EXPOSITORY SERMON: ROMANS 12:1 - 13:14



I. INTRODUCTION

A. Paul never fails to give practical applications based on the doctrine discussed. A Christian cannot separate doctrine from duty. Learning must be translated into living.

B. In this section we will study relationships. To have a right relationship with God we must have a right relationship with our fellow man (1 Jn. 4:20).

II. DISCUSSION

A. Our Relationship to God (12:1,2) - The Christian must be dedicated to God. This dedication involves three steps:

1. You give God your body (1) - It is our privilege to glorify and magnify Christ in our body (Phil. 1:20,21)
a. We are living sacrifices for the Lord - in the image of Isaac and the Lord Himself.
b. We are to present our bodies once and for all time. Why such a commitment?
(1) It is the only response that justifies what God has done for us.
(2) It is our reasonable service.

2. You give Him your mind (2a) - The world exerts outside pressure to change our minds, but God exerts His pressure from within. God applies this pressure through His Word. We must study it, memorize it and meditate on it. Then our mind will begin to become more spiritual (2 Cor. 3:18).

3. You give Him your will (2b)
a. Our mind controls our body and our will controls our mind. We must yield our will to God's, then His power can feed our willpower (and won't power!).
b. The main avenue to surrendering our will to God is through prayer. "Not my will, but thy will be done."

B. Our Relationship to Other Believers (3-16) - Each believer is a living part of Christ's body. We each have some gift or gifts that Christ can use to build the church. What are the essentials for our spiritual ministry and growth?

1. Honest evaluation (3) - We must know our abilities and accept them and use them for God's glory. We must learn from Moses' mistake (Ex. 4:1-13).

2. Faithful cooperation (4-8) - We must work together. Our abilities must be melded to achieve the best results. We must not exalt one above the other. Minimizing the abilities of others while boasting of our own or bragging on others while displaying false humility are two bad attitudes that the church cannot tolerate. Our abilities are tools to build with, not toys to play with or weapons to fight with. We must work together and use our abilities to produce fruit (Gal. 5:22-26).

3. Loving participation (9-16)
a. Love is the circulatory system of the spiritual body, it allows members to function in a healthy way. This love must be honest humble and deferential (Phil. 2:1-4).
b. If we serve Christ, then we will be opposed by Satan. We must remain steadfast. (12)
c. This love is beyond a handshake. It is burden sharing and blessing sharing among people of all classes and all walks of life.

C. Our Relationship to Our Enemies (17-21)

1. Obedience to Christ will make us some enemies. We must make sure that these are enemies of the cause of Christ and not enemies because of us.

2. Vengeance is not ours. We must return good for evil. It takes love and faith to accomplish this work.

3. Mt. 5:44-48 - We must set our hearts toward this type of attitude. Even if we cannot convert our enemies with our Godly living, we will certainly benefit our own spiritual lives.

D. Our Relationship to the State (13:1-14) - There are three institutions sanctioned by God: the home (Gen. 2:18-25), government (Gen. 9: 1-17) and the church (Acts 2). Even though Paul's Roman readers were not under persecution, Christianity was soon to feel the wrath of the emperor. Today there are those that teach rebellion against the authorities in the name of Christ. They would expect us to believe that civil disobedience and rebellion is a Christian thing to do. Paul will show us four reasons why Christians must be in subjection to the laws of the state.

1. For wrath's sake (1-4) - The authority to rule comes from God. To resist the law is to resist God. God gave governments power to bear the sword, that is to afflict punishment, including capital punishment. Even though tyrants and evil men rise to power from time to time, we must still support the office.

2. For conscience's sake (5-7) - This is higher motivation than fear. If the government interferes with our conscience we must obey God. (1 Tim. 1:5,19; 3:9, 4:2) If we refuse to pay our taxes we are showing disrespect to the officials the law and the Lord.

3. For love's sake (8-10)
a. Besides government officials, we are to love one another. If love is practiced correctly, other laws are not needed.
b. Part of this love would include sound and honest financial practices. The Bible forbids charging high interest, robbing the brethren and failing to pay honest debts.

4. For Jesus' sake (11-14)
a. From fear to conscience to love and now to the Lord, all good and honest reasons for obeying the laws of the land.
b. The best citizens in this country or any country ought to be its Christian citizens.

III. CONCLUSION

A. Paul has centered his thoughts in these chapters on human relationships and ultimately the human heart. God has established all of these relationships including government. No laws of man or of God can change man's heart. Only man's will and God's grace can do that.

B. It is always in our best interest to always be prepared, to be ready for the judgment day. It is past time for us to wake up, clean up and grow up. We must become more like Christ each day. We must feed the inner man to grow spiritually. If we can grow spiritually, we can become successful workers for the Lord.

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