Romans 12:1-33

A Call To Make Real In The Church And In The World The Righteousness Which They Have Received (12:1-15:33).

This section moves from the indicative to the imperative. Having outlined the ways of God in salvation:

· in applying to His people the righteousness of Christ (Romans 3:24 to Romans 4:25),

· in uniting them with Christ in His death and resurrection (Romans 6:1),

· in making them righteous within by His Spirit (Romans 8:1),

· and in having demonstrated God's sovereign activity in the world which has resulted in a new olive tree composed of both Jews and Gentiles (Romans 9:6 to Romans 11:32),

Paul now calls on all Christians as a consequence (‘by the mercies of God') to totally consecrate themselves to God's service. It is an urgent call to action in response to what God has done for them. He is calling on them to live out the ‘newness of life' (Romans 6:3) that they have received, something which will result in:

· their consecration of themselves to God (Romans 12:1).

· their commitment to help each other (Romans 12:3).

· their living of a consistent Christian life before outsiders (Romans 12:9).

· their having a right attitude towards the powers that be (Romans 13:1).

· their responsibility to reveal the love of Christ through them (Romans 13:8).

· and their living in the light of the urgency of the times (Romans 13:11).

We must not see these Chapter s as simply moral instruction added on to the main letter, but as in integral part of the letter. They describe the behaviour that will result from following the mind of the Spirit. Without them that would have been incomprehensible to many of them. And we should note how similar exhortation has been made earlier (Romans 6:12). Here, however, that is expanded on.

The section may be divided up as follows:

1). Christian Living (12:1-13:14).

· A call to total consecration (Romans 12:1).

· Each member to play his appropriate part in building up Christ's body (Romans 12:3).

· A call to fulfil the Law of Christ (Romans 12:9).

· The Christian's attitude towards the state (Romans 13:1).

· The Christian's responsibility to love (Romans 13:8).

· Living in crisis days (Romans 13:11).

2). Christian Freedom And Consideration For The Views Of Others (14:1-15:6).

· Christian freedom to be tempered by consideration for the brethren with regard to food fetishes and sabbath observance (Romans 14:1).

· The strong should help the weak, and unity must be foremost (Romans 15:1).

3). The Ministry Of The Messiah Is To Both Jews And Gentiles (15:7-33).

· Christ made a minister of circumcision in order to confirm the promises to the Jews and reach out with mercy to the Gentiles (Romans 15:7).

· The extent and focal point of Paul's own ministry to the Gentiles as a minister of the Messiah Jesus to the Gentiles (Romans 15:14).

· His aim to visit Rome after he has ministered to Jewish believers in taking the contributions of the Gentile churches to the churches in Jerusalem, in view of which he requests prayer that he may be delivered form the hands of antagonistic Jews (Romans 15:22).

4). Final Greetings (16:1-27).

· Final greetings and exhortations (Romans 16:1).

· Exhortation to beware of those who divide the church and of the need to be wise to what is good, with the assurance that God will cause them to triumph against Satan's deceitfulness (Romans 16:17).

· Greetings from fellow-labourers in the Gospel (Romans 16:21).

· Final ascription of praise to God for His faithfulness and ability to establish His people in the light of the mystery of the Gospel now revealed (Romans 16:24).