Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness--not only without grudging either trouble or pecuniary relief, but feeling it to be "more blessed to give than to receive," and to help than be helped. (2) As redemption under the Gospel is not by irrational victims, as under the law, but "by the precious blood of Christ" ( 1 Peter 1:18 1 Peter 1:19 ), and, consequently, is not ritual but real, so the sacrifices which believers are now called to offer are all "living sacrifices"; and these--summed up in self-consecration to the service of God--are "holy and acceptable to God," making up together "our rational service" ( Romans 12:1 ). The last verse suggests what is not easily understood by the world; that in all strife and contention, those that revenge are conquered, and those that forgive are conquerors. Read Introduction to Romans 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.. Do not be wise in your own estimation. 13. given to hospitality--that is, the entertainment of strangers. All our duty towards one another is summed up in one word, love. our ministering--The word here used imports any kind of service, from the dispensing of the word of life ( Acts 6:4 ) to the administering of the temporal affairs of the Church ( Acts 6:1-3 ). which is your reasonable--rather, "rational" service--in contrast, not to the senselessness of idol-worship, but to the offering of irrational victims under the law. Romans 12:9-13. Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a … Note, (1) The redeeming mercy of God in Christ is, in the souls of believers, the living spring of all holy obedience ( Romans 12:1 ). This is next taken up in detail. If you have not experienced God’s mercies in Christ, as Paul spelled out in chapters 1-11, you cannot begin to apply Romans 12:9-21. This is a powerful appeal. Would that Christians were guiltless in this respect! Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. God's children may be asked whether it is not more sweet unto them than all earthly good, that God so enables them by his Spirit, thus to feel and act. 18. that ye may prove--that is, experimentally. with them that weep--What a beautiful spirit of sympathy with the joys and sorrows of others is here inculcated! See 1 Timothy 3:4 1 Timothy 3:5 , where the same word is applied to both. He entreated the Romans, as his brethren in Christ, by the mercies of God, to present their bodies as a living sacrifice to Him. Romans 12:11 (RHE) Confidence in the future, 12:12a. Or ministry, let us wait on--"be occupied with." The idea is, Give all diligence. This is a hard lesson to corrupt nature, therefore a remedy against it is added. (Hebrews 6:11-12) Spiritual laziness is as repugnant to God as on the job laziness is to us! As it is through the body that all the evil that is in the unrenewed heart comes forth into palpable manifestation and action, so it is through the body that all the gracious principles and affections of believers reveal themselves in the outward life. by the renewing of your mind--not by a mere outward disconformity to the ungodly world, many of whose actions in themselves may be virtuous and praiseworthy; but by such an inward spiritual transformation as makes the whole life new--new in its motives and ends, even where the actions differ in nothing from those of the world--new, considered as a whole, and in such a sense as to be wholly unattainable save through the constraining power of the love of Christ. We'll send you an email with steps on how to reset your password. Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. Romans 12:11c: “serving the Lord.” These three simple words are packed with some important practical truths. Just as the main body of Romans is lengthy and weighty, so his final remarks are by contrast are succinct yet compelling. The work of the Holy Ghost first begins in the understanding, and is carried on to the will, affections, and conversation, till there is a change of the whole man into the likeness of God, in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness. Romans 12:11 (SBLG) Paul's list of commands describes a lifestyle of setting ourselves aside. Don't be lazy when hard work is needed, but serve the Lord with spiritual fervor. a living sacrifice--in glorious contrast to the legal sacrifices, which, save as they were slain, were no sacrifices at all. Romans 12:11 (ESV) Romans 12:11 (CJB) That begins with using our spiritual gifts to serve each other in the church. Romans 12:11 (HNV) 17. Serve the Lord. Rejoice with them that rejoice; and weep--the "and" should probably be omitted. Article Images Copyright © 2020 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. With avodas kodesh serve Hashem. In carefulness not slothful. not slothful in business; fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; Romans 12:11 (TMBA) Serve the Lord with a heart full of devotion. Verses 3-8 Pride is a sin in us by nature; we need to be cautioned and armed against it. on this passage, which shows that the reading, is quite unsupported and unworthy of the apostle, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers. Be zealous without negligence; with bren (fervor, hitlahavut) be burning with the Ruach Hakodesh. Romans 12:11 (GNTA) Keep it alive. If we duly thought about the powers we have, and how far we fail properly to improve them, it would humble us. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. At the heart of everything are the mercies of God. In a few short, crisp verses Paul sums up all that is necessary to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord and in verse 12 we are encouraged to Rejoice in … Be thoroughly warm-hearted, the Lord's own servants. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Romans 12 Avoid the pride of this world, bodies as a living sacrifice 1 Not conformed but transformed 2 Variety of gifts for ministry 4 Meaning of love 9 Live in peace; don't return evil 16. What a world will ours be when this shall become its reigning spirit! But as simplicity seems enjoined in the next clause but one of this same verse, perhaps the meaning here is, "with liberality," as the same word is rendered in 2 Corinthians 8:2 , 9:11 . This is merely a strong way of characterizing all undue self-elevation. whether--we have the gift of prophecy--that is, of inspired teaching (as in Acts 15:32 ). 6-8. Let not yt busynes which ye have in honde be tedious to you. He is honoured by our hope and trust in him, especially when we rejoice in that hope. Thus, to be godly, is to give up ourselves to God. Each of these exercises helps the other. God's will is "good," as it demands only what is essentially and unchangeably good ( Romans 7:10 ); it is "well pleasing," in contrast with all that is arbitrary, as demanding only what God has eternal complacency in (compare Micah 6:8 , with Jeremiah 9:24 ); and it is "perfect," as it required nothing else than the perfection of God's reasonable creature, who, in proportion as he attains to it, reflects God's own perfection. as to diligent zealousness, not slothful; in spirit fervent; serving the Lord. Be fervet in ye sprete. τῇ σπουδῇ μὴ ὀκνηροί, τῷ πνεύματι ζέοντες, τῷ κυρίῳ δουλεύοντες. Meaning not worldly business, or the affairs of life; though slothfulness in this respect is scandalous to human nature, and especially in persons under a profession of religion; men should diligently pursue their lawful callings for the support of themselves and families, and the interest of Christ: but spiritual business, the affairs of piety and religion, the service of God, private and public, to … 3. But as we must not be proud of our talents, so we must take heed lest, under a pretence of humility and self-denial, we are slothful in laying out ourselves for the good of others. (1,2) To be humble, and faithfully to use their spiritual gifts, in their respective stations. Verses 1-2 The apostle having closed the part of his epistle wherein he argues and proves various doctrines which are practically applied, here urges important duties from gospel principles. Romans 12:11 Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. (6) Self-sufficiency and lust of power are peculiarly unlovely in the vessels of mercy, whose respective graces and gifts are all a divine trust for the benefit of the common body and of mankind at large ( Romans 12:3 Romans 12:4 ). Recompense to no man evil for evil. Keep it alive. Romans 12:11 in diligence not slothful; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; "diligence"-"not lagging behind in diligence" (NASV). Paul's list of commands describes a lifestyle of setting ourselves aside. not lagging in diligence; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; not slothful in earnest care, but fervent in the Spirit, serving the Lord. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head--As the heaping of "coals of fire" is in the Old Testament the figurative expression of divine vengeance ( Psalms 140:10 , 11:6 , &c.), the true sense of these words seems to be, "That will be the most effectual vengeance--a vengeance under which he will be fain to bend" (So ALFORD, HODGE, &c.). 16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Personal Duties (Romans 12:11-12) As all the duties inculcated in this chapter, from Romans 12:3 to the end, are relative, one can hardly suppose that the six personal duties (as they are usually termed) were intended as a formal statement of all belonging to that class. He entreated the Romans, as his brethren in Christ, by the mercies of God, to present their bodies as a … Never let the fire in your heart go out. He who neglects to labor during the week is as culpable as he is who works on the Sabbath. Ro 12:11 Not slothful in business. Outwardly the man had all the trappings that would make for a great follower. In times of persecution, and before the general institution of houses of entertainment, the importance of this precept would be at once felt. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Clarke's Romans 12:11 Bible Commentary Not slothful in business - That God, who forbade working on the seventh day, has, by the same authority, enjoined it on the other six days. In this verse, in particular, we are looking at the Christian in the world and before the world. Paul believed that Christian doctrine was meant to influence Christian practice; and therefore, after the fundamental and profound exhibition of the central truths of Christianity which occupies the earlier portion of this great Epistle, he tacks on, with a ‘therefore’ to his theological exposition, a series of plain, practical teachings. But as manuscript authority is decidedly against it, so is internal evidence; and comparatively few favor it. But it is only one charming phase of the unselfish character which belongs to all living Christianity. Having then gifts differing according to the grace given to us--Here, let it be observed, all the gifts of believers alike are viewed as communications of mere grace. with diligence--with earnest purpose. Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord. Whatever our gifts or situations may be, let us try to employ ourselves humbly, diligently, cheerfully, and in simplicity; not seeking our own credit or profit, but the good of many, for this world and that which is to come. Fervent in spirit. Nothing is below us, but sin. Be thoroughly warm-hearted, the Lord's own servants. not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord ; Romans 12:11 (NCV) Romans 12:1-21 To the Romans 12 Therefore, I appeal to you by the compassions of God, brothers, to present your bodies + as a living sacrifice, holy + and acceptable to God, + a sacred service with your power of reason. in the diligence not slothful; in the spirit fervent; the Lord serving; Believers are to dedicate themselves to God. Change them, it would have been very ready to be done with our might, but keep your fervor! Us the marks of a fresh baptism of the inner Life for him do all the good we can one! 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