Devotional on Romans 12:14-21
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:14-21, ESV
In his last devotional, Pastor Geo led us through the preceding verses of this chapter in which the apostle Paul lays out for the church in Rome the marks of a genuine Christian. Romans 12:9-13 focuses primarily on ways in which Christians are to live out the “one-anothers” within the context of the church. And as Pastor Geo said, this is not simply a check list of things for us to do, but is more about a pattern of life that is the result of the transforming power of the gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit within us.
Verses 14 through 21 continue to develop this pattern more fully within the context of the Christian Life as it relates to the broader world outside of the church. Certainly these instructions are meant to be carried out between Christians, but the emphasis on scenarios which would generally occur outside the church (i. e., dealing with persecution or how to treat an enemy) give this passage a slightly broader applicability. Paul uses the same “list” method to describe what the marks of a Christian look like in their interactions with the world.
Paul provides the following positive instructions: bless those who persecute you, rejoice and weep with your neighbors, live in harmony, associate with the lowly, do what is honorable in the sight of all, live peaceably with all, and overcome the evil of your enemies by treating them well. He contrasts these positive commands against negative ones: do not curse those who persecute you, do not be haughty, don’t be wise in your own sight, do not repay evil for evil, and do not seek vengeance for yourself. It would be very easy to treat these commands as a list of “do’s” and “don’ts”. However, to treat them this way misses the larger point that Paul is commending to the Romans. Paul’s intent is for these believers to manifest the fruits of the gospel in their lives so that they will be given an audience to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ with their neighbors.
In this passage we see three key attitudes, or characteristics, that should mark the life of a Christian in such a way that they will be given opportunities to spread the gospel: empathy, humility, and peacemaking. First, Paul says that Christians are to be empathetic by rejoicing and weeping with our neighbors. In times of joy, we are able to point people to the foretaste that earthly joy gives us of the eternal joy to come when we are in Christ’s presence. When times of sadness come, we are able to tell our neighbors about the God who promises to wipe every tear away from his people’s eyes – and in doing so he will banish sadness forever.
Next, the apostle commands us to exercise humility. We are to, “associate with the lowly,” and, “never be wise” in our own sight. In the First Letter to the church in Corinth, Paul says that God has chosen the what is foolish in this world to, “shame the wise”. By this he doesn’t mean that we should not seek to use biblical wisdom (there is an entire genre of books in the Bible that are titled “Wisdom Literature”), but rather we should reject the pride that puffs us up when we believe we have superior knowledge or understanding to our neighbors. Instead, we are to use the knowledge of the gospel, and seek out the “lowly” with whom to share it. We see in the Gospel accounts repeatedly that Jesus rebukes the proud and self-righteous but gives grace to those who humbly repent and trust him. Paul encourages us to be humble, like our savior, and bring the message of God’s free mercy to those who are ready to hear it.
Finally, we see the call to live a peaceful life in the midst of a world that is torn by chaos and strife. It has been far too common throughout church history, even to the present day, for Christians to be identified with the use of the weapons of warfare wielded by the world. Instead of relying upon God’s provision, we seek to make our own through greedy gain. Instead of allowing God to exercise judgement on our behalf, we seek to seize political power to punish those we disagree with on moral or religious grounds. Instead of bearing the insults of the world with dignity and patience, we turn our tongues, pens, and keyboards to the task of inflicting emotional and reputation damage. These are not the marks of a people saved by grace. Instead, we are to exemplify with our lives the peace that we have with God through Christ. In doing so, we reject the world’s methods and create space and opportunity to point our neighbors to the Prince of Peace.
A consistent theme through Paul’s writings is that Christians are “new creations”. We are no longer who we were before the Holy Spirit convicted us of sin and righteousness. This helps us put the commands of the New Testament in context. We are not called to work really hard to do all of these good things and none of these bad things. We are called to live consistently with who we are in Christ. We are called to “be” who we “are”. The change has been wrought in our souls by Christ’s perfect life, atoning death, and victorious resurrection. We have been given the Holy Spirit as our guarantee of the future promises to come. Our nature and disposition have been changed from one of rebellion to obedient submission. Though we are still at war with our flesh (and will be until we are glorified), we have the ability to sincerely, though not perfectly, love God and neighbor. May our lives be marked by empathy, humility, and peace so that the world will see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven.