Category Archives: Romans

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Romans 13: Love, And Do What You Want

Read Romans 13:1-14

Love, And Do What You Want

“These—and other such commands—are summed up in this one
commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love
does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the
requirements of God’s law.”
~Romans 13:9-10

Digging Deeper: God’s requirements for us are pretty simple really—just love everybody like we would want to be loved.  That means we would love them when they deserved it, and even when they didn’t.  We would love them when we felt like it, and even when we didn’t.  We would love them not just in word, but we would love them in action.  We would love them like they needed to be loved, like God loves them, like the creatures of a Creator who created them inherently worthy of love.

If we would just do what God created us to do—love—I have a feeling that 99% of the issues we wrestle with, the relationships we struggle over, and the trouble we find ourselves in would be taken care of.  Love—that’s the cure for what ails you!

So where and how are we supposed to live out this life of love?  Paul gives us three relational arenas in Romans 13.  The first area has to do with our relationship to the government—what you might call the civil arena (Romans 13:1-7).

Here Paul says God expects us to respect our government and its leaders—something that we often find hard to do.  We are to observe the laws they establish; view them as God-ordained instruments for order; submit to them not only as an act of civic duty, but as that which is necessary for a clear conscience; pay our taxes; and give them honor and respect.  In fact, in II Timothy 2:2-3, Paul takes it a step further and says that we are even pray for our governmental leaders,

“Pray for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.  This is good and pleases God our savior…”

When I think of some of the government administrations and leaders that I’ve endured during my lifetime, what Paul is asking seems like a tall order.  But keep in mind that Paul wrote to the Roman believers about respecting and obeying government under some pretty awful leaders like Emperor Nero and his evil, profane, murderous ilk.  If Paul could see these Roman Emperors as God’s instruments in his life, then I will have no excuse when I stand before God some day for my attitude toward my leaders.

The second area has to do with our relationship with our neighbors—what you might call the social arena (Romans 13:8-10).  Here Paul simply calls for loving actions toward those with whom we are in some kind of daily interaction—the people we live by, work with and sit next to in the pews at church.  We should do nothing that would provoke anything other than a loving response from them back toward us.

The third has to do with our relationship to God—what you might call the salvation arena (Romans 13:11-14).  Here Paul reminds us that one of the leading motives, if not the only motive, for living a life of love in all the arenas of our life is for the simple reason that Jesus is coming back soon, and we will then have to give an account for how we have behaved in relation to our government and its leaders, our neighbors and our God.  Because of the soon return of Jesus and the revealing of our full and final salvation, we must be continually alert to living in purity and holiness.  In short, we are to “clothe ourselves with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 13:14), which is Paul’s way of saying that we ought to live each moment as if it might be the last one before we find ourselves standing before Christ.  Love would demand no less in light of what has done to secure our salvation!

Love!  Do that and you’ll be just fine—in this life and in the one to come.  Just love God with all your heart, and when you do, you cannot help but love everybody else.  Do that and you’ll fulfill all God’s requirements.

One month before his death at age 65, C.S. Lewis wrote in a letter addressed to a child, “If you continue to love Jesus, nothing much can go wrong with you, and I hope you may always do so.”

That’s great advice!

So here’s a thought for you:  If you knew Jesus would come back 24 hours from now, and knowing that love is the ultimate requirement of God’s law, who and how would you love?

Why not love like that anyway—you never know, this might be you last opportunity!

“Love, and do what you want.”
~Augustine

This Week’s Assignment

Read: Romans 13:1-14

Memorize: Romans 13:8

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.”

For Your Consideration: When Paul wrote Romans 13, he didn‘t insert a chapter break at the end of chapter 12.  Chapters and verses were later added by editors, so what Paul wrote in this chapter was a simply continuation of his call in Romans 12:1-2 to offer our everyday lives as pleasing worship to God.  In light of that, consider how your attitude toward governmental leaders (Romans 13:1-7), your treatment of the people in your life (Romans 13:8-10), and your personal purity in immoral times (Romans 13:11-14) might need to change to in order to be offered as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.

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Romans 13: Your Wake Up Call

Read Romans 13:11-14

Your Wake Up Call

The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because
our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
~Romans 13:11

Digging Deeper: It has been nearly 2,000 years since Christians first began to look for the second coming of Christ, and still he has not returned.  Sadly, his delay has caused the alertness of far too many believers to dim; perhaps that is the case for you.  But as you consider the promise of his return, please don’t confuse his slowness with lateness. You see, God’s timing is still perfect, his plan for the end times is still in effect, and his delay has done absolutely nothing to impugn the truth that we are indeed living in the last days.

In fact, Paul would argue that Christ’s delay can only mean one thing: We are even closer to the day when the Father says, “enough is enough—it is finished!” and sends the Son to restore order to the chaotic mess man has made of what was once God’s garden. That day is closer than ever, my friend, and even though there has been no sign of Christ, the signs of his return are everywhere. So as Paul would say, wake up, and jettison the activities of the night!

What is it, exactly, that people do at night?  For one thing, they sleep, Now that is not a bad activity in itself, but in the spiritual dimension, sleeping in the end times is akin to both inactivity in the work of the kingdom as well as in-alertness to the King’s coming—both serious spiritual faux pas according to Matthew 25.

If you are spiritually inactive or unaware, this is your wake up call—and it’s the most important one you’ll ever receive!

People also dream at night.  Though not all dreaming is bad, dreams can either be fear-producing nightmares that paralyze our spiritual vitality, or time-wasting fantasizing that cause us to avoid our spiritual responsibilities.  Dreaming in this sense is symbolic of being diverted from the serious minded, fruitbearing living to which Christians have been called. Paul teaches in Ephesians 5:15-17 to “be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.  Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”

If you are spiritually paralyzed by fear or living in a spiritual la-la land, this is your wake up call—and it’s the most important one you’ll ever receive!

Partying is the other activity some people do at night.  Though not all parties are bad, this kind of partying is symbolic of believers who sacrifice their purity for momentary pleasure-fixes. Paul hits this one pretty hard (Romans 13:14)—drunkenness, sexual immorality, debauchery (a reference to wickedness in general), plus dissension and jealousy (a couple of other expected outcomes when we are under the influence of the night).

If you are sacrificing purity for partying, this is your wake up call—and it’s the most important one you’ll ever receive!

So what is it, then, that Christians are called to do?  First, we must understand the times — “And do this, understanding the present time.” (Romans 13:11) We are to wake up to the evil that is all around us and open our eyes to the nearness of Christ’s return. Second, we must reject the call of the wild and answer the call to arms — “let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” (Romans 13:12) We are to ruthlessly eliminate anything and everything that compromises our moral purity and saps our spiritual power.  And third, we must get ready and stay ready for Jesus’ second coming — “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 13:14) We are to wake up and get dressed for the greatest party of all—the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Our salvation is at hand, and if we’re ready, when it finally happens we will wake up to a dream come true: The fulfillment of the deepest longings of our heart and the glorious rest that no fleshly sleep can produce.

This is your wake up call—and it’s the most important one you’ll ever receive!

“How little know who think that holiness is dull. When
one meets the real thing, it is irresistible.”
~C.S. Lewis

This Week’s Assignment:

Read: Romans 13:1-14

Memorize: Romans 13:8

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.”

For Your Consideration: When Paul wrote Romans 13, he didn‘t insert a chapter break at the end of chapter 12.  Chapters and verses were later added by editors, so what Paul wrote in this chapter was a simply continuation of his call in Romans 12:1-2 to offer our everyday lives as pleasing worship to God.  In light of that, consider how your attitude toward governmental leaders (Romans 13:1-7), your treatment of the people in your life (Romans 13:8-10), and your personal purity in immoral times (Romans 13:11-14) might need to change to in order to be offered as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.

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Romans 13: Goin For Broke

Read Romans 13:8-14

Goin For Broke

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

Digging Deeper: American history is littered with scores of humorous tombstones, and one of my favorite epitaphs simply reads, “Owen Moore Passed Away—Owin’ More Than He Could Pay.”  From the beginning of time right up to the present, the reality of debt aptly describes far too many people in our world, and it is certainly weighing heavily on our collective minds currently as we think of what the burgeoning national debt might do to this great country of ours.

In the 1950’s, Tennessee Ernie Ford recorded a song describing the dark and difficult challenges of the lives of coal miners. “Sixteen Tons” became a number one hit and its most memorable line was one that people can still relate to:

You load sixteen tons, and what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt.
Saint Peter don’t you call me, ’cause I can’t go;
I owe my soul to the company store.

Maybe that’s how you feel—you owe your soul, and everything else, to the “company store”, or whoever it is that holds your debt.  Perhaps Owen Moore’s epitaph aptly describes your life right now.

By and large, debt is a crippler, and we ought not to get enslaved to it.  In fact, we ought to do everything we can to get out from under it. My advice: Get yourself educated about money management, get ruthlessly disciplined with your finances, develop a strategic plan for debt reduction, and then go after it with reckless abandon.  You will never regret debt elimination, but you will always bemoan indebtedness.

Now let’s be very clear about what Paul is saying here, because his words are often used to wrongly hammer anyone who borrows money.  Paul is not prohibiting borrowing, especially since the Bible makes provision for it.  Deuteronomy 23:19—20 and 24:10-13, as well as a host of other Scripture, assumes lending and borrowing, and provides very clear guidelines for both.  What Paul is simply saying is that believers are to pay their financial obligations when they are due—including their taxes (Romans 13:7) as well as payment on their debt.  Obviously, other scriptural teaching on finances comes into play as to the wisdom and limits of healthy indebtedness.

But Paul has a bigger point to make here: The biggest debt we owe, and it is definitely an un-repayable one, is the debt of love. This debt derives from God’s unmerited love for us, most graciously and tenderly demonstrated in Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross. Romans 5:8 powerfully reminds us of this love, and by extension, the debt of love we owe to God:

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

This terms of our debt repayment are clearly spelled out both in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 6:5, Leviticus 19:18), and by Jesus, himself, in Matthew 22:39,

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Here’s the thing on this love debt:  You cannot love God with all your being without loving your fellow man with all your energies; and you cannot love your fellow man properly without loving God as he deserves.  But if you get love for God and love for man right, you have nailed the laws of God governing human relationships (Romans 13:9), and are well on your way to paying your un-payable debt of love.

But just remember, you will never pay that one off—and that’s a good thing.  So in the love-your-fellow-man department, you might as well go for broke.

“Our only business is to love and delight ourselves in God.”
~Brother Lawrence

This Week’s Assignment:

Read: Romans 13:1-14

Memorize: Romans 13:8

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.”

For Your Consideration: When Paul wrote Romans 13, he didn‘t insert a chapter break at the end of chapter 12.  Chapters and verses were later added by editors, so what Paul wrote in this chapter was a simply continuation of his call in Romans 12:1-2 to offer our everyday lives as pleasing worship to God.  In light of that, consider how your attitude toward governmental leaders (Romans 13:1-7), your treatment of the people in your life (Romans 13:8-10), and your personal purity in immoral times (Romans 13:11-14) might need to change to in order to be offered as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.

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Romans 13: Giving the Prez His Props

Read Romans 13:1-7

Giving the Prez His Props

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

Digging Deeper: “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities.”  Deal with it, Democrats!  Republicans, respect your president!  And just hold on a minute, Independents, you’re not exempt from this either!

Whether it is the president or the policeman, city councilmen or congressman, democrat or republican, charismatic governor or senile senator, through the process that gave them their role, God has granted these officials the authority to lead you. In light of that, God expects you to “give them what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.” (Romans 13:7)

So come on people, give the president his props—the proper respect God expects from you for, if nothing else, the office he holds.  I understand that you may not like him—Paul never said you had to—but he is God’s servant (Romans 4:4).  And if you choose to rebel against his authority, well, you might as well shake your fist in the face of God, because that is, in effect what you are doing:

“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)

By now, depending on what party you roll with, you may be quite irritated with what I am saying.  You might even be thinking that these seven verses in Romans 13 may just be the one and only place in Scripture that is not divinely inspired; that Paul took leave of his senses at this point and wandered off the reservation when he wrote about respecting and obeying governmental leaders.

Sorry, that doesn’t cut it.  These seven verses are Bible, which means that they are inspired, and that you are accountable for them.  Like it or not, you and I will one day stand before God and give account for every idle word (Matthew 12:36) that we speak against the politicians that somehow—Lord only knows—got put into leadership over us.  So be careful!  Be respectful.  And remember that ultimately, their authority derives from God’s authority, and they, too, are not just accountable to the voting public, but to God himself.

Having said all that, there are ways to redress grievances with governmental authorities. There is a democratic process for electing and removing leaders, and Christians ought to be actively, aggressively and unashamedly engaged in that process. And, furthermore, believers are never, ever expected to obey a leader or a law that violates God’s higher law. (Exodus 1:17, Acts 4:19)  Should that happen, you and I are given permission by God to speak truth to power, resist—non-violently, of course—and be ready to go to jail, if not the gallows, for our faith.

But by and large, the most common and persistent response our Christian faith calls for in terms of our relationship to governmental authorities is prayer.

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (I Timothy 2:1-4)

Pray for the president—you gotta be kidding?  Submit to his authority—are you nuts?  Give props to a guy I don’t respect a whole lot—get real!  Well, think about this: Paul’s words here in Romans 13 were written around AD 57 when a guy named Nero was emperor of Rome.  To say the least, Nero was not a nice guy—especially to Christians. (Check out Foxe’s Book of Martyrs)

So here’s the deal: If Paul could do it, so can you!

“Truth is the daughter of time, not of authority.”
~Francis Bacon

This Week’s Assignment:

Read: Romans 13:1-14

Memorize: Romans 13:8

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.”

For Your Consideration: When Paul wrote Romans 13, he didn‘t insert a chapter break at the end of chapter 12.  Chapters and verses were later added by editors, so what Paul wrote in this chapter was a simply continuation of his call in Romans 12:1-2 to offer our everyday lives as pleasing worship to God.  In light of that, consider how your attitude toward governmental leaders (Romans 13:1-7), your treatment of the people in your life (Romans 13:8-10), and your personal purity in immoral times (Romans 13:11-14) might need to change to in order to be offered as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.

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Romans 12: The Noble Peace Prize

Read Romans 12:1-21

The Noble Peace Prize!

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
~Romans 12:18

Digging Deeper: No—you heard it right: Noble, not Nobel…the Noble Peace Prize.  Nothing is as prized by God as the noble efforts his children exert to achieve peace.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers!”  That proclamation of blessing came from Jesus’ very first sermon—the Sermon on the Mount—found in Matthew 5-7. He was just launching his messianic ministry, and in the opening lines (Matthew 5:1-12) of his first public address, he spelled out his kingdom agenda in bullet form. These “kingdom talking points” have come to be known as the beatitudes. This particular bullet point for blessing, peacemaking, along with seven others, reveal what God values most, what God blesses most, and what God expects most from his people as they expand his kingdom throughout planet earth.

God not only promises peace to his people (“and the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds” — Philippians 4:7) and expects his people to allow peace to govern their relationships with one another (“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one body you were called to peace” — Colossians 3:15), he also calls his people to be emissaries of his peace to a human race at war with itself, and with him.

Yes, that is our call—emissaries of peace, representing the agenda of the one who was known as the Prince of Peace. Peacemaking is high on the kingdom platform of him who is known as the God of peace. (Romans 15:33, Romans 16:20, Philippians 4:9, I Thessalonians 5:23, Hebrews 13:20) How else will the world surrender their worship to the God of peace, and accept the Prince of Peace as their savior, and come under the rule of the kingdom of peace unless the subjects of that kingdom flesh out that peace in their everyday, ordinary, sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life”?

So that is your assignment today.  Mine, too.  There is no more noble pursuit. Will you be successful at achieving peace in your home, at work, while you are at school, or in your little corner of the world?  I don’t know.  But I do know that if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, your life can be a powerful catalyst for peace.

And if you will give that your very best shot, “the God of peace will be with you!”  (Philippians 4:9).  And not only will he be with you, he will bless you, for he has promised blessings to those who are “the peacemakers”. (Matthew 5:9)

“You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate
instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover
who you really are, and your place in God’s family.
~Jesus Christ, Matthew 5:9 (Msg.)

This Week’s Assignment:

Read: Romans 12:1-21

Memorize: Romans 12:1-2

“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.”

For Your Consideration: Stop at the very first word of chapter 12: “Therefore”.  Whenever you come to a “therefore” in your Bible reading, you ought to ask yourself, “what is it there for?”  What Paul goes on to say in these first two verses comprises what is arguably the most important duty of all true Christ-followers: The offering of our everyday lives to God as our only and reasonable act of worship.  “Therefore” …what is the basis of this call to Christian duty? (Hint: Go back to Romans 11:36.)

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Romans 12: The 12×12 Rule

Read Romans 12:9-21

The 12×12 Rule!

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
~Romans 12:12

Digging Deeper: Romans 12:9-21 is kind of a checklist for Christ-like behavior.  Depending on how you count them, you’ll find no less than nineteen commands that the Christian is to carry out; practical ways, if you will, that we can truly live as “living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.” (Romans 1:1)

The Message version’s rendering of verse 1 calls us to take our “everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.” With God’s help, by rejecting the world’s way of thinking and acting, by the complete transformation of our entire way of viewing, doing and approaching life, and with our 24/7 dedication to the aforementioned, this checklist pretty well covers what the verse describes: The outward produce of an inner renovation experienced in Christ.

There is one item on this checklist that is a particular favorite of mine: Romans 12:12.  A few years ago, an elder in the church where I served as lead pastor brought that particular verse to my attention.  It became the motto of our elder board—and I affectionately named it the 12×12 rule: Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  In our elder’s meetings, when we’d come to a sticky challenge, were overcome by a sense of helplessness, left scratching our head in bewilderment, or found ourselves up against an insurmountable wall, we’d just invoke the 12×12 rule.

The 12×12 rule became such a standard response and call to action of that leadership team that one year during the Christmas season the elders gave me a gift that would be a constant reminder to invoke this rule in my life and leadership.  It was a Mont Blanc pen—with the words, “Romans 12:12” inscribed on it. I have never received a more unforgettable and beneficial gift!

The 12×12 rule pretty well sums up what it means to be Christian, doesn’t it?  I would like to challenge you to adopt the 12×12 rule as your own.  Memorize it—it’s pretty easy; it’s just ten words.  Meditate on it until you absorb it into your core.  Pray it back to God until the Holy Spirit brings it to life in your way of thinking. And then just do it.  Invoke it early and often as you do life.

The 12×12 rule.  I like that: Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer.

“Hope is a waking dream.”
~Augustine

This Week’s Assignment:

Read: Romans 12:1-21

Memorize: Romans 12:1-2

“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.”

For Your Consideration: Stop at the very first word of chapter 12: “Therefore”.  Whenever you come to a “therefore” in your Bible reading, you ought to ask yourself, “what is it there for?”  What Paul goes on to say in these first two verses comprises what is arguably the most important duty of all true Christ-followers: The offering of our everyday lives to God as our only and reasonable act of worship.  “Therefore” …what is the basis of this call to Christian duty? (Hint: Go back to Romans 11:36.)

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Romans 12: Sober Up!

Read Romans 12:3-8

Sober Up!

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

Digging Deeper: If at all possible, it’s best not to think of yourself at all.  I think that is what the Biblical writers had in mind when they spoke of the virtue of humility, which is not so much thinking less of yourself (both quantitatively as well as qualitatively), but the freedom from thinking about yourself altogether.

However, if you must think of yourself, Paul says to do so with “sober judgment”.  And if you do that with the measure of faith you’ve been given, then rather than having a high estimation of yourself, you’ll have an accurate picture of what you are: A living sacrifice. (Romans 12:1)

Think about that—a living sacrifice. An Old Testament sacrifice had to die in order to offer pleasing worship to God, but when Jesus came along, he became the final sacrifice called upon to die. Old Testament sacrifices are no longer required by God; New Covenant sacrifices are now what bring pleasing worship to God, and those offerings are called upon to live.

Of course, as a living sacrifice, we must first die to ourselves—our flesh, our own selfish desires and our false estimation of who we are and what we should be.  But our real call is to live—to live in view of God’s mercy (Romans 12:1), to live for him and through him and to him his glory (Romans 11:36), and to live to fulfill the purpose for which he has gifted you (Romans 12:4-8).  And that great purpose for which you have been gifted is specifically spelled out in this section of verses: It is to live and serve and function and contribute to the family of God in which you have now been placed.

Yes, you have been called to die to yourself—and that is a daily (and difficult) exercise in self-mortification.  But your highest calling is now to live unto God—to live as a living sacrifice.  Do you see yourself as a living sacrifice?  That is truly what “sober judgment” will produce.  If that is not fundamentally how you see your role in life, then you need to sober up!

Let me give you a challenge this week: Forget about yourself! Practice being absent minded when it comes to you. Get you out of your thoughts and replace them with plans for offering yourself as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.

Sober up and crawl back up on the alter of sacrifice—and for Christ’s sake, stay there!

“The only problem with a living sacrifice is that it wants to crawl off the altar.”

This Week’s Assignment:

Read: Romans 12:1-21

Memorize: Romans 12:1-2

“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.”

 

For Your Consideration: Stop at the very first word of chapter 12: “Therefore”.  Whenever you come to a “therefore” in your Bible reading, you ought to ask yourself, “what is it there for?”  What Paul goes on to say in these first two verses comprises what is arguably the most important duty of all true Christ-followers: The offering of our everyday lives to God as our only and reasonable act of worship.  “Therefore” …what is the basis of this call to Christian duty? (Hint: Go back to Romans 11:36.)