Devotional Questions:
Romans 12:1-3
“Our refusal to conform to this world’s values… must go even deeper than the level of behavior and customs—it must be firmly planted in our minds—‘be transformed by the renewing of your mind.’ It is possible to avoid most worldly customs and still be proud, covetous, selfish, stubborn, and arrogant. Only when the Holy Spirit renews, reeducates, and redirects our minds are we truly transformed.”[1]
- Why is “in view of God’s mercy” the basis for offering up our bodies as living sacrifices?
- What can I learn from the fact that the command to “not conform any longer to the pattern of this world” primarily involves the “renewing of [the] mind” and thinking of myself with “sober judgment?”
- What is the “pattern of this world” to which I should no longer conform?
- What would it mean for me to daily offer up my body as a “living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God”?
Romans 12:4-8
- Reflect on the phrases “do not all have the same function,” “each member belongs to all the others,” and “have different gifts.” Have I accepted these truths, or is there some degree of resistance to the way these truths work out in my life?
- Among the gifts listed, which gift do I possess? Have I been a good steward of these gifts?
- What is the significance that those who have the gift of “showing mercy” are urged to do it cheerfully?
Additional Questions:
Romans 12:9-21
- Read this passage several times and meditate on the life that I am called to live. Imagine a church community seriously carrying out these commands. Pray for our church to become this kind of community and for my part in making that a reality. Is there a truth that God is particularly convicting me of based on this passage?
- How is it possible to “never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord?” Is this passage asking the impossible? What is the relationship between spiritual fervor and the command to “be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer?”
- What would it mean to become “overcome by evil”? What practical approach is suggested by the exhortation to “not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good?” Is there some area of life in which I can put this into practice?
[1] Life Application Study Bible, NIV Edition. (Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. & Zondervan, 1984). p.2050.
Commentary:
vv.1-2 “Romans 12:1–2 is one of the best-known passages in the Bible—and deservedly so, for we find here a succinct description of the essence of the believer’s response to God’s grace in the gospel of Jesus Christ. It functions as the heading for all the specifics Paul will unpack in the subsequent chapters. Our response is rooted in God’s grace. The NIV’s ‘God’s mercy’ conceals the fact that the Greek word for ‘mercy’ is in the plural (‘mercies’). Paul is reminding us of the many displays of God’s mercy he has touched on in chapters 1–11. ‘In view of’ probably modifies ‘urge’; Paul exhorts us in light of the manifold mercy of God. Our obedience is the product of what God has done in our lives, not something we can manufacture on our own.”[1]
“Paul, unusually, repeats the word ‘well-pleasing’ (NIV, pleasing) in the very next verse, making it clear that for him at least what a Christian does, in Christ and by the Spirit, gives actual pleasure to God. This is counterintuitive for many Christians, schooled to insist that nothing we do can commend ourselves to God. But Paul insists in several passages that Christian worship and obedience, holiness and unity do indeed please God, and if we have articulated his other doctrines (e.g., justification) in such a way as to exclude this notion, we have clearly misrepresented him.”[2]
“This offering of ourselves to God constitutes, Paul concludes, our ‘spiritual act of worship.’ ‘Spiritual’ translates a word (logikos) over which there is much debate, as the varied renderings in English translations suggest: ‘spiritual’ (NIV; NRSV; NASB); ‘reasonable’ (KJV); ‘true’ (TEV); ‘offered by mind and heart’ (REB); ‘intelligent’ (Phillips). But when the background is considered […], we think ‘informed’ or ‘understanding’ is the best single equivalent in English. We give ourselves to God as his sacrifices when we understand his grace and its place in our lives. We offer ourselves not ignorantly, like animals brought to slaughter, but intelligently and willingly. This is the worship that pleases God.”[3]
v.2 “When we change the way we think, we change the way we live. […]
“ […] It is a process. The fact that Paul calls on believers to engage in this renewing of the mind shows that it does not automatically happen to us when we believe. God’s Spirit comes to reside in us, and he provides a whole new orientation to our thinking. But our thinking itself is not instantaneously changed. The ruts of the old life are not always easy to get out of. Some of our ways of thinking are deeply ingrained, and they will not disappear overnight.”[4]
“The key question then becomes: What are we feeding into our minds? Most Christians have little choice but to spend forty or fifty hours of every week in ‘the world,’ making a living. It is hoped that most Christians also seek to spend time with unbelievers as a means of ministry and evangelism. But if we spend all our discretionary time watching network television, reading secular books, and listening to secular music, it will be a wonder if our minds are not fundamentally secular. Our job is to cooperate with God’s Spirit by seeking to feed into our minds information that will reprogram our thinking in line with the values of the kingdom.”[5]
v.6 “Prophesying in Scripture is not always predicting the future. Often it means preaching God’s messages (1 Corinthians 14:1-3).” [6]
v.9 “He must hate evil and love good. Regarding one thing we must be clear – what many people hate is not evil, but the consequences of evil. No man is really a good man when he is good simply because he fears the consequences of being bad.”[7]
[1] Douglas J. Moo, Romans, NIV Application Commentary Pradis CD (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000).
[2] N.T. Wright, “The Letter to the Romans,” New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. X (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2002) 704.
[3] Douglas J. Moo, Romans, NIV Application Commentary Pradis CD (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000).
[4] Douglas J. Moo, Romans, NIV Application Commentary Pradis CD (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000).
[5] Douglas J. Moo, Romans, NIV Application Commentary Pradis CD (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000).
[6] Life Application Study Bible, study notes (co-published by Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan; Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1991) 2050.
[7] William Barclay, The Letter to the Romans, Daily Study Bible Series (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press, 1975) 164.