Romans 12

We are to be a living sacrifice. The word "sacrifice" meant "to kill flesh." This implied progress in being led by the Spirit.

We ARE our Mind/Soul. This showed the topic dealt with who the person is, not their office/position. We ought to be conformed to God, not the world. We ought to think well of God, not think well of the world. Transforming ourselves by the renewing of our minds comes by using these five behaviors:

1. Non-Contradiction

2. Causality

3. Contrastive Thinking

4. Growth

5. Fellowship

The result of all of this would be humility, not pride.

Paul's premise: We ought to see others as more excellent than ourselves, and they ought to see us as more excellent than themselves. This is humility. We ought to think well of others instead of thinking well of ourselves. How can we do this? By uniqueness. We can see everyone as better than ourselves in what God made them to be, and everyone can see us as more excellent in what God made us to be. Without valuing uniqueness, someone will be more excellent and someone will be less excellent, which opens the door to pride. Notice how this topic is built on the foundation of everything that came before it: people ought to think well of God because they recognize His intrinsic value. That is really the First Command. The effect of doing the First Command is the Second Command: that we think well of others. Paul then presented a physical example that valued uniqueness.

Notice, the phrase "gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us" was past tense. These gifts were given by God to everyone, believer and unbeliever. The context here was why we should think well of others and how to make the Body of Christ more profitable. However, this did not mean only believers have these gifts.

Verse 6 named the first gift: "prophecy" – a perceiver; makes people aware of an issue. Perceivers are the Eyes of the Body. This gift is done with words and is focused on the past.

Verse 7 named two more gifts: "ministry" - a minister; fulfills an immediate need. Ministers are the Feet of the Body. This gift is done with actions focused on the future. Teacher – gives understanding; gives a WHY. Teachers are the Ears of the Body. This gift is done with words focused on the past.

Verse 8 named the other four gifts: exhorter - encourages toward the future. Exhorters are the Words/Breath of the Body. This gift is done with words focused on the future. Giver – gives a tangible gift. Givers are the Hands of the Body. This is the only gift done completely in the present. Ruler – an administrator; administrates a group of people towards a common goal. Administrators are the Mouths of the Body. This gift is done with words and focused on the future. "Mercy" – one who shows compassion; bears emotional pain. Compassion is the Heart of the Body. This gift is an action focused on the past. Compassion lifts someone out of a hole. Exhorter raises up someone who is not in a hole.

Another proof that your Motivational Gift is who you ARE is that each of these gifts was given with a qualifier. ("ruleth, with diligence," "showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.") If these gifts were only done by God's Spirit flowing through you, Paul would not have had to qualify these gifts with the right way to do them. These qualifiers also implied that there is a wrong way to do these gifts, which again showed that these gifts are not necessarily from the Holy Spirit through you. These are the only spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible that come with qualifiers, because the ability to do them is in the control of the individual, which is a continuation of the theme of this letter: Salvation is the responsibility of the individual.

The Motivational Spiritual Gifts:

• Perceiver (Prophet),
• Teacher,
• Compassion (Mercy),
• Giver,
• Server (Minister),
• Administrator (Ruler),
• Exhorter.

Paul wanted each gift to give to the other members of the Body without hypocrisy, having integrity between what a person SAYS and what a person does. Notice, Paul gave qualifiers for love, because it is in the control of the individual. Paul then expanded on the premise he presented at the beginning of this chapter: seeing others as more excellent than ourselves, thinking well of others.

Doctrine: Bless those who persecute you because through Justice you will have Reward and it proves you are a believer.

From the beginning of this chapter, we saw that humility was the key to valuing uniqueness which would result in unity in the Body.

Doctrine: Do not avenge yourself but forgive, which meant "to state your will that you will not equal out your own Justice, even if given the chance." This was humble. From the end of Chapter 1 and the beginning of Chapter 2, we saw that we are not supposed to judge. God is supposed to judge because God is Just. God will eventually equal out everything. That ought to cause us to think well of God, to recognize His value. Verse 19 referenced Deuteronomy 32:35.

Paul referenced half of Proverbs 25:21-22. Those verses explained two reasons we ought to love our enemies, two reasons why we ought to give to our enemies without expecting them to give back. Paul mentioned one of the reasons. Paul did not mention the other reason (as Jesus did) which stated that an effect of Love was receiving Reward from God through Justice. Jesus actually only mentioned that reason in Luke 6:35.

The reason Paul gave was that loving your enemy brought a heap of coals of fire on his head. Through Justice, your enemy would receive a punishment that moved them further towards a breaking point and hopefully turning to God.

Some have interpreted this verse as a benefit to your enemy because according to middle eastern tradition, live coals were placed on a metal plate and kept on one's head to warm them during their travel through the desert at night. This verse did not reference this "tradition." The word "heap" meant to pile up and completely cover, like when people were stoned. The phrase "coals of fire" meant a coal that was burning, not a live coal. The Bible distinguished between these two types of coals when Isaiah 6:6 spoke of a live coal being taken off of the altar by an angel in order to purify Isaiah's lips. Loving your enemy resulted in your enemy being completely covered with burning coals.

Doctrine: Overcome evil with good (love)! Paul just showed that if believers wanted Justice on their enemy, they ought to love (do good to) their enemy, and God would take vengeance on their enemy by heaping burning coals on their head. Forgiving is a statement that you will not take out your own Justice, which removes your enemy out from under mercy and allows God to judge them now for their benefit. How many Christians are humble enough to love their enemy and have faith that God will equal everything out through Justice? This verse was a perfect summary of everything Paul had written.

Theme of Chapter 12: Paul built on the foundation of the previous chapter which showed God reaching out to the Gentiles was intended to cause the Jews to pursue God more. Paul showed us that we ought to choose to love everyone and forgive so that God could equal out Justice for our benefit and the benefit of others who are no longer under mercy. We are not supposed to judge. We are supposed to let God judge which would cause us to think well of Him and see His value at an even greater level.