NEW TO THIS STUDY? START HERE.

Hi! This is Veteran’s Day in the US, when we honor our service members and their families, who also sacrifice for our defense. Your hard work and dedication make us the great nation we are, and I thank you and pray that God blesses you abundantly. Amen!

Last Week’s Work

WRITING TYPES

From Romans 1:1, this is a letter from Paul, the apostle. In 1:7, it’s addressed “… to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints… (emphasis mine).”  Chapter 12 contains mostly instructional text, and I believe it should be interpreted literally.

LITERAL CONTEXT

 Between his opening and our study text, Paul explains Jewish believers are no better than the Gentiles/Greeks: all have sinned (Romans 3:23, 10:12) and need Jesus, the Savior. He explained the effects of justification by faith and compared Adam’s sin to Jesus’s righteous sacrifice (Romans 5). He argued believers’ faith is evident by how they conduct themselves, though he acknowledged it’s challenging to allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit. Chapter 12 opens with Paul urging Roman believers to worship God through physical action and mental transformation and provides numerous examples of how this could play out in their lives.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

According to the ESV Global Study Bible, the apostle Paul wrote this book, likely from Corinth, Greece, about AD 57. Paul had been converted to Christianity while on the way to Damascus about 23 years earlier (Acts 9:1-19). He wrote this letter to build unity in the church in Rome, which was made up of Jewish and Gentile believers. Not only were the people ethnically and culturally different, but they also came from different socio-economic backgrounds. Other historical references I’ve studied indicate this could also cause division in the first-century church, since the prevailing social norm in Rome dictated people never associated with others outside their class.

INTERLINEAR RESEARCH

My dig into the Greek centered on the phrases to think so as to be soberminded (v3); live in harmony (v16), and associate with the lowly (v16). Here’s what I discovered from Biblehub.com:

• To think (G5426 phronein) … have an ongoing inner posture of humility (as opposed to a single humble act) …
• So as (G1519 eis)  … with the target being…
• To be soberminded (G4993 sōphronein) … adoption of a God-controlled perspective on one’s personal importance…
• Live in harmony (G5426 phronein) NOTE: this is the same word used in v3! In this usage, Thayer’s Greek Lexicon indicates Paul means that the Romans should be of the same mind toward one another, which makes me think they were expected to treat one another as equals. What culture shock!
• Associate with the lowly (G4879 synapagomenoi G5011 tapeinois) … G4879 conveys a picture of being swept along with the group. The Topical Lexicon section says it underscores the power of corporate influence… to humble fellowship; and G5011 describes the person who depends on the Lord rather than self, according to the HELPS Word-Studies section of the website (emphasis in original). This reminded me of a passage from Paul’s letter to the Philippians where he talks about how he could brag about his Judaism pedigree, but he counts it as a loss for the sake of Christ (Philippians 3:3-11).

Dig-In Challenges

This week, let’s wrap up the second half of the Refine step by examining cross-references, other translations, and, if you want, checking out one or more commentaries on this passage.

1. Pray, of course.
2. REFINE: Then consult a concordance or online cross-reference study tool (I’ll be starting here) to find and read through the available cross-references for your focus verse(s) and log what the Spirit shows you.
   NOTE: for your study, follow the above link, then use the Prev or Next buttons below the verse text to go to the verse(s) for your study.
3. REFINE: Next, compare at least a few other translations of your focus verse(s) and write about what you find in your study journal. I’ll be comparing ESV, AMP, NIV, and GNT starting with this biblehub.com page. Compare your study verses with that link by entering them in the Enter Reference or Keyword box at the top of the page and clicking the spyglass icon there.
4. REFINE: Last, I plan to check a few commentaries on Romans. If you already have a favorite study Bible or commentary, feel free to review it, too. If you don’t, I recommend these websites:
   If you’re new to the Bible or Bible study, I’d start at bibleref.com, where you can find information about the whole book and this passage.
   If you’re looking for something with more detail, try checking the commentary section of StudyLight.org. There, you can access verse-by-verse commentaries on Romans 12 by clicking the box for your focus verse, then clicking the name of the commentary listed immediately under the text of the verse you chose. I recommend you review more than one commentary and listen to the Spirit’s guidance on them.

Hope you’ll check in with me again next week!

GO TO WEEK 7 >