Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
What was revealed to me in Romans 12: 1-2?
This may be one of the most impactful chapters in the Bible for me personally. Paul lays out the foundation for how to live as a true follower of Christ for the Romans. God calls us to make a choice to how we live for Him.
Paul is pleading with a sense of urgency. We can only offer ourselves to God because of His mercy in us. I have learned that worship is not just something you do at a church service. I can worship the Lord in everything that I do. Yes, there is a standard. I should look different based on this standard. But my motivation is the love and mercy that God has shown me. When I decide to act in accordance with Biblical principles because I feel compelled by His love and mercy. It's not out of obligation or because I'm trying to earn it. It's not out of guilt.
Verse two means that the world has a pattern. Culture will press in. I should be in the world but not of the world. To be strong enough to do this requires a power greater than ourselves. Thank you, Lord, for the power of the Holy Spirit! The Spirit will transform us as we feed our mind with "things of the Spirit". This means what we watch, read, listen to, all can influence through the flesh or the Spirit. How do we know if our lives are being transformed? You will see the fruit of the Spirit in your life and in your relationships. Love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. We start to become more like Jesus. Our will begins to line up with God's will for us. To love Him with all we've got and to love others where He has placed us and with the gifts and abilities, He has given us.
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet, "and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself. "Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.
What was revealed to me in Romans 13:8-10?
This is the passage that stood out to me. The only “debt” we are to carry is the “debt” to love one another – this is a perpetual obligation we carry both before God and each other. Love fulfills the law. Jesus made this happen through His death and resurrection. When we love with His love, we don't commit adultery, we don't murder, we don't covet, etc. Love does no harm to a neighbor. Who is our neighbor? Jesus teaches this lesson with the story of the Good Samaritan. Luke 10:25-37 It is everyone. Those that don't look like us. Those that don't act like us. Those that don't believe like us. This is the challenge of being a true follower of Jesus. It is our obligation that we carry before God.
Therefore, do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
What was revealed to me in Romans 14:16-18?
On January first of this year I gave up drinking alcohol of any kind. I have stopped a few times over the years, but this time I wanted it to stick. The Holy Spirit spoke to me and motivated me to eliminate it from my life. I am going to be honest. It has been hard. It has revealed a lot to me. First, my desire to drink in my early years came from wanting to fit in with the crowd and be accepted. I have always had a strong need for affirmation. Most of the regrettable actions in my history were somehow tied to alcohol. I made some poor choices. As I have grown and matured, the drinking of alcohol took on a different role. I no longer drank to get drunk but there was a social aspect to it. I wasn't an alcoholic, but it seems like the opportunity was there often to engage with it. There was a feeling of discontent that started to come over about a year ago. God was telling me that this is a stumbling block for me. I also met other brothers who are recovering alcoholics and I got to hear their stories. Very powerful. Here is what is most important, I don't look down on those that do drink responsibly. Lord knows I shouldn't judge those that drink too much either. Most of my family still drinks and they now understand that I don't. They respect me for it. It has brought me closer to God because I was using it as a crutch to be validated. I am not better than anyone else, I just a better me that God can use.
We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
What was revealed to me in Romans 15:1-4?
If you consider yourself strong in comparison to your brother, use your strength to serve your brothers in Christ – instead of using your “strength” just to please yourself. Our real purpose comes from taking the attention off ourselves and putting it on others. For me, the key here is to lead ourselves first. How can we become "strong in the Lord"? We won't see others as people to be served if we don't see them as Jesus does. We must be transformed before we desire this. We are all a process and we must establish spiritual disciplines like this to build ourselves up in the Lord.
All too often, Christians find it easier to tear each other down instead of building each other up; this is a classic strategy of Satan against the church that must be resisted. The easiest thing to do is to criticize, condemn, or complain. It is so counterproductive, and it divides. Satan loves it. Serving others is messy. Some will reciprocate, others won't even acknowledge or show appreciation. If we are serving others to get something back, we are doing it for the wrong reason. That would be working for the glory of man and not God. We must trust that God will honor it in His time and not ours. In fact, we may never know what resulted from our words and actions until the day we see Jesus. We tear each other down because we are trying to elevate and validate ourselves. Misery loves company and Satan loves it. Brothers let us not engage in tearing down but building up!
Jesus is the ultimate example of one who did not please Himself but put others first. Paul’s classic development of this idea is in Philippians 2:5-11. I thank Jesus every day that we have His example written down for us. We really have no excuse once we are versed in scripture and we profess to repent and believe. This is where the work really begins. Jesus can use anyone. You don't have to be a biblical scholar. You don't have to be wealthy. You just must have Jesus in your heart and be motivated by His love. We are all gifted in different ways. We all have been placed somewhere. Never are we more Christlike than when we are in the service to others and seeking nothing back. Paul understood this well and tried to live it out as he traveled. He wanted all who he encountered to know Jesus.
When we respond rightly to the reproaches the world casts against us for Jesus’ sake, it bothers them even more. It makes them know there isn’t anything they can do against a child of God whose eyes are really on Jesus. You really want to put someone in their place? You really want to frustrate them? Don't respond the way they want you to. This takes incredible self-control and a power greater than us. I believe this is what Paul was talking about in Romans 12 when we love the unlovable. It is like heaping burning coals on their head. When others are critical of us because of the name of Jesus, we should see this as a good thing really. Paul is very clear about "suffering for Christ". We should embrace it, but it is hard. This is especially hard for young Christian who put a lot of their value into what people think. This is where good mentors and teachers of the Word are so important. The walk of a true follower of Christ is one of endurance and perseverance. We should all be encouraged by the many examples that the scriptures provide and for those we know personally.
I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the minds of naive people. Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.
What was revealed to me in Romans 16:17-19?
This is the purpose of armoring up every day. Satan is very cunning. He is not going to distract us with something that appears to be obvious. He is going to use something that on the outside looks appealing to us. He is always going to appeal to the flesh. Subtle things that don't appear as a big deal can open a door to deception. We have to constantly be taking our thoughts and the thoughts of others and comparing it to the truth of scripture. I am learning that if we seek with the right heart that the Lord will reveal to us what we are looking for. There should always be room for healthy debate and dialogue. To be wise about what is good we must know and understand scripture. Satan will use different tactics in different cultures. What is he using against us now? Could this virus and racial division be a wakeup call that God has ordained or allowed? We need to have a response that is based on the truth of scripture and the teachings of Christ. We can't do that without studying it, discussing it, and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead and teach us.