12:1 Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God,
to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,
which is your spiritual service.
Non-Conformity to the World
12:2 Don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the
renewing
of your mind,
so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect
will of God.
Humility - Spiritual gifts
12:3 For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man who
is
among you,
not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to
think reasonably,
as God has apportioned to each person a measure of faith.
12:4 For even as we have many members in one body,
and all the members don't have the same function,
12:5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually
members one of another.
12:6 Having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to
us,
if prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith;
12:7 or service, let us give ourselves to service;
or he who teaches, to his teaching;
12:8 or he who exhorts, to his exhorting:
he who gives, let him do it with liberality;
he who rules, with diligence;
he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
Love
12:9 Let love be without hypocrisy.
Abhor that which is evil.
Cling to that which is good.
12:10 In love of the brothers be tenderly affectionate one to another;
in honor preferring one another;
12:11 not lagging in diligence; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
12:12 rejoicing in hope; enduring in troubles; continuing steadfastly
in prayer;
12:13 contributing to the needs of the saints; given to hospitality.
12:14 Bless those who persecute you; bless, and don't curse. (Luke
6:28)
12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep.
12:16 Be of the same mind one toward another.
Don't set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble.
Don't be wise in your own conceits.
12:17 Repay no one evil for evil.
Respect what is honorable in the sight of all men.
12:18 If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with
all men.
12:19 Don't seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to
God's
wrath.
For it is written, "Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says
the Lord." (Deut 32:35)
12:20 Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is
thirsty, give him a drink. For in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head."
(Prov 25:21,22)
12:21 Don't be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Discussion Questions
vs 1 Though you may have ways in which you are obeying God, what
are examples of your obedience that requires a sacrifice on your part?
vs 2 In what ways does the world try to conform us to its way
of thinking?
vs 3 If you were to evaluate yourself with sober judgment, in
your view what are your strengths and weaknesses.
vs 4-8 Of the spiritual gifts listed, which best represent your
strengths?
vs 9 How might those who have a misconception of "love" practice
it insincerely?
vs 10 Are there people that you can say that you are devoted
to? Are there Christians who are devoted to you?
vs 11-12 How does your zeal affect your service for God?
Describe
a difficult circumstance in which you have overcome discouragement and
continued to zealously serve God.
vs 13 What charities would you recommend? How would you evaluate
between real needs and merely desires when in comes to generosity?
vs 15 Under what circumstances should we rejoice and weep with
others? (Considering Matt 11:7) vs 16 Would you say that the people you associate with presently
are of a low position? What kinds of people around you would be
considered
of a low position? "Low" in whose eyes?
vs 14,17-21 Have you ever had to respond to hostility against
you because of your Christian faith? You did you do?
Comments
No other chapter in the Bible contains such an extensively listing of
characteristics
of the Christian life. The primary focus is upon attitudes which work
themselves
out into applications.
vs 1 Worshipping God is not simply a ritualistic act in
Biblical
Christianity. There's alot to worshipping God, but in general it is
done
through sacrificial obedience to God. The rest of the chapter deals
with
examples of such.
vs 2 The world constantly tries to mold us into its image.
It
tries to shape our values, our morals, and our perspective on life.
Those
who don't conform to peer pressure are threatened with
dishonor,
contempt, hostility, loss of relationships and loss of security. But as
Jesus said of his disciples "They are not of
the
world, even as I am not of the world."Joh 17:16.
Php 3:20 But our citizenship is in
heaven.
And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,(niv)
The
Christian's behavior is different than that of the world. But behavior
is not the Christian's primary focus. Repentance starts in the mind, in
the realm of ideas. We conform our thinking with the Bible and from it
infer applications that affect our behavior. In the end it will be
found
that those who lived according to the Bible, lived properly.
vs 3-8 Appreciating the diversity of giftedness in
the
body of Christ requires humility. If you think too much of yourself,
you
fail to appreciate the particular giftedness of others, and perhaps not
allow them to serve. But if you think too little of yourself and too
much
of others, you may end up not taking up the responsibilities you should
and become a burden to others. Avoid these extremes. "Rather think
of
yourself with sober judgment.".
vs 9 Love that is applied insincerely is not Christian love.
There are those who pretend to love. They may flatter others or seek
for
intimacy to their own ends. They may lie about their feelings. But
Christian
love is sincere. It does not compromise the truth. Love also does not
compromise
holiness. It has a hatred for what is evil. Though love may tolerate
the
sinfulness of others to an extent, yet it despises sin.
vs 10 Christians are devoted to one another. They
meet
on a regular basis and seek to edify one another. In practice, however,
this relationship may not be reciprocal. For though a Christian may be
devoted to others, those others may neither appreciate such devotion
nor
reciprocate such love. Nonetheless, such devotion doesn't rely upon or
demand any such reciprocal relationship. One who loves is not one who
demands
to be loved. In this way others are honored above oneself.
vs 11 Paul has already spoken of the dangers of having
zeal
without
knowledge. This was not to discourage zealousness, but to apply it
properly.
For zeal is a good thing as he writes in Galatians.
Ga 4:18 It is fine to be
zealous,
provided the purpose is good, and to be so always and not just when I
am
with you.(niv)
But such zeal should be with the perspective of serving Christ. As
Paul
warns in the book of Galatians, religious zealousness can often be
self-serving,
simply trying to gain popularity.
Ga 4:17 Those people are zealous
to
win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from
us,
so that you may be zealous for them. (niv)
vs 12 Responding to difficult circumstances.
Joyfully in hope
Though circumstances in this life may not give one cause for joy,
"Hope"
is the anticipation of the future in which the believer will rise from
the dead, becoming like Christ, going to heaven.
Patient in affliction
Such patience develops Christian character.
1Pet 5:10 "But the God of all grace,
who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that
ye
have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle
you."
Serving God often literally means "waiting on the Lord". Just as
those
who serve you in a restaurant are called "waiters", so also Christians
are "waiters" too. This is not to promote laziness, for it says.
Heb 6:12 "That ye be not
slothful, but
followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises."
Faithful in prayer
The word being used for "faithful" here means: "to be steadfastly
attentive
unto, to give unremitting care to a thing" Prayer can be discouraged
and
seem vain when there are no visible results. But since "we
walk by faith, not by sight" 2Cor 5:7 we continue to
pray despite the circumstances.
vs 13 While the world's love is focussed on people's desires,
Christian
love is focussed on people's real needs. Often Christians in a
rich
country will spend money on themselves. They will build for themselves
large buildings hire professional Christians to serve them, while
sparing
little for Christians in the third world who have real needs. And they
will justify such behavior with a narcissistic attitude of "we have
to love ourselves before we love others". The practice of
hospitality
today is most commonly applied in allowing your home to be used for
Christian
meetings. In Paul's time, a common application was housing itinerant
evangelists.
vs 14 Christians must learn to react properly to persecution.
Though
a Christian has many enemies, he does not treat them like enemies.
For we were also once enemies of God, but some Christian was concerned
enough share with us the gospel.
vs 15Empathy should be characteristic of Christians,
but not conformity to the world. We should have empathy towards other
believers.
But we often feel different about things than the world.
Luke 6:21"Blessed are ye
that
hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for
ye
shall laugh." Luke 6:25"Woe unto you that
are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye
shall
mourn and weep."
vs 16 From Jesus' time to the present, elitism seems to have
been
characteristic of religious leaders. Jesus, Lord of all, came as a
humble
carpenter's son, associating with the common people. Christians should
not seek popularity, nor should they seek to associate with popular
people
just because of their popularity. Associate with those who are
illegitimately
despised by others, who are considered of a low position. Humility
is the most essential character quality.
Is 66:2 "For all those things hath
mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to
this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite
spirit,
and trembleth at my word."
Conceit breeds contempt which illegitimately destroys harmony.
vs 17-21 Paul speaks once again of reacting properly to
hostility.
Revenge is an improper attitude for a Christian. But is easily overcome
with humility and faith in God's sovereignty. Being freed up from
hatred,
allows one to go further and even love your enemies. Otherwise, one can
become a slave to one's own hatred - being hurt twice by one's enemy.