Paul's Vision for the Life of the Church - Relating to Unbelievers - Romans 12:14-21

Introduction

We pick up today in verse 14 of Romans 12.

Paul has been instructing the Romans believers in the way of gratitude. With a clear picture of our guilt and God’s grace, he has turned his focus to the life of gratitude that ought to mark every believer.

He has begun internally, working his way from the mercies of God to the life of sacrificial worship-service to God to the renewal of the mind. These are all internal realities, dealing with your heart and mind.

Then beginning in verse 3, he begins moving outward, dealing with the humble unity that ought to mark the church, as the body of Christ, both members of Him as our head and of one another. He continues by teaching us 7 characteristics of a healthy church. Healthy churches minister to their members by prophesying, serving, teaching, exhorting, giving, leading, and showing mercy. The church is to do these things with generosity, cheerfulness, and diligence.

We see that, just as the body is marked by these characteristics, the individual members of the body are also marked by characteristics in verses 9-13, such as genuine love, abhorring evil, clinging to the good, brotherly devotion, giving preference, not lagging behind, being fervent in Spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing, persevering, and pursuing hospitality.

So what Paul has done for the first 13 verses here is mapped out a blueprint for what the church ought to be and how the church ought to conduct itself internally, one believer to another.

Paul now turns his attention to external affairs. How does the believer deal with the world? With non-believers? With those outside the church? Paul gives specific instruction to us today.

As we get started today, it’s important to note two assumptions that Paul makes as he transitions to this new section.

Paul assumes that the believer’s relationship to unbelievers is necessarily different than his relationship to other believers. Oftentimes Christians can get caught up into the mindset that our relationships to unbelievers are going to be identical to our family relationships with other believers. Paul is clear here: that’s just not the case. Our relational expectations must be different for those with whom we do not share a covenant head.

Paul assumes that the believer will in fact have a relationship with the world outside the church. There is no shortage of Christian-adjacent cults throughout history who have promoted isolationism. The world is evil and therefore we must avoid at all costs. But if Christians are to be the salt and light of the world, then we must have relationships with those outside the church. Now as we will see, these relationships may not always be positive or constructive. But they do, and indeed must exist, if the church is to fulfill it’s calling rightly.

So with that being said, let’s get into Paul’s instruction.

Responding to Persecution

Paul begins by instructing the church to bless those who persecute them, bless and do not curse.

Again we need to look at Paul’s assumptions here. Paul is assuming that the church will be persecuted. His concern is not proving that persecution will occur, but rather exhorting the church to handle it rightly when it does occur.

Why does Paul assume that the church will be persecuted?

Paul makes this assumption both experientially and theologically.

Theologically, he makes the assumption based on the teaching of Christ.

John 15:18–21 LSB

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.

Experientially, Paul makes the argument based on two parts of his own testimony.

First, Paul himself was a hater of God and the church and leveled persecution against Christians during the early part of his life.

Second, after his conversion, as we see throughout the book of Acts, Paul was a target of the persecution rather than the perpetrator of it.

So we see that Paul has every reason to assume with confidence that the church will experience persecution.

But Paul’s concern, as we have said, is not so much in proving that persecution will happen. Rather, knowing for certain that it will happen, Paul is concerned with instructing the church in her response to it.

So Paul does something interesting here. He instructs the church to bless those who persecute them, bless and do not curse.

There are a couple of observations worth pointing out here.

First, Paul is directly quoting Jesus when he says “bless those who persecute you.” The more well-known version of this quote is actually from Matthew 5:44

Matthew 5:44 LSB

“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

However, Paul is quoting Luke’s account of the sermon on the Mount, which reads like this:

Luke 6:27–36 LSB

“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who disparage you. “Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your garment, do not withhold your tunic from him either. “Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. “And treat others the same way you want them to treat you. “And if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. “And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. “And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to the ungrateful and evil. “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

I read this quote at length because this is the foundation for Paul’s ethic here as regards Christian treatment of the outside world.

Paul’s central thesis is this: you will be hated, but do not return that hatred. Instead, return good. To borrow a vernacular saying, when the world gives you lemons, make lemonade and give it back with a smile to the one who threw the lemons at you.

Notice too here in verse 14 that Paul repeats the word bless. Bless those who persecute you, bless, and do not curse.

The word bless here is the Greek word eulogeo which is where we get our English word eulogy. It essentially means to speak a good word about someone. Returning to Jesus’ own teaching, we can see that the concept of blessing someone else can also be quantified by loving someone and praying for someone and doing good to someone.

This is radically antithetical to both the world’s way of thinking and to our natural and carnal tendencies. It seems to make sense, if someone is mean to us or does evil to us, for us to return that same evil to them. Just this week at work, I dealt with a situation with one of my employees where they were insulted and disrespected by one of our clients. My employee responded with an equal level of insult and disrespect. Neither my employee nor the client are believers, and so that type of behavior makes sense. It’s natural.

So what Paul calls us to is a supernatural pattern of behavior.

So then, how we put this into practice?

We’ve all got someone who vexes us, who persecutes us, who causes us consternation to some level. So here’s what I want you to do. Write this down on your note sheets in front of you. “This week I commit to pray for this person, and look for opportunities to do good to them.”

Christian Empathy

In vs 15, Paul gives us instruction for Christian empathy. Empathy is simply the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

He instructs us to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.

The Christian ought to be the first to share in the joys and sorrows of life with all people. Notice, as we have said, Paul is making this state in the context of Christian relations to the outside world. It’s fairly easy, I think, to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep in the context of mutual Christian fellowship. Where human empathy becomes more difficult is when we are called to exercise it in relation to those who may hate and persecute us.

I think it’s fair to say here that Paul sees this empathetic rejoicing and weeping as an outworking of blessing those who persecute you.

Now we must make a careful distinction here. There is much evil that the world rejoices in, and likewise much good that causes them grief. This is to be expected. Paul is not calling us to rejoice with those who rejoice as they rejoice in sin and wickedness and evil.

Charles Hodge says that Paul enjoins us here to a general empathy for all men, rooted in the truth that we have a common nature and a common creator. This is not to say that we are to blindly and undiscerningly celebrate with unbelievers. A great example of this will be upon us in just a few short days, as so-called “Pride Month” descends upon our nation. Certainly “Pride Month” is a twisted cause for celebration amongst the debauched and sexually deviant. They will be rejoicing. This is an instance in which we do not rejoice with those who rejoice.

When a neighbor gives birth to her baby, when a coworker receives a promotion, or when a family member overcomes an illness, regardless of whether or not they are a brother or sister, gospel ethics compel us to rejoice in the gift of common grace in the lives of those who may not know Christ savingly.

Likewise, when that same neighbor loses her mother, when a coworker is laid off, or when the cancer thought to be in remission returns with a vengeance, we are to weep with those who weep.

Christian empathy draws ethical lines where necessary, but in the common things of life we are called to share in the joys and sorrows of life with our neighbors, regardless of whether or not they are our brothers.

So what prompts Christian empathy? According to verse 16, it’s an attitude of humility.

Paul breaks down this humility into three basic ideas:

Be of the same mind

Do not be haughty in mind

Associate with the humble

Be of the same mind

Paul’s admonition here is a kind of human solidarity. Again in the context of the world outside the church, Paul is calling these believers and us to a focus on the common humanity of all people. Whether saved or not, Paul is telling us that we are all still human and we ought to act like it.

Christians ought to be the first to champion and protect human dignity, and this verse gives us the foundation for that. To be of the same mind toward one another is to do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Do not be haughty in mind

We might understand this as being high minded, or being in pursuit of high and glorious things.

To be haughty in mind is the opposite of being humble. As Christians we are not to pursue status, either in the church or outside the church.

Now this is not to say that Godly people might not be elevated to a position of stature in the church or community. We might look to the example of Jospeh or Daniel, both exceedingly Godly men who achieved great status in pagan governments. But what is worth noting there is that they did not actively pursue it. Their thoughts were not continually occupied with how they might advance their status.

A negative example might be found in the numerous encounters Jesus had with the Pharisees. These were men who constantly pursued and focused on status, at the expense of others.

How does this look in the real world? Let me submit something to you that might seem controversial. I don’t think Christians should pursue climbing the corporate ladder. Christians ought to work, and they ought to work hard and they ought to work hard with excellence. But Christians who are constantly chasing the next big thing, looking for a promotion, or switching jobs once a year to get paid more, or whatever, are out of step, I think, with Paul’s encouragement here to not be haughty in mind, to not pursue high minded things. And I think, if we are simply committed to hard work in the marketplace with no high-minded aspirations of corporate greatness, God will bless that, and whether we get the promotion or not, he will provide for us and take care of us.

RC Sproul says this:

Romans Affection and Ambition

Paul is warning against a life driven by fleshy ambition. Such ambition can drive us to ruthlessness in our relationships so that we do not hesitate to step on others in our desire to reach the top of the ladder. Therefore, we are not to set our minds and hearts on the positions of esteem and exaltation in this world; rather, we are to associate with the humble. This is another example of how we are to imitate the life of Jesus. He associated with those of low esteem.

Associate with the humble

The third and final part of this explanation of how we are to cultivate Christian empathy is to associate with the humble.

This is oftentimes an internal battleground for Christians. We want to be perceived as put-together and buttoned-up, and often that means keeping our distance from the messed-up people around us. Yet Jesus was no stranger to the wharves and the red-light districts. It’s unfortunate that Christians today often avoid the “rough parts of town,” because this is where Jesus spent much of his time.

While he engaged with the rich and powerful from time to time, he spent most of his time with working class people, poor people, and those on the lowest tiers of society. Humility for Jesus had to do with who He spent time with, and Paul says it ought also to be so for us.

So are we constantly looking for the cooler, richer, more influential people to hang out with? Or are we content with the weird people, the working people, the uninfluential people? This is the path to Christian empathy.

Do not be wise in your own mind

This works as a pair with the other negative command to not be haughty in mind. This specifically has to do with intellectual pride or thinking that you’re smarter than someone else.

Again this can be a temptation for Christians. We have received so much light and truth and knowledge from God, and it’s tempting to flaunt that or use that as a platform for intellectual pride. The path of the Christian, according to Paul, however, is the path of the learner. We are to always be conscious of that which we don’t know, and constantly have a mindset of further learning. A Christian mindset is not one of “I’ve made it, I know everything I need to know,” but rather, out of a knowledge of the vast infinitude of God and His creation, our mindset ought to be “Teach me, O Lord.”

It’s easy for Christians to get prideful and get into this mindset of being better than everyone else. The reality is, as John Bunyan said, there but for the grace of God go I. God’s saving grace alone is what separates us from the rest of the world. It’s got nothing to do with us and everything to do with Him. With this at the forefront of our minds then, we have the grace imparted to us to be of the same mind, not haughty or wise in our own minds, but humble and associating with the humble.

Payback is not the way

Preserve an upright reputation for yourself, God, and the church - above reproach. Walk wisely and properly before men.

Peace is the goal but only if it is possible - we do not make peace with lies or evil. Christians are not to be combative or seek fights - this is in opposition to much of the rhetoric in Christian circles today - anti-authority, pro-conflict.

Revenge belongs to the Lord, peace belongs to us. We are not to stage revolutions and take back our nation from the pagans - God will do that if he so chooses.

We are actually to care practically and physically for those who wrong us. This is the most powerful testimony to God’s saving power and your enemies’ wickedness.

Paul summarizes the Christian ethic toward the outside world in verse 21 - do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.