Romans 12:1-15:13
I appeal to you therefore…
Romans 12:1a
So, what is the “therefore” there for?
It strikes me that Romans 12:1 is often quoted all by itself. Or sometimes one hears Romans 12:2 all by itself. Now and then one hears both verses quoted together. But rarely (i.e., almost never) does one hear them in conjunction with Romans 11 or (even more rarely) with all of Romans 1-11. But these verses do not stand in isolation. They are fully dependent on what comes before. Likewise, our entire reading today is to be read in the light of the previous 11 chapters. As Paul turns the corner from “theology” to “practical application”, we would do well to remember that theology, to remember faith and grace and the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, we are prone to turning Paul’s instructions here into yet another set of rules to follow to establish our own righteousness, and if that is where we land, then we are most certainly missing the Gospel.
See also:
Love is the fulfillment of the law.
Boom. Because love worketh no evil…
Romans deserves a side study.
Yes, indeed, Romans deserves much closer attention than our pace allows at the moment.