Today we begin the so-called "practical" section of Romans. That is not to say that the first 11 chapters are not "practical." It's just that these last 5 chapters of Romans deal primarily with the "practice" of the believer rather than the "doctrine" of the believer that was covered in the first section of Romans.
Paul begins this section with an appeal to the reader that is based on the truths contained in the first section. This appeal is a very familiar one. Whenever you come to one of these "familiar" passages, it is good to ask yourself. "Why is this so frequently quoted or referenced?" I believe this particular passage is so often quoted because it is so clear in describing the whole-life responsibility of the Christian--to give himself completely to God in order to be transformed by God.
12:9-21 contains quite a few machine-gun-type commands. One can feel a bit overwhelmed by all of this, and rightly so. Any attempt to obey all of these commands perfectly in one's own strength will certainly end in utter failure. It is passages like this that are wonderful reminders to us of how much we need the grace of God to live the Christian life. I can't do this list of commands on my own, but by God's grace, I can live a consistent Christian life to the glory of the Giver of that grace!
Chapter 13 contains a good reminder to us about our relationship with the authorities in our life. Our view of governmental authorities in particular tends to vary depending on which political party is in office. This chapter reminds us that whether those in power line up with our morals and virtues or not, they are in power because of the sovereign ordination of God. Therefore, they deserve not only our obedience but also our respect. Let's be careful to give honor to whom honor is due.
The last verse of chapter 13 is quite the admonition from the Apostle Paul. We are told to "put on" a number things throughout the NT, but none are quite as important as this. We are told to put on the Lord Jesus Christ! In every deed, thought and motive we are to strive to be like Christ. In doing this, we will not be making provision for the flesh to gratify its desires. This is a good reminder that the best way to keep from doing something is to focus on what we should be doing. One preacher put it this way, "The best way to keep from 'don'ting' is to do so much that we don't have time to don't." If we would focus ourselves on putting on the Lord Jesus Christ faithfully, then we wouldn't have to work so hard at not making provision for the flesh. It's like this--the best way to keep from going east is to focus on going west. You can't go in two opposite directions at the same time!
Chapter 14 is a clear call to Christian charity in areas concerning which the Bible is not definitive. The danger here is putting things in this category that shouldn't belong there as well as not putting things in this category that should. I guess that exercise in an of itself can be somewhat in this very category. Regardless of what things you do or do not put in this category, the overarching principle that is at stake here is the well-being of your fellow believer. We must be careful that we do not put a stumbling block in our brother's way (vs13).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment