Fuller1 Romans 12:9-21 An Exegesis Bible Interpretation 2 Mr.Kim October 26, 2023 Joshua Fuller Fuller2 Marks of a True Christian1 Romans 12:9-21 People should hate what is evil and love what is good because they need to overcome evil with good. I. Let love be genuine (v.9-13) A. Love each other and abhor from evil 1. Love with brotherly affection B. Serve the Lord 1. Be fervent in spirit and pray a lot II. Bless everyone and live in harmony with each other (v.14-21) A. Bless your enemies and don’t curse them 1. Never repay evil with evil a) Honor all B. Live in harmony with each other 1. Live peacefully with all a) Weep with those who weep b) Associate with the lowly III. Don’t have vengeance (v.19-21) Romans 12:9-21 ESV - - Bible Gateway. Accessed October 19, 2023. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2B12%3A9-21&version=ESV. 1 Fuller3 A. Never avenge yourselves 1. Leave it to God a) God will take care of vengeance B. Help your enemies 1. If you help them, you will make them less mad C. Overcome evil with good Evil is what many people do without knowing. In Romans 12:9-21 it talks about how people should hate what is evil and love what is good. When someone does something that is evil and it hurts you, you should overcome it with good. Do not overcome them with vengeance because you should leave vengeance with God. Some people do not realize that they are doing evil. When people curse their enemies or repay evil with evil then that is a sin. If you repay evil with good, like honoring all and helping your enemies, then they will get less mad and start to become good themselves. Finally, weep with those who weep and associate with the lowly because we should all live in harmony with one another and help each other when we are in need. The author of Romans 12:9-21 is the apostle Paul(1:1). Paul was from the tribe of Benjamin and was born around Christ’s birth in Tarsus2. He was a Roman citizen which gave him an advantage over non Roman citizens. Paul probably wrote this book from his three month stay in Greece. It was written in around AD 57 because that is the time of his stay in Greece. It was during the end of his third missionary journey.3 After writing the letter, Paul sent Phoebe to send the letter from Corinth to Rome. 2 acArthur, J. "Bible Introductions - Romans by John MacArthur." Blue Letter Bible. Last M Modified 7 July 2019. https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/macarthur_john/bible-introductions/romans-intro.cfm 3 Walter Elwell and Robert Yarbrough, Encountering the New Testament, A Historical And Theological Survey, 3rd edition, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013), 255 Fuller4 The recipient of Romans is the christian church in Rome. Rome in Paul’s time was a very big empire and had mostly slaves. Paul wanted to go and tell the people about his missionary journeys in person but was not able to (this is the occasion of the book). He ended up writing letters to them instead. Some people that were converted on the day of the Pentecost probably founded the church that Paul was talking to. The purpose of the book of Romans was to teach the great truths of the gospel of grace to believers who had never received apostolic instruction. Paul’s letter helped the new christians get to know him more and it also gave Paul a new chance to share his faith and journeys with4. Paul wanted to see them very badly but could not end up getting to the new church. The function of Romans 12:9-21 in the book of Romans is to help the new church and believers to understand that they need to love one another as much as they can and have harmony. Paul wants them to be a living sacrifice to God. Paul is almost retelling what Jesus said in the sermon on the mount. Paul wants the people to live by principles of heaven and love just like what Jesus said during that sermon.5 This goes to show how in tune Paul was with the scripture and what Jesus had said and done during his life. When you dive deeper into different books and passages in the bible you will start to see that there is more meaning than just what the book says. Books in the bible are always in sync with each other. For example, the book of Genesis is talked about in Revelation. The first book MacArthur, J. "Bible Introductions - Romans by John MacArthur." Blue Letter Bible. Last odified 7 July 2019. M https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/macarthur_john/bible-introductions/romans-intro.cfm 4 5 “Commentary on Romans 12:9-21.” 2020. Working Preacher from Luther Seminary. August 3 0, 2020. https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-22/comme ntary-on-romans-129-21. Fuller5 of the bible is still relevant in the last book of the bible and is also still relevant today. Passages are the same way. In Romans 12:9-21 the first thing it dives into is “loving one another and letting it be genuine.” This is one of the most talked about things in the Bible because God says it all the time. Paul wants us to be like Jesus and do what he does. When we are like God we are the way we are supposed to be made. The fall took that away from us because now we can never be good like God. Jesus came to the earth to teach people about him and to show how God truly is. Jesus showed us that God was good but also serious and forgiving. Having genuine love is the foundation of being a christian. A smaller point that this passage talks about is to abhor evil (12:9). Paul wants us to stay away from evil and cling to what is good. When we stay away from evil we honor God and show him that we are faithful. God sees this and loves us. Clinging to what is good is also something that God likes. It goes hand in hand to staying away from evil. We should hate evil. It is what we are fighting against and doing evil ourselves can make us enemies of God which is not what we want. Another thing that Paul tells the people is to love each other with brotherly affection (12:10). This means that we need to always help out our brothers in Christ and always be by their side when it comes to faith. This is another way that we can show love to one another and do what the Lord wants us to do. Paul is now giving the people more specific things to do and this is one of them. Paul tells the people to outdo each other in honor (12:10). He is saying that we need to always be honoring each other. When we do this we have to show it. Paul wants them to not just help each other but to go farther and honor each other. This can be hard because sometimes we Fuller6 do not always want to honor each other. For example, if someone gets into a bigger argument with another person and they do not say sorry and forgive each other then it’s going to be hard for them to honor each other. People nowadays always have a sense of “one upping” each other and trying to be better than each other. We can use what Paul says in this verse to counteract what people say when they talk like that. The next thing Paul says is to never act slothful in zeal (12:11). He does not want us as believers to have no enthusiasm and no drive to follow God. We should always have zeal. If we do not have enthusiasm then there is nothing to our faith. It is just boring and does not mean much. This is why we must have passion in our faith to the Lord. All the “successful”6 people in their faith and teachings had never dying passion for their faith and for the Lord. The passage says to be fervent in the spirit and serve the Lord. This helps us realize that we need to serve the lord with enthusiasm. We as christians should not serve the Lord expecting a reward or expecting God thinking that we are better. We should serve the Lord because we want to and have passion. Some ways we can do this is by actually reading the bible and generally wanting to read and learn something from it. We can also tell people about God and Jesus with enthusiasm. If we go out into the world expecting to tell someone about the Lord and practicing for it then when the time comes and we actually have a chance to do it, we are able to do it and have enthusiasm. Next in verse 12 it says to rejoice in hope. This tells us that we need to always have hope and rejoice because of it. We need to have joy in the hope that the Lord’s plans will happen at some point and that everything will be fulfilled. We have all to learn the lesson that Divine uccessful as in people that had much faith and did many things to push forward God and the S story of Jesus to people.(Paul, Jesus, Peter, ect.) 6 Fuller7 providence has appointed for us.7 This encourages the people to be joyful and to know that there is always hope even in the darkest of times. The next part of the verse is telling the people to be patient in tribulation. When we get into those dark times we need to have patience and endure. Paul realizes that there will be trials and difficult times as a christian. He knows them himself because of all the journeys he has been on. He just wants christians to be patient in those trials and encouraged that God’s plan will be fulfilled. If we do not do this then our hope will be diminished and we will be defeated. We need to pray in those hard times and ask for help from God because he will help us through those trials. Praying is one of a christian’s biggest helps, and is one of the most important things that the Holy Spirit gives us a better opportunity and understanding to do. The next verse (12:13) talks about contributing to the people in need and showing hospitality towards one another. Again, Paul is wanting the people to have unity and help one another. This is very important to him because he talks about it a lot and is very sincere. Showing hospitality is a very good way to show how much other people mean to you because when you invite other people into your home with love then they will feel loved. This gives all the christians unity with eachother. Verse 14 starts the second part of the passage and begins with Paul telling the people to bless their persecutors. This is very different from the mindset of most people because if someone hurts them then they will most likely get mad and curse the person that hurt them. Paul is going against this and wants everyone to bless everyone, even those who persecute you. This is something that God would do and adds to the main message that Paul is getting at. We need to be like Jesus as much as we can. 7 Spence, M, and Joseph S Exell. 1983. The Pulpit Commentary, 360. Fuller8 The next verse is another thing that Paul wants the people to focus on and pay attention to. That is to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. This is another verse about having unity with one another. If we do that then our faith will grow together and we will have stronger faith. Rejoicing and weeping are polar opposites which shows that we need to not always be with those who are happy and joyful but we also need to be with those who are sad and mourning. The next verse, (12:16), gives another main message of what Paul is trying to get across to the new believers and new church. He wants them to live in harmony. He does not want the people to think they are the “chosen one” and stay away from the lowly people. He wants them to associate with the lowly. Nowadays there really is not a thing where people are called the lowly anymore. Back in Paul’s time there were slaves, beggars, and other sick people that were considered lowly. Now though the only people considered lowly are maybe people that are picked on and bullied or people that do not have a high financial status. Paul wants everyone to be in harmony with each other like Jesus was. In verse 17 Paul says to not repay evil with evil but to do what is honorable. Repaying evil with evil is against what God wants because all that that accomplishes is causing more problems. When we honor even those who hurt us then they will see that we are different and that can maybe give us an opportunity to tell them about our faith and Jesus. Paul in verse 18, sums up this part of the message. He says to try and live peacefully in all. In verse 19 he gives instructions on what to do when people have vengeance. He says to give it to God because it is written that God says “vengeance is mine and I will repay.” Paul is wanting people to not always want to get back at each other but to instead be willing to give up Fuller9 that rage and vengeance to God. And if God thinks that the vengeance is needed then he will deliver. Finally, in verses 20 and 21, Paul ends the passage and chapter by restating his main message which is to love and help all even if they are enemies. In the verses Paul says that if you help your enemies then “you will heap burning coals on his head.” He is saying that if you help your enemies then their anger will start to go away and the person that was nice to them will help them to become better. Truly knowing some words in Romans 12:9-21 can really help people to better understand what is being said in these verses. The first word that can help us understand the passage better is the word “abhor.” This word is very negative and is similar to “hating something.” In the context of Romans 12:9, it is there to show how much we should dislike what is evil in the sight of God. We should not just dislike it but instead we should detest and hate it. Another word that can help us understand the passage more is the word “zeal.” This word in context could mean enthusiasm or passion but in the context of Romans 12:11, it is both. According to God, zeal involves recognizing opportunities provided by God and adjusting our actions accordingly.8 This is what it means in context. One last word that can help us better understand the passage is the word “vengeance.” This word could mean revenge, punishment, or “getting even.” In the context of the passage this word means to get revenge on someone that previously wronged them or somebody that they want to help. God talks about vengeance in other older parts of the Bible like Deuteronomy 32:35 and Leviticus 19:18 so it is not a new thing that people have started doing. 8 odet, Frederic L. 1977. Commentary on Romans. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel G Publications, 435. Fuller10 The theological principle that you can get from this passage is to love everyone and help everyone even if they are not nice to you and are your enemy. This is a good theological principle because in the Romans 12:9-21 Paul keeps encouraging the people to live in harmony with each other, love each other, and help each other as much as possible. If we do this then we are doing what God wants us to do and it makes our faith stronger. A reflection question that I got from this passage goes as follows. When was there a time when I was not loving towards someone and didn’t do anything to honor them but instead fought evil with evil. My journal is that a few days ago I was playing basketball with some friends and was 1v1ing them. After a little while I started to lose and got mad so I called them things and said things that I shouldn’t have said. I never apologized and instead went on with my day like nothing happened. An application for me is that the next time I see those friends that I played with, I will apologize for what I said and tell them that I won’t do it again. Some other people that can apply this theological principle to their lives are people that play lots of sports. When someone does something that bothers them and makes them upset; instead of getting mad and saying things that God considers evil, they can think about this passage and not do the evil things. Instead they can still be loving towards those people if they get hurt in the game or lose. They can help them and not be mean. One final person that can use this theological principle is a cop. If there is a person that the cop is pulling over that is very mean and doesn’t have any respect, instead of lashing out and letting that one person ruin the cop’s day the cop can still be loving towards the person and help them through what they're going through. If they do this then maybe the person that is being mean will calm down and will change the way they are being.\ Fuller11 Bibliography omans 12:9-21 ESV - - Bible Gateway. Accessed October 19, 2023. R https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2B12%3A9-21&version=ESV. acArthur, J. "Bible Introductions - Romans by John MacArthur." Blue Letter Bible. Last M Modified 7 July 2019. https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/macarthur_john/bible-introductions/romans-intro.cfm alter Elwell and Robert Yarbrough, Encountering the New Testament, A Historical And W Theological Survey, 3rd edition, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013), 255 “ Commentary on Romans 12:9-21.” 2020. Working Preacher from Luther Seminary. August 30, 2020. https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-22/comme ntary-on-romans-129-21. Spence, M, and Joseph S Exell. 1983. The Pulpit Commentary, 360. odet, Frederic L. 1977. Commentary on Romans. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel G Publications, 435 Fuller12
