Get out of bed and get dressed! In chapter 12 of Romans, Paul gives an overview of what real, sincere love looks like. 25-26 All of our praise rises to the One who is strong enough to make you strong, exactly as preached in Jesus Christ, precisely as revealed in the mystery kept secret for so long but now an open book through the prophetic Scriptures. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. 3-6 That’s exactly what Jesus did. 8-10 Don’t run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. 12 Hello to Tryphena and Tryphosa—such diligent women in serving the Master. “I took on the troubles of the troubled,” is the way Scripture puts it. A Sermon on Romans 12:16 Live in harmony with one another. Even if it was written in Scripture long ago, you can be sure it’s written for us. That begins with using our spiritual gifts to serve each other in the church. We can’t afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. All the non-Jewish gatherings of believers also owe them plenty, to say nothing of the church that meets in their house. Pray also that my relief offering to the Jerusalem believers will be accepted in the spirit in which it is given. So tend to your knitting. Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody. But if you’re not sure, if you notice that you are acting in ways inconsistent with what you believe—some days trying to impose your opinions on others, other days just trying to please them—then you know that you’re out of line. It is therefore necessary to briefly review the first 11 chapters of Romans as a reminder of what has already gone before, and especially as the basis for Paul’s exhortation. For instance: Then I’ll join outsiders in a hymn-sing;I’ll sing to your name! You’re fortunate if your behavior and your belief are coherent. Give these people a wide berth. Don’t you dare let a piece of God-blessed food become an occasion of soul-poisoning! 30-33 I have one request, dear friends: Pray for me. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear. 3 I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. 9-10 Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. 20-21 Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Outsiders and insiders, rejoice together! Keep a sharp eye out for those who take bits and pieces of the teaching that you learned and then use them to make trouble. When you sit down to a meal, your primary concern should not be to feed your own face but to share the life of Jesus. 12 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, [] acceptable to God, which is your [] spiritual service of worship. 17-18 One final word of counsel, friends. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Do you have any business crossing people off the guest list or interfering with God’s welcome? 10-12 So where does that leave you when you criticize a brother? Remember, they have their own history to deal with. They’re only in this for what they can get out of it, and aren’t above using pious sweet talk to dupe unsuspecting innocents. So be sensitive and courteous to the others who are eating. She has also been a dear mother to me. Your task is to single-mindedly serve Christ. Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody. Be not wise in your own conceits. 21 And here are some more greetings from our end. Romans 12:14-16-17-19 MSG Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. So live responsibly as a citizen. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Seeing that they got in on all the spiritual gifts that flowed out of the Jerusalem community so generously, it is only right that they do what they can to relieve their poverty. 9 Hello to Urbanus, our companion in Christ’s work, and my good friend Stachys. My hope is that my visit with you is going to be one of Christ’s more extravagant blessings. “I’ll take care of it.”. Romans 12 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life - and place it before God as an offering. All governments are under God. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. 6-7 That’s also why you pay taxes—so that an orderly way of life can be maintained. Romans 12-16 The Message (MSG) Place Your Life Before God 12 1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody. 10 Hello to Apelles, a tried-and-true veteran in following Christ. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. He was the very first follower of Jesus in the province of Asia. That’s why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other. Your critical and condescending ways aren’t going to improve your position there one bit. 17-21 Looking back over what has been accomplished and what I have observed, I must say I am most pleased—in the context of Jesus, I’d even say proud, but only in that context. They were happy to do this, but it was also their duty. But if you’re breaking the rules right and left, watch out. In Romans 12, Paul describes the worship of our God as becoming living sacrifices to our God, giving up seeking what we want from life and learning to know and serve what God wants. 15 Hello to Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas—and all the followers of Jesus who live with them. Romans 12:16 English Standard Version (ESV). The law code—don’t sleep with another person’s spouse, don’t take someone’s life, don’t take what isn’t yours, don’t always be wanting what you don’t have, and any other “don’t” you can think of—finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself. Jesus did it; now you do it! Romans 12:16-19 The Message (MSG) 14-16 Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. God’s peace be with all of you. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. Paul's list of commands describes a lifestyle of setting ourselves aside. In this sermon on Romans 12:16, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones teaches on the importance in being of the same mind. So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t. I’m convinced—Jesus convinced me!—that everything as it is in itself is holy. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Romans 12:16 - The Message. And I’m not the only one grateful to them. 16 Holy embraces all around! 14 Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. We once shared a jail cell. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. 13 Hello to Rufus—a good choice by the Master!—and his mother. You seem to me to be well-motivated and well-instructed, quite capable of guiding and advising one another. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?”. 22 I, Tertius, who wrote this letter at Paul’s dictation, send you my personal greetings. 22-23 Cultivate your own relationship with God, but don’t impose it on others. Paul was a converted Jew, called by God as an “apostle to the Gentiles,” not just to convert them but to bring them to the “obedience of faith” (1:5). Romans 12:16 NIV Romans 12:16 NLT Romans 12:16 ESV Romans 12:16 NASB Romans 12:16 KJV Romans 12:16 BibleApps.com Romans 12:16 Biblia Paralela Romans 12:16 Chinese Bible Romans 12:16 French Bible Romans 12:16 Clyx Quotations NT Letters: Romans 12:16 Be of … ◄ Romans 12:16 ► Live in harmony with one another. But since both are guests at Christ’s table, wouldn’t it be terribly rude if they fell to criticizing what the other ate or didn’t eat? Then, God willing, I’ll be on my way to you with a light and eager heart, looking forward to being refreshed by your company. 13 1-3 Be a good citizen. Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. And don’t think you know it all! Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle. Paul saw his calling as an obligation to all the Gentiles (1:5). Never be wise in your own sight. She’s helped many a person, including me. Here … Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can... Read verse in The Message Bible As soon as I have done this—personally handed over this “fruit basket”—I’m off to Spain, with a stopover with you in Rome. This has all been pioneer work, bringing the Message only into those places where Jesus was not yet known and worshiped. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our good friend Quartus send their greetings. I’d say it leaves you looking pretty silly—or worse. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Just think of all the Scriptures that will come true in what we do! 12 1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Pay your bills, respect your leaders Ampliatus, my partner in this Sermon on 12:16... 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