Monday - Romans 12 - This is What We Do About It

 

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OMANS 12 gives us a good behavior list to use as Christians. Now mind you, this list is only beneficial AFTER we recognize and submit to God's grace. Otherwise, all we would have here is yet another moral code. It’s irrelevant whether the code came from Moses or Paul. We are saved by grace UNTO good works; not through good works. However, the good works are important as an expression of our imputed righteousness.

 

Romans 12:1-2 are marvelously practical verses for Christian living. 1. God calls on us to make sacrifices. We know that Jesus died as the sacrifice for our sin, but He also set an example for all of us in His life & in His death. 2. Our minds are in constant need of renovation. This is where a new pattern of living starts.  If I can learn to yield my mind to God, then my mouth & my actions will follow suit.  Admittedly, disciplining my mouth & my actions are included in learning to discipline my mind.  It's not ok, nor even logical for me to let my outside run wild while I wait on full acquiescence from my inside. But full success will start on the inside (Proverbs 23:7). We must guard our thoughts (2^nd Corinthians 10:5 & Romans 12:3).

 

So, what are the nuts & bolts of Christian behavior? Well: honesty, love, hating evil & grasping good, generosity, humility, diligence, passion, joy, patience, prayer, kindness, forgiveness, empathy, unity, sincerity, peacefulness, faith, & victory. If we all lived with these spiritual traits dominating our lives, the church of the living God would be an incredibly powerful influence in our world.