Romans 12:9–21. Paul fires off one short instruction after another, but they belong together. He is showing us what the “living sacrifice” of verse 1 looks like when it gets up from the altar and starts dealing with real people.
The section begins with genuine love and ends with one of Paul's most memorable commands:
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
LET LOVE BE GENUINE
Romans 12:9–21
Paul has told Christians to:
Present themselves as living sacrifices.
Renew their minds.
Think humbly about themselves.
Recognize that they belong to one body.
Use their gifts to serve others.
Now Paul shows us what that transformed life looks like in everyday relationships.
He begins:
“Let love be genuine.”
— Romans 12:9
Everything that follows grows out of that.
LOVE WITHOUT PRETENDING
The word translated “genuine” means without hypocrisy.
In other words:
Don't pretend to love people.
Really love them.
Christian love isn't merely:
being polite.
It isn't:
saying nice things.
It isn't:
acting friendly when someone is watching.
Love must be real.
But notice what Paul says immediately afterward.
LOVE DOES NOT MEAN APPROVING EVERYTHING
Paul says:
“Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.”
That's important.
Sometimes our culture treats love as though it means:
Never disapprove of anything anyone does.
Paul doesn't.
In the same sentence in which he commands genuine love, he says:
Hate what is evil.
Hold tightly to what is good.
Biblical love and moral conviction are not enemies.
Real love does not require us to call evil:
good.
LOVE ONE ANOTHER LIKE FAMILY
Paul continues:
“Love one another with brotherly affection.”
— Romans 12:10
The church isn't supposed to function merely as an organization.
Christians are:
family.
Then Paul says:
“Outdo one another in showing honor.”
That's an unusual competition.
We often compete to see:
Who gets noticed?
Who gets credit?
Who has authority?
Paul says, in effect:
Compete at honoring somebody else.
Imagine what that would do to a congregation.
DON'T BECOME LAZY ABOUT SERVING GOD
Paul says:
“Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.”
— Romans 12:11
Christian service can become routine.
We can continue doing the right things while our hearts are no longer really in them.
Paul says:
Don't become lazy.
Stay earnest.
Serve the Lord.
Ultimately, our service isn't performed for:
recognition
or
applause.
We serve:
the Lord.
HOPE, TROUBLE, AND PRAYER
Then comes a beautiful three-part instruction:
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
— Romans 12:12
Notice Paul doesn't say Christians won't experience:
tribulation.
They will.
So what sustains them?
Hope.
And:
prayer.
Christian hope allows us to rejoice even when present circumstances are difficult.
Tribulation calls for:
endurance.
And throughout it all:
keep praying.
LOOK FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED HELP
Paul says:
“Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”
— Romans 12:13
Christian love becomes practical.
Someone has a need.
You help.
Someone needs hospitality.
You open your life to them.
Love isn't merely something we:
feel.
Love does something.
NOW PAUL MAKES IT HARDER
So far, much of this may sound fairly comfortable.
Love fellow Christians.
Help people.
Practice hospitality.
Then Paul says:
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.”
— Romans 12:14
Now love becomes difficult.
It is one thing to love people who love us.
What about someone who mistreats us?
Paul says:
Bless them.
And just in case we missed it:
“Bless and do not curse them.”
ENTER INTO OTHER PEOPLE'S LIVES
Paul continues:
“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”
— Romans 12:15
Sometimes the second one is easier.
We may naturally feel sympathy for someone who is hurting.
But can we genuinely rejoice when someone else receives something we wanted?
Someone succeeds.
Someone is praised.
Someone receives an opportunity.
And we don't.
Can we:
rejoice with them?
Genuine love enters another person's joy as well as another person's sorrow.
LIVE IN HARMONY
Paul says:
“Live in harmony with one another.”
— Romans 12:16
Then he returns to the subject of pride:
“Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.”
And:
“Never be wise in your own sight.”
There it is again.
Romans 11:
“Do not become proud.”
Romans 12:3:
“Do not think of himself more highly than he ought.”
Now:
“Never be wise in your own sight.”
Paul keeps coming back to:
humility.
Perhaps because pride destroys:
relationships.
DON'T PAY PEOPLE BACK
Paul says:
“Repay no one evil for evil.”
— Romans 12:17
Someone hurts me.
My natural reaction may be:
I'll hurt him back.
Someone embarrasses me.
I'll embarrass her.
Someone says something about me.
I'll say something about him.
Paul says:
No.
Christian behavior is not determined by how badly someone else behaves.
“IF POSSIBLE”
Then Paul gives us a wonderfully realistic instruction:
“If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”
— Romans 12:18
Notice the qualifications:
“If possible.”
And:
“So far as it depends on you.”
Paul understands that peace requires more than one person.
You cannot force another person to live peacefully with you.
But you can make sure the hostility isn't coming from:
your side.
That's a useful question when relationships break down:
Have I done what depends on me to make peace?
LEAVE VENGEANCE TO GOD
Paul continues:
“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.”
— Romans 12:19
Then he quotes Scripture:
“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
Paul is drawing from Deuteronomy 32:35.
Notice what Paul does not say.
He doesn't say:
Evil doesn't matter.
He doesn't say:
There will never be justice.
He says:
Justice belongs ultimately to God.
We don't have to become the final judge.
God can handle that job better than we can.
WHAT SHOULD I DO TO MY ENEMY?
Paul continues by quoting Proverbs 25:21–22:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.”
That is radical.
Paul doesn't merely say:
Don't hurt your enemy.
He says:
Help him.
If he is hungry:
feed him.
If he is thirsty:
give him a drink.
Christian love isn't merely refusing revenge.
It actively does:
good.
WHAT ABOUT “HEAPING BURNING COALS”?
Paul continues:
“For by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
That expression has been interpreted in different ways.
Some understand it as producing shame or remorse that may lead the enemy toward repentance.
Others understand it in connection with God's judgment.
We should be careful not to make the expression more certain than the text allows.
But one thing is perfectly clear.
Paul is not saying:
Be nice to your enemy because that's a clever way to hurt him worse.
That would contradict the entire paragraph.
The Christian response to evil is:
good.
And Paul makes that unmistakable in his final sentence.
DON'T LET EVIL WIN TWICE
Paul concludes:
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
— Romans 12:21
Think about that.
Someone does evil to me.
If I respond with evil, what happened?
Evil has now produced:
more evil.
It affected the person who hurt me.
And now it has changed:
me.
Evil won twice.
Paul says:
Don't let that happen.
OVERCOME EVIL
We normally think of overcoming an enemy through:
strength.
power.
retaliation.
Paul gives Christians another weapon:
good.
Someone curses you.
Bless.
Someone mistreats you.
Don't retaliate.
Your enemy is hungry.
Feed him.
Your enemy is thirsty.
Give him something to drink.
Evil comes toward you.
Don't send evil back.
“Overcome evil with good.”
THIS SOUNDS VERY MUCH LIKE JESUS
Paul's words should remind us of Jesus:
“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
— Matthew 5:44
Paul isn't inventing a new Christian ethic.
He is describing the life Jesus taught His disciples to live.
And Jesus didn't merely teach it.
He lived it.
While being crucified, Jesus prayed:
“Father, forgive them.”
The cross shows us what overcoming evil with good looks like.
WHAT DOES A LIVING SACRIFICE LOOK LIKE?
Go back to Romans 12:1.
Paul said:
“Present your bodies as a living sacrifice.”
What does that look like?
Romans 12:9–21 gives us the answer.
It looks like:
genuine love.
honoring others.
serving the Lord.
enduring trouble.
praying.
helping people in need.
showing hospitality.
blessing persecutors.
sharing joy and sorrow.
living humbly.
seeking peace.
refusing revenge.
feeding enemies.
And:
overcoming evil with good.
The living sacrifice isn't merely something we talk about.
It is something we:
live.
READ PAUL BEFORE READING A SYSTEM INTO PAUL
Romans 12 reminds us that Christianity isn't merely about getting our theology correct.
Correct theology matters.
Paul has just written eleven chapters of it.
But Paul does not stop there.
The gospel produces a certain kind of:
person.
If our study of grace makes us proud, something has gone wrong.
If our study of doctrine makes us cruel, something has gone wrong.
If winning an argument matters more than loving the person we're arguing with, something has gone wrong.
The gospel Paul explained in Romans 1–11 becomes the life Paul describes in Romans 12.
BEFORE YOU LEAVE
Ask the text:
What kind of love does God want?
“Let love be genuine.”
Does love mean approving evil?
No.
“Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.”
How should Christians respond to persecution?
“Bless and do not curse.”
Can we always make peace happen?
No.
But:
“So far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”
Who has the right to final vengeance?
God.
What should we do when our enemy is hungry?
“Feed him.”
How does a Christian defeat evil?
Not by becoming evil in return.
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
And that leads directly into a passage that is sometimes difficult precisely because Paul has just told Christians not to avenge themselves.
If Christians aren't to take personal vengeance, what about government and punishment?
Paul addresses that next.
NEXT: THE GOVERNING AUTHORITIES
Romans 13:1–7
TEXT B4 TRADITION
Read First. Conclude Later.
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