EPISODE 104 ROMANS CHAPTER 12 "New beliefs and new behaviors"

Welcome to Share the Word. Let me ask you a question. If you're a follower of Christ, has your life changed? Has anyone noticed a difference in you, or are you someone that just goes to church simply to check off the box, done for the week, and everything you do from that moment on would have everyone completely confused by your actions? Well, you need to listen closely to this podcast. Margie.

Hey guys, this is Margie, and you are listening to Share the Word. This chapter is entitled New Beliefs and New Behaviors. If you've been following along, then you know that we are in the book of Romans, a letter authored by the Apostle Paul. This book as a whole is usually divided into two distinct parts. Part one would be chapters one through eleven, which focus mostly upon the doctrinal teaching. Part two would be chapters twelve through sixteen, which focuses mostly on practical application of the doctrinal teaching.

While teaching Romans 1, I mentioned that many Bible teachers title each division simply Believing and Behaving. And today we begin part two, the practical part of Paul's teaching, the how-tos of Christian behavior. And just a quick review of part one, just to set the foundation for part two. In chapters one through three, we first looked at the bad news, and there Paul gave an accounting of the state of sinful humanity. But then, thank heavens, in chapters four through eight, we heard the good news, and there Paul assures the reader that there's hope, salvation and justification through faith in Jesus. We are justified by faith in Jesus.

Period. Nothing else. No mas. Here's a little ditty that might help you to remember the concept of justified by faith. It's just as if I'd never sinned. Now, I had to do it with a Southern accent.

For some reason, it just works better that way. In chapters 9 through 11, Paul explains that the saved church does not replace the set-apart Israeli remnant. God chose the Jews to be the nation from which the Messiah would come so that the whole world might find redemption, salvation, and they remain the chosen people. As Pastor Paul mentioned in his fabulous teaching, there are a lot of vocabulary words in the first few chapters of Romans. There are a lot of shuns: salvation, sanctification, justification, reconciliation, redemption, and glorification, because those are the chapters where the Apostle Paul is setting the theological foundation. He defines and he explains what Jesus' followers believe.

And this is so important because that theology determines our doxology. So if you haven't taken a listen to those teachings, please do so. In Romans 12 through 16, the Apostle Paul moves on. In these chapters, he defines and explains how Jesus' followers should behave. It's the place where the rubber meets the road. Basically, the Apostle Paul begins giving the church guidelines, the how to live out our faith effectively in the body and in the world.

As living sacrifices, obedient citizens, kind neighbors, and responsible, humble members of the local and the global church body. And that, ladies and germs, leads us to the big idea. New beliefs should bring new behaviors. Paul has just spent 11 chapters explaining all the ways their new belief system has permanently and radically changed them. And now, in chapters 12 through 16, Paul will encourage them to live out those new beliefs, to bring about distinctly new behaviors. We've said it before and we'll say it again.

People will only see a difference if there is a difference to see. And the apostle Paul wants folks to see the difference in these Roman Christ followers. I feel like a sub-theme to the big idea in chapter 12 is that our behavior is a reflection upon our belief in Jesus. Our relationships with others should also reflect our relationship with Jesus. The big idea could be summed up in a verse from this chapter, Romans 12:18. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Well, before we get too far into the text, first we have to have a joke. A mother went to wake up her son for church one morning, and when she knocked on the door, he said, I'm not going to church today. Why not? asked the mother. Well, I'll give you two good reasons. Number one, they don't really like me there, and number two, I don't really like them.

His mother replied, Well, I will give you two good reasons you are going to church. Number one, you're 57 years old, and number two, you're the pastor. I know, that's supposed to be funny. But sadly, that is just what happens sometimes in the church body. And it's just what the Apostle Paul is warning against. Because how we treat others is a reflection on our relationship with Jesus.

If we are different as believers, then our behavior should be different. I feel like Jesus gave a very clear example in Matthew 25, 35 to 40. He said, For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me.

I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me. Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. Personally, in this chapter, I think that Paul is so wise because before he gets into the specifics of the how-tos and the should-dos, he reminds them of an important and powerful truth: that they must have transformed thinking in order to have transformed behavior. They were formerly children of the world, children of darkness, and now they are children of God, children of light. Now, new citizenship has new rules and new standards of thinking and behaving.

They had to relearn, rethink, reprocess everything that they thought through their new believing brains. And with that, Paul starts with a bang in Romans 12:1 and 2. He says, Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, in other words, in light of the last eleven chapters, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship. In other words, change your behavior to fit your newfound beliefs. And then listen to this.

He says, Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Now, I know you've all heard this to death by now, but whenever you see a therefore, you should ask yourself what it's there for. Well, this therefore is there to remind the reader that since their belief system is transformed, their spiritual status is transformed, so their thinking should be transformed, and therefore their behavior will be transformed. Believing brains need to be retrained and rewired, transformed for believing behaviors to follow. So today you get an extra bad joke for free. Here it is.

Well, I finally figured out what's wrong with my brain. On the left side, there's nothing right, and on the right side, there's nothing left. I really don't know why my husband thinks that one's so funny. Our brains, our minds are just fascinating, aren't they? Especially in regards to how our thinking and our beliefs impact our behavior. The Psychology Today article entitled The Three Ways Your Beliefs Can Shape Your Reality begins with, You don't need a degree in quantum physics to understand the power of belief.

It continues by saying, We can all see the evidence of how our thinking influences our behavior. Our most basic beliefs actively shape our reality, and our faith system affects our health, relationships, and our life path. Wow. What we think, what we believe matters. It impacts and influences, guides our behavior. We see evidence of this in our choices, don't we?

Like how we spend our time, finances, recreation, even how we approach marriage, parenting, well, all of our relationships. Scientists are now researching what the Bible knew to be true thousands of years ago. Neuroplasticity, sometimes called neuroplasticity or brain plasticity, is the ability of the neural networks in the brain to change, grow, and reorganize. The brain becomes rewired and functions in some different ways from how it had previously functioned. Once thought to only happen in infanthood or perhaps early childhood, now evidence proves otherwise. They are measuring differences in adolescence and adulthood.

These new pathways become rerouted and change results in new thinking and therefore new behavior. Once again, science is confirming what the Bible has been teaching, that we are fearfully, wonderfully, and marvelously made. Can I get a hallelujah? Well, as believers, the Apostle Paul reminds the Romans that they also have supernatural help. They are now a different nature. They now have God's power to effectively impact the church in the world for Christ, and they now have the ability to renew their minds and therefore their behaviors.

New things like faith. The Holy Spirit's power, gifts, and abilities to strengthen them. The Word of God for teaching, training, and maturing them. And of course, prayer to empower and sustain them. I tell our classes it's like cheating. Really.

And we must utilize all of these resources to combat the darkness we grew up in. Our thinking had been carnally darkened. In a word, we've been brainwashed. We are wired to accept lies over truth, respond with selfishness instead of selflessness, to elevate greed instead of generosity, to have a self-focus or a self-pity instead of compassion and other-mindedness, to emulate pride instead of humility, and to react in fear instead of love. We too can utilize these same resources to change our thinking and therefore our actions. I would say for the most part, we are not even aware of our dark thinking.

We've grown comfortable in the world's darkness. It's subtle, sneaky, seductive, insidious, and sometimes quite comfortable. Have you ever gone into a dark movie theater after the lights are already lowered? You find yourself groping around full of excuse me's and pardon me's, all the while knocking into knees and bumping precariously placed popcorn because you cannot see. But after a while, you begin to adjust. You acclimate.

Suddenly you realize that you can see everything and everyone around you. You might even recognize your neighbor in the third row. Well, that's the way it is in the world. The darkness surrounds us, and we don't even know it, see it, or understand it. We just get used to it, accept it, and then operate in it. The Apostle Paul has so much to say in his letters about the condition of our minds as believers, and to be aware of the darkness and to combat the dark thinking.

In Ephesians 4, he says, no longer walk or behave as the rest of the Gentiles walk or behave in the futility of their mind. Their understanding has been darkened. In this very book, he says to be carnally minded is death, and to be spiritually minded is life and peace. To the Corinthians, he said, we must demolish arguments and every retention, or our thinking, that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. We must take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. In Philippians, he says, let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus.

That one just astounds me. We have access to the very mind of Christ. We must understand that our minds have been exposed to the worldview for most of our lifetime, and it still is. We've been trained, influenced, and literally brainwashed into wrong thinking. And thank the Lord, we have supernatural help. Paul encourages all believers to ask God for a new, different mindset, because believers have a new, different high call to action.

The new behavior must line up with the new beliefs. In Romans 12:3 through 21, Paul goes on to describe the new standard for believers' behavior, which is so much more than just faking it. He calls believers to be sincere in their love and service, affection and hospitality. Now, I find this convicting. In the South, we have this saccharine sweet thing going on, bless our little hearts. It is so polite and it is so very pretty, but many times it is insincere.

It's fake. The believer's way should be the way of love. It should be the way of sincerity, because God's sincere and powerful love is in us and flowing through us. In Romans 12:9 through 16, Paul goes on to tell the Romans how to do this, and it's by one anothering. One another is a phrase mentioned 10 times in these last four chapters, more than any other book of the Bible, and three of the 10 are in this chapter. Paul says to be devoted to one another, to honor one another, and to live in harmony with one another.

But let's first discuss being devoted to one another. Devotion can be defined as being kind and loving to one another. There are three kinds of love mentioned in the Bible: eros, or romantic or sexual love; agape, which is God's unconditional love; and philo, commonly called friendship love. In this situation, Paul is actually referring to philo love, and in two different ways. In the Greek, it sounds Russian, I know, but it's Greek, philostorgos, according to Strong's Concordance, is familial love. It's a mutual love of parents, children, siblings, wives and husbands, and it's applied to the church family.

Now wait, you might be thinking, it's hard enough to love the families of origin, let alone our church families. I know, it ain't pretty sometimes. In fact, relationships can be downright messy. Actually, right now we have one kid who's not even speaking to us. But remember, this chapter verse says, if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, believer, live at peace with everyone. This looks radically different than the world, which is polarized, a new buzzword, politically, morally, socially, religiously, racially, and economically.

But we are called to try to work it out with kindness, tenderness, and devotion in our families, our friendships, and our church families. The other familial love is Philadelphia, one that many of us are familiar with because of the city, Philadelphia, PA, the city of brotherly love. My husband is a Philadelphia Eagles football fan, and he says you're more likely to hear the city of brotherly shove than the city of brotherly love. But this brotherly love, it's like a koinonia, Christian fellowship. And the challenge here is to live out the new behavior, having it line up with the new beliefs, because our behavior is a reflection on our belief in Jesus. Last Sunday, we visited our nephew's church in Salisbury, Maryland.

This group was wildly, beautifully, practically living out brotherly love. They were serving one another and the community faithfully with a love that overcame obstacles, geography, socioeconomic differences, racial barriers. Politics and even gender. Their heartbeat was, Gospel love claims and goes the distance. Wow. People in Maryland will see the difference because there's a difference to see.

Secondly, Paul calls us to honor one another. To honor one another means to give preference to one another, value one another, to outdo one another. Honor, to may in the Greek, means to pay an expensive price for something considered valuable. I saw the comedian Carol Burnett interviewed for her 90th birthday, and she said, You've heard it said that people may not remember what you say, but they'll remember what you do. And she went on to say, I disagree with that. I don't think they remember what you say or what you do, but how you make them feel.

And she wanted to leave them feeling good. It made me ask myself, How do I make people feel? Do they feel honored? Do they feel valued? Well, there are two practical ways to honor, with word and with deed. In his book, The Five Love Languages, Dr.

Gary Chapman explains there are basically five different ways to help people you love feel honored: through touch, service, gifts, time, and words of affirmation. See, four of them involved action. Four of them are basically physical commitments: touch, service, gifts, and time. It's the big idea. It's putting our beliefs. Into practical behavior.

Only one of the five R words, words of affirmation, an acknowledgement of things we genuinely, or should we say sincerely, appreciate about one another. Words of gratitude, compliments, or even just using manners can show honor. We insist that our kids use manners and titles to show respect. We try to give affirmations, sincere compliments, encouragements to catch them doing good. And hey, it's not always easy. In the context of family, words are especially powerful.

So I ask, how do you use your words? I love you so much, or I'm married you, didn't I? I'm proud of you, kiddo, or What do you want, a trophy? Hey, it doesn't cost us anything to find ways to encourage and cheer on others. And people will only see a difference or feel a difference if there is a difference to see or to feel. The way we treat others is a reflection on our relationship with Jesus.

Honoring others is a way to honor Jesus. And lastly, living in harmony with one another. It means to be of the same mind towards one another. Yikes. This is another toughie since no one really has the same mind. But quickly referring back to our kindergarten scripture memory curriculum, one of our verses, the D verse from Luke 6:31, Jesus says, Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you.

Our five-year-old daughter, Ramsey, totally missed the point. She came flying in the house one day, a huffing mess of sweaty curls, clearly upset and agitated. So I asked her what happened, and she said, Oh, I'm just doing unto Sarah Banks what she done unto me. Okay, back to the drawing board. But listen, it's hard to live out the de-verse. At any age, the de-verse is still challenging for me.

I have to stop and ask myself, Would I like to be treated this way or spoken to this way? Ugh. I need to do it, though, because my behavior is a reflection of my belief in Jesus. Now I hope that you keep tuning in because the following chapters, the Apostle Paul will add to this practical list of behaviors. He will challenge us in chapter 13 to love one another, chapter 14 not to judge one another, chapter 15 to accept one another, and also in chapter 15 to admonish, or urge, advise, and warn one another. And this is so important because our relationships with others should reflect our relationship with Jesus.

And who knows? Perhaps if we do this well, then unlike the pastor in our joke, everyone will want to be a part of a church body. Thank you for listening. I'm Margie, and this is Share the Word. Margie, wise words to live by. People will see the difference or feel the difference only if there is a difference.

So, do you think people see the difference in you? The more you study the Word of God, the more impact it will have on your life and you on the life of others. How we live out our faith with one another is so important. Are you a beacon of light attracting others to the kingdom of God, or are you just a candle that's brought out on a Sunday and then it just goes back in the drawer? There's so much richness in the book of Romans. I suggest you revisit all the episodes.

From all of us at Share the Word, our blessings and prayers go out to all of you.