Romans: Part 6 - Ch. 11-12
Sacrificial Living
As Paul continues his message to the Romans, he comes back to the idea of Israel being God’s people in chapter 11, but from a different perspective than in chapter 9. Paul goes further here, talking about how God has grafted in the Gentiles for salvation while also not abandoning His chosen people, Israel. He then goes further by describing how each believer should live their lives in a sacrificial way that challenges both the Jew and the Gentile alike. It may seem like Paul is placing a lot of attention on race and nationality, but we have to remember who Paul was writing to at the time and what this audience believed. Rome, to put it lightly, was a very prideful people group that put themselves high above everyone else, and Paul’s message here is crystal clear: God has no favorites. As Ligonier Ministries perfectly puts it, “Paul's exhortation for mature Christians and weak, or immature, believers to welcome one another and not divide over nonessential matters was prompted by divisions between Jews and Gentiles in the Roman church.” The overall goal here is to unite the body of Christ by teaching them sound, biblical teaching rather than have them be divided over a text that is being taken out of context. With this in mind, let’s see how Paul breaks all of this down.
Grafted In
To start, as stated earlier, Paul talks about Israel from a bit of a different perspective to begin chapter 11. He starts by making the point that God has not rejected Israel. The reason for this, of course, is because Paul has said a few times already that Israel, while they remain God’s people, are not the only people group to which God is extending His salvation. So, for the sake of making it sound like Israel isn’t involved in salvation at all, Paul comes back around to assure the Israelites that salvation is still available to them as well. Romans 11:1 says, “I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? Far from it! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.” Paul reminds God’s people here that God is not against Israel, and his evidence for this is how God has had multiple opportunities to abandon Israel because of their sin, and He still decides not to. Paul quotes Old Testament prophets, revealing how Israel has sinned against God in many ways, and yet God has always been merciful and gracious to them when it comes to salvation. God may discipline and punish His people momentarily, but He has never taken Israel and eliminated their chances to acquire salvation through Christ. Paul is clear on this take, not just from Israel’s perspective, but from the Gentile’s perspective as well. However, one of the goals for reaching the Gentiles with the gospel might not be what you think. Look at what Paul says in Romans 11:11 “I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? Far from it! But by their wrongdoing salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous.” This is a very interesting plan that God uses by making salvation available to all nations. Not only does this prove that God is the God of everyone and not just one particular nation, but by confirming this through people like Paul, it will hopefully open the eyes of some Israelites who have become so prideful that they’ve fallen away. God is using the jealousy of the Israelites to lead them back to Him. However, make no mistake about it, for those who turn their backs on God and His gospel, God will graft others in to take their place, just as He is doing with the Gentiles.
Spiritual Worship
Furthermore, chapter 12 is more concise than chapter 11, but it certainly packs a punch. Paul reveals how Christians should live once they are saved, and there is no sugarcoating it. Romans 12:1 tells us, “Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” Our spiritual service of worship. That’s some powerful language that Paul decides to use, and there are many implications as to what this means. Paul starts by saying we should ‘present our bodies’. Why not just minds or souls? Paul uses the word bodies to communicate that we are presenting before God all of ourselves, not just one aspect. He goes further by saying that this presentation is to be done as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God. Now, what does this mean? If you remember that holy means set apart and that whatever is acceptable to God is found in His commands, then we can correctly assume that when we live set apart from the world by following God’s Word, we are offering up our spiritual service of worship. This is why the idea that anything can be worship is, more often than not, true. If we lay down our earthly desires and live by the standards that God has set before us in His Word, then we are worshiping God in a spiritual way that is unlike anything else.
Not only does this worship please God, but it shows that our repentance is real and that we truly are being led by His Spirit. Paul then goes on in chapter 12 by describing what this sacrificial living looks like from a practical perspective. And while I would love to just copy and paste the whole chapter right here, I think it would be better for you to go and study the chapter for yourself. For now, however, we will look at the very last verse in this chapter, which sums up Paul’s point beautifully. Romans 12:21 says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” It’s a pretty simple point, isn’t it? But oh, how difficult it can be to live out! Do not be overcome by the ways of the world, but rather, overcome the ways of the world with the ways of God. Without the Holy Spirit in us, this would be an impossible task, so thank God He has not left us to try and accomplish this on our own. As we conclude these two chapters today, I hope and pray that you will understand the love that God has for the world and not just one particular nation, but also how that love should shape us. May we not just acknowledge that Jesus exists and move on, but may we truly repent and believe in the gospel. Only when we do this will we truly see the sacrificial lifestyle in us that God ultimately deserves.
Sources
[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/
[2] The Hope of Jews and Gentiles | Reformed Bible Studies & Devotionals at Ligonier.org. (2014, November 7). Ligonier Ministries. https://learn.ligonier.org/devotionals/hope-jews-and-gentiles
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