More Marks of a Christian (Rom. 12:14-21)

In a previous study we considered verses 9-13, which detail other marks of a Christian. It may be helpful to remind ourselves of some features that we noticed about the entire passage in order to give us a launch pad for the section we will consider. We mentioned four details that need to be recognised by us in order to make sense of how we can live this kind of way day by day. First, a person must be converted before he tries to live in this way – after he is converted he will have the enablement of the Holy Spirit. Second, we need to see that the list is comprehensive in that it includes attitudes for life within the church and outside the church. Third, although the list is challenging, Paul is describing normal Christianity (we can make the items part of our prayer list – such a response will show how serious we are taking Paul’s instructions here). Fourth, the list calls us to consistency – we have to show them at all times because they prove whether or not we are genuine Christians.

As far as the passage itself is concerned, we suggested that verse 9 provides a heading called Genuine Love. Love is a common word today, so common that by itself it does not mean anything. Other words have to be added to it in order for us to know what is meant. In addition to adding appropriate words we should ask ourselves if there is a biblical example of what the author has in mind. So we should look at the Gospels to see if Jesus left us an example to imitate or if the various writers record incidents when individuals or groups practised the particular detail in the list. Obviously we could refer to historical incidents or personal experiences, but sometimes they are harder for others to appreciate. But biblical examples can be read and thought about by everyone.

When we look at the list we might think it is a bit haphazard as if Paul was firing off short comments one after the other, with no obvious connection between them. Of course, we have just seen a connection, which is that they are all ways by which we experience and show genuine love. Yet I would say two things about his method. First, although Paul fires off a list of short items, he does not want us to read them rapidly. Instead he wants us to consider each one. Perhaps we should regard them as muscles needed for a healthy body. Exercise all of them at some stage, so that all will be ready when needed.

Second, it is the case that if a few words will describe a matter, then use a few words. There are some doctrines and practices that require a great deal of explanation, but there are some practices that don’t. Words can be used to delay practising, but the real term that describes such attempts at explanation is waffle. Sadly preachers, including this one, can be guilty of saying too little about things that need a lot of explanation and too much about things that don’t. The sermons in the Bible are usually very straightforward and none of them contain irrelevant comments.

There is perhaps another reason why Paul’s list seems haphazard, which is that he does not separate into orderly form attitudes and actions between Christians and attitudes and actions between Christians and others. His method is not a sign of a disorderly mind, because Paul was not like that. I would suggest that his method illustrates the fact that Christians are always interacting with fellow-believers and with unbelievers. For all we know, Paul could have been describing what happened to him on the day, or during the week, when he wrote the letter.

Area of fear (v. 14)

Persecution was something with which Paul was very familiar. Indeed it was almost a daily reality for the early Christians, just as it is in many parts of the world today. As we know, our own country persecuted the followers of Jesus at several times in its history. There is no reason why we should imagine it will not happen again. So what should we say when people oppose us for being Christians?

It is obvious from Paul’s words that the persecutors were not a distance away from him, so we could describe it as hands-on persecution. So our response is done looking into their faces. Paul tells us that in such situations we have to be alert to the possibility of a natural temptation, which would be to reveal hatred by the use of a curse. In contrast, our response should be in the form of a blessing. I assume that what Paul has in mind is that we should share the gospel with them.

Paul would have been aware of the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount when he said: ‘But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven’ (Matt. 5:44). Years ago, I read the story of David Wilkerson, the pastor who worked among New York gangs. He told the leader of one of the gangs who threatened to cut him into a thousand pieces that, ‘You could cut me in a thousand pieces and lay them out in the street and every piece would love you.’

It is worth asking when Paul may first have seen such a response and the answer to this question could be the martyr Stephen who prayed for his persecutors, led by Paul, as they stoned him to death. And Stephen was imitating the actions of his Master who prayed for those who nailed him to the cross. The soldiers later were affected by what happened through their cruel treatment of Jesus, and Paul was affected by the witness of Stephen.

Areas of fellowship (vv. 15-16)

One of the coming features of our world will be the increased use of robots. They will be able to all kinds of things, but one thing they will not be able to do is feel. Of course, a robot could be programmed to say the right words, but he cannot say them from the heart. In contrast, a Christian’s heart is involved in everything he says and does.

What is needed for such a response? One obvious factor is the necessity of sharing. A spiritually healthy Christian will share his or her circumstances with other Christians – this is an element of fellowship. A second feature is sensitivity to what others are experiencing – sensitivity is not the same as curiosity. With regard those in sorrow, there will be heartfelt sympathy, and with regard to those who are rejoicing there will be no jealousy of what is giving them joy.

In addition to having an emotional interaction with one another, Paul refers to the necessity of harmony. Harmony, we know, is a musical term. There are two ways in which an orchestra or a group of singers can have harmony. One way is for them to do or sing nothing and the other way is for each participant doing what they should do. The harmony of silence, should it ever occur, would be disappointing to listeners and would remove all credibility whereas the harmony of participation would be intriguing and enjoyable. The way for the church in Rome to have harmony would be for each of the members to do what they should as best they could.

Paul then refers to a possible barrier to fellowship that could be caused by different social levels. The upper class Christians are instructed by Paul to associate with the lowly. I wonder was Paul thinking of Priscilla and Aquila here. It is almost certain that Priscilla was from a wealthy Roman family, and they had homes in several different cities. What did they do in those different cities? They associated with the lowly and allowed their homes to be used for Christian gatherings.

Associate is an interesting word. We can see that it has almost got the word ‘social’ in it. I would say that it means to mingle with others without causing the others to feel inferior. It also has the idea of identifying oneself as belonging to them. When we see a firm called a name plus associates we know that the associates are pleased to identify with the firm. So all Christians should want to identify with one another.

The onus here is put on the upper class Christians to condescend, to lower themselves and meet with Christians at the bottom of the pile. I suppose we can say that the Bible repeatedly stresses the value of self-humbling. After all, the example of Jesus would later be used by Paul in this regard in Philippians 2.

The last item concerning the area of fellowship warns against the danger of isolated opinions. Sometimes one person has to stand against the rest, because the rest are wrong. Yet normally there is safety in accumulated wisdom, in gathering the thoughts and suggestions of others and thinking about them. As we know, the word for someone who never asks for advice or help is fool.

Areas of interaction with evil (vv. 17-21)

Paul reminds the Christians in Rome that their behaviour towards people in general matters a great deal. It is inevitable that in a fallen world we are going to come across numerous examples of evil, some of which have nothing to do with us being Christians. I suspect the evil here is different from the evil of persecution that Paul mentions earlier. There are lots of examples that can happen. A neighbour tells lies about you or suggests that your motives in something are not above board. The person in the shop keeps some of your change and denies it when you back to ask about it. The workman you hired does not turn up and then you spot him working at someone else’s house. How should a Christian respond to wrong behaviour that has not got anything to do with him being a Christian?

Paul gives five details in his answer. First, we are not to retaliate in kind. In other words, we practice what Jesus taught: ‘You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles’ (Matt. 5:38-41).

Second, we have to know how to respond, and the way to discover this is to think about it beforehand, long before the evil may have been done. What Paul is indicating here is that a Christian should be determined to always live in a manner that will bring commendation. He does not do it to earn commendation, but he resolves to behave righteously. A Christian should never be known for anything that is underhand or dubious.

Third, every Christian is to be a peacemaker. What kind of people would Paul have in mind by ‘all’? Who would have lived in Rome at that time? Every kind of person. Paul is not suggesting that Christians tolerate evil or that they lower the standards that God has laid out. Yet we need to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Every neighbour, whatever his behaviour or religion, should be able to say about a Christian, ‘He or she loves peace.’

Fourth, a Christian should not take the law into his own hands. Instead, if he has been wronged, he leaves it for God to deal with. And God will deal with it. There are some things that belong to God and one of them is the authority to take vengeance. How does the Lord take vengeance? He will do so in providence in this life and in the punishments of a lost eternity in the next life.

His people, however, administer a particular form of punishment, which is to show kindness to the person who has affected them adversely. Putting burning coals on someone’s head is obviously a form of punishment. How does acts of kindness become a form of punishment? Because people have a conscience and they will be troubled at hurting people who are kind. They will sense that they are guilty of wrong behaviour. A biblical example of this is David and his responses to the wrong behaviour of Saul as he tried to demean and kill his replacement as king.

Some applications

Obviously this range of responses listed by Paul describe a beautiful and a desirable way of life. The question is, How do we become like this? Surprisingly, the answer is not difficult to deduce, although it may be demanding to practice. The answer requires us to use the ordinary means of grace.

First, we have to make this way of life a priority in our prayers. Here we have described the beauty of a holy life. We should pray those details for ourselves and for others in our fellowship. It is not judgemental to pray that others will have them and it is spiritual laziness not to bother. And if we don’t pray for them regarding ourselves, then we will not have them.

Second, read about the wonderful life of Jesus and see where and when and why he lived out the items in the list. Take each of them individually and ask if there is an example of Jesus doing this. And when we see them in him we will see how we can have them because they describe Christlikeness.

Third, we should learn from watching other Christians and how they react according to this standard. Our problem is often that we have our own standard for what others should do, and that standard is not what the Bible requires. Every true Christian lives this way to a certain degree, and therefore we should not ask, ‘What faults does he have?’ Instead we should ask, ‘What graces does he show?’

Fourth, we should note that a failure to live according to these requirements of genuine love grieves the Holy Spirit. This means that we should exhort those who are not living in this way to repent and confess their flaws. And when someone points out our defects to us we should listen and go to God about it. We should not respond by excusing ourselves and say that their presence is genetic, family traits handed done to us. We now belong to a different family, where the expectations are different.

Here we have another passage that shows the priority of love. Without love we are nothing, but with this love in action we will have fellowship with God, will become like Jesus, and will affect those we come in contact with.