, 30).”[] Of course, such claims are open to verification or falsification from the church (1 Cor. 14:29).

“According to the proportion of his faith.” Many commentators understand “faith” to refer to the objective faith revealed “once for all to the saints” (Jude 3). That is, prophets should prophesy according to the truth of the Bible. Certainly, this is true! But is that what Paul is teaching here? We think not. We agree with Moo[] that this refers to the prophet’s exercise of trust in God as he or she uses this gift.

The gift of “prophecy” should be exercised in close connection with our faith. Why is our level of faith important specifically with regard to the gift of prophecy? Christian history shows us that the gift of prophecy can quickly degrade into false prophecy. Perhaps Paul was foreseeing that this gift could be abused in this way, and he wanted prophecy to be grounded in faith—not imagination.

(12:7) “If service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching.”

The term “service” (diakonian) means “ministry.” Of course, Jesus was the ultimate servant of us (Mk. 10:45). Some think that this could refer to having a higher energy output than others. That’s possible, and we’ve certainly observed this in certain people. However, notice that 1 Peter 4:11 states, “Whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies.” We don’t serve based on self-effort, but based on God’s power. If a person has a higher energy output, this would only be because God gave them this gift and the “strength which [He] supplies.”

(12:8) “Or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”

“Exhorts, in his exhortation.” The term “exhorts” (parakalon) is literally translated “to call to one’s side” (BDAG). It can also be rendered “to summon to one’s aid, call upon for help” or “to urge strongly, appeal to, urge, exhort, encourage” or “to make a strong request for something, request, implore, entreat” (BDAG). Regarding Romans 12:8, Keller writes, “This is the word parakaleo, which means to ‘come alongside.’ ‘Encouragement’ is a good translation, but it also includes most of what today we would call ‘counseling’—support, inspiration. Encouragers are not necessarily trained, formal counselors. They can serve as advisors, supporters, greeters, and welcomers in many ways.”[]

“Gives, with liberality.” The term “liberality” (haploteti) can be rendered “generously” or “sincerely” (BDAG). That is, this could refer to generous givers or to transparent and sincere givers. Contrast the latter with Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5! God is not in the business of promoting hypocritical financial giving.

“Leads, with diligence.” The term “diligence” (spoude) can be rendered “swiftness, haste” or “eagerness, earnestness, diligence, willingness, zeal” (BDAG). Those with a gift of leadership are not supposed to be boring, apathetic, lackadaisical, or half-hearted. Leaders are supposed to bring zeal, passion, excitement, and vision to those around them.

“Mercy, with cheerfulness.” The term “cheerfulness” (hilaroteti) refers to the “opposite of an attitude suggesting being under duress, cheerfulness, gladness, wholeheartedness, graciousness” (BDAG). People with a mercy gift can often have a “martyr complex.” Paul doesn’t want the mercy-gifted to walk around feeling sorry for themselves. He wants them to serve with a happy heart—eager to help those in need.

(12:9) “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.”

“Hypocrisy” (hypokritēs) originally referred to a “play-actor.”[] When we do not have close community (v.10) where people exercise their gifts (vv.6-8), we fall into hypocrisy. In such a scenario, we aren’t exercising authentic love, but merely “play acting.” If we’re not willing to put any time into the Body of Christ, then all we’re left with is hypocrisy—fake and fraudulent love. Thus far, the word “love” (agapē) has been used only for God’s love toward humans. This is the first time that the word “love” (agapē) has been used with regard to human love.[]

“Abhor what is evil.” Christian community is also a moral community. Without moral boundaries, love is an impossibility. We need moral boundaries so that we aren’t harming and taking from each other. In a world-system run by Satan himself (1 Jn. 5:19; 2 Cor. 4:4), evil is so common that it is simply the air that we breathe. This is why we need a “transforming of the mind” (v.2), developing a worldview that is constantly refined and informed by God.

“Cling to what is good.” The word “cling” (kollaō) means to “glue or join together,”[] and it is used for the closeness of sexual union.

(12:10) “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.”

The picture of Christian community is one of “devotion” (philostorgoi) or “loving dearly” (BDAG).

“Give preference to one another in honor.” Humility is hard to define, but easy to see. This is a beautiful and practical picture of humility. Serving people should never turn into an opportunity to serve myself. The term refers to “outdoing one another in showing honor” (RSV) or “surpassing one another in showing honor.”[] This means to “recognize and praise one another’s accomplishments and to defer to one another.”[] This comes on the heels of learning about our spiritual gifts. God gives us gifts to glorify him and others—not ourselves.

(12:11) “Not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”

How should all of us serve God, no matter what gifts we have? Paul mentions three qualities:

“Lagging behind” (okneroi) is literally “a state involving shrinking from something, holding back, hesitation, reluctance, idle, lazy” (BDAG). Much of our lack of zeal stems from self-protectiveness and not wanting to express ourselves publicly. We fear that we will look foolish if we express excitement and emotion about the cause of Christ. When we are thinking clearly, however, we will wonder why we show excitement for anything else on Earth.

“Diligence” (spoude) was mentioned above in reference to leadership (v.8), but here it refers to all believers. This term can be rendered “swiftness, haste” or “eagerness, earnestness, diligence, willingness, zeal” (BDAG).

“Fervent” (zeontes) is also rendered “zeal” (NIV), and it can literally mean to be “set on fire” to “boil” or to “seethe.”[] BDAG defines this term as a “figure of emotions, anger, love, eagerness to do good or evil, to be stirred up emotionally, be enthusiastic/excited/on fire.” Apparently, this was one of the keys to Apollos’ fantastic teaching ability (Acts 18:25). These imperatives are probably interconnected. As we engage in each imperative, they mutually support each other.

“Serving the Lord.” Our excitement and passion are not just charismatic experiences. Our zeal should result in serving God and others.

(12:12) “Rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer.”

It isn’t that we’re supposed to “be joyful” (NIV), as if this is an emotional state. The term “be joyful” (chairontes) is a verb—not a noun. The NASB is correct in translating this as “rejoice.” This is a decision to rejoice—not necessarily a feeling of joy (at least, not immediately). This must be connected with our ability to suffer and “perseve in tribulation.” The object of our rejoicing is our “hope” (elpidi), which refers to “looking forward to something with some reason for confidence respecting fulfillment” (BDAG).

How can we possibly “rejoice” during times of “tribulation”? Paul implies that “prayer” is the key. In fact, “tribulation” is sandwiched between “rejoicing” and “prayer.”

(12:13) “Contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.”

We need to spend adequate time building up fellow believers, and taking care of their needs. But this needs to be balanced with an outward focus:

“Practicing” (diōkontes) is the word used for persecution in verse 14. Consider the zeal and drive of an antagonistic persecutor. Paul wants this same drive, but only directed toward good—not evil.

“Hospitality” (philoxenian) means to “love” (phileo) the “strangers” (xenoi). We can’t only love our fellow believers. Otherwise, Christian community becomes inward and strange. We need to balance our time by loving those who don’t know Christ yet. This fits with the context of persecutors in verse 14.

Questions for Reflection

Read verses 3-13. As you read through this list of gifts and qualities, which of these do you see in your friends around you? How can you encourage them to grow in these gifts even further?

Which of these qualities have others seen in you? How can you leverage your gifts and grow in them to build up others?

With such an awesome community, it seems that everyone would love this! But this is not the case…

(12:14, 17) “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse… ¹⁷ Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men.”

Paul gives the command to “bless” twice in this same verse. He must feel the need to repeat it, because it is so tempting to curse our persecutors. Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies (Lk. 6:28; Mt. 5:44) and to do good to them (Lk. 6:27). To “bless” our persecutors “is to call on God to bestow his favor upon them” and the opposite is “cursing… asking God to bring disaster and/or spiritual ruin on a person.”[]

What does it look like to not retaliate against persecution—without being weak? In reality, lashing out is easier than loving others. Retaliation is a quality that any beast in the animal kingdom possessed by nature, but the latter is a virtue of the transformed believer. This quality is virtuous—not a weakness. The purpose is for our witness to the world (“…in the sight of all men…”).

(12:15) “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”

This is not just a command to feel empathy with those who are hurting, but also to express empathy with those who are hurting (and/or rejoicing). Since we all have the same corporate identity in the Body of Christ, we can take pride and ego out of the equation. Ask yourself, “Am I just as happy to see my brother get publicly acknowledged as I would be if I were publicly acknowledged? Do I feel the same level of pain for my sister who is hurting, as if I was hurting?”

(12:16) “Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.”

This surely refers to our common convictions and values—not “groupthink” (cf. Phil. 2:2). As Stott writes, “Since Christians have a renewed mind, it should also be a common mind, sharing the same basic convictions and concerns. Without this common mind we cannot live or work together in harmony.”[] After all, Paul has already shown that there is tremendous diversity in the Body of Christ. We chafe against this command, but this is because “the biggest barrier to unity is pride.”[] Pride manifests itself in an inability to show deference to others’ ideas, claiming the credit for our own, and resenting being under the leadership of others.

“Do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.” The key to loving the marginalized is realizing that we are no better than anyone else (“Do not be wise in your own estimation”). Just consider how different your life would look if you missed out on a few key opportunities, made just a few decisions differently, or grew up in a different situation. These small changes could’ve ruined your life! If we are proud, we simply don’t realize how easily our lives could’ve been different if it wasn’t for the caring hand of God.

(12:17) “Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men.”

Paul tells believers to be ethical in the eyes of the culture. He doesn’t want to see Christ’s name pulled through the mud, because of the evil behavior of believers.

(12:18) “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.”

Sometimes, peace is impossible. But our job is to do our best to make peace with all people—even our persecutors.

(12:19) “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.”

Why is the wrath of God necessary for forgiveness? Paul cites Deuteronomy 32:35. If we didn’t believe in the real wrath of God, then forgiveness and non-retaliation wouldn’t have any basis. Paul uses the wrath of God as the foundation for why we shouldn’t seek our own revenge. After all, if God isn’t going to judge, then we would be quick to carry out the judgment ourselves.

Why shouldn’t we retaliate? One reason is that we are the “beloved” of God. That is, we have been given great love from him without deserving it. In addition, we’re simply not in a position to deliver wrath objectively or perfectly. God promises to do this for us. Our role is to win over others with love. The word “overcome” is a military word for “overpowering” the enemy.[] In other words, love is our strongest weapon.

(12:20) “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Paul cites Proverbs 25:21-22a.

(12:21) “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

When we succumb to evil solutions while suffering, we become evil in the process. God promises to overcome evil through the good works of believers (1 Pet. 2:23; Ps. 37:5ff).

Questions for Reflection

Read verses 14-21. Paul ends this section on the Body of Christ by speaking about persecution. Why would anyone want to persecute a highly dedicated and loving group of Christians like this?