Letter to the Romans -- Chapter 16

Paul completes his letter to the church at Rome with prayers, urgings, and greetings. These personal notes give us a glimpse at the very human side of Paul who was always about loving the individual men and women in his life. He was a pastor in the truest sense, teaching and proclaiming not for academia, but for the wellbeing of his listeners whom he loved and cared for very dearly.

As we move to the end of the final chapter of his letter to the Romans, we see that Paul continues on with some final important urgings: “I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you” (Romans 16:17-20). In these words Paul urges us to avoid false unities and unions with men who proclaim false doctrine. If we unite with men of false teachings we will find that even a little bit of their false yeast will infect and corrupt the whole batch. “Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:6-8). We need to cling to the gospel of Jesus Christ without the yeast of false teachings; even though these false teachers may start with the sincerity and truth of the real gospel their adding of false teachings and doctrines ruins the whole loaf. Therefore Paul warns us to be on guard against those who pervert the truth in such ways and to avoid their lies and deceptions. In conclusion let us pray the prayer of Paul as we remember that the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is our only true focus and purpose, because thru it God has rescued us from our utter sinfulness and depravity by the blood of His only Son. “Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him—to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen” (Romans 16:25-27).

We find in this letter, then, the richest possible teaching about what a Christian should know: the meaning of law, gospel, sin, punishment, grace, faith, justice, Christ, God, good works, love, hope and the cross. We learn how we are to act toward everyone, toward the virtuous and sinful, toward the strong and the weak, friend and foe, and toward ourselves. Paul bases everything firmly on Scripture and proves his points with examples from his own experience and from the Prophets, so that nothing more could be desired. Therefore it seems that St. Paul, in writing this letter, wanted to compose a summary of the whole of Christian and evangelical teaching which would also be an introduction to the whole Old Testament. Without doubt, whoever takes this letter to heart possesses the light and power of the Old Testament. Therefore each and every Christian should make this letter the habitual and constant object of his study. God grant us his grace to do so. Amen. (Martin Luther)

Letter to the Romans -- Chapter 15

Piggybacking on his teaching about “disputable matters” in regards to Christian freedom, Paul continues on to implore us to bear with our fellow man not only in these matters but at all times. “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up” (Romans 15:1-2). Anyone who is strong is made strong by God for the very purpose of bearing with and upholding those who are “weaker.” The strong must not lord over those who are weaker, but they must realize that the position of the strong is actually below and beneath the weak, since they are to carry the weak above themselves. In his letter to the church at Galatia Paul reiterates this very point: “Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). This love of carrying our fellow man is what Christ is ultimately pointing us to when He says that the humbled will be exalted and that the exalted will be humbled. “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11). Those who are strong or exalted are to be humbled (brought beneath) in order that they may uplift the weak (the humbled). This cycle continues endlessly as we in the Body of Christ are constantly called to humble ourselves while we exalt those around us so that they themselves may in turn serve us in this way.

It is also important that we realize that even those who are strong in faith still have their own burdens of sin and failings that they themselves cannot carry. No man is free from this and every man is accurately described here in the cries of David: “There is no health in my body; my bones have no soundness because of my sin. My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly. I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning. My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body. I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart” (Psalm 38:3-8). It is because none of us is strong enough to bear these immeasurable burdens of our own that we are only made strong in Christ. In fact those who think they are the strong are in truth the real “weak” ones that Paul is referring to. “If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:12). It is the common thought of the sinful flesh to assume that we ourselves are the “strong” that Paul is speaking of, but if this is what we think then in reality we are the “weak” with whom our fellow brethren are needing to be patient. To think we are strong is to truly be weak. It is therefore only in our own great weakness that we are made strong in Christ because there we no longer rely on “self” but on God. “For Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). Our bearing of one another is therefore only a byproduct of Christ first bearing us on the cross. He sets this example and He is the One who is upholding all of us while we in turn help those around us: “For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: ‘The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me’” (Romans 15:3). Christ is the perfect fulfillment of bearing as He carries all our sin, failings, weaknesses, and even our troubles in this life. “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4). Any insult, wound, disease, or abuse thrown at us in this life Christ Himself bears graciously for us on the cross. “He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases” (Matthew 8:17). This bearing that Christ did for us is the foundation of everything that we stand for and proclaim. The very Gospel news is that Christ bore all of our burdens and sin on the cross so that we might be healed and set free. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24). Christ bore our burdens once and for all on the cross and thru that He is also daily bearing our burdens. “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens” (Psalm 68:19).

Paul continues on by elaborating on the means by which the grace, endurance, and hope of the manger, the cross, and the empty tomb comes to us in our daily life: “Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4). This is a very important point for us to acknowledge: The power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ comes to us thru the Scriptures. God has chosen the humble means of the written and proclaimed Word of Scripture as a way in which we are daily strengthened and encouraged in Jesus Christ so that we might be empowered to bear the burdens of our fellow man. All of the Scriptures were written to point us to Christ, so that thru their Message we might be brought to faith in the atoning sacrifice and work of the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. Jesus Christ Himself taught the importance of the Scriptures as the teacher and carrier of His Gospel: “‘Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.’ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem’” (Luke 24:44-47). Christ even went so far as to “qualify” belief in Him by stating that true belief in Him is always in accordance with the Scriptures: “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (John 7:38). Following the example of Christ, Paul, in all his writings, also continually stressed the importance of the Scriptures as the bearer of God’s Word and truth in regards to the work of Jesus Christ: “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). In teaching his pupil, Timothy, Paul hammers home the need for all of us to continue in our knowledge of the Scriptures, so that thru them the Holy Spirit might teach us, bring us to faith, and sustain us in the grace of Jesus Christ. “Continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:14-17).

Having taught us that the Scriptures should be our daily connection to Christ, Paul continues on by praying that we might have unity in the truth of Christ so that we might glorify and give thanks to God for His marvelous works. “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God's truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: ‘Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name.’ Again, it says, ‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.’ And again, ‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to him, all you peoples.’ And again, Isaiah says, ‘The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him’” (Romans 15:5-12). In this prayer we see the true leadership ability and teaching of Paul as he wisely leads us by example. Instead of only telling us to continue in the Scriptures, Paul himself stays true to his own advice and actually quotes the Scriptures four separate times in this prayer. Thru daily immersion in the Scriptures we ourselves can be empowered to glorify God thru a bearing of our fellow man and his weaknesses. Jesus Christ Himself is carrying us in His grace so that we too might join in carrying those placed in our life around us. “I removed the burden from their shoulders; their hands were set free from the basket” (Psalm 81:6). “You have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor” (Isaiah 9:4).

Paul continues with a heartfelt prayer: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13-16). In this prayer Paul reiterates his call from God and how he was chosen to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentile world. He also prays that the church at Rome would remain steadfast in the bold teachings he proclaimed to them, trusting in the one God who forgives them for the sake of Jesus Christ. “Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done—by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit” (Romans 15:17-19). Here we see Paul’s relentless focus on Jesus Christ. All that he has done has been with the goal of speaking only Christ and pointing men only to the manger, cross, and empty tomb in order that all glory may be given to God. “I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace” (Acts 20:24). This singular focus of Paul needs to be our example as we ourselves look to make our entire lives about serving Jesus Christ in the capacity and calling He has given us. This focus of Paul is illustrated in his first letter to the church at Corinth: “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5). Paul resolved to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. So too, this should be our focus as all that we do in life should be about the one thing we know that truly matters: Jesus Christ crucified for the forgiveness of our sins.

After speaking of his plan to visit the church at Rome Paul then continues on: “I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there, so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed. The God of peace be with you all. Amen” (Romans 15:30-33). Here Paul implores each and every one of us to do our part in the great mission of the Gospel, that is, to pray. Even if we are not called to be teachers, proclaimers, or missionaries of the Word of Christ we must not forget the ever important role we have all been given as Christians: the role to pray endlessly for our fellow man and for the mission of the gospel. Look at how often Paul implores us to this: “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should” (Colossians 4:2-4). “Brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you” (2 Thessalonians 3:1). “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:18-19). Paul confidently urges us to pray because He knows the promise we have been given for the sake of Jesus Christ: the promise that whatever we ask for in Christ’s name will be done. “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:13-14). We must not think that this makes God our personal vending machine, but we need to investigate further in order to see what it really means to ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Asking in Jesus Christ’s name is explained elsewhere in the Scriptures: “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you” (John 15:7). “I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:19-20). “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15). Therefore we see that praying in the name of Jesus Christ is about remaining in the revealed Word of God, joining together in one voice with our fellow believers in prayer, and ultimately seeking for the will of God to be carried out. All prayers and petitions to our Father above are ours by going thru our Mediator and High Priest Jesus Christ. It is thru Him alone that we may approach the very throne of God Almighty. “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Letter to the Romans -- Chapter 14

After having fully urged us to live in the love of Christ towards our fellow man, Paul continues on by expressing a particular and difficult application of this. The question is: how can we carefully proclaim the gospel and our freedom in Christ in a way that does not offend or destroy our brethren who are weak in faith or who even do not even yet know the truth? Paul begins by being as blatantly clear as we would expect: “Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters” (Romans 14:1). It is of an absolute necessity that we bear with our fellow man whose faith is weak by not forcing upon them issues that are of a “disputable” nature; it is our duty to accept those who are weak in faith and require our special care and attention. But what on earth does Paul mean by “disputable matters”? What he means is “adiaphora”, which is a big theological term that can be defined as such: “Adiaphora refers to matters not regarded as essential to faith which might therefore be allowed in the church. In particular the Lutheran confessions of the sixteenth century speak of adiaphora as ‘church rites which are neither commanded nor forbidden in the Word of God.’” Therefore Paul is referring to matters that are “non-essential” to our faith, matters outside of the doctrine and proclamation of God’s Word. Therefore it is absolutely essential that we see that Paul is most certainly not referring to doctrine of which he strongly says: “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16). Consequently Paul is not referring to doctrine when he says “disputable matters,” for what God’s Word has proclaimed once and for all is not disputable and must not be compromised one iota. So what are some examples of adiaphora and “disputable matters”?

Paul continues on and fills us in: “One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand” (Romans 14:2-4). Paul’s first example of adiaphora is our diet. In the new covenant of Jesus Christ, God has not given restrictions to our diet but has given us freedom to partake of all foods: “‘Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’? For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.’ (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods ‘clean.’)” (Mark 7:18-19). Paul gives another example of adiaphora: “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike” (Romans 14:5). This time Paul’s example is that of the Sabbath and the day in which we choose to publicly worship. In the new covenant Christ declared Himself the Lord of the Sabbath, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (Luke 6:5), and therefore taught us that no one day is any more intrinsically special than another. We are free therefore to publicly worship the Lord on any day, as we daily worship Him with our very lives. Paul goes on: “Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God” (Romans 14:5-6). When we live our lives of freedom under the cross we need to live them for Christ. “For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord” (Romans 14:7-8). Whatever we do, we should be fully convinced that because of Jesus Christ that our entire lives are acts of worship and sacrifice to the glory of God. “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Having established the areas and principles of freedom and adiaphora, Paul continues on by stressing the importance of not judging our fellow man in these areas outside of Scriptural doctrine: “For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. It is written: ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’ So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:9-12). Because we ourselves are not judge or jury, we must be careful not to be critical of our fellow man in these areas of freedom. Each of us is individually accountable before God, so we must leave all determinations in these “disputable” areas to God. “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way” (Romans 14:13). Instead of passing judgment we need to make sure that our zealousness and lives of freedom do not cause those who are confused and weak in faith to stumble. Paul explains a little further: “As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men” (Romans 14:14-18). Even though all foods are clean and all days are the same in Jesus Christ, we must not destroy our brother by flaunting our freedom in an unloving way. Some men will not be able to handle or appreciate all the freedoms that we have as Christians and so we must be considerate in our dealings with them. “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall” (Romans 14:19-21).

After imploring us to avoid all things that will cause our brethren to stumble Paul wraps up his discourse by teaching us an important truth about the nature of faith: “So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin” (Romans 14:22-23). We must not doubt our freedom in Christ and begin to question whether we ourselves are free to eat what we will, drink what we will, worship when we will, dress in what we will, or anything outside of the doctrine of the Scriptures. When we do these things of freedom we need to take into account our fellow man and make sure we will not cause him to stumble, but after that we need to be bold in trusting the grace of Christ. We must not be timid in our new found freedom in Christ, but we need to firmly rest assured in the grace of the manger, the cross, and the empty tomb. As Paul says, apart from faith in Jesus Christ everything that we as human beings put our hands or minds to is sin. Realizing this let us pray that we do not fall into the deceiving and doubting of human traditions and man-made legalisms, but that we fall and stand upon Christ alone and the work and grace that He has given to us in His incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ…Do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ” (Colossians 2:8, 16-17).

Letter to the Romans -- Chapter 13

Having given a thorough but basic list of the ways in which we are called to serve the Lord and our neighbor in this life, Paul continues on by touching on one of the more confusing areas we face by addressing it with a little more depth and discussion. The area he addresses is in regards to the secular authorities of this life and what our duty is before them: “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God” (Romans 13:1). Without any sidetracking Paul dives in and tells us very plainly that we must submit to the governing authorities of this life. These authorities are established by God and Paul even goes as far to say that there is no authority that exists that has not been established by God. This immediately begs the human question of, “But what about the ‘bad’ and ‘corrupt’ governments?” Yes, even the “bad” and “corrupt” governments of this world have been established by God. Does this mean that the Nazi government was established by God? Yes, it means that God allowed for that evil and corrupt government to be established and ultimately He used it for His greater and unfathomable plans of which we may never understand. We see this illustrated in the Scriptures when God gave evil King Nebuchadnezzar the power to rule and subjugate his people in the time of Jeremiah: “I will hand all your countries over to my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him. All nations will serve him and his son and his grandson until the time for his land comes” (Jeremiah 27:6-7). We see here that God called Nebuchadnezzar His servant because God was using him to fulfill His ultimate will in this world. God using corrupt and bad governments for His good is most clearly seen in Christ’s trial at the hands of the Romans government. While questioning Jesus, Pontius Pilate said, “‘Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?’ Jesus answered, ‘You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above’” (John 19:10-11). We see illustrated here the fact that God uses even the most “evil” seeming actions of secular authorities for His ultimate purposes; God gave Pilate the authority and power to execute His own Son for our ultimate good, forgiveness, and salvation. Not one of us would say that the Roman government did the “right” thing in executing Christ, but nonetheless God used that authority to carry out His good will for His people.

Paul continues on: “Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves” (Romans 13:2). Here Paul tells us that any rebellion against the government is a rebellion against God’s institution and therefore a rebellion against God Himself. Martin Luther rightly saw that obedience to the civil government (and all figures of authority) is commanded implicitly when God says, “Honor your father and your mother.” Luther wrote: “In this commandment belongs a further statement regarding all kinds of obedience to persons in authority who have to command and to govern. For all authority flows and is propagated from the authority of parents.” Ultimately Luther argues that the authority of the government is simply an extension of parenthood, as God has placed governments over us in order to help discipline us, protect us, and provide for us. Because God has established parents, governments, and all masters as His presence of authority in this life it is therefore necessary for us to look upon our honoring and obeying of them as nothing more than carrying out God’s immutable command to honor our father and mother.

Paul expands further upon the purposes of the governing authorities: “For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer” (Romans 13:3-4). The purpose of the government is to help keep some semblance of order in this chaotic life. Therefore the government wields the sword in order to bring punishment to those who rebel and do wrong, holding them accountable for their immediate actions in this life. In eternity we are all accountable for our entire lives here on earth, every decision, thought, word, and action (Thank God for Jesus Christ!), but in this life we are really only accountable to the authorities who are in place above us. If we do wrong we have every reason to fear the swift arm of the authorities who are here to keep us in check. However, if we do right then we have no reason to fear the authorities, even if they are corrupt. Because we serve God first and above all men we have no reason to fear even if a corrupt government attempts to punish us for doing what is right and good in the eyes of God. Submitting to the authorities in the case of a corrupt government means that we must continue to follow God’s will while willingly bearing any punishment the government gives us for this. “They called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, ‘Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God’” (Acts 4:18-19). “Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. ‘We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,’ he said. ‘Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood.’ Peter and the other apostles replied: ‘We must obey God rather than men!’” (Acts 5:27-29). If the government commands us to stop preaching the Gospel or to break God’s commands then we must obey God first while still submitting to the punishment of the authorities.

Let us look at what Peter says in regards to this submitting ourselves even to those who are wrong and harsh: “Submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:18-21). Therefore it is our duty before God to submit even to the harsh and unjust treatment of masters who have gone wrong. Thru this unjust suffering we will bear witness to the love of Christ in our bodies, and we must not underestimate the shear power of this testimony. It is when men see someone willing to suffer and die for a cause that they will truly take notice, and therefore we must be willing to bear the burden of unjust suffering in order to point men to Christ. “Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. ‘Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.’ But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil” (1 Peter 3:13-17).

In the light of this Paul continues and begins to wrap things up: “Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience” (Romans 13:5). Because we have been commanded by God to submit to the authorities we must do so in order to keep a clear conscience. If we suffer by the hands of a corrupt government for doing God’s will then we can stand firm knowing that we followed God first and yet still submitted to the authorities that He put above us. But if we rebel against the authorities God has placed above us then our consciences will testify against us as we know deep down that our rebellion is truly against God and His establishments. “This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor” (Romans 13:6-7). We are called in Christ Jesus to give to everyone what we owe them, submitting graciously to the authorities above us. Even if it seems wrong or unjust we must bear with our fellow man in patience and love so that thru our bearing and obedience we might testify and point to the cross of Jesus Christ that is our way, truth, and life. “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body” (2 Corinthians 4:8-11).

Having taught us to honor the governing authorities that God has established, Paul continues on in his letter to the Romans to reiterate the great second commandment that Christ stressed so much: “Love one another.” “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8). Paul begins by connecting his previous discourse on the secular authorities by means of the analogy of debt. In the previous verse he commanded us to give to everyone what we owe them, letting no debt remain outstanding; he cleverly ties this into his transition by acknowledging that the one debt that we can never fulfill in this life is our debt of love that we owe to all men. No matter how much we love our fellow man the debt is never “paid off.” Peter asked about this “debt” of love and forgiveness that we owe to our fellow man: “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” (Matthew 18:21). Christ, seeing where Peter was going with this, responds by telling Peter that his debt to love and forgive his neighbor is never complete: “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven times” (Matthew 18:22). Jesus then goes on to tell Peter the parable of the unmerciful servant, who after having his own debts forgiven refused to forgive the debts of his fellow man. At the end of the parable the master who had forgiven this unmerciful servant asked: “I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” (Matthew 18:32-33). In this we see the important truth that it is our duty in the light of having been forgiven to turn around and forgive. In addition we also see that it is only when we ourselves have been forgiven that we are truly empowered to turn around and forgive those around us. “He who has been forgiven little loves little” (Luke 7:47). When we ourselves have been forgiven little, we will only love a little; but when we have been forgiven much we will in turn love a great deal because of the generosity that has been shown to us. “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). It is for this reason that it is so necessary for us to see our sin for what it is. It is only when we see the infinite forgiveness we have been given in the cross that we will truly begin to love in the way Christ desires of us. If we do not see ourselves as the worst sinners in the world, then we will not appreciate the forgiveness that Christ bought for us and our subsequent love towards the world will be lacking. “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience” (1 Timothy 1:15-16). In this phrase Paul is insisting that this saying of his deserves full and complete acceptance. If we recognize the truth of our sin then it is absolutely necessary that we see ourselves as the worst sinner in the world. It is only in the light of our complete wretchedness that we will see how much we have truly been forgiven; and because we have been forgiven so extravagantly we will in turn begin to love greatly. A lack of love in our life is therefore a sign that we do not properly understand our sin or fully appreciate the subsequent grace of the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Paul continues on: “The commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not covet,’ and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:9-10). The entire Ten Commandments can be summed up in one word: love. The first table of the commandments addresses our love for God, while the second table of the commandments addresses our love for our fellow man. The Ten Commandments serve as a teaching tool of the love that God demands of us. Without the law to teach us how love is manifested in this life we would be completely ignorant in our sinfulness and would continue to think that love was simply a funny feeling in the pit of our stomach. Love is not some feeling but as Paul clearly states, love is the fulfillment of the law. However, this is not all. Because we were incapable of fulfilling the law in our sin God sent His Son to do it on our behalf. Therefore, the law itself is not love, nor is it a feeling, nor is it some arbitrary ideal or abstraction; but as the Apostle John says in groundbreaking clarity: “God is love” (1 John 4:8). In this statement we just begin to see the tip of the iceberg and how it is far different than we ever thought. John elaborates: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10). Love is the fulfillment of the law because love is Jesus Christ Himself. Love is not at its core something we “do”; it is instead some One who loved us, infects us, and transforms us. Love becomes manifested in something we do only when love Himself (God as revealed in the manger, cross, and empty tomb!) enters into our lives and moves us into action. Therefore the commands of God are transformed in Christ Jesus and become simply this: “This is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us” (1 John 3:23). No longer are we called to uphold the law perfectly but instead we are simply called to trust that Jesus Christ has already done this on our behalf, as we let His love move us to love our fellow man.

Paul continues on: “And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy” (Romans 13:11-13). In response to the forgiveness and love we have been shown in the Cross, Paul implores us to wake up from our slumber of complacence and to step out in love. We need to leave all the sinful behaviors and habits of our past behind and begin to reflect the forgiveness we have received in Christ. “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth” (1 John 3:16-18). Because Christ gave up His life for us so vicariously, so we also need to do the same. We need to stop our empty lip-service of “claiming” that we love our neighbor and we need to begin to step out in action. What good does it do for us to talk up love, while we sit on our behinds and refuse to act upon it? God didn’t give us our fellow man so we can talk about him, but He gave each one of them to us so that we may love them. This love needs to be genuine and truthful love that does not “spoil” or give-in to the desires of the flesh; it needs to be a love that stands up for the truth and willingly bears our fellow man even when things get “tough.” “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature” (Romans 13:14). We need to clothe ourselves in Jesus Christ (love Himself!) so that we are covered in His fulfillment of the law as we boldly step out in our discipleship of love. We need to daily exude our clothing of Jesus Christ to the world so that they may see His love manifested in our lives as we point them relentlessly to the manger, the cross, and the empty tomb. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35).

Letter to the Romans -- Chapter 12

Having completed his discourse on the providence, election, and predestination of God, Paul continues on by urging us to live our outward lives in accordance with the mercy God has shown us: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1-2). We do not live this way as a way to “get the forgiveness” of God, but we live this way because we are so moved and transformed by the grace and mercy of God that has already been given to us in Jesus Christ. Our spiritual act of worship in this life is to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God; we give up the fleshly desires of this life out of pure thanksgiving for what He has already done for us. In his first letter to the church at Thessalonica, Paul also addresses this issue and speaks of how we need to control our bodies and not give into its passionate lusts: “It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8). In this very powerful warning Paul straightforwardly states that the one who rejects this admonition and instruction rejects not man (or Paul) but in fact rejects God who gives us His Holy Spirit. If we dare continue in the lusts of our flesh we are in danger of casting God’s Holy Spirit from us. Therefore we must take the words of Paul very seriously as we daily offer our bodies to God in the service and worship of self-control.

Paul continues on: “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you” (Romans 12:3). Here in these words we are called by God to think of ourselves in the light of God’s truth, which means that before the law we must see ourselves in the sober judgment of it, that we are nothing but helpless sinners. We must not think of ourselves arrogantly but thru the faith He has given us we need to look upon ourselves with daily sober judgment so that our pride does not get any foothold in our life. As Peter says, we need to clothe ourselves in humility before one another and underneath God’s mighty hand: “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time” (1 Peter 5:5-6). When we debase “self” and lower “me,” God lifts us up for the sake of His Son, Jesus Christ. So often times we fail to see that we not only need to “not be proud” but that we actually need to actively lower ourselves in humility. Not only Paul and Peter taught this, but Christ Himself taught this thru this illustration that we need to take to heart: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:8-11). It is our duty before the cross to daily humble ourselves and to take the “lowest place,” for it is only at the bottom that we can adequately see God above us and serve our fellow man around us. Christ was the greatest example of this as He lowered Himself and emptied Himself in order to serve and to save us: “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5-8). In following the example of Christ it is imperative that we actually consider others better than ourselves and that we not concern ourselves with our own agenda, worries, and interests, but that we instead concern ourselves with uplifting, upholding, and meeting the interests of our fellow man. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4).

Having implored us to this true humility in the cross, Paul continues on to express the reason, purpose, and importance of us bearing with and lifting up our fellow man: “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully” (Romans 12:4-8). As believers before the cross we all form one body in Jesus Christ. We, like a body, all have different functions and are called to use our specific gifts and talents in order to serve the rest of the body. In order to adequately serve we must approach each other from “below,” thru honest and sincere humility. It is only in true humility that we can remain in constant service to the Body of Christ and to all those around us. A real danger lies in the fact that calling oneself “humble” does not express true humility but is in fact a false and prideful humility. This false humility is very dangerous and is perhaps the most insidious and destructive form of pride. “Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow” (Colossians 2:18-19). True humility only exists in quiet service and sober recognition of our sinfulness and low condition. “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom” (James 3:13). Ironically it is only when we are desperately aware of our pride and persistent self-centeredness that we can in actuality be humble. Humility does not call or think itself to be humble, but instead it soberly and accurately sees itself as prideful and wretched. Being as we are members of the Body of Christ who are called to be humble, it is important that we uplift each other and recognize the importance and value of even the meekest members of the Body. “Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it” (1 Corinthians 12:22-26). In reality it is the weak, low, and meek parts of the Body of Christ who are the greatest and most important. The seemingly weak parts are indispensable for in their lowliness they uphold the other more visible parts and serve as a daily reminder as to what we are called to in Jesus Christ. The true sign of the health of a fellowship always lies in how they deal with, handle, and care for those who are in the most need in this life. Therefore as the Body of Christ our mission is always one of humility which looks to reach those who reside in the darkest and most taboo depths of our world. Let us pray then that God humbles us daily so that we may serve and love those put in our life in order that together thru His Son, Jesus Christ, we might all be united as one. We have been baptized by one Spirit into the one Body of Christ and therefore we look to work together for Christ who is our Head, our way, our truth, and our very life. “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink” (1 Corinthians 12:12-13).

After having taught us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices and to honor our humble roles in the body of Christ, Paul continues on and lists the outward qualities and deeds that we should strive towards daily in our humble walk of faith. This list is very comprehensive and requires much reflection and study so that we may come to appreciate the depth and magnitude of each one of these urgings and admonitions.

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9). As expected Paul starts his list with love and urges us to keep our love free of hypocrisy. If our love is hypocritical it ceases to be love and becomes only veiled selfish interest that is in reality nothing but evil under the false name of “love.” Our love must not contradict the truth of Jesus Christ but must uphold it and rejoice in it while we hate what is contrary to God’s truth. We may find it strange here that Paul implores us to “hate” (since we tend to think of “hate” as something a Christian should not do) but in reality our love can only be good and true if we are in the same breathe condemning and hating what is evil and opposed to it. To stand up for good means that we must stand against evil. Paul’s comment is a direct echo of the psalmist and the prophet: “Love righteousness and hate wickedness” (Psalm 45:7), “Let those who love Yahweh hate evil” (Psalm 97:10), “Hate evil, love good” (Amos 5:15). We are certainly called to love our enemies, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27), but we are also called to hate the evil and lies that they stand for. Because Jesus Christ is truth, and He only resides in the one truth of the cross, it is imperative that we, as His disciples, hate all falsehoods (lies, false doctrines, false gospels, etc.). “I hate and abhor falsehood” (Psalm 119:163), “The righteous hate what is false” (Proverbs 13:5). Therefore Paul’s call to love does not mean we tolerate evil and falsehood, but it means we stand up against them in the name of love as we actively do good even to those who hate us and who carry these wretched lies. Though we hate and condemn the lies, we continue to bear with the liar in love.

Piggybacking on this Paul continues: “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves” (Romans 12:10). Our love is to be a brotherly love. This means that our love must be sincere, tough, and willing to go to extremes for the other person. It is the fake love of this world that gives the other person whatever they want and tries to keep “peace” in the face of evil and falsehood, while it is only brotherly love that willing bears the burden of conflict in order to carry out what is best for our fellow man. It is true love that is willing to refuse something that is harmful to a person even if they do not see it; it is true love that is willing to be harsh, tough, and disciplining in order to fight for the ultimate good of our fellow man. Only true love will willingly take on these great burdens, while fake “love” quickly falls away in the face of any hardship or conflict.

Therefore Paul goes on to encourage us in this zeal of true love: “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11). Because of our deep passion for our fellow man (in response to what Christ has done for us) we will continually persist in zeal and fervor for God and His truth. Our service is fervent and passionate because we have been touched by the passionate work of the cross and we have thereby been infected with the insatiable life of His Spirit.

In light of this Paul now gives us practical guidance on how to implement this zeal and passion: “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:12). Though we are zealous for the Lord we must not become fanatical and impatient. True zeal is willing to bear with our fellow man in everlasting patience, while earthly fanaticism on the other hand is always impatient and hasty. Being faithful in prayer and hopeful in joy are linked very closely with patience, for it is the faithful prayer that continues on in the face of seeming “failure,” always trusting and hoping (joyfully!) that God will fulfill His will in His timing. Though we may not see the fruits and results in this life, we continue to be diligent in prayer, while keeping a hope that waits and trusts patiently for God to work.

Having discussed the inner side of things Paul moves on to applying this life of love and zeal with action and deed: “Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality” (Romans 12:13). Our actions of love should first of all start with God’s people. It is our duty to take care of our fellow believers and to provide for them that are in need, providing them hospitality any time they need it. Our earthly possessions are given to us by God as opportunities to help our fellow man, they are opportunities for service. Therefore we must not squander what we have been given for ourselves, but must provide aide wherever it is needed.

After having here implored us to provide for our fellow believers, Paul continues on to talk about how we must love even those who would be considered our enemies: “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse” (Romans 12:14). No matter what kind of persecution we face we are called to continually bless those who persecute us and to never curse. Even though they may curse us, we need to see even those who hate us as fellow sinners in need of Jesus Christ. We are all the same at the foot of the cross and we must never forget that. As Christ hung bloodied on the cross, persecuted and bruised by those He loved, He looked patiently and compassionately down upon us who hated Him and had become His enemies and said, “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34). In these words we have the most powerful example of how we are called to bless those who hate us. Even though they beat us, curse us, or even kill us we are called to follow the way of Christ and bless them, asking God to forgive them and bless them.

Moving on, Paul expresses how we are to be empathetic to all men, and how we are to help them carry their burdens by truly joining them in the trials of life: “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15). One of the most important qualities of love is bearing, bearing the burdens, sins, struggles, joys, and triumphs of those around us. It is therefore important that we sympathize and empathize with what our fellow man is going thru in life by actually going thru it with them. Our brother’s struggles and trials should be our own, our brother’s joys and successes should also be our own. Because we are on Body in Christ, we all share in the joys and afflictions of the other.

In the midst of this admonition to bearing we are once again called by Paul to humility: “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited” (Romans 12:16). Seeing that Paul touches on being humble once again, we need to appreciate just how important this humility truly is. All this love that we are called to by Christ is only possible when before God’s grace we are daily humbled and broken of our pride. When our pride rears its ugly face, it destroys and undermines all efforts of love, corrupting them with arrogance and selfish interest. It is for this reason that the life of a Christian is truly a constant state of repentance and turning away from our pride.

As he continues, Paul goes on to touch once again on an element of bearing with our fellow man: “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:17-18). In order to uphold those who are weaker in faith it is our duty to make sure we do not offend them with careless words or living. Though we know we are free in the manger, cross, and empty tomb, we must not use this freedom in a way that will cause our fellow man to stumble. Therefore we need to try and bear with the weaknesses of our fellow man, living in constant peace and consideration with them whenever possible. This peace however must always be under the banner of the cross, and we must be careful not to forsake the gospel truth in the name of a fake man-made “peace.” The peace Paul talks about is one that upholds the doctrine of Jesus Christ, but bears with one another in the areas of Christian liberty and freedom.

In conclusion Paul sums everything up by talking of our main strategy for living a life of love: “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:19-21). Discipleship to Christ is always about upholding good and love regardless of how we ourselves are treated. We are called to conquer evil by way of good, by way of humility and bearing. Though this may seem counterintuitive we need to pray that we daily emulate the path that Christ walked before us, the way of the manger, the cross, and the empty tomb; the path of meekness, goodness, and humility that truly conquers the evils of the world thru sacrificial love. “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:1-2).