Introductory remarks:
This chapter begins the last division of Romans, which centers the practical life of the believer. Paul had just finished teaching the church at Rome that they are saved by God's mercy, and that it was by faith alone in Christ alone, and now he tells them that they have the great privilege of living the sanctified life. "Paul urges his readers to live life in service to God. Humbly playing whatever part God has given each one. To love one another and be honest and kind to everyone. To let God avenge wrongs done" (A survey of Romans - by Brenda). This chapter may be outlined as follows: The new life in Christ vv. 1-8; rules of the Christian life vv 9-21.
The New Life in Christ
Verse 1, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."
LGT "I exhort you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well-pleasing to God, your intelligent service."
I exhort you therefore, brethren: contrary to the legal aspect of the law, Paul urges or rather begs them; this is the grace aspect of the Christian life. This word therefore gathers up all that Paul had been teaching in chapters 1-11. Paul is now begging the believers to a practical life using the doctrines he had been teaching them in the previous chapters. Paul is teaching that the Christian life is a privilege and not an obligation; remember, any time we use the word obligation, we are putting ourselves back under the law, and this life we now live, we live by faith, because of His mercy and grace; God saved us by His grace, He keeps us by His grace, and we are to live by His grace. By the mercies of God: God saved us by His grace and He continues to deal with us by His compassion. The mercies of God are the motives we live by; we do not live life haphazardly, because we have security that we can never loose what God has given us in Christ; we live life because He has been merciful to us. To present your bodies a living sacrifice: this is in opposition to the dead Levitical sacrifice; we are to present our bodies, that is, our entire being, as a living sacrifice to God. Holy, acceptable unto God: this cannot be done by self-effort. The only way we may offer ourselves unto God is by the direction of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. In our flesh dwells no good thing. As we yield our bodies to God, expecting Him to use us for His glory, we have to quit devising plans that we think may please Him; we must look to the Word of God for our direction, and then adapt our lives to His Holy Word. Well pleasing to God: if we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit we can be sure God will be well pleased. I was asked by a brother recently, "How can we tell if we are glorifying the Lord?" I answered, "by knowing that we are not glorifying ourselves." If we seek God's will and not our own, we can rest assured it will be well pleasing to Him. Your intelligent service: there is nothing more logical for a Christian than to live spiritual lives. Living a spiritual life is living in fellowship with the Father, and this is accomplished through confessing sin, that is, going to God and wrestling with Him about what we have done wrong; the reason I use the term "wrestling" is because we usually don't want to give up sinning; and calling the sin what God calls the sin, leaves us defenseless in trying to rationalize our actions, and that is why Paul calls it intelligent service: because it is in harmony with the Highest reasoning.
Verse 2, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
LGT "And stop being fashioned to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, for to prove by you what [is] the good, and well pleasing, and perfect will of God."
And stop being fashioned to this age: or do not have the habit of being fashioned to this age, or generation of men. To fashion ourselves to this age is the opposite of putting off the old man: we are new creatures in Christ, and to follow after worldly desires, and to fashion ourselves after the forms of this world is contrary to who we are in Christ. "This world or age is opposed to that which is to come; it is an evil world (Gal. 1:4) of which Satan is the god (2 Cor. 4:4). Even apparent or superficial conformity to a system controlled by such a spirit, much more an actual accommodation to its ways, would be fatal to the Christian life. By nature, the Christian is at home in this world (Eph. 2:2); such as it is, its life and his life are one; and his deliverance is accomplished as he is transformed" (TEGT). But be transformed by the renewing of your mind: this agrees with reasonable service. The first step to the renewing of the mind is confronting God with your life, that is, making sure there is nothing carnal between you and your God; we must make sure we are not hiding anything from God, which is impossible, by the way. Confessing our sins is vital to living in fellowship with the Father. Another vital spiritual exercise is absorbing the Word of God; notice the word "absorb" this means to soak up, and this can only be accomplished by daily study of Bible doctrine. For to prove by you: the word, prove, means to explore, ascertain, and to investigate; this is what Paul has in mind here. We may only know who we are in Christ by Bible study; and this Bible study will give us the stability to know the will of God. Remember, we do not serve God because we want to please Him, but we serve Him because He is already pleased with us; and this fact was made possible by Christ's sacrifice on Calvary. We must be willing to know what God's will is in order to accept his will. "The reason why the heart is renewed is that we may do the will of God: the heart that is renewed is best fitted to appreciate and understand His will" (Barnes). What is the good, and well pleasing, and perfect will of God: there is not one speck or flaw in God. We know God's will as we walk in the light of unbroken fellowship; Paul begs us to this spiritual life, because he has experienced it himself. We can only get a glimpse of how rotten this world is by examining what God has in store for those who fellowship with Him. The Word of God gives us a proper perspective on the course of this world-system. As we watch the nightly news, it should encourage us on how close we are to our eternal redemption. When we stop glorifying ourselves, by seeking the praises of this world, and stop admiring other men, and start glorifying God by soaking up His Word, then and only then will we experience the joy of giving God all the praise He deserves. Praise comes from within our minds, and not only from our lips.
Verse 3, "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."
LGT "For I am saying through the grace which is given to me, to everyone that is among you, not to be high-minded above what is necessary [for you] to be minded; but to be minded, so as to be sober-minded to each as God divided a measure of faith."
For I am saying: Paul is saying that based on the fact that non-conformity to the world can produce a humility of spirit, and now he is set out to prove it. Through the grace, which is given to me: this grace, which is given to Paul, is the authority of his apostolic office. Paul is saying that the Holy Spirit inspires him and that what he says to them does not come from him but from God Himself, so that if they do not heed what he is saying, they are being disobedient to God. To everyone that is among you: that is, to all the church at Rome, specifically, and then to the entire body of Christ generally. "To himself, every man is in a sense the most important person in the world, and it always needs much grace to see what other people are, and to keep a sense of moral proportion" (TEGT). Not to be high-minded: not to think above your normal thought patterns not to be conceited. Robertson says: "self-conceit is here treated as a species of insanity." Above what is necessary for you to be minded: don't overestimate your abilities and worth. "The only true standard of character pertains to principles of action, or to that which constitutes the moral nature of man; and to that the apostle calls the Roman people" (Barnes). But to be minded, so as to be sober minded: "As it refers here to the mind, it must mean such an estimate of one's self as is sound, just, and right, such as becomes one who is sound and sane in his mind. Pride is a species of insanity; but humility betokens a return to a sane mind; and an humble estimate of ourselves, as professor Hodge observes, is the only sound, sane, and right estimate" (Henry Beveridge). To each as God has divided a measure of faith: "Whatever the characteristic of any individual may be, it is due to the discriminating act of God in measuring out faith to him in greater or less degree. Taken in connection with what precedes, the idea seems to be: There are various degrees of self-estimation proper, for God gives one more and another less; but all are fundamentally regulated by humility, for no one has anything that he has not received" (TEGT). In the apostolic church this would apply to the spiritual gifts given to each individual; today, it has regards to the particular, natural talents, for we do not possess these spiritual gifts, since our Bible is complete, and this is our standard of living, just as we are studying at this very moment.
Verse 4, "For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:"
LGT "For just as we have many members in one body, but the members have not all the same function:"
Paul likens the functioning of the church with each individual member exercising his or her Spiritual gifts to the human body; in the early church every member had at least one spiritual gift to function with, that is, before the Bible was complete.
Verse 5, "So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another."
LGT "Thus we the many, are one body in Christ, and each one members of each other."
This is the first time Paul introduces the doctrine of the church being the body of Christ. Paul teaches here that the body is to function in unity, as Christ is the head, and the many members making up the body. "Thus the members of the body may be said to be members one of another; as the feet could not, for example, perform their functions or be of use if it were not for the eye; the ear, the hand, the teeth, &c., would be useless if it were not for the other members, which go to make up the entire person. Thus in the church every individual is not only necessary in his place as an individual, but is needful to the proper symmetry and action of the whole" (Barnes).
Verse 6, "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the portion of faith."
LGT "But having different free gifts according to the grace which is given to us, whether prophecy - according to the proportion of faith:"
"The New Testament prophets are distinguished from teachers, by speaking under divine inspiration" (Vincent). As I have said many times, the purpose of the spiritual gifts, was to teach Bible doctrine which had not yet been revealed; and so, when the complete Revelation was completed, the spiritual gifts ceased. I am not spending a lot of time in this section because it is not relevant to us today; however, the doctrine of unity is always pertinent.
Verse 7, "Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching."
LGT "Or service - in service, or the one that teaches - in teaching:"
In the use of the spiritual gifts, it is always Paul's intention that they use their gifts to the understanding to the others. In other words, their gifts are not used to exalt themselves, rather, let it be done in order to the glory of the Lord. No person should think because they have a spiritual gift, that they are favored because of it, and that they should not think of themselves more highly than they ought; but they should allow the Holy Spirit to use them with their gift to glorify God.
Verse 8, "Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness."
LGT "Or the one who exhorts, in exhortation: the one who imparts, in simplicity, the one who takes the lead, with diligence; the one who shows mercy, with cheerfulness."
Or the one who exhorts, in exhortation: these are the ones who are called alongside for comfort; just as the Holy Spirit has been called alongside each one of us for comfort; actually, we are indwelt by Him for the purpose Jesus Christ promised, that He would not leaves us comfortless. The one who imparts, in simplicity: these are the ones who impart with their worldly goods for the benefit of the needy; Paul says they are to do it with simplicity, and not with a great fanfare, and without public notice or congratulations; they are also to do it hilariously and unto the Lord. The one who takes the lead, with diligence: this does not have anything to do with ecclesiastical offices in this context; it has to do with any business of the church. The one who shows mercy, with cheerfulness: the ones who take care of the strangers, the sick and the imprisoned; remember, this is before A.D. 70, when the church will experience extreme persecution, and they will need cheering up.
Rules of the Christian Life
Verse 9, "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good."
LGT "[Let] love [be] without hypocrisy. Abhorring the evil, cleaving to the good:"
Let love be without hypocrisy: Paul says here that pretended love is no love at all. Paul is speaking of Christian love agape, which is divine love, and this love can only be produced in the mind of the believer; this love is not an emotion that we show towards others, but it is a just love that recognizes in our brother that he too is a joint heir with Jesus Christ, and that how we treat one another is how we, in effect, are actually treating the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Abhorring the evil: there are two Greek words that express evil in the New Testament: one is misseo, the one used in our text, which means concealed or cherished hatred; the other word is sugeo, which means expressed hatred, that is, abhorrence towards another believer; this latter type of hate is the same as wishing another person didn't exist, which is very intense, if you rationalize it with God's perspective of agape love. Cleaving to the good: the good here is particularized by the article the, which refers to a constant attitude of recognizing in our brother who and what he is in Christ, and not letting our minds wander from this divine concept. The word cleave means to be glued to, so it is not something that can be occasionally practiced, but a constant position we must be yielded to.
Verse 10, "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another;"
LGT "In brotherly love towards one another, be kindly affectioned; in [giving] honor going before one another:"
In brotherly love: we are part of God's divine family, for we are adopted sons and daughters, so our love is actually brotherly love. Just as we love our human families, we should love God's family. Towards one anther: it is very important to recognize each other as family. Be kindly affectioned: this phrase gives us the sense of family ties that bind the family of God together. In giving honor: this is mutual love that has no limits, that is, we must love one another with the same love with which God loves us. This is an impossible fete with out the strength provided by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Going before one another: be the first to honor your brother or sister, and don't wait for them to show you love first. We all must take the lead in regards to brotherly love. "By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 15:12,17; Eph. 5:2; 1 Thess. 4:9; 1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 2:7,8; 3:11,23; 4:20,21.
Verse 11, "Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord."
LGT "In diligence, not slothful: fervent in spirit, serving the Lord."
In diligence, not slothful: the phrase "in business" is incorrect; the true reading is in diligence. The thought here is in enthusiasm, be not slothful. When the circumstance requires haste, get to it. Fervent in spirit: whatever you undertake in service to the Lord, do it with a spirit of passion "It is supposed that Christians would first find appropriate objects for their labor, and then engage in them with intense ardor and zeal" (Barnes). Serving the Lord: whatever we do in regards to our serving Christ, we should do it to honor and glorify His precious name.
Verse 12, "Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer."
LGT "In hope, rejoicing; in tribulation, enduring; in prayer, steadfastly continuing:"
In hope, rejoicing: the hope of all Christians is our spiritual hope of what Christ has accomplished for us, and also what lies ahead in eternity. In tribulation, enduring: How soon these first Christians were to meet with tribulation. Having this hope ever before them gives them their endurance; and this endurance could be said to come out of the stability from the Holy Spirit. In prayer, steadfastly continuing: in every situation, whether good or bad, they had free access to the throne of grace. Just as we today can pray to God for every situation. God hears our thoughts, and they should continually be toward Him. It seems easy to pray when we need His assistance, but when do we not need Him? Even when we are happy and having a great time we should not press Him out of our thoughts; and this is the meaning of steadfast.
Verse 13, "Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality."
LGT "Communicating to the needs of the saints, pursuing hospitality."
Communicating to the needs of the saints: We should at all times be on our guard to help those in the family with needs. Pursuing hospitality: as we are pursued by His grace, we are to pursue after those who need our help, whether spiritual guidance or financial help. The word pursue means to track down. We are not just to sit back and wait for the family to ask us for help. "A necessary injunction when so many Christians were banished and persecuted. The verb pursue indicates not only that hospitality is to be furnished when sought, but that Christians are to seek opportunities of exercising it" (Vincent).
Verse 14, "Bless them which persecute you: Bless, and curse not."
LGT "Bless those the ones who persecute [you]: bless, and curse not."
Paul is assuring these new believers that when they are persecuted by the enemy, they were to let God avenge; and by so doing, they could see in the persecution God's hand. When we see our nation being sold down the river by a Muslim president, we have a tendency to curse him; what we need to see in his folly is God's hand in fulfilling of prophecy; this one worldism that president Barrack Hussein Obama is trying to lead us into, in his global interests, is leading up to the takeover by the anti-Christ. Paul does not mean that we should pronounce a blessing on our enemies, but that we are to take the divine viewpoint in all situations, For all things work together for the good, to the ones who love the Lord, and are the called according to His purposes (Rom. 8:28). The bottom line is we should see God's hand in our lives at all times.
Verse 15, "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep."
LGT "Rejoice with rejoicing ones, and weep with weeping ones:"
McGee says: "The world's motto is, 'Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone.'" How opposite should our actions be toward the family of God. We should enter into one another's happiness, as well as their sorrows. If we pursue the welfare of our brothers and sisters, it will be impossible to ignore them when they need us most. To sympathize in one another's sorrows means that we should keep our feelings confined to one another in the family; just as we should never take one another to court of law, we should not air out our troubles before an uncaring dying world. The sympathy we may receive form the world is so superficial that we are left with a feeling, why did I share my grief with that stooge?
Verse 16, "Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceit."
LGT "Minding the same thing toward one another, not thinking the high things, but going along with the lowly. Be not wise in yourselves."
Minding the same thing toward one another: this is looking at the family with the divine perspective of Bible Doctrine. Viewing all things from a personal family viewpoint. Consider one another as joint heirs with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Not thinking the high things: do not associate with those who seek after fame and fortune; but going along with the lowly: that is, those who are not high minded. These lowly Christians have the proper perspective on life among the believer. Be not wise in yourselves: love requires that we look beyond our egos. Do not revel in your own idea of yourselves, and ignore the needs of others. God does not need us we need Him. It is not what we can do for God, but what God the Holy Spirit can do through us, if we simply yield to Him, and allow Him to work.
Verse 17, "Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men."
LGT "Giving back to no man evil for evil, providing right things before all men:"
Giving back to no man evil for evil: live properly in a way that does not seek vengeance. Providing right things before all men: "What is meant is, that we ought diligently to labor, that all may be edified by our honest dealings. For as purity of conscience is necessary for us before God, so uprightness of character before men is not to be neglected: for since it is meet that God should be glorified by our good deeds, even so much is wanting to His glory, as there is a deficiency of what is praiseworthy in us; and not only the glory of God is thus obscured, but He is branded with reproach; for whatever sin we commit, the ignorant employ it for the purpose of calumniating [slandering] the gospel" (Calvin).
Verse 18, "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men."
LGT "If possible, as to yourself, with all men being at peace."
Our part is to live peaceable lives; however, there are some who will not accept us on any basis; therefore, with these individuals it will not be possible to live around, and it is better to separate ourselves from them and let them live their lives in their own choosing. We are not told to try and straighten them out. The thought here is, live at peace with all men, if they allow you. The privilege of living peaceable lives lies with the Christian, and some men will have nothing to do with us.
Verse 19, "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord."
LGT "Avenging not yourselves, beloved, but give place to the wrath; for it is written [and stands written] To me vengeance; I will repay, says [the] Lord."
Avenge not yourselves, beloved: even when the Christian has been wronged he is not to take revenge. It is proper to seek justice before the civil magistrates, even as Paul did before Felix, but is wrong for the Christian to take the law into his own hands. But give place to the wrath: the term wrath has the article so it is referring to the wrath of God; the Christian is to get out of the way in order to make room for divine justice to have its way; the Christian is not to take the matter into his own hands and seek revenge. For it is written [and stands written]: Paul is quoting from Deut. 32:35. To me vengeance; I will repay, says the Lord: "Though we should not do it, yet if it ought to be done, it will be done. This assurance will sustain us, not in the desire that our enemy shall be punished, but in the belief that God will take the matter into His own hands; that He can administer it better than we can; and that if our enemy ought to be punished, he will be. We, therefore, should leave it all with God. That God will vindicate His people is clearly and abundantly proved in 2 Thess. 1:6-10; Rev. 6:9-11; Deut. 32:40-43" (Barnes).
Verse 20, "Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head."
LGT "But if your enemy should hunger, feed him: if he should thirst, give him drink: for doing this, you will heap coals upon his head."
Paul is quoting Proverbs 15:22. Paul is not saying that God will vindicate you by bringing actual fire down on your enemies. Henry Beveridge explains this proverb as follows: "The idea of heaping coals of fire is said to have been derived from the practice of heaping coals of fire to melt hard metals; but as the coals of fire must mean burning coals, as indeed the word in Prov. 15:22, whence the passage is taken, clearly means, this notion cannot be entertained. It seems to be a sort of a proverbial saying, signifying something intolerable, which cannot be borne without producing strong effects. Such is represented to be kindness to an enemy, to feed him when hungry and to give him drink when thirsty, has commonly such power over him that he cannot resist its influence, no more than he can withstand the scorching heat of burning coals. Of course the natural tendency of such a conduct is all that is intended, and not that it invariably produces such an effect; for in Scripture things are often stated in this way; but human nature is such a strange thing, that it often resists what is right, just, and reasonable, and reverses, as it were, the very nature of things."
Verse 21, "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."
LGT "Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
This is Paul's defining statement as the result of the last verse. Paul says, stop being overcome by evil by applying the principle he quoted from Proverbs in the last verse, that is, let the good overcome the evil for you.
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