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INTRODUCTION
This Epistle, together with those to the Corinthians and the Galatians, is allowed by all critics save a negligible minority to have been the production of the Apostle Paul. It was written from Corinth during the three months that he spent in Greece, Act_20:3, and before he started on his last journey to Jerusalem, to carry contributions to the poor Christians there, Rom_15:19-25.
Though the Apostle was personally unacquainted with the majority of those addressed, yet the list of personal messages, in the closing chapter, is very large. He felt, too, a special responsibility laid upon him to instruct them in Christian truth. No Epistle has so many allusions to the law of God, but this was in harmony with the method of thought that was congenial to this Christian church, situated as it was in the mighty city that laid the foundations of law and order for subsequent generations.
A Living Sacrifice
Rom 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship.
Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].
Gifts of Grace
Rom 12:3 For by the grace [of God] given to me I say to everyone of you not to think more highly of himself [and of his importance and ability] than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has apportioned to each a degree of faith [and a purpose designed for service].
Rom 12:4 For just as in one [physical] body we have many parts, and these parts do not all have the same function or special use,
Rom 12:5 so we, who are many, are [nevertheless just] one body in Christ, and individually [we are] parts one of another [mutually dependent on each other].
Rom 12:6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to use them accordingly: if [someone has the gift of] prophecy, [let him speak a new message from God to His people] in proportion to the faith possessed;
Rom 12:7 if service, in the act of serving; or he who teaches, in the act of teaching;
Rom 12:8 or he who encourages, in the act of encouragement; he who gives, with generosity; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy [in caring for others], with cheerfulness.
Romans 12:1-8
DEVOTING SELF AND USING GIFTS
Therefore links this practical appeal to the whole of the sublime argument, which reaches its climax in the previous chapter. It is easier to die once for God than to live always the surrendered life. But nothing so pleases God as daily surrender, the sacrificed and yielded will tied by cords to His altar. Such an attitude is the only reasonable one we can assume. If God be all we profess to believe, He is worthy of all we are. But we are reminded that the world is ever seeking to mold us to its will, and we need the renewing grace of the Holy Spirit, that we may withstand its baleful influence. We need to be transformed-that is, transfigured-by the renewing of our mind. Please God, and you will be pleased with the will of God.
Notice in Rom_12:3 that God deals out according to the measure of our faith. Let us ask that it may be “pressed down and running over.” In proportion as we are united to the head, we are members of one another. We may not recognize each other, or be recognized by the world as one, but in His sight there is only one body, Rom_12:5. Let each learn what he can do best, and devote his best to it. To give or rule aright is equally a gift with teaching.
Romans 12
Overview
Rom_12:1, God’s mercies must move us to please God; Rom_12:3, No man must think too well of himself; Rom_12:6, but everyone attend on that calling wherein he is placed; Rom_12:9, Love, and many other duties are required of us; Rom_12:19, Revenge is especially forbidden.
Romans
The Epistle to the Romans is “a writing,” says Dr. Macknight, “which, for sublimity and truth of sentiment, for brevity and strength of expression, for regularity in its structure, but above all, for the unspeakable importance of the discoveries which it contains, stands unrivalled by any mere human composition, and as far exceeds the most celebrated productions of the learned Greeks and Romans, as the shining of the sun exceeds the twinkling of the stars.” “The plan of it is very extensive; and it is surprising to see what a spacious field of knowledge is comprised, and how many various designs, arguments, explications, instructions, and exhortations, are executed in so small a compass....The whole Epistle is to be taken in connection, or considered as one continued discourse; and the sense of every part must be taken from the drift of the whole. Every sentence, or verse, is not to be regarded as a distinct mathematical proposition, or theorem, or as a sentence in the book of Proverbs, whose sense is absolute, and independent of what goes before, or comes after, but we must remember, that every sentence, especially in the argumentative part, bears relation to, and is dependent upon, the whole discourse, and cannot be rightly understood unless we understand the scope and drift of the whole; and therefore, the whole Epistle, or at least the eleven first chapters of it, ought to be read over at once, without stopping. As to the use and excellency of this Epistle, I shall leave it to speak for itself, when the reader has studied and well digested its contents....This Epistle will not be difficult to understand, if our minds are unprejudiced, and at liberty to attend to the subject, and to the current scriptural sense of the words used. Great care is taken to guard and explain every part of the subject; no part of it is left unexplained or unguarded. Sometimes notes are written upon a sentence, liable to exception and wanting explanation, as Rom_2:12-16. Here Rom_2:13 and Rom_2:15 are a comment upon the former part of it. Sometimes are found comments upon a single word; as Rom_10:11-13. Rom_10:12 and Rom_10:13 are a comment upon πας [G3956]
This Epistle, together with those to the Corinthians and the Galatians, is allowed by all critics save a negligible minority to have been the production of the Apostle Paul. It was written from Corinth during the three months that he spent in Greece, Act_20:3, and before he started on his last journey to Jerusalem, to carry contributions to the poor Christians there, Rom_15:19-25.
Though the Apostle was personally unacquainted with the majority of those addressed, yet the list of personal messages, in the closing chapter, is very large. He felt, too, a special responsibility laid upon him to instruct them in Christian truth. No Epistle has so many allusions to the law of God, but this was in harmony with the method of thought that was congenial to this Christian church, situated as it was in the mighty city that laid the foundations of law and order for subsequent generations.
A Living Sacrifice
Rom 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship.
Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].
Gifts of Grace
Rom 12:3 For by the grace [of God] given to me I say to everyone of you not to think more highly of himself [and of his importance and ability] than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has apportioned to each a degree of faith [and a purpose designed for service].
Rom 12:4 For just as in one [physical] body we have many parts, and these parts do not all have the same function or special use,
Rom 12:5 so we, who are many, are [nevertheless just] one body in Christ, and individually [we are] parts one of another [mutually dependent on each other].
Rom 12:6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to use them accordingly: if [someone has the gift of] prophecy, [let him speak a new message from God to His people] in proportion to the faith possessed;
Rom 12:7 if service, in the act of serving; or he who teaches, in the act of teaching;
Rom 12:8 or he who encourages, in the act of encouragement; he who gives, with generosity; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy [in caring for others], with cheerfulness.
Romans 12:1-8
DEVOTING SELF AND USING GIFTS
Therefore links this practical appeal to the whole of the sublime argument, which reaches its climax in the previous chapter. It is easier to die once for God than to live always the surrendered life. But nothing so pleases God as daily surrender, the sacrificed and yielded will tied by cords to His altar. Such an attitude is the only reasonable one we can assume. If God be all we profess to believe, He is worthy of all we are. But we are reminded that the world is ever seeking to mold us to its will, and we need the renewing grace of the Holy Spirit, that we may withstand its baleful influence. We need to be transformed-that is, transfigured-by the renewing of our mind. Please God, and you will be pleased with the will of God.
Notice in Rom_12:3 that God deals out according to the measure of our faith. Let us ask that it may be “pressed down and running over.” In proportion as we are united to the head, we are members of one another. We may not recognize each other, or be recognized by the world as one, but in His sight there is only one body, Rom_12:5. Let each learn what he can do best, and devote his best to it. To give or rule aright is equally a gift with teaching.
Romans 12
Overview
Rom_12:1, God’s mercies must move us to please God; Rom_12:3, No man must think too well of himself; Rom_12:6, but everyone attend on that calling wherein he is placed; Rom_12:9, Love, and many other duties are required of us; Rom_12:19, Revenge is especially forbidden.
Romans
The Epistle to the Romans is “a writing,” says Dr. Macknight, “which, for sublimity and truth of sentiment, for brevity and strength of expression, for regularity in its structure, but above all, for the unspeakable importance of the discoveries which it contains, stands unrivalled by any mere human composition, and as far exceeds the most celebrated productions of the learned Greeks and Romans, as the shining of the sun exceeds the twinkling of the stars.” “The plan of it is very extensive; and it is surprising to see what a spacious field of knowledge is comprised, and how many various designs, arguments, explications, instructions, and exhortations, are executed in so small a compass....The whole Epistle is to be taken in connection, or considered as one continued discourse; and the sense of every part must be taken from the drift of the whole. Every sentence, or verse, is not to be regarded as a distinct mathematical proposition, or theorem, or as a sentence in the book of Proverbs, whose sense is absolute, and independent of what goes before, or comes after, but we must remember, that every sentence, especially in the argumentative part, bears relation to, and is dependent upon, the whole discourse, and cannot be rightly understood unless we understand the scope and drift of the whole; and therefore, the whole Epistle, or at least the eleven first chapters of it, ought to be read over at once, without stopping. As to the use and excellency of this Epistle, I shall leave it to speak for itself, when the reader has studied and well digested its contents....This Epistle will not be difficult to understand, if our minds are unprejudiced, and at liberty to attend to the subject, and to the current scriptural sense of the words used. Great care is taken to guard and explain every part of the subject; no part of it is left unexplained or unguarded. Sometimes notes are written upon a sentence, liable to exception and wanting explanation, as Rom_2:12-16. Here Rom_2:13 and Rom_2:15 are a comment upon the former part of it. Sometimes are found comments upon a single word; as Rom_10:11-13. Rom_10:12 and Rom_10:13 are a comment upon πας [G3956]
