26-0913sc - Detailed Summary

Steve begins the class by leading the group in prayer to the Heavenly Father. He thanks God for the day and for the opportunity to gather with brothers and sisters to study Scripture. He expresses gratitude that God has provided His Word, made them His children, and extended reconciliation and the forgiveness of sins through Jesus. He notes that Jesus willingly endured everything required to make that possible. Steve then asks God to bless the study by giving wisdom, understanding, insight, and patience, and to help the class appreciate Paul’s writings as given under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The prayer closes in the name of Jesus Christ.

After the amen, Steve says he wants to ramble a little before moving into chapters 13 and 14, though they have already looked at chapter 13 some. The purpose is to prepare minds for what Paul, through the Holy Spirit, wants Christians to understand about how God’s children should conduct themselves. The central realization Paul wants is that believers are not the judge. Judging exists either to declare that something is as it should be or to condemn it; most of the time people judge in order to condemn because they do not believe the person or thing they are judging is entirely right. Sin, Steve says, is defying God: going against His statements, thumbing one’s nose at Him, and arguing that one does not agree with what God wants. He recalls that people grow up in an education system that is basically Greek in approach, training them to defend themselves, run the other person down, and stand up for themselves. That habit feeds the practice of judging one another. He then turns the class to Romans 2, reading that the person who passes judgment has no excuse, because in the same manner one judges another one condemns oneself, since the one who judges practices the same things.

Reflecting on that passage together with the idea of defying God, Steve points out that when Christians look at someone and conclude the person is going against God’s will and commands, they themselves are doing the same thing. They still have sins. Even after confessing and becoming Christians they sometimes hold on to secret sins, telling themselves God will forgive or will give them time. Every time they participate in that secret sin they are defying God. Paul is not saying they commit the identical sins, but that they share the same attitude of defiance. Therefore one must not judge another person on the basis that the other is defying God, because the judge is also defying God in his or her own way. Condemning the other person is condemning oneself: both the judged and the judge are in the wrong of defiance.

Steve illustrates the point with a recent drive on Route 6 between Avon Lake and Lorraine, a stretch posted at thirty-five miles an hour the entire way. While he kept to the limit, cars that had been speeding came up on his tail. They would not pass because of the yellow line, although a few did pass him. He asks what the real difference is between passing on a yellow line and speeding; both are wrong. The drivers refuse the one offense that might carry a heavier fine yet have already committed the other. He then turns the question on the class: they are present that morning because they want to learn more about being a Christian, yet the person each is most concerned about is himself or herself. Steve admits the same about himself; everything he does, whether coming to this class or going to Tully Road, is filtered through Steve Cain’s desire to go to heaven and please God. He is not there to be condemned or judged, and neither is anyone else in the room.

Steve asks the class what happens when a person becomes a Christian and invites them to share. Answers include becoming a child of God, having sins forgiven, receiving the Holy Spirit who helps transform the believer into God’s image, being washed by the blood of Christ, and being removed from the law so that there is no condemnation. He cites Romans 8: there is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ; the Christian will not be judged in that condemning sense. As a Christian one wants to grow and to be among people who edify, encourage, and lift one up rather than judge. Paul is going to point this out in the chapters ahead.

He compares the assembly to school. Students went because they had to, but teachers were not supposed to discriminate; they were supposed to teach, educate, admonish, lift students up, and make education exciting. Paul wants the same thing inside the brotherhood. Believers should come with the anticipation of being edified, lifted up, and excited, not judged or discriminated against. One of the problems in Rome was discrimination: Gentile versus Jew, uneducated and uncouth versus the opposite. Yet both are children of God and both are Christians; that is what Paul wants the church to appreciate. They gather to be educated in what God wants so they can align themselves with Him. When they became Christians God assured them of heaven; that promise is why people become Christians, as Paul notes in Colossians when he speaks of hope. Neither Islam, Hinduism, nor idol worship offers even a glimmer of a way to heaven. Jesus does. Those in Christ stand on the same plane with the same interests: to be edified and to know how to conduct themselves in God’s presence so as to be pleasant and pleasing to Him.

What pleases God is to believe that He is and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. In the Psalms Steve sees writers whose desire is to please God; that desire puts them in a comfortable zone of trusting that God looks after them. Paul wants the same for the Roman Christians and for the class. Turning to chapter 12, Steve emphasizes that Paul is not running the readers down or condemning them; he wants to encourage them and give insight into how to conduct themselves so as to please God. This is how a Christian walks and how others will recognize a disciple of Jesus: by love. He picks up at verse 9. The love in view is agape, the word that describes God Himself; God is love. God does not discriminate by ethnicity, whether African, Russian, or any other; His only distinction is whether a person is His child. He wants love and obedience, not defiance. Verse 9 therefore says love must be free of hypocrisy. Those present are students of God’s will who want to know how God wants each of them to operate. They are not there for Steve Cain to run them down. As teacher he is supposed to educate, lift up, edify, and help them be excited that they are Christians.

There is no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus because Jesus is at the right hand of God interceding and His blood continues to cleanse. Steve alludes to Romans 8: nothing will separate the believer from God. God is the one who established salvation and went through everything to save; He will never condemn. Jesus came to die on the cross for the purpose of saving, so He will not condemn. The Holy Spirit has no intention to condemn either. Believers are not supposed to condemn themselves; self-condemnation is one of the biggest problems Christians have, yet they are not allowed to do it because they have everything going for them.

Love must therefore be free of hypocrisy. Christians are to detest what is evil and cling to what is good, remaining careful about whom they run with and side with so they do not embrace hypocrisy or back evil. Steve recalls the country-western movies of his youth: the hero wore the white hat and rode the white horse, and everything was good. In the same way believers cling to what is good. They are to be devoted to one another in brotherly love, give preference to one another in honor, not lag behind in diligence, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord, rejoice in hope (the assurance of heaven through Jesus, the only hope of getting there), persevere in tribulation, be devoted to prayer, contribute to the needs of the saints, and practice hospitality. One could stop there and feel like the young man who told Jesus he had kept the commandments from his youth. Jesus did not rebuke him but said he lacked one thing: sell everything and follow. The young man could not bring himself to do it. Christians must bring themselves to the full devotion Paul describes; they must have the right mentality, perspective, and outlook.

Steve therefore goes back to Romans 12:1-2. By the mercies of God, believers are urged to present their bodies as a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God, which is their spiritual service of worship. They must not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of the mind so they may prove what the will of God is—that which is good, acceptable, and perfect. That is Paul’s goal for every Christian: a living sacrifice with no other main interest than focus on God. Paul practiced what he preached. Steve points to 2 Corinthians 1, where Paul and his companions found themselves in a situation beyond their control, thought they were going to die from persecution or from running out of money and food, and then God came to the rescue. The lesson is to learn to trust God. Steve admits that trust is a real challenge for him as well. He has had many opportunities to pause before an encounter, ask God for help, and then come through. He loves the way Paul finishes the Philippian letter but will save that for another time. He then begins to close chapter 12 with the command to bless those who…​ as the excerpt ends.

Steve continues from the close of chapter 12 by insisting that the class must have the right perspective. They came to hear how a Christian ought to live and behave, not to argue with Paul. Arguing with Paul is arguing with God. God does not want believers to justify holding on to sins or to rationalize why they do so, because that is intending to defy Him. Rationalizing and justifying lead to defiance in one way or another. God has a specific reason for approaching problems this way: so that they can understand His wisdom. That is why the class began by asking God for wisdom, understanding, and insight. He then reads the remaining commands: bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse; rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. They discussed this the previous week. It is difficult because they were raised with a Greek cultural mentality that resists what God asks. The temptation is to justify, rationalize, and defy God on this point. Believers are to be of the same mind toward one another, not haughty in mind but associating with the lowly. Paul is saying not to rationalize, justify, or argue, and not to be wise in one’s own estimation. That phrase means do not deny or defy God.

Steve continues through the end of chapter 12. Never repay evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all people. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people. Never take your own revenge, but leave room for the wrath of God, because it is written that vengeance belongs to the Lord and He will repay. If an enemy is hungry, feed him; if thirsty, give him a drink. In doing so you heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Paul is admonishing the Romans and giving them the mind of God. This is how God wants them to conduct their lives, period. He asks them not to argue but to let it be. The same admonition continues into chapter 13.

They entered chapter 13 the previous week. Chapters 13 and 14 will be more of the same and will rub people the wrong way. Readers will think Paul is bringing up judging again and telling them not to condemn a person. Condemnation is God’s role, not theirs. Believers will not be condemned by Jesus or by God; they are the Supreme Court. Bring issues before God and let God deal with them. What prompted this line of thought is that Christians sometimes make rules about Christian life that are not part of God’s word and have no right to make those rules; they are out of bounds. A couple of Steve’s very good friends no longer attend church and are not even trying to be Christians because they were judged and condemned by elders. The class therefore needs to remember that each person present is the one who needs education and God’s input on how to deal with problems. God is not here to condemn them. That is what James talks about, and Steve loves James. He turns there before going further.

Steve reads James 1:2-8 from the New American Standard Version. Consider it all joy when encountering various trials, knowing that the testing of faith produces endurance, and let endurance have its perfect result so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. The same idea appears in Romans 5: trials mature believers and make them better. He especially likes verse 5: if anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given. The asker must ask in faith without doubting, for the doubter is like the surf driven and tossed by the wind and should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, being double-minded and unstable. Steve notes that he started the class by asking God for wisdom, so God will fulfill that promise somehow—through another person, especially through Scripture. God will give wisdom and insight on how to deal with problems. The difficulty is that when He gives it, they may not recognize it as the answer to their request, so they think it was not fulfilled and ask again. They received it but did not follow up, exercise it, or do what He asked. James says God will not reproach them for that. He gives generously without reproach. He will not slap them on the wrist or say He already gave it and ask what they did with it. He will give it again in the same way, in love, in fulfillment of the request, and say, here it is, please follow it this time.

With a few moments left, Steve returns to Romans and picks up at 13:1 after pausing to find his place. They will wrestle with God and argue, but God knows what He is asking and what the results will be. They must trust Him. Arguing will not work; He says do it. This is God, through the Holy Spirit, in the person of Paul, telling each individual how to conduct himself. Every person is to be subject to the governing authorities, because there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. They are not to argue with God or ask why a particular government is in a particular country. It is there because that is what God wants those people to experience. There are Christians in those lands, and they are expected to do what God asks. Verse 2: whoever resists or defies authority has opposed the ordinance of God, and those who have opposed or defied will receive condemnation upon themselves. That is known to be true. They are not supposed to argue or rationalize with God but to do exactly what He asks.

Verse 3: rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior. They do not fear people who line up with them in obedience. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Of course; no one wants the officer on the front porch. Do what is good and you will have praise from the same, for the ruler is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid, for authority does not bear the sword for nothing. It is a servant of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Believers do not want to be reckoned as those who practice evil in any way. After a brief pause when a thought escaped him, Steve continues at verse 5. It is necessary to be in subjection not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. Because of this they also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Pay to all what is due: tax to whom tax is due, custom to whom custom, respect to whom respect, honor to whom honor. He asks if there are questions or observations. This is Paul giving them time to look solemnly at the text, consider it, and bring themselves into obedience whether they understand it or not. This is God saying do it this way. Paul is not writing on his own; the Holy Spirit is providing the information from God.

The Holy Spirit searches the mind of God and then provides it. The Holy Spirit does not write anything on His own; He only gives what He has been told. That is what Jesus assures in John’s Gospel, chapter 16, where He outlines the job description of the Holy Spirit: He will not speak on His own but will share what He hears from God. Jesus is the same way. He is an ambassador from God and, as an ambassador, has no authority to write or extend anything other than what God has authorized. Jesus is limited in what He can do. God is the ultimate authority, period.

The word Steve had been searching for is “quiet.” Believers are asked to have a quiet mind and a quiet approach. In 1 Thessalonians Paul admonishes them to live quietly among the residents. The woman is advised to study quietly, and in Peter’s teaching on marriage the woman is to have a quiet mind. Quiet does not mean “shut up” or merely “not annoying.” It means be calm and allow nothing to upset you. The opposite is disquieting. In Philippians Paul has a quiet mind and does not get anxious about anything. Quietness means do not become anxious about the things going on around you. God is in complete control, and that is where they must have 100 percent confidence and faith in God. He wants them quiet: do not become excited, upset, or anxious. They are to live among their people, their residents—Delaware residents in the illustration—quietly. They can be concerned about what is going on, including who will be the next governor of Ohio or individuals trying to usurp government, but they must not become upset or anxious, because God is in control. Believe that. That is what Paul wants them to understand. Do not take revenge, because vengeance is the Lord’s. Solomon’s writings tell us God will make sure the right government gets into place. That is where the Amish come in as examples of conscientious objectors. They may take it to extremes, but they illustrate conscientious objection. God is in control. Steve’s time is up.

He finishes quickly with verse 8. Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another, for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. The commandments—you shall not commit adultery, murder, steal, or covet, and any other commandment—are summed up in “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. He closes on that point. Love is agape. It describes God’s love: His concern, His overlooking, His providing, His providential intervention. Steve loves the phrase divine intervention, providential preservation. He thanks the class for their attention.

He also previewed Romans 13–14 as continuing the same themes (judging, not condemning, leaving judgment to God) and said they would pick that up later. He mentioned Psalms in general and “Solomon” on God placing rulers, without naming a specific verse.