Lonang Commentary on Romans 12

Rom. 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Our Bodies As A Living Sacrifice

Chapter 12 marks a turning pont in Paul’s letter. He has carefully and logically, from a number of angles, made the case for the universal human need for redemption through Christ, and then walked us through the salvation Christ provides. Lastly, he has instructed us about Israel, that in spite of their rejection of Christ and the redemption of Christ being made available to the Gentiles, God isn’t finished with Israel yet. In fact, Israel’s best years are yet to come, both physically and spiritually. Now, in these verses, Paul begins to offer advice on how to live the Christian life in some practical ways.

Paul starts with a two-pronged approach to Christian living, beginning with urging believers to “present your bodies as a living sacrifice … which is your spiritual worship.” He undoubtedly has sexual immorality primarily in view here.

Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1 Cor. 6:18-20.

We already discussed back in chapter 1 the law of nature of sexual immorality, and listed the sins for which God held the Canaanites accountable, namely, incest, lewdness, menstrual sex, adultery, homosexuality, and bestiality. To which we may add fornication, which although never treated as a criminal offense in the Bible, is nonetheless quite clearly identified as a form of immorality God detests. “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals.” 1 Cor. 6:9 (NASB).

Nor should we forget prostitution, whoredom and harlotry, which, truth be told, are merely variations of fornication. Likewise, all that LGBTQ+ nonsense merely describes variations of homosexuality.

I dare say immoral practices also include transgenderism, gender fluidity, transvestism, sex change operations (er, gender reassignment surgeries’), and even being effeminate (a male acting like a female). It seems strange that I should feel a need to explain what being effeminate is, because when I was growing up everyone knew what it was. I suppose today it’s just one more form of gender fluidity. But God hates it. The Mosaic law was also quite clear about cross-dressing: “A woman shall not wear man’s clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God.” Deu. 22:5 (NASB).

This is one of the many Mosaic laws that, in root, has nothing to do with Israel as a nation or being ethnically Jewish. It is directly traceable to the creation account, when God made people in His image, male and female. Gen. 1:27. Therefore, I conclude this is in fact a statement of the law of nature which is binding on absolutely everyone, everywhere, at all times. I remember seeing on TV as a kid decades before it became accepted social practice in real life, male comedians dressing in drag’ for laughs. I have to say, I don’t think God was ever laughing at that, and none of the rest of us should have been laughing, either.

Yet, I doubt glorifying God in our bodies is limited strictly to the sexual arena. The ways people abuse their bodies knows no limits. Consider drug abuse (whether recreational, prescribed, or otherwise) and over-medication – how can these ever be justified as glorifying the temple of the Holy Spirit? Ever wonder why the Jewish law forbid tattoos (Lev. 19:28)? It might have something to do with the fact God made each person in His image. Who are we to declare, “Not good enough”? You don’t think God might be offended by that? Then there’s flesh mutilation, self-flagellation, binding the skull or feet to change their shape, lip-stretching, taking hormones or steroids for a non-medicinal purpose – the list goes on.

In any event, Paul wants us to consider the things we do to our bodies in this light – will it glorify God, or just us?

Rom. 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Transformed By Renewing the Mind

The second prong of Paul’s advice for Christian living is for us to renew our minds, so as to not be conformed to this world. Not merely for the sake of being nonconformists, but for the purpose of discovering God’s will. For the discovery, and the doing, of God’s will is the chief end of man, after all. Did your mind go straight to the shorter Westminster Catechism? It asks, “What is the chief end of man?” And the answer given is, “To glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” You know, I never did like that answer, and I still don’t.

For the Westminster Catechism is a product of Reformed (Calvinist) theology, with that nagging presumption of total depravity we already discussed (and dismissed) back in chapter 8. For indeed, how can an unredeemed person glorify God and enjoy Him forever? He can’t. But that is not, and I submit, never was the question, or the purpose of man. When God first formed man and placed him in the garden, He told man there were all these things he could do, and that God wanted him to do, except this one, teeny, tiny little prohibition. Be fruitful and multiply, take dominion, etc., etc., but don’t eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

So there they are, Adam and Eve, living in the garden before the Fall, and what is it God most expects them to do? Glorify God? Enjoy God? Praise God? Love God? Worship God? Or could it possibly have been, maybe, to Obey God? To conform their lives to God’s laws and commandments – to do God’s will? For God’s laws are nothing more, really, than an expression of God’s will for all people. God’s laws and God’s general will are one and the same (I am excluding God’s specific commands, or His specific will, for individuals).

But the main point is that doing God’s will, or obeying His laws, is something everyone can do – not merely redeemed people. Being fruitful and multiplying is something all people can do, not just Christians, and even unsaved people can do so lawfully, in conformity with God’s will. When God gave mankind the Dominion Mandate in Genesis 1, there was no part of it whatsoever dedicated to “Christian families.” Christ had not yet come – there were no Christians for another 4,000 years. There were just families, and people everywhere were capable of carrying that out lawfully. Whether they were saved or would enjoy God forever was never the point. Just as so-called Christian families have been perfectly capable of horrid and unlawful behaviors, historically.

What counts, and what has always counted most, is whether people are behaving in conformity with God’s will or not. For being saved is absolutely no guarantee that a person will behave lawfully. If there is one thing Paul is saying in Rom. 12:2, it is that no one should assume their mind has been renewed merely because they have been redeemed. Renewing the mind is what comes after being redeemed, and it comes by testing, that is, constant practice by trial and error. It requires intellectual inquiry, putting forward ideas, challenging and debating them, checking ideas against every conceivable scripture, and adjusting and reshaping one’s opinions. Not necessarily in a formal educational context, but being a student of the Word of God for the rest of their lifetime.

NOT, as a great many people typically do, coming to the Lord early in life, complacent in their salvation, sitting in a church pew for 50-60 years, not knowing anything more late in life than they did early on. Because they never made the effort – “Why should I – I’m already saved?” Saved, but dumb, with regard to the scriptures and God’s will. Paul is here saying, “Don’t be like that!” If you think merely attending church for 50 years is what it means to glorify God, any idiot can do that, and it is hardly praiseworthy.

Developing A Biblical Worldview

Now, in saying that God’s general will and His laws are the same, I’m not saying, and Paul isn’t saying, that renewing the mind means becoming a Christian lawyer. God forbid people should all become lawyers. No, Paul is saying that in becoming unconformed to the world, we need to seek out God’s will in all areas of life. As Francis Schaeffer said, every area of life, and every area equally. In other words, we each need to develop a biblical worldview which comprehends every area of our lives – family, friends, work, hobbies, education, etc.

Not that a scientist necessarily should know a biblical view of law, a musician should know a biblical view of physics and cosmology, or a sociologist should know a biblical view of mathematics. Although it certainly wouldn’t hurt. Wherever God has placed each of us, in those areas of reality that touch our lives in a significant way, some inquiry into a biblical way of thinking about those things is always beneficial. As Paul said elsewhere,

“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.” 2 Cor. 10:5-6.

The language Paul uses here is aggressive – we destroy arguments, take every thought captive, and punish every disobedience. This is not a passive activity, doesn’t happen all by itself, and isn’t something you absorb over time just by living. “You can’t sleep with a book and learn by osmosis,” my mother used to say. No, you have to go out and seek it, always learning even if you’re no longer in school. At the same time be cautious – don’t accept everything you read or hear just because some notable person wrote it or said it. Notable people are notoriously wrong. Fact check your teachers and preachers, think for yourself and come to your own conclusions. “But test everything; hold fast what is good.” 1 Th. 5:21. What isn’t good, throw away.

Sorry to say, don’t assume everything you hear from secular sources is wrong, and everything you hear from Christian sources is right. No human being is infallible – right all the time. Any truth’ espoused by any large organization – whether a religion, university, or a government – is inherently suspect. Institutional truths are always crafted to benefit or protect the institution – not God, the Bible, or you.

Chiefly what this means for Christians, more than anything else, is not looking at all of life through the lens of the plan of salvation. The Gospel and plan of salvation are NOT a worldview. Being pro-life (anti-abortion) is not a worldview. These may be biblical, but they are not every area of life, and every area equally – in fact, I’m not sure they would even constitute 1% of a worldview. And for heaven’s sake, don’t use any of the historic church confessions as your worldview framework. The doctrine of God, doctrine of man, doctrine of sin, doctrine of scripture, doctrine of the trinity, doctrine of the church, and so on, will never get you to a biblical worldview.

A worldview needs to consider religion or theology, yes, but also law, government, education, families, arts, physical sciences, social sciences, mathematics, cosmology, music, occupations, private property, wealth and finance – every area of life, all in equal measure. National border security and immigration, transgenderism and gender fluidity, welfare laws, foreign aid to war zones, presidential and other elections, alternative energy sources, fossil fuels, electric vehicles, the list goes on forever. Whatever things in this life touch you the most, assume God has an opinion about them. And then seek out His opinion. He rewards those who diligently seek Him. Heb. 11:6.

But if you’re waiting for churches and Christian schools to show you the way, prepare to be disappointed. Very few will admit it, but the prevailing view in Christian academia (certainly at the university level) is one of practical agnosticism. We know there is a God, and we know the Gospel, but we don’t know that he has revealed anything specific about the rest of life. Or, God may have revealed something about my subject area, but it is just my opinion and I don’t want to be dogmatic. Or, we don’t want to stray from the core of the Gospel because that’s the most important thing there is. Good grief! Is that what Paul wrote about in 2 Cor. 10:5-6? Merely protecting the Gospel?

The bottom line is this. Stop waiting for other people to get around to developing a biblical worldview as a means of renewing your mind. You might have to, and probably will, do the hard work yourself. Other people can’t renew your mind for you. You have to be obedient for you.

Rom. 12:3-8 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Equality in the Body of Christ

Paul, having first urged all believers to carefully consider how to govern our bodies and our minds as individuals in light of our redemption, now shifts to a consideration of how we relate to each other in the body of Christ, i.e., the universal or heavenly Church. All of which requires every believer to engage in a healthy dose of self-examination. Who am I in Christ, and how is this to be reflected in my conduct and the way I treat my physical body for as long as I have it? What are those key areas in my thought life that need to be renewed and brought into conformity with scripture and the mind of Christ? How has God gifted me by His grace, and how do I fit into the larger body of believers?

He starts with an admonition for everyone to not think of themselves more highly than they ought. In other words, a call to universal humility before other believers. Implicit in this admonition is a recognition that in Christ, no one is truly above or below anyone else, for we are all equal. We are fellow-heirs with Christ, with no one having priority or superiority before God – we are all fallen creatures redeemed apart from our own worth or power. That is, all believers are equally corrupt prior to being redeemed by Christ, and equally made worthy by His blood afterward. There is no spiritual hierarchy among believers.

When Paul uses this word measure in verse 3, he is not suggesting that we try to compare how much faith we have in relation to others. For the measure of faith comes from God, and therefore is known only by God – we cannot jump in and quantify this faith. God gives each person however much God decides we need, and it is not within our jurisdiction, as human beings, to assign a relative value to this faith.

The parallel text to verses 4-8 is 1 Cor. 12:12-31, which gives a more extended discussion of the relationship between each believer and the body of Christ as a whole. The upshot of which is that no member of the body is more or less indispensable than any other member, regardless of office, gift or function. And the second point is that there is no division in the body, that every one may have the same care for one another. Again reinforcing this basic idea that all members are equal to each other before God, therefore, we should treat each other as equals here on earth.

Thus, when Paul lists gifts of grace (prophecy, serving, teaching, exhortation, generosity, leadership and mercy), there is no hierarchy or order of priority. I note especially that leadership is mentioned next to last. This mimics the listing of offices in Eph. 4:11 (apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers), where there is also no hierarchy or order of priority. The list of gifts in 1 Cor. 12:28 seems to indicate a sequence, perhaps (apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, healing, helping, administration, and tongues). But again, no mention of a hierarchy or authority structure, and no one more important than any of the others. In fact, all these lists are different from each other – only prophets and teachers are named in all three.

Consequently, when all is said and done, no one in particular is put in charge of the whole body. No office, gift or ministry is put in charge of supervising any other offices, gifts or ministries. No office, gift or ministry is given ruling authority by God. Nowhere in scripture does it say that pastors are in charge of local churches, or that apostles are in charge of the Church on earth. Those authority structures which exist within your own church have all been created, defined, and implemented by men, not God.

The authority structure in the body of Christ which God has defined is extremely flat. There is Christ, who is the head of the body. Head’ means that He is in charge, and rules over the body, essentially with unlimited authority. Then there is everyone else, underneath Christ, in equal relation to each other, fellow-heirs all. Every believer has completely equal access to God, and no one needs to go through any other person (besides Christ) to get to Him or to receive the full measure of His grace. Beyond that, no divisions in the body, and no hierarchy. Period.

Remember our discussion of God as the great equalizer back in chapter 5, and take it seriously.

Rom. 12:9-13,15-16 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. … Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.

In Search of Christian Community

I view these next verses as a sort of flip-side to the previous text. We are equal in our relations to God and to each other, but that doesn’t mean we are each on our own. What Paul is conveying here is that believers should optimally behave as a community that binds us together with a common interest, a common welfare, and hopefully common values.

I caution to point out Paul is not commending communal living, as such, common property (as was practiced by the early Jerusalem church), or communism. Every time common property has been tried (and it has a number of times), it has miserably failed, notably including the Jerusalem church. Communism, as such, always fails, inevitably leads to tyranny, and in the last 200 years, is always rooted in atheism (since the state is the god of all). And communal living always leads to isolationism, religious enclaves where individuals, families, businesses and government are all subsumed under the church, and successive generations of children who struggle to break away from the community. These are not the things Paul is advocating for here.

Christians have obviously struggled with how to accomplish these goals in any significant way as a community, or as a congregation, for the last 2,000 years. Every attempt seems to generate an initial sweet period when everything seems to be working, shortly followed by degradation and disintegration.

With history as teacher, it leads me to believe these exhortations are best practiced by individuals and families to the best of their ability. Going wider and bigger may seem like a good idea, but it never is. I will address the early Jerusalem church in more detail in chapter 15.

Rom. 12:14,17-21 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. … Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Vengeance Belongs To God

Many times people see the word persecute in verse 14, and assume it refers mainly to religious persecution. But it has no such limitation. The way the world is today, anyone can be persecuted for just about any reason today, and by a wide variety of means. It won’t necessarily be vigilantes who show up on your doorstep with pitchforks and torches because you put a John 3:16 sign in your yard, or men in hoods with burning crosses because they don’t like who you are. Those things probably still happen somewhere in the world, but these days vigilante mobs are largely driven by viewpoint politics, whether it’s about race politics, pandemic lockdowns and wearing masks, boys playing girls’ sports or using girls’ bathrooms, or Israel vs. Gaza. But those are just the vigilante threats.

Then there are the threats and persecutions from official sources acting under color (that is, a pretense) of law. Regulators from an innumerable amount of government entities, federal, state and local. People who wear suits, carry briefcases, have badges, and increasingly, are armed. People who deprive others of life, liberty and property (or money, at least) in order to enforce some vague social policy never quite enacted into law, but who overwhelm with power, resources, and an inexhaustible supply of funds to crush all those who oppose. Oh yes, persecution in America, whether official or unofficial, is alive and well today.

The natural response is for anyone to retaliate. To defend oneself and family members, sure. But beyond that, there is a bona fide recognition that the persecution, of whatever type, was unjustified from the start and had no right to be done. Therefore, those who done it need to be repaid in kind, or with equal force. Yet, Paul admonishes us here to not take that vengeance, even when it is well deserved. And it very well may be deserved. But don’t avenge yourself anyway.

There is in fact a long history of vengeance in the Bible. In Gen. 4:15 God put a mark on Cain (after he murdered his brother) not to punish him, but to prevent anyone from avenging Abel’s death because God had not yet authorized anyone to do so. That authority was finally granted after Noah’s flood in Gen. 9:6, when capital punishment for murder was mandated for all of Noah’s descendants. People often view Gen. 9:6 as the first grant of civil power, but technically it was merely the first grant of private law enforcement authority. For nations did not come into being until after the Tower of Babel, and civil governments even later after that. When capital punishment was instituted, there was no one in existence beyond the eight people in Noah’s family (Noah, his three sons, and each of their wives).

Which meant that Gen. 9:6 was essentially a grant of a limited power of vengeance for a limited range of offenses – a power given to individuals, not governments. And, as this preceded the formation of Israel, it is a universal human law not limited to the Jews. Next we see that God had the Jews establish cities of refuge to shelter a manslayer from the hand of an avenger of blood, that is, a family member of the deceased. Num. 35:12-27. Not because the avenger was wrong, but to give the people time to judge between him and the manslayer. Yet, if the accused left the city of refuge for any reason, the avenger was entitled to kill him. See also, Deu. 19:6,12. From which we may conclude that, according to God’s laws, vengeance is not always wrong or unlawful, per se.

Yet Paul’s admonition is for us to give up our right of vengeance, even when it is our right, for the way of peace. For one thing, it brings peace of mind to withhold revenge, for a mind hellbent on revenge corrupts the soul. Notice Paul says not to repay evil for evil, but he nowhere says we should forgive those who persecute us. I know the tendency some readers will have to jump to one of Jesus’ statements about forgiving others, but ask yourself why it is Paul doesn’t drive the discussion in that direction.

I suggest it is because God is perfectly capable of exacting vengeance on our behalf, when it is truly warranted. He declared His desire to avenge the enemies of Israel many times, including without limitation Isa. 1:24 and Jer. 5:9; 9:9. But Jesus made similar statements regarding believers. For example, in Lk. 18:7, “And will not God give justice to his elect?” – “And shall not God avenge his own elect?” (KJV). When the Tribulation saints are killed for their testimony and they cry out to God, what will they ask for? Forgiveness for their murderers? No – vengeance! Rev. 6:10. And God will answer them, acknowledging the validity of their request..

Thus, David asked God to avenge Saul’s persecution of him in 1 Sam. 24:12 – “May the LORD judge between me and you, may the LORD avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you.” See what David is doing. He has been wronged, and he knows it. But rather than take vengeance himself, he asks God to do it for him. He turned the matter over to the Lord, and in doing so, absolved himself of any blame if he took it too far, or might have been mistaken in his judgment.

There are several times people in scripture asked God to judge between them and another, such as Gen. 16:5 (Sarai vs. Abram) and Exo. 5:21 (the people vs. Moses and Aaron) – with no presumption that the person asking the Lord to judge was in the right. But right or wrong, it was something they were authorized to do – to turn the matter over to God, instead of taking matters into their own hands.

There is a certain freedom that comes from leaving any and all vengeance to the Lord. For whatever is meted out by God is just and appropriate. If He chooses to do nothing (which He may well do), then by holding back our own actions we avoid inflicting an unjust response by our own hands. If He chooses to act, then we (by leaving it to God) are blameless for whatever comes.

When we are attacked by others, we see the damage, the injuries, and the pain pretty much immediately, so when responding to our attackers we tend to want to see them get what’s coming to them right away. But God takes His times about these things – as He does with all things – so that when we leave vengeance to the Lord, we can basically forget about it, for who knows when, or if, or how God may respond? Which also makes it easier for us to gain a clear conscience about the matter.

Whatever response we choose, the admonition of scripture is not to repay evil for evil. Not to give up, heavens no. But to respond to the lawless actions of others lawfully, according to God’s laws. And we need to know that we, by our own declaration of someone else’s wrongdoing, can never force God’s hand to take action. The Lord can, if he wants, even if we have correctly identified the evil done to us, do nothing in this life. He can, and often does, reserve vengeance for the day of judgment, in which we all must someday stand.

God always reserves sovereign discretion over who, how and when He will implement vengeance, if at all. Part of turning things over to God means that we have to be satisfied with however He chooses to handle it, even if we never know the outcome.