Romans 12 Outline Our Relationship to God vv 12 Our Relationship to Our Brethren vv 316 Our Relationship to Our Enemies vv 1721 Our Relationship To God You Give God Your Body ID: 697194
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Slide1
The Daily Christian Life
Romans 12Slide2
Outline
Our Relationship to God (vv. 1-2)
Our Relationship to Our Brethren (vv. 3-16)
Our Relationship to Our Enemies (vv. 17-21)Slide3
Our Relationship To
God
You Give God Your Body
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (v. 1)
“Paul says that the sacrifice is living because it has eternal life in it, which is Christ. Elsewhere he says: “We always carry in the body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.” He calls it holy because the Holy Spirit dwells in it, as he says elsewhere: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (Origen the Scholar,
Commentary On The Epistle To The Romans
).Slide4
Our Relationship To
God
“How is the body to become a sacrifice? Let the eye look on no evil thing, and it has already become a sacrifice.
12
Let the tongue say nothing filthy, and it has become an offering
.13
Let your hand do nothing evil, and it has become a whole burnt offering.
14
But even this is not enough, for we must have good works also
.15
The hand must do alms, the mouth must bless those who curse it, and the ears must find time to listen to the reading of Scripture.
16
Sacrifice allows of no unclean thing. It is the first fruits of all other actions” (St. John Chrysostom,
Homilies on Romans 20
).
12
See Mt 5:29; 6:22; 18:9; Mk 9:47.
13
See
Prov
10:31; 18:21; Jas 3:5–6.
14
See Is 56:2.
15
See 2 Tim 2:21.
16
See Mt 5:44; 22:29; Mk 12:24;
Jn
5:39; 2 Tim 3:16.Slide5
Our Relationship To
God
You Give Him Your Mind
‘And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind’
“Our mind is renewed by the practice of wisdom and reflection on the Word of God and the spiritual understanding of his law. The more one reads the Scriptures daily and the greater one’s understanding is, the more one is renewed always and every day.
32
I doubt whether a mind which is lazy toward the holy Scriptures and the exercise of spiritual knowledge can be renewed at all” (Origen,
Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans
).
32 See Mt 22:29; Mk 12:24;
Jn
5:39; Acts 17:1011; 2 Tim 3:16.Slide6
Our Relationship To
God
You Give Him Your Heart
“The heart has to be purified. Man must acquire spiritual chastity; that is, sincerity, honesty, selflessness, humility, goodness, forbearance, sacrifice. This is how man becomes akin to God and how divine Grace comes to dwell in him”Slide7
Our Relationship To
God
You Give Him Your Will
that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God
“The effort of man is the major impediment to the revelation of Christ. Our greatest need is to feel His coming to us and receive Him with all our being, then leave Him to speak and act within us” (Fr. Matthew the Poor,
Our Need for Christ
).
“The will is subject to the extent of one’s holding to faith, to one’s attachment with God, and one’s obedience to the commandments” (The Late Pope Shenouda III,
What is Man?
). Slide8
Our Relationship To
Our Brethren
Honest evaluation
For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith
“We have been entrusted with wisdom so that we can think reasonably, and not to use it in vain ways. He does not say these words with the intent of advising us to have low standards of thinking, but with the intent that we think soberly. By that he means maintaining a virtuous and healthy state of the reasoning mind...the Greek word for sober refers only to the maintenance of a reasonable mind. In order to reveal that a person who is not humble in that respect cannot possibly be reasonable – that is, he cannot possess a healthy reasoning mind…he adds to humility of thought the quality of sobriety” (Fr. Tadros Malaty,
Commentary on Romans
).Slide9
Our Relationship To
Our Brethren
Faithful cooperation
For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;Slide10
Our Relationship To
Our Brethren
“One person gives all his energy to the wisdom of God and the teaching of the Word; he is the eye of the whole body. Another, as we said above, looks after the needs of the brethren and of the poor; he is the hand of the holy body. Another is an attentive listener to the Word of God; he is the ear of the body. Another is busy admonishing the slack, comforting the suffering and aiding those in need; he is without any doubt called the foot of the body of the church. Each of these has his special task, but none can function properly without the others
54
”
(Origen,
Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans
).
54 See Rom 12:68; 1 Cor 12:431.Slide11
Our Relationship To
Our Brethren
Loving participation
Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.Slide12
Our Relationship To
Our Brethren
“I think that any love without God is artificial and not genuine. For God, the Creator of the soul, filled it with the feeling of love, along with the other virtues, so that it might love God and the things which God wants. But if the soul loves something other than God and what God wants, this love is said to be artificial and invented. And if someone loves his neighbor but does not warn him when he sees him going astray or correct him, such is only a pretense of love” (Origen,
Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans
).
“If you have love, you will not notice the loss of your money, the labor of your body, the toil of your words, your trouble or your ministering, but you will bear everything courageously” (St. John Chrysostom,
Homilies on Romans, 21
)Slide13
Our Relationship To
Worship
not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;
“We are not to allow our present sufferings to weigh us down, but are to rejoice and exult in our worship, certain of our final victory. We are to persevere in the tribulation that will come and not be discouraged or give up on God. On the contrary, we are to be attached to prayer” (Fr. Lawrence Farley,
The Epistle to the Romans: A Gospel for All
).Slide14
Our Relationship To
Worship
Worship in Communion
"Here is a good thought which is not often mentioned: Receive communion not only for yourself, in order to have this immense grace, but for Him, in order to respond to His desire to come down into you, to give Him the joy of descending into your heart, which is a heaven for Him. Perhaps you will say, 'What? My poor heart, so miserable, so unworthy, a heaven for Jesus?' Yes, if you call upon Him to make your heart a heaven for Him. If you only knew how Jesus hungers for you, how He burns with desire to come into your heart, how impatient He is to come down to you, bridging all distance between you and Him! The day you miss Communion is a great disappointment for Him. So go to Him; respond to His desire" (Fr. Jean
d'Elbee
, 'I Believe in Love')Slide15
Our Relationship To
Service
Romans 12:7–8 (NKJV) — 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
“Indeed, let everyone use his spiritual gifts according to the proportion of the measure of faith he has received. If one has received the gift of service or the diaconate (Gr.
diakonia
), let him use that gift in that service, and exercise his diaconal ministries. Let him not lose this opportunity to serve, but do the work of deacons (see 1 Tim. 3:8f).
If one has received the gift of teaching, let him serve in that teaching, missing no chance to catechize his fellows and teach the Scriptures (see Acts 13:1; Eph. 4:11). Some may have the charisma of exhorting. Let this one serve in that ministry of exhortation (Gr.
paraklesei
). The Greek word here means not only “exhortation,” but also “encouragement, urging, consolation.” It refers to a ministry of counseling, strengthening the weak and the distressed. Slide16
Our Relationship To
Service
Some have a gift of imparting or giving alms (Gr.
metadidomi
). These are to fulfill their tasks in simplicity. That is, they are not to make a big show of their alms, but to give their aid and contribution quietly, preserving the dignity of those whom they help.
Others have the gift and task of presiding (Gr.
proistamenos
). This indicates the work of a presbyter or elder, one of the local clergy. (The verb is used of presbyters in 1 Tim. 5:17 and of those who admonish the faithful in 1 Thess. 5:12.) They are to rule in eagerness, diligence and zeal (Gr.
spoude
; see its cognate verb in Titus 3:12, which translates as “to make every effort”). That is, they are not to be slack in their pastoral role, but to exert every effort, being eager to
serve.
Finally
, one may have the gift of showing mercy (Gr.
eleos
) or doing charitable works. This refers to visiting and caring for the sick, the infirm, and the imprisoned, and of burying the dead. One should do this cheerfully (Gr.
ilaroteti
; see its use in 2 Cor. 9:7 to describe the willing giver).”
(Fr. Lawrence Farley,
The Epistle to the Romans: A Gospel for All
).Slide17
Our Relationship To
The Needy
distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
Salvation of the rich is in the needy
“We must not look on the saints as beggars but see them as people who have needs like our own. The
practice of hospitality does not simply mean that we should entertain
those who come to us. It means also that we should go out and invite others to come in”
34
(Origen,
Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans
).
34 See Lk 14:1214.Slide18
Our Relationship To
Your Enemies
Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.Slide19
Our Relationship To
Your Enemies
“
If as some people think it is wrong to do evil but not wrong to repay it, it may be just but it is still a similar sin, or in my opinion, even a worse one. For the one who does evil to begin with may perhaps not realize that what he has done is wrong. But
the one who repays evil and who is moved by thoughts of revenge has already admitted that he knew it was wrong to do it
.… Note that the apostle does not tell us to do what is pleasing to everyone. But we should do what is right whether other people like it or not” (Origen,
Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans
).Slide20
Our
Relationship To
Your Enemies
“If we have this otherworldly humility and supernatural love, one that will return blessings for curses, then we will also render no one wickedness for wickedness. The world, St. Paul says, may treat us shabbily, but we must return kindness. Instead of quickly lashing back when insulted, we should take forethought for what is right before all men. Rather than instantly responding, we must first think, “How will this response commend the Gospel to the world?” If it will cause the world to further revile the Christians, we should simply absorb the insult meekly and be quiet” (Fr. Lawrence Farley, The Epistle to the Romans: A Gospel for All).