We will also show how to avoid the second extreme of having doctrine but with no sense of urgency to put these doctrines to work.  Reflection without commitment is certainly not good, but neither is commitment without proper reflection.

Then there is the danger of cold and sterile doctrine, understanding without activity, which really is the same as disobedience; as well, the danger of being a ‘consecrated blunderer’, activity without understanding. 

All the above result in barrenness, coldness and complacency and have always threatened the ministry of God, and nowadays threaten the ministry of the Church of Jesus Christ.

The text we will study today deals with this matter of worship and we will begin at what is true worship and what it involves.

The context of the lesson has Paul asking some hard questions about the Jewish people and their history.  He had stressed that they had been given a unique calling, information, responsibility and unique opportunities. God had chosen them, showed them mercy, listened to their prayers and they were in every respect an essential part of his plan of salvation. 

Sadly spiritual pride overtook them.  They thought they had earned the gracious acts of God and thoroughly deserved them, were entitled by right to God's mercy, thought their accomplishments were praiseworthy and excused their failures, sometimes turning these failures into what seemed to them ‘good’. So they changed the meaning of the ‘grace’ of God, so that it was no longer ‘grace’.

Because they considered themselves to be the chosen, the favorite and beloved of God, they became proud and began to think that they were intrinsically better than others.  They devalued other people and were prejudiced against them, declaring that God was right to cut them off permanently.

They looked at the things that they did, their religious efforts, their law keeping, their worship setup, as being magnificent and marvelous, when in fact it had become foolish and hollow.

They thought that as God had chosen them and brought them to a level of intimacy with Himself, this was because He had seen something in them that he saw in himself. God deserved them, so said their pride. Paul however reminded them that the prophets had denounced their foolishness and Isaiah had summarized God’s attitude in his remark

“All day long I have stretched forth my hands  unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.”

The Apostle Paul here teaches us that we must understand that we are just ordinary people who need the mercy of God and do not deserve any particular applause.  We must be humble and teach our children to be always humble before God.

On account of Israel’s arrogance God only saved a remnant, though he preserved the nation physically.

Paul therefore reminds Gentiles that they should consider the kindness and sternness of God and should fear.  One of the main outcomes that he hoped for his ministry, would be for Israel to become envious of the Gentiles and return to God.  So he labored to make Gentiles realize that his ministry to them did not mean that they should ever become proud of themselves, or obstinate, believing that God was impressed with them, but they should recognize that their standing with God was a gift.

They should not imagine that they were taking the place of Israel, for in reality all that was happening was that the original branches were cut off so that they could be ‘grafted in’. God did not spare the natural branches when they practiced folly, and accordingly Gentiles should be warned that he would not spare them if they misbehave like Israel.

It is interesting to note Paul's argument, that it was as a result of the hardening of Pharaoh's heart and the foolish resistance of the Egyptians, that God performed a miracle and the Jewish nation was born.  With the hardening that happened to others, God gave life to his people. Israel had refused to accept their Messiah and their hearts were hardened, God used their hardness of heart to allow the gospel to go to the Gentiles, including the Egyptians whose hearts were once hardened to give birth to Israel.

Paul therefore praised God with a beautiful doxology for this astonishing display of the mind of God in chapter 11:33-36..

“Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his path beyond tracing out!

Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?

Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen”.

Words cannot express the worship that is therefore due to such a God. God’s grace is such a marvelous one that both our works and our words must be expressed in our worship.

How then should we live in response to the gracious actions of God? We therefore look at how we will have a new way of thinking and behavior and how this will express itself in our life. We now look at practical Christian living.

The mercies of God are the motivation by which we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice.  Paul earnestly implores, literally begs believers to present their bodies as a living sacrifice to God, because they have been the recipients of God’s rich grace and mercy.

The gospel defines for us four essential relationships, the first of which is our relationship to God.  Paul is telling us how we ought to respond to God, given the fact that he first acted to save us in this extraordinary manner.

He has told us to consider God, his omniscience, his wisdom and knowledge that makes anything we have or can dream about pale into insignificance.

God is totally different from us, moving in mysterious ways his wonders to perform.  Human beings cannot really comprehend what God does, neither can we predict what he will do or his methods.  We cannot escape God, defeat him, thwart his will, or win against him.  When we break his laws they automatically come back and break us to pieces.

It is God that holds everything together, and he is at the beginning, at the end, and at every point in between.  Every human being who has ever lived has always been in the hands of God, for better or for worse. It is therefore most sensible, logical and natural, that we love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our might, as Deuteronomy 6:5 instructs. This is the only sensible thing to do. Paul emphasizes again that it is foolish and stupid to try to live on any other foundation.

He appeals to our will (he does not use language to compel us for this is not necessary when talking to sensible people), to present our body to God as a living sacrifice. We should have our thoughts focused on him, obey him, praise him and glorify him, because he is so glorious and merciful.

Paul is addressing believers; ‘brethren’ thus indicates that these people have been justified by grace, and have freely received the mercies of God.  Before one can present themselves to God as a sacrifice, one must be justified in relation to God.

This then is advice about how to avoid living a wasted life.  Paul proceeds to tell us what it means to be a committed Christian.

First, he tells us to present ‘our bodies’.  Note that he doesn't tell us to present our spirits, our souls, the inner part of our being, nor does he ask us to present our money or our time.

When we think about it, we realize that if we do something with or move our body, putting it into action, we are really doing something with ourselves. 

When we talk and sound religious, but do not put our bodies on the line, when we give our money and thereby avoid genuine commitment; when we say our minds are committed, or our spirits are available, but not our bodies, that simply means we do not want to commit ourselves to God, but are really dodging.

This is why the church is always asking for corporation and begging so-called “committed Christians”, with limited response.  It is because our bodies are not “presented”. Committed Christians are always dodging “presenting their bodies”.

Jesus has told us the parable of the Good Samaritan, who saw that a man needed help and responded by ‘committing his body’ unlike the priest and Levite who passed the man by.

Paul uses a word that means active dedication and service and ministry as an act of worship.

Most of us are aware that worship can be defined as bowing down, to adore or to lovingly venerate God as in Psalm 95: 6.  The root of the word actually means a dog licking his master’s feet in servile obeisance.  So there is not only a physical posture and expression in worship but activity to honor God.

The second meaning of the word worship is to actively serve and this is found in Joshua 24:15. “And if you be unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve… but as for me and my house, we will serve (worship) the Lord.”

Paul uses the Greek parallel word, so that we will understand that worship involves not only a moral response but active ethical behavior.  We adore God and we serve him, both things going together and reinforcing each other.

When a person  ‘ worships on their knees’ without a lifestyle of obedience, this praise and worship is really hypocrisy. Isaiah said this clearly in 29:13, where he admitted that worship services in Israel were pretty good, but God said nevertheless:  “their hearts are far from me”.

If a person’s lifestyle shows faithlessness, they are lying when they sing beautifully or otherwise about God's greatness and his glory.  Worship is not just a routine activity, what one writer calls “spiritual aerobics” to improve the muscle tone of the soul, or to make one’s inner man get some exercise and become spiritually fit.

Our worship should show complete love for God, our gratitude, wonder, love and praise: to show that we are overwhelmed by the mind of God and that we are no longer just simply observers of God, but are totally captured by God.

The sacrifice of our bodies is therefore a living sacrifice.  Everything we have is given up at least as an attention before Jesus.  Remember that when a Jew brought a sacrifice he was not bringing something that belonged to himself, for he was bringing God's property that had been set apart as belonging to God and so the sacrifice was something that he had no right to keep.  He would not take any credit for bringing the sacrifice to God, for he did not want to be accused of robbing God.

The idea therefore is that we should genuinely surrender everything we have to Jesus Christ, so that he will direct every part of what is his right.  We are not doing God any favors by presenting our bodies, for our life belongs to God and only he has the right to use it.  That is the clear teaching in Scripture.

Next we must realize that the only way the sacrifice of our body will be holy and acceptable to God is when Jesus Christ lives in us and God sees his desires and his work in us.  If there is no life of Jesus in us, no sign of the work of the Spirit, God will not be pleased and whatever sacrifice we think we are making, it will not be acceptable. Once there is the taint of the flesh and any conscious will to serve the flesh, that cannot be holy and acceptable to God, for it will be like burning false incense, or false fire before God.

Rather as the priesthood of all believers and having access to God (2 Pet 2:9), each of us can now present ourselves to God for service.  Service that is to be completely selfless in nature, just as Christ’s sacrifice was for us (Phil 2).  Remember that it is the blood of Jesus Christ that continually cleanses us.  The cross is what makes us presentable.  Jesus is presenting us blameless before his Father, and therefore this Holiness is a radical thing.

Furthermore, this sacrifice that God requires is not unreasonable, because He owns us. God requires complete access to every room, this is our reasonable spiritual service; this is not a mere suggestion, it is the believer’s true response to the gospel.  If one has not truly responded to the gospel, there can be no assurance of true salvation “…for the gospel is the power of God unto salvation…” (Rom 1:16).

Clearly, living for the sake of the Lord, serving him and his people, is the only reasonable, intelligent, and sensible way to live.  One writer shows the implication of this:

“ The spiritual worship of presenting our bodies to God as instruments of righteousness means that all of our members are affected physically.  Our feet walk consistently in his ways.  Our mouths tell the truth, speaking of life transforming gospel of Jesus Christ.  Our hands perform a variety of tasks in serving people: cooking, cleaning, driving, repairing, typing.  Our arms embrace hurting people who are desperate to be loved, for Jesus’ sake.  Our ears listen to the anguish of hurting people.  Our eyes focus on the merciful, loving God who is transforming us, and can impact the lives of people we love.  None of this activity is driven by religious duty or concern about religious appearances.  Because it is controlled and directed by God's Holy Spirit, we can resonate with the Apostle Paul writing to the Colossians when he says that we are to do our work “heartily, as serving the Lord and not men”. (3:23)”.

Another writer has this interesting comment about spiritual worship, which he says simply means that true commitment is a satisfying thing.

“ Worship is really nothing more or less than being what you were made to be, and doing what you were made to do.  When a flower blooms, it is worshiping God.  When a bird sings, it is worshiping God, when a plant grows, fulfilling its appointed task with its leafy arms outstretched, it is worshiping God.  When a man, right in the midst of his daily life right where he lives and where he works, right in the midst of those circumstances is being flooded with God himself, he is worshiping God….  When in some small, or even obscure way we become the visible manifestation of God to someone-- then we have worshipped.”

Verse 2.   This passage of scripture is also very important, for it concerns the will of God for our life.  Many people unnecessarily grope around in darkness, when it comes to discovering God’s will for them.  There are many misconceptions that cause people to believe that there is some mystical process or some divine revelation that they must first receive to know God’s will for their lives.  All this is quite ridiculous, God has already given us this revelation and Paul in this chapter gives us in great detail (verses 3-21) what we must do to ‘prove that perfect and acceptable will of God…’

The first step as has been discussed in verse 1, is that one must first be a believer. That is one has been justified.  Once reconciled to God, one is in a position to present one’s body as an acceptable, living sacrifice.  This summarizes God’s will for every believer and it is an ongoing sacrifice that pleases Him. The question then is, how does one make this sacrifice?   This is revealed in the remaining verses 3-31.

Nonconformity to the world is essential:– the ideologies, philosophies, morals and characteristic behavior of the world are contrary to the way of God and therefore any sacrifice that is in conformity with the world  is also at enmity with God, (James 4:4). Such a sacrifice is reprehensible to God and unacceptable.

One writer suggest that nonconformity to the world with out a renewed mind is like a ship still moored to the mainland; and unable to move toward the new land.

‘Our situation is as we have already boarded the ship for the faraway land of the blest, but our ship is still moored to the mainland. And the mainland is still attractive to us. We would like to get off again, for the mainland of our former home is a temptation to us. We would like to live and act like every other person and not be "different," as the saints are. As someone has put it, "The man who wants to avoid being a stranger in this world at all costs is not fit for the Kingdom of God."⁴ James is right in saying, "Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God? (Jas. 4:4). We are only temporarily moored to the mainland, and our real home is the New Jerusalem. Let us be conformed to that wonderful, heavenly place.”

How then does one resist or over come conformity to the world?  It is by the renewing of our mind. Nonconformity is merely the outward manifestation of a renewed mind, while outward signs can be faked, a renewed mind cannot; it reflects an inward change and continual transformation of ones mind. The transformation of ones mind is an ongoing process and so too is the discovery of God will for our life.

“The renewing of our minds is the manner of transformation, and, since the mind of Christ is found in the Word of God, it seems plain that the renewing of the mind is to be found in the contemplation of the Scriptures. Something must happen to our spiritual thinking, if we are to see life and see it in the light of God, or as God sees it. That comes only through the Bible.”

The four steps as presented above:

 the initial coming to the Lord,

presentation of our body to Him,

nonconformity to the world

and the transformation of our innermost being by the renewal of the mind through the word of God.

This is pleasing to God and in doing so we prove what is the perfect will of God.

One writer notes:

“The word rendered by "prove" means to "learn by experience," according to Weymouth. We often wish He would drop down from heaven a map for us. This He does with His preceptive will, found in the Bible, but His particular will for us can only be found by trial, by the experience of life.

Just as the weaver's pattern is only seen as he progresses in his work, so we discover the will of God for us as life continues. As far as the accomplishment of His purposes for us is concerned, that will be found in the submissive response to the will of God as it is found in His Word. Prayer and action in the light of what we have already had revealed to us leads on to the proving of His good, and acceptable, and perfect will for us.”

Verse 9.   “Let love be without hypocrisy…”  this simply means that we must get rid of the mask that we hide behind when we merely pretend to love; the mask only gives the appearance of love, but it is not genuine.  Hypocritical love hides the hate that still resides in the heart toward those who we profess to love.  True love must be sincere and manifested in deeds. “My children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” 1John 3:18.  It may not necessarily be that one harbors willful malice toward another brother or sister, however, if a brother or sister is found in a fault and one knowingly allow them to continue in their sin, because one cannot speak the truth in love – then our love is hypocritical. 

Paul’s statements will hit home hard, because we have all at sometime and may even now be wearing a mask.  Hypocritical love is no trivial matter, thus Paul begins this section, addressing Christians behaviour among brethren, this is how we aught to love each other.  Left unchecked, hypocrisy in love will destroy our testimony and it does harm not only to ourselves but to the brethren, for we are all members one of another.

(Rom 12:5; Eph 4:15; 1 Pet 1:22)

“Abhor that which is evil, cleave to that which is good.”  We are commanded to hate evil, but notice this is impossible if we do not also love that which is good, we will find ourselves being people of indifference. 

“Some types of individuals seem to naturally hate evil more easily than to love the good. And then there are those who seem to find it easy to love the good, but at the same time are more lenient with regard to evil. Thus, two things are to be avoided, if we are to fulfill the injunctions. Spurious love is to be avoided, and unprincipled toleration is also to be spurned.”

Those who practice hypocritical love are often quick to pick out every minute fault of others, masquerading as some sort of holy warrior against sin, they attempt to do what the scripture legitimately commands concerning sin in a brother, but it is with impure motives.  These same are also very defensive and easily offended should one point out their faults.  Hypocrisy causes untold damage to the body of Christ.

Verse 10.   “In love of the brethren be tenderly affectionate one to another; in honor preferring one another;”  Paul goes on to state, regarding love toward our brethren, one must exercise the type of love that should be evident among members of the same family.

The word rendered, "be kindly affectioned," is a word that refers to family affection, like the love of a mother or father for a child, or simply the love that members of one family have for other members of the family, no matter how wayward they may be.

There is a saying that ‘blood is thicker than water’, and what is implied by that, is a bond within the family that binds them together and even though family members may not be on the best terms with each other; when it comes to an outsider attacking them, you can be sure that the family will be united.

When it comes to the body of Christ, there should never be an occasion where one sides with a sinner against a brother.  In fact the scripture is emphatic concerning this love that we should have toward the brethren, describing it as a far greater bond than that of even our blood relatives.

The supreme illustration of family love is that manifested by the Lord Jesus when, the same day He gave his great discourse on the parables, He was told, "Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand- outside, desiring to speak with thee." He answered, "Who is my mother? And who are my brethren?" Then, stretching out his hand toward his disciples, He said, "Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father, who is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother",

(cf. Matt. 12:46-50).

This truly is an amazing declaration, can one even imagine the body of Christ and in particular one’s local congregation demonstrating such love.  May God help us to overcome hypocrisy and prove that perfect and acceptable will of God in our lives.

The world will know we are Christians by our love for each other.

Verse 11.   “As to diligence, not slothful, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;”   The term diligence actually means business, but not in the narrow sense that we have today, where it merely means an occupation; but rather our business entails all that we do.

So weather at work or play or in any other ministry, all must be performed as unto God not man.  This is how one is to serve the Lord and it is instruction on how to present our body to the Lord for service.  Our service must not be characterized by laziness (not slothful), but must be with energy and vitality, that is fervent in spirit.  The root of the word fervent comes from ‘to boil’.  Thus our service to the Lord cannot be lukewarm, but we must be constantly of fire when it comes to the business of the Lord.

It is quite amazing when it come to our temporal work, how much energy and time we can devote to it; we plan and we scheme and we even go to bed and dream how we are going to advance in this arena.  But for the most part we give very little in comparison to the work of God.

When it comes to the work of God we must endeavor to follow the example of the Lord, who said “…my bread is to do the will of the Father…”  At times it is going to be absolutely necessary to go without food, and sleep, without the expected comforts and entertainment, and even without family and friends in order to do the work of God.

Lets not think that this command is only to pastors and evangelists and deacons and teachers; it is to every believer.  We must realize that meeting the needs of the saints, no matter how great or how trivial it seems, is doing the work of God, and it must be done with diligence.

Of course there is much work to be done in the kingdom of God, but no one individual can physically do it all, neither are they expected too.  We are a body, and each member has been given spiritual gifts and abilities and they should be used for the edification of the church and the advancement of the gospel, according to the measure of faith given each one of us.

Verse 12.   One might ask, how can we attain to the standard of the Gospel, how can one continually be ‘on fire’ for God? The secret of the believer’s endurance is to be “rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing stedfastly  in prayer;”  The believer’s hope is not as the world see hope as something that they desire to happen but might not; the believer’s hope is the unstoppable expectation of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ and our complete redemption.

“Joy is not a matter of temperament, as some contend, nor of circumstances. Joy comes from faith in the promises of God, which remind us that we have an omnipotent Father, a divine continuing providence that guards our way (cf. Rom. 8:28), the abiding presence of the Lord Jesus Christ {cf. Matt. 28:19), and a heavenly home (John 14:1-3).  If joyful, then we can endure, too (cf. Rom. 5:2-4).”

The tribulation that we face is really the world’s ongoing argument with Christ – they hated Jesus and will hate those who love Him (John 15:18-19; 16:33; Acts 14:22).  Jesus however has enabled us to know peace in the midst of tribulation “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (Joh 14:27).

Every believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who is God and who’s power is unlimited in every sense.  He can therefore bring us comfort in any situation.  Just the presence of Jesus brought peace in the midst of the storm, so too will the Holy Spirit bring us peace.

Steadfast in prayer means that we are in continual communion with Christ, and it is this communication between the Father’s heart and ours that also gives us great strength in the storms of life.

Verse 13.   The theme of verses 9-21 is love without hypocrisy.  Verses 9-13 demonstrate a non-hypocritical love in the church; verses 14-21 demonstrate a non-hypocritical love in relation to those in the world. 

In this verse Paul transitions to deal with our duties in relation to man; “distributing to the necessities of the saints; given to hospitality.”  One writer notes that in this modern age of social security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance and other government welfare programs, we often times neglect the welfare of the saints.

Not only should we be aware of the needs of our brethren, but actively do all we can to help them.  It is a hypocritical love that merely says be warmed or be feed, all talk and no action is no good.

Concerning hospitality, it is today a very seldom used means of ministry.  In the day when a Holiday Inn was unheard of and where the occasional inn was a dirty, expensive place where the most unsavory characters frequented; hospitality was a much needed grace.  The ancient people probably from necessity learned to be a hospitable people; and if one was a prophet or minister of the gospel who traveled extensively, like say Paul, then hospitality was most welcomed.

Hospitality however, is not merely a time to entertain friends and family.  The word ‘given to’ literally means to pursue; in other words one who is given to hospitality will aggressively seek opportunities to open their home to strangers.  In doing so the scriptures say we entertain angels unawares.

The hospitality of the saints is one means by which God’s providence is evident; to find an open door and a home where the Spirit of God dwells is a great spiritual service and great blessing to those who God has directed to our door.

Verse 14.   Paul now addreses the Christian’s conduct in relation to the ungodly.  These statements are characterized by selflessness, sayings that are completely foreign to the philosophy of the world – By nature we would rather follow the saying ‘an eye for an eye…’, this is the thinking of a mind that has not been transformed by God.

“Bless them that persecute you; bless, and curse not”, Paul is actually repeating what Jesus has taught…“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matt 5:44 

This is the action of those who truly believe the gospel, who are renewed in the spirit of their minds. It is not merely a suggestion as to how we should live, it is living out the gospel.  If we have taken any heed to the first eleven chapters, we should by now realize that what one believes is extremely important; for a man cannot live contrary to his most fundamental beliefs; these actions flow from the right understanding of the biblical doctrine.

“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed [himself] to him that judgeth righteously:” 1 Pet 2:21-23

When we think that we were far greater enemies to Christ than any man has been to us, and that while we were still the enemy of God, Christ died for us; we should in humble gratitude submit ourselves to God.

Verse 15.   “Rejoice with them that rejoice; weep with them that weep.”  We see here the full spectrum of human emotion that both sinner and saint can relate too.  It is easy once one have been saved, to forget or ignore that the ungodly are real people for whom we must have genuine concern.   We must be glad when we hear of the good welfare and blessings of others, no mater what our own situation may be (1 Cor 12:26; 2 Cor 2:3).  At the same time we must be sensitive and compassionate to the hardship and sorrow of others (Col 3:12; James 5:11; Lk 19:41-44; Jn 11:35).

It is imperative that we do not act like unbelievers, but that our lives be directed by the gospel.  Deviation from the gospel cannot bring glory to our Father, neither will our sacrifice be acceptable, as we stray further from the will of God for our lives.

To envy the wicked is folly, but sadly we see a similar thing happen within the body, displays of a carnality that should not be (1 Cor 3:3). One write comments –

"Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Adjustment to others' moods and tragedies is the point. And we all know that it seems to require more grace to rejoice with the rejoicing than to weep with the weeping. As Chrysostom said, it is easier to weep with those that weep, than to rejoice with those that rejoice, because nature itself prompts the former, but envy stands in the way of the latter.”  

If we believe the gospel then we must be careful not to cut ourselves off from ungodly people, though we are in the world we are not of the world.  Thus we are separate in respects to the way we think, having been justified, but we must at the same time continue to be salt and light to the ungodly.  Therefore we must interact; this does not mean that we take part in their sin, sacrificing personal holiness, but by our good works they may come to glorify the Father.

Verse 16.   “Be of the same mind one toward another.”   This verse or at least this phrase at a first reading may seem to be out of place, for in the middle of this section that deals with our relationship to sinners, Paul begins to talk about Christians having the same mind.

It is obvious that Paul is not talking about believers having the same mind as non-believers, for they know nothing of a transformed mind (v 2).  How then does this fit in the passage at hand.

Paul is talking about the Christian’s testimony, thus when he says we should be of the same mind, he is saying that harmony and humility among the brethren is the best testimony that we have to show the world.  One preacher says – should the ungodly look into our churches and find, envy, malice, and backbiting, dissension, and hatred and scheming as they find in worldly circles.  If in the home you treat your spouse or your children with contempt, what good then is the power of the gospel.  If the gospel believed cannot keep believer’s from behaving like the ungodly; why then would they believe the gospel that we preach; what power does it have to bring them from hell to heaven.

Being of the same mind then is the greatest testimony to unbelievers.

“Paul did not mean that we should see "eye to eye" on every point.  Being of the same mind is not opposed to wide divergences of opinion on many things. The text refers to the cultivation of the deeper unity that has been given to all genuine believers in the possession of a common basic body of belief, like that referred to by Paul in Ephesians 4:4-6. All believers are partakers of the life of Christ and, thus, share in a common relation to Him. The things that unite us should be before us always, even in the moments at which we must differ over the details of faith and practice.”

“Set not your mind on high things, but condescend to things that are lowly.”  In the same line of thinking humility must also characterize the activity of the mind, what and how we think.  To condescend to lowly things literally means to be carried away with the humble things.  In any aspect of a believer’s life, in the home, at work or in the church, we must stand in the place of humility.

The world will use all manner of evil devices to reach their goals, no matter who they hurt along the way. They are puffed up with the pride of their own accomplishments; but no matter what level of achievement one reaches, humility must characterize. 

 True humility is a mark of those who have been transformed by the gospel.

“Be not wise in your own conceits.”  Though one may possess great intellectual capabilities, we must not become wise in our own eyes, so self-confident that we fail to recognize the source of our blessing.  Especially in the realm of ministry verse 3-8 tell us not to think of ourselves more highly than we aught; rather we should esteem others better than ourselves - Remain humble and give glory to God.

Remember that it is only by the grace of God that we are able to actually grasp any spiritual understanding.

Verse 17-18.   Even when we are dealing with people who do not know God, we must show the kind of love that for the world is not normal.  There is a principle which governs how we behave when our enemies treat us badly.  There is a prohibition against retaliation.

In Christian love there can be no response to sin with sin.  Christians should not do evil to pay someone back for the wrongs they have done to us.  When a neighbor throws garbage over our fence, we should not throw garbage back over the fence in retaliation

Revenge means returning evil for evil and it simply perpetuates sin.  When a believer practices revenge they do not overcome sin, but are overcome by sin.  There are no exceptions and no excuses allowed.

Five reasons are given.

First we are told that men are watching, and they expect honesty from Christians. We must do things that make society operate properly and not join in the destructive things done by people with seared consciences, who love blood and violence. Society especially expect grace from believers.  People should, by looking at our conduct, see what is good and what is not good.

Second, if we are to be god- like, to be gracious as God is gracious, we must be kind not only to our friends but to our enemies. Grace is defined as something that is the opposite of what is deserved.  One writer says:

“ Did you ever stop to realize that grace can only be shown where sin has occurred?  We can only be gracious to others when they have sinned against us. That is necessary by virtue of the definition of grace. Grace is not only undeserved, but it is the opposite of what is deserved.  Justice is served when the evildoer is punished.  Grace is granted when the evildoer is forgiven at the expense of the victim.  If we are to show grace to others, the only opportunity we have to do so is when they sin against us.  If this is true, then grace begins where most of us want to stop.”

Third, it is most important that peace be promoted among men, rather than hostility.  Our gospel is a gospel of peace and therefore peace is a priority for the Christian.

Fourth, when we take revenge we are intruding on God's territory.

Fifth, we can only overcome evil with good, and demonstrate to sinners there is a God that does good to them despite their rebellion and hostility to him.

We cannot fight Satan with his tools. We must never seek out contention.

Verse 19-20.   We are exhorted to leave vengeance in the capable hands of God, for only he knows how to measure out justice, and all sin is ultimately against Him.  In response to the evil waged against us, we are to only repay with kindness.  Thus, if find one who has done us evil in a state of need, we must help them.  In doing so the scripture says we heap coals of fire on their head. 

There seems to be a two-fold meaning in this phrase.  The phrase has generally come to denote the wrath of God poured out in judgment and it will, if the evildoer does not repent.  However the primary force of this passage seems more correctly to bless rather than to burn.  That is, in rendering good for evil, the malevolent mind will be melted and repentance occur.  Another writer comments: 

“heap coals of fire on his head – refers to an ancient Egyptian custom in which a person who wanted to show public contrition carried a pan of burning coals on his head.  The coals represented the burning pain of shame and guilt.  When believers lovingly help their enemies, it should bring shame to such people for their hate and animosity (Prov 25:21,22)” 

One writer says that the best way to get rid of an enemy, is to make them your friend.  Experience has shown however, that it is not always possible to change an enemy into a friend but this does not void the instruction

Verse 21.   Finally we must guard against being overcome by evil, by doing good, even when evil is done to us.  This is God’s command and if we believe the gospel then we must do it.  The first response of many Christians is one of the flesh and not that of a renewed mind.  We almost instantly begin to manufacture reasons as to why this should not apply to us.  But there is no escaping, we belong to God and we must obey and follow his commands.

CONCLUSION

There should be no clinging to the old life, the natural Adamic nature, insisting on being unloving, covering up, protecting and justifying sin.  A person cannot have it both ways.  One cannot run one’s own affairs with our own standards for that will be unfruitful. 

The only way is to have Christ life through us. Grace is an essential element of God's character and should dominate our life.  We must show it at every turn, and we should never allow sin to overcome us. 

We must be holy and have a holy love that hates sin and loves righteousness. These attitudes and actions set us apart from the enemies of God, for they show the character of God which Jesus Christ demonstrated when he was on earth. 

Paul teaches that what God wants is a transformed mind and this is vastly different from what is in the world. 

Paul defines how the people of God should live.  He calls for a commitment to daily living and an openness to the Spirit of God for complete control and leading.  With this transformed mind, the love of God will be the norm and his love should be shown both among the brethren and among people in our hostile society.

We live out the gospel first in our relationship to God, by presenting our body as a living sacrifice to God, second in separation from the world, “be not conformed to the world…”, third in service to the saints, the body of Christ and forth as salt and light to the ungodly.

We cannot stress enough that sound doctrine is the catalyst for a life yielded to God and a sacrifice that is pleasing and acceptable to Him. 

It is through first believing and then living the gospel that we actually present our body as a living sacrifice to God; it is through this process that we fulfill the will of God for our lives.  Failing to present our bodies to God, renders us more of a hindrance than a help to the cause of Christ. 

More seriously, if the presentation of our body is truly the right response to the gospel, then it is also evidence that one has been justified, is in possession of the Holy Spirit and therefore equipped to perform all that God requires.  

If we are to live the gospel, self must die, for self is the greatest hindrance to fulfilling the will of God.  However a body yielded to God, is a selfless life packed with the power of God.