Rom. 12:9-15 - Playing Well with Others...

The previous section of this chapter (12:6-8) taught us about the qualities of leadership for the church, and the gifts or skills God has granted to us. Not every believer will prophecy, or teach, or lead, or serve, or be able to give. If the Lord has blessed you with these talents (aka: gifts or skills), use them for Him.
The next section of the letter (12:9-21) provides guidelines for living together in the Christian community. What Paul lists or describes below are not quite commands, but have the ‘power’ of being common sense instructions, especially when coupled with the love of Christ and the Holy Spirit working in you.

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9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.
10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;
11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer,
13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.  

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Living Together in the Church Community

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V. 9 - “Let love be without hypocrisy.” - Let love be genuine. Isn’t that much clearer? No? How do I love with false pretenses? Showing love to others without expecting recompense. The way we treat and interact with other people can be a ‘business’ decision; i.e., ‘If I demonstrate love to you, I expect you to reciprocate.’ This shows selfish ulterior motives. Another aspect is ‘grudgingly loving’ someone because you have to: “I despise you, but I know I have been commanded to love, so I will put on a happy face, etc.”
It might be better for you to confess your bad attitude, telling Jesus that you really can’t do this. Then, having confessed your sin, ask Jesus to love the other through you. This will do more to change your hateful attitude than gritting your teeth and trying hard. (I confess I’ve been there, and needed to do that. Jesus did change my heart. I never would have felt anything positive except that Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, loved them and me.)

“Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.” - No mystery or secret message here. This has God’s message from the beginning. (See: Deut 5:7-21, 7:26; Eze. 33:11; Psa 4:4, 34:14, 37:27; Pro 11:27, 17:11; 2 Chr 7:14; 1 Ki 3:9; Amos 5:14-15; Heb 5:14; 1 Pet 3:11; 3 John 1:11)

V. 10 - “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love” - treat each other like family members - members you love not just tolerate. Some of us grew up in slightly dysfunctional families, and the idea of ‘brotherly love’ is somewhat foreign. We have all heard, “blood is thicker than water, “ and “family comes first.” Jesus’ command: love one another (John 13:34-35; John 15:12, 17). This is a main theme of the Epistles: Eph 4:2; 1 Thes 3:12, 4:9; 2 Thes 1:3; Heb 10:24; 1 Pet 1:22, 4:8; 1 John 3:11, 23, 4:7,11,12; 2 John 1:5.

“give preference to one another in honor” - Put the needs of others before yours. Gal 5:13; 1 Thes 5:13; 1 Cor 12:24; 1 Pet. 2:17; Luk 6:3; Phil 2:4.

V. 11 - “serving the Lord“ - Living for Christ is not lackadaisical. Throw your whole self into it! Look at the words in this verse: not lacking; diligence; fervent; serving. Christ said that His kingdom was worth giving up every other thing, (Luke 15:8, 9); the man who found a treasure (Luke 13:43, 44); the merchant who located an invaluable pearl (Luke 13:45). The rich young man went away sad because he knew he had to give away all his wealth (Mat 19:24).

V. 12 - “rejoicing... persevering... prayer” - Look at the superlatives in these verses! In some ways this list (vss. 9-15) reminds me of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, in that His commands were impossible. Living the Christian life is not possible under our own power. Jesus also said, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” It may seem easy to rejoice while hoping - look at our hope, eternal life with the Lord and our Savior! Our hope is in Jesus. Jesus is in us. Persevering in tribulation is most definitely done in the power of the Holy Spirit. Access to that power is through prayer.

V. 13 - “contributing to those in need” - The commands in this verse are outward in nature - caring for others. By the way: this is not just a NT concept. God commanded that the poor and needy be protected - by allowing them to harvest (gleaning) (see: Lev 19:10); and they would be protected legally - not taken advantage when legal decisions were made. If an Israelite became so destitute that they lost their home property, it was returned to them each sabbath year, debts forgiven. (See: Lev. 25)

“practicing hospitality” - Again, not a new idea. Showing foreigners, and visitors hospitality is not limited to the NT. Travelers were often invited to stay, rest and be refreshed in homes in the OT. See: Lev. 22:21, 23:9; Deut. 10:18, 19.

V. 14 - “bless and do not curse.” - Blessing those who persecute us is a tough sell to the natural man within us. We want to defend ourselves, defend our honor, defend our reputation. It is so hard to learn that is not you or me that is being attacked. (Well, yes, we are being attacked. Because we are Jesus’ own and are living for Him, we receive Satan’s ire. See: 1 John 3:1) The hard part for us is to release these things to Jesus, and let Him deal with it. Admonitions to let God handle the vengeance abound. (See: Deut 32:11; 2 Chr 1:11; Isa 1:24; Nah 1:2; isa 61:8; Heb 10:30) Even the “second greatest commandment” comes within a command to turn it all to God. (Lev 19:18). Oh, how it hurts to be persecuted simply because you want to live for Jesus. He told this would happen! Knowing it will happen does not make it seem better. The reason believers can rejoice when be persecuted is we know the hatred of Jesus is being turned on us. If we are living in a way that opposes Jesus’ teaching, the world will not oppose us. (The old ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ belief system.)

V. 15 - “Rejoice... weep” - Be empathetic, not just a show of empathy. When your fellow believers are in joyous circumstances, rejoice with them. Or if they suffer, come along side. Share in their feelings. Cry when you hurt with them.

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Rom. 12:6-8 - Exercise Your Gifts

6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;
7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching;
8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

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Diversity - In a Good Way

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V. 6 - “Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us” - There is a common belief that says there are no two identical snowflakes. (That one might be hard to disprove.) However, look at the landscapes around us - what a multitude of beauty. Consider how many thousand species of birds, or snakes, or fish, or insects - all different. Look into the cosmos, what do you see? Billions of stars, maybe billions of galaxies. Want to be amazed? Look at some of the photos of galaxies taken by the Hubble Telescope. Or, you can sit down at a junction in a shopping mall and watch the people go by. God has created a vast diversity of life on earth, stars in the sky, planets in the solar system. Why would you think God has made each of His believers automatons. We are not identical robots, programmed to follow the same program.

When you are in church, does every person with you look the same, sound the same? God has provided each of us with a gift. There are a variety of gifts, which God has provided to match our personality and life experiences. These variations are used by God so that we can minister and help others that may have been going through similar situations. The gifts are given to ‘build up the church’  

“each of us is to exercise them accordingly” - A gift for each of us which is to be used to serve Him. There is more than one list of gifts in scripture. (See: 1 Cor. 12:8-10; 12:28; Rom. 12:6-8; Eph. 4:11) These gifts are not for your personal aggrandizement. They are to be used to strengthen and instruct the church. The common theme for all the gifts is: Display your gift by using it. No one has a lamp and hides it. (Matt.5:15-16)

Gifts of the Holy Spirit
1 Cor 12:8-10	1 Cor 12:28	Rom 12:6-8	Eph 4:11
Wisdom Knowledge Faith Healing Miracles Prophecy Distinguish Spirits Tongues Interpretation of Tongues	Apostles Prophets Teachers Miracles Healings Helps Administration Tongues	Prophecy Service Teaching Exhortation Giving Leadership Mercy	Apostles Prophets Evangelism Pastors Teachers

There are seven gifts listed below, to be exercised accordingly:

“if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith” - Prophecy is direct revelation from God, essentially speaking for God and interpreting His will for man. The gift of prophecy is different from the preaching and teaching gifts. Implied here is to admonish and reprove the believing body, to denounce prevailing sins and to call to repentance. The gift of prophecy can be used to warn us when we appear to be going off the tracks, to call us back from our errant ways, to show us we need to confess, repent, and return to the gospel of Jesus and God, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

It can also be in the sense of a ‘seer’, looking into the future and communicating the declarations of God. I am not sure this is a main function of prophecy for the New Testament church. It cannot be ruled out however.

V. 7 - “if service, in his serving” - Service in Greek is the same word as ‘deacon’, a person who attends to another’s needs (See: 1 Tim. 3:8-13). The idea is this a a gift of ministry (doing things for others) and not a title or office. Paul does note in 1 Timothy there are people who are called to serve the church, and the qualifications for these people are similar to those of ‘Elders’.

“He who teaches, in his teaching” - One of the essential gifts of the church. A teacher takes the word of God - scripture - and helps other believers see how to become disciples. Jesus gave the ‘Great Commandment’, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matt. 28:19-20) Note: Make them disciples by teaching them His commandments. A teacher is not making things up, but taking scripture (whether Old or New Testament writings) and pulling out essential truths for guiding our behavior.

V. 8 - “He who exhorts, in his exhortation ” - The gift of motivating and encouraging. It might be thought of as a cheerful and encouraging aspect of prophesying. (See “prophecy” in verse 6, above.) I am reminded of a football coach making half-time adjustments. He is prophesying when he warns them to tackle better. He is exhorting when encouraging them to continue the good plays made in the first half. No one wants to hear criticism. “You’re doing it wrong,” is negative, but it highlights what needs to be fixed. “That’s much better. Continue working on it, and you will see improvement.” This encouragement will help me to succeed. This same type of encouragement is necessary when building disciples.

“He who gives, with liberality” - Who would guess giving is a gift from God, on a par with prophecy, or being an apostle, or teaching, or tongues? We know God gives liberally. He is not parsimonious. (See: 1 Cor. 15:38; 1 Thess. 4:8; 1 Tim. 6:13; Jam. 1:5.)

“He who leads, with diligence” - Leaders are not to be lackadaisical. (1 Tim. 3:1-13; 2 Tim. 2:15; Heb. 4:10; 1 Pet. 1:10, 15)

“He who shows mercy, with cheerfulness” - If mercy is done grudgingly is it mercy? If it under compulsion, will it last, will it be withdrawn later.

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Romans 12:3-5 - Your Delusions of Grandeur

3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function,
5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
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Thinking Too Highly of Yourself

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V. 3 - “For through the grace given to me” - Paul is not speaking on his own.Jesus also said He only spoke what the Father told Him to say, (See: John 8:28, 12:49) Paul was called by Jesus to preach and teach the gospel - to train leaders and other believers in the Good News. God chose Paul, despite his history of persecuting Christians, to be His messenger and missionary to the Gentiles.

“not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think” - Interesting statement considering how proud Paul was of his heritage! (See: Phil 3:4-6; Gal. 1:13-2:21). However, no matter the pride he felt, Paul called it all garbage compared to knowing Christ as Messiah and Savior. (See: Phil 3:8)

“think so as to have sound judgment” - Take a realistic view of yourself - probably the hardest thing for a human to do. Christ died for you - not because you are such a wonderful person, not because of your many and varied accomplishments. God’s mercy, His love, is the reason you are saved. You did not earn it. Timothy Keller wrote in his devotional book "The Songs of Jesus", "He doen't love because we are lovely but in order to make us so, by grace."

V. 4 - “we have many members in one body” - This is a lead-in to a new topic: how the church operates. Not the ecclesiastical hierarchy, but how God has set up the church to meet the needs of the members. The church is populated by people. (Well, duh!) “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) One of the key words, “everyone”, implies people, lots of people. The offer goes to all people. Unfortunately, not all respond to Jesus with belief and worship. People of from all nations and races are welcome - many members.

“the members do not have the same function” - We are not turned in to automatons when we are saved. The Holy Spirit enters us, but does not overwhelm. Our personalities remain intact. Our skills remain ours to be used for Jesus.

V. 5 - “so we, who are many, are one body in Christ” - There are many local churches worshiping Christ, but these form one church, the bride of Christ.

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