What is Appropriate
Romans 13
The structure of the book of Romans seems to be that half the book is made up of God’s salvation through the gospel of Christ, and the second half is made up of the implications of that salvation. Paul has already hinted at the importance of our godly living response to God’s grace, but what does that godly living response look like? He has told us that it is not easy in chapter seven, but that it is worth it in chapter eight. Even when the odds were stacked against the will of God from a human perspective, God made a way to bring about His justification to the world.
Now as recipients of God’s mercy the appropriate response is to present our bodies as living sacrifices (12:1). In other words, instead of the sacrifices in the Old Testament who died on behalf of the guilty, we can live because Christ lives. Christ lives because He was the perfect sacrifice.
This new life is the only appropriate life. Worldly living is inappropriate. This requires a transformation to happen in our minds and the way we think. When we live the appropriate life, we prove to the world that it is the only appropriate way to live.
It is inappropriate to think of myself more highly than I ought (12:3). Every member of the body contributes in their own way, and no contribution is more important than any other. It is inappropriate to contribute hypocritically (12:9). The appropriate response is to treat others with kindness distributing to those in need. It is inappropriate to respond curse for curse (12:14). It is appropriate to respond blessing for curse. Empathy is powerful and culture changing. Especially universal empathy. This means caring for people even if they hate you. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (13:21). This word “overcome” means to conquer. The reason it is appropriate is because God already conquered evil, why would His require that we allow evil to conquer us? But the goodness of God is powerful because it is capable of overwhelming and conquering evil. Jesus is evidence of this.
