Notes on Romans 12

We are all familiar with the idea of metamorphosis, especially of a caterpillar that is transformed into a butterfly.  The term derives from a from of the Greek word translated here as "transformed", metamorphoo.  When we become Christians, we are new creations in God's eyes, but our old nature remains.  To the extent that it does, and we are still creatures of sin, God cannot make use of us as he wants to.  This passage says that the necessary transformation comes through the renewing, the renovation, of our minds.  That includes our thoughts, motives, attitudes and behavior, what happens inside and what we end up doing on the outside.  Instead of thinking about how to satisfy our wants and gratify our lusts, we should be thinking of what God would have us do, and how we can better please him.  Instead of trying to build ourselves up in our own eyes and those of others, we must come to a realization that our only worth is what we have in God's eyes.  We have worth only because we have faith in Christ, not because we can be good through our own efforts.

When we present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God, we allow ourselves to be used for whatever purpose pleases him.  We can be of use to him, again, only to the extent that the transforming work of the Spirit takes place in our lives.  Our holiness is never our own, but a reflection in us of God's own nature.  As images of God, we show to the world what he is like; as lights, we shine only with his light, not our own.  If the image is marred by carnality, or the light is obscured by unconfessed sin, God cannot use us as he wants to.

The gifts listed here are ministry gifts, through which God can use us for our intended purpose, to glorify him and share his love and power with others.  Prophecy originally meant "prediction", and involved the prediction of what God planned to do in the future.  In our usage, it implies more the application of God's word to understand the working out of his will in the world around us.  We already know what the future holds for mankind, but the working out of his will for individuals is not always so clear.  This is not a new revelation of divine truth, but sharing an understanding of what God's plan for each of us.  For example, if a young man has the call of a pastor in their lives, the gift of prophecy might involve helping them understand the nature of his call.  The one bringing the message, perhaps in the form of a sermon, may have no idea of how his message is received.  Another example might be helping someone understand the ultimate consequences of the lifestyle they've chosen, without even knowing what kind of lifestyle they're involved in.  Some have said that prophecy is "forth-telling" not foretelling.  It sometimes equated with preaching, but it is only preaching that brings a clearer understanding of God's will.

Ministry means "service", and, as such, is the primary responsibility of all Christians.  Christ came in the guise of a servant, and we are to model ourselves after him.  The particular gift of ministry, though, is a special call to recognize and meet the needs of the body, and of the world around.  In the church, it may take the form of the more mundane tasks, like being an usher or the maintenance of church property.  It could involve assisting the pastor in the administration of the church, or in the ministry of visitation.  In the wider community, a servant in ministry might be involved in a food bank, in disaster relief services, or some other kind of outreach.  One example from scripture, and the origin of the ministry of deacons, is that of the seven men called to see to the distribution of food to the needy in the early church (Acts 6).  The ministry of service is a recognition that pastors cannot be all things to all men; they need help in carrying out the obligations of their office.

The meaning of teaching is one we're familiar with, but a teacher may be involved in mentoring or instructing other members, not just in the formal setting of classroom teaching.  Exhortation is a ministry of encouragement and building up, through witness, counseling, and prayer.  The gift of mercy is similar, but applies particularly to a special compassion for those who are hurting, emotionally, physically, or spiritually.  Paul's message to the crew of the ship caught in the storm, assuring them they would all be saved, was exhortation (Acts 27:21-26).  Christ's compassion the needy crowds who sought him out for healing and deliverance was an act of mercy.  Exhortation speaks more to our outward response to the needs of others; mercy more to the inward recognition of the need.  Both, though, as with all the gifts listed here, are manifestation of God's love.  Even those in positions of authority, called to govern God's people -- perhaps especially them -- should lead and administer in the spirit of love and service, not out of love of power for its own sake.

We can do all the right things, say all the right things, that will convince others we are acting in godly love.  As expressed so beautifully in 1 Corinthians 13, though, none of what we do has any worth or meaning in God's eyes if it isn't done in love.  I once a sermon to the effect that we can somehow generate love if we act in loving ways.  At the time, that seemed logical, but it really is contrary to scripture.  Why we do something is more important than what we do.  People will still be helped, but our reward comes not from the act alone, but from the faith that is or is not behind it.  The Bible says repeatedly that we have no righteousness in ourselves, but that our faith is counted for righteousness.  Faith should result in good works, but good works don't produce faith.  Similarly, love should motivate us to perform acts of kindness to others, but the acts in themselves neither prove nor produce love.  That love comes only out of our relationship with God in Christ.  Every behavior listed here, from the way we behave toward one another, to our performance in our work or service, to our response to the challenges and turmoil of life, should be a manifestation of God's love in us.  Hope, patience, faithfulness in prayer, generosity, hospitality -- these should be the natural consequence of our relationship with Christ, not something we have to strain to achieve.  If we "try to do better," or "try to do the right thing," we are doomed to fail, because the capacity to be righteous does not rest in us; it comes from the Holy Spirit alone.  Rather than feeling guilty about our inability to live up to God's standards, we should seek fellowship and intimacy with him.  Everything else comes out of that relationship.

This passage is one of divine contrasts, between the fallen man and the transformed man.  All the ways the world teaches we should act, and react, toward others are wrong.  Movies and TV shows are full of tales of those who exact vengeance on those who do them wrong, to even the scales.  If you do something bad to me, I'll do something just as bad, or worse, to you.  This is not to say we should not resist evil, but we can't defeat the Enemy, the source of all evil, by using his own tactics.  The command of Jesus is that we should love those who hate us; this is a restatement of that command (Matthew 5:44-45).  God's love is unconditional; it doesn't extend just to those who do good.  If that were the case, none of us would ever be saved; the Word says that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).  In the same way, we should not restrict the love we share, which comes from God as well, to those who are kind to us, or who love us back.  That's the world's way; ours should be to extend compassion and mercy to those who want nothing more than to destroy us.  That's an attitude that comes from the renewing of our minds mentioned earlier.  We should neither give special standing to those in high places, or relegate those who hate us to a class of "not worthy to love".  The war against Satan can never be won with hatred, revenge, or destruction; if we fight on those terms, we will lose on those terms.  The task of punishing the enemies of God, and of his people, rests with God, and God alone.