Steven
E. Runge, High Definition Commentary: Romans
(Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014), 210
Introduction to Chapters 12–16
It is tempting to see this section as Paul shifting from teaching on doctrine to teaching on practical matters in Romans 12, and if we read him this way, we would completely miss his understanding of the gospel. Paul’s exposition of the gospel in the preceding chapters was meant to do more than affect our thinking—it must affect our behavior too. We should be prompted to respond to all of the things God has done in the unseen spiritual realm to redeem us from slavery to sin. In the first 11 chapters, Paul presents more than just theological information, more than doctrine to be argued. Paul gives a call to action. He contends that if we really understood the gospel and God’s plan to see humanity (and eventually creation) redeemed from the power of sin, then we should respond appropriately by following his exhortation.
To put it differently, our apathetic or disobedient response to God stems from our failure to understand—and remember—all that He has done. Paul seeks to correct misconceptions about the gospel so as to correct misbehavior in the church. Other than what we might infer from Paul’s letter, we know little about the specific circumstances of the church at Rome. It seems as if there is some dissention based on the distinction he makes between Jews and Gentiles, and apparently some were exercising liberties in Christ to the detriment of their fellow believers. Paul doesn’t offer behavior modification alone as a solution. Instead he traces the behavior back to the root cause—the heart-issues out of which all behavior flows (Luke 6:45).
If I have a wrong view of myself or someone around me—be it proud, negative, whatever—this view will inevitably affect my behavior. During a period of intense stress stemming from medical issues in my family, a friend strongly encouraged me to see a biblical counselor. In the process of counseling, I was challenged to rethink my understanding of the New Testament letters. Right behavior begins with right thinking. In my own situation, my sinful reactions to the stress could be traced to wrong conceptions: conceptions of who I am in Christ, conceptions of God and my understanding of His love for me, and my conception of the situation. Yogi Berra was not far off when he said 90 percent of the game is half mental. Trying to change our behavior without addressing the core issues in our thoughts and attitudes will never bring lasting change.
I’ll be honest: I had never had much use for counseling. But as I compared my counselor’s advice with Scripture, I began to recognize a pattern I had missed before. I had been skimming over what I saw as flowery verses (e.g., Ephesians 1 or the introductions of Paul’s other letters) in my haste to get to the real meat. I had it all wrong. These texts should be read with a view to correcting our misconceptions about ourselves, God, and the world.
To use Paul’s language from Romans 12:2, these texts are a God-given, key (but ignored) ingredient that should prevent me from being conformed to this world. These texts are the very words that are to transform me by the renewing of my mind. Wrong thinking leads to wrong behavior. Real change necessitates getting to the core problem. Yes, I have a fleshly inclination toward sin, but the most significant thing affected is my heart/mind, that piece of me where God’s Spirit dwells.
God does not want just outward obedience, He wants our heart, mind, and soul. Unfortunately, this kind of sweeping change is a process rather than an event. We constantly need to root out the wrong ideas, values, and conceptions that draw us away from Him. How do we do this? The Scripture tells us repeatedly that it all begins in our heart and mind. We are to meditate on His Word day and night, but His Word includes far more than commandments and exhortations. The whole counsel of God includes what I had wrongly treated as the flowery stuff. These images and metaphors provide tangible access to the intangible. They should affect my thinking about who I am in Christ as a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). If I ignore them, I am forsaking an important piece of God’s self-revelation, a key part of having my mind renewed and transformed.
Romans 1–8 or 1–11 are not about right doctrine, but about right thinking, which holds the key to right behavior—obedient discipleship. Even the discipleship process itself entails exchanging the desires of the flesh for the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:16–26). Of course, right doctrine is important, but if we read these chapters with a mind to defending our doctrinal positions—without allowing the text to renew our minds—it will lead to the same empty righteousness Paul condemns in these same chapters.
One final thought: In Romans 3:21–22, Paul provides yet another rationale that should motivate our passion for cognitive transformation in the tug-of-war between obedient responses to God instead of to the impulses of the flesh. If we remember the shame and emptiness of our former life under sin, we are much more inclined to persevere in our newfound freedom from slavery, bearing the kind of fruit God had always intended us to bear. So although there is a shift in the following chapters, we cannot fully understand or act on the one without having been affected by the other. Here ends my rant. Do not make the same mistake I did for so many years.