Living in Peace

Romans 12:18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

18 εἰ δυνατὸν τὸ ἐξ ὑμῶν, μετὰ πάντων ἀνθρώπων εἰρηνεύοντες·

We've turned the corner from theology to praxis. This happens in all of Paul's letters. At some point he stops describing who God is and then explains what we should do with this knowledge. Not coincidentally, that's also how a good sermon should go. It's important to get this straight lest we slip into legalism. If one were to preach anything in Romans 12-16 without first addressing the material in Romans 1-11 then he may as well be a self-help guru rather than a preacher. The glib seminary explanation for this is that you must preach the indicatives before the imperatives.


This verse is one that has intrigued me for a while and now that I look at it in Greek it intrigues me a bit more. There are no verbs in this verse. The first phrase εἰ δυνατὸν τὸ ἐξ ὑμῶν could be very woodenly translated something like, "If power from you," which should be smoothed out to, "If there is power from you." The ESV translation above captures this well, but it is still interesting to see what they had to work with. The second half has the participle εἰρηνεύοντες.This is a present active nominative participle. Basically, it means "living in a state of peace." According to Wallace, this imperatival use of the participle is quite rare and most of the occurrences are in Romans 12 and 1 Peter. It is important that the participle have no connection to a finite verb, which is the case here.


This explains how we get our English translation. But what to do with it? I have found that this verse can be quite burdensome or liberating depending on how we look at it. It is burdensome in that we are expected to do what we can to make peace. We are to do everything in our power to live in peace with everyone.


However, it is liberating in that once we do what we can then the rest is between that person and the Lord. This means that we cannot force someone to forgive us and live peaceably us. We cannot force the contentious person to treat us well no matter how nice we are. This is vitally important as we can get caught up in our own efforts. We need to do our part and then trust God in His sovereignty. 

Saving All Israel

Romans 11:26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, "The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob";

26 καὶ οὕτως πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ σωθήσεται, καθὼς γέγραπται· ἥξει ἐκ Σιὼν ὁ ῥυόμενος, ἀποστρέψει ἀσεβείας ἀπὸ Ἰακώβ.

I have found that this is one of the favorite proof-texts for Dispensationalists. One cannot escape the construction in Greek. It clearly reads that  πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ σωθήσεται. The verb is a future passive indicative. The phrase means all Israel. There is no other exegesis than to read this to mean that everyone who is part of Israel will be saved. This is further emphasized by the construction at the end where Ἰακώβ is used as a metaphor for Israel. Does this mean that everyone who has a genetic tie to Jacob and is circumcised will be saved?


This is why one must study hermeneutics and not stop with exegesis. Exegesis is vitally important to understand what a text reads, but it doesn't tell anyone what it means. There is a distinction.


Here we need to look back at the rest of Paul's argument. He established earlier that not all Israel is true Israel. In fact, earlier in this chapter he establishes that there is a remnant of ethnic Israel, but the existence of this point demonstrates that there is a distinction between natural ethnic Israel and spiritual Israel.


So who is Israel? In the greater context of Pauline theology, it is clear that believing Gentiles can be thought of as Israel to some degree. We can create a false distinction if we want, but the language in this chapter, Galatians 3, and Ephesians 2 is pretty stark. Christ created "one new man in place of the two," as we see in Ephesians 2:15. Galatians 3:7 tells us that "it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham," and this theme is repeated throughout the chapter. Therefore, we cannot take this verse in isolation, but as we read it in context with the rest of Paul we see that the term "Israel" goes beyond simply those with a genetic tie to Jacob.


But what does this mean for us? It means that God has expanded His salvation program. In the Old Testament it focused primarily on the Jews, though there were some believing Gentiles (i.e. Melchizedek). Now the focus is primarily on Gentiles since God hardened the hearts of the Jews. 


I do need to point out that there will clearly be an influx of believing Jews just before Christ returns. To deny that would be to deny the clear language of this chapter. God is not done with ethnic Israel.


All of this fits into the grand narrative of God saving a people to Himself. And just as the Jews were found like an abandoned baby in its blood, so also we are completely dependent on His grace for our salvation. Let us give thanks to Him as we consider that this Lord's Day.

End of the Law

Romans 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

4 τέλος γὰρ νόμου Χριστὸς εἰς δικαιοσύνην παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι.

Paul is continuing his address to the Jews as he explains the importance of Christ. A quick look at commentaries shows that translating and understanding this verse has had some debate over the years. The word  τέλος has a sense of "end" but it can also have a sense of "fulfillment." Apparently few see it that way today, though Barth did. If we see it as "end," what does that mean? It means that this speaks to Matthew 5:18 where Jesus says, For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 


So if Christ is the end of the Law then it would seem that there is some tension with Matthew 5:18. Heaven and earth have not passed away, so clearly something has happened apart from that. I think that we get our answer from the phrase εἰς δικαιοσύνην. I'm not sure why that is translated "for righteousness" rather than "into righteousness," and I don't have time to mine the whole entry in BDAG right now.


The point is that in Christ's active obedience He fulfilled the requirements of the Law. As you read through the Pentateuch you see a lot of rules that people had to follow to atone for sin. Yet we know that the Law was unable to truly save. In contrast, Jesus is able to truly save. He lived a perfect life of obedience to fulfill the Law. so as we read the Pentateuch we see all of the requirements of the Law fulfilled in Christ. 


This seems so simple, doesn't it? Fundamentally, it really is. Believe in Him and His righteousness will be credited to you by God. However, believing in Him will also change your life forever. This is not a matter of punching a ticket to heaven, but giving your life to Him. I am here to tell you that I would not have it any other way.

The True Offspring

Romans 9:8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.

8 τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν, οὐ τὰ τέκνα τῆς σαρκὸς ταῦτα τέκνα τοῦ θεοῦ ἀλλὰ τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐπαγγελίας λογίζεται εἰς σπέρμα.

Romans 9-11 gives us a lot of insight as to the current nature of "Israel" and how that term relates to God's covenant people today. Does it refer to people who have a genetic tie to Abraham or to those who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ?


This verse implies the latter. Who are τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐπαγγελίας? Paul uses this chapter to show that although Ishmael was a child of Abraham, he was not part of the promise. The promise was through Isaac. In other words, having a genetic tie to Abraham was not enough.


What about Isaac? Could having a genetic tie to him be enough? Paul goes on to explain that before either one did anything outside the womb he loved Jacob, but hated Esau. To us this may seem arbitrary, but it's part of God's plan for saving His people.


So maybe it's about having a genetic tie to Jacob. In one sense that is true as the twelve tribes come from him, though two are indirect as they come from his beloved son Joseph. But we know from passages such as Numbers 24 that the ruler was to come from Judah. We see that later in 2 Samuel 7 as God makes His covenant with David. 


So does this mean that you need a tie to Judah? To David? To Solomon? To...Josiah? Who are the σπέρμα of Abraham?


The good news is that we have Christ, so we can see how this all works out. True Israel today is not associated simply with being able to trace genes to any of these men. It comes from being a new creation in Christ. To be sure, God is not done with those who have a genetic tie to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But as things stand right now we who are in Christ are part of Israel. Let's enjoy the blessings that come from being added to God's covenant people. We are just as deserving as Jacob was--meaning that we don't deserve it one bit. But we can still rejoice in being chosen by grace.

On Our Side

Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

31 Τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν πρὸς ταῦτα; εἰ ὁ θεὸς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, τίς καθ᾽ ἡμῶν;

This is one of those very simple verses that packs a great punch. This comes after Paul describes what theologians call the ordo salutis, which refers to the order of events by which man is saved. I've heard the previous verses described as a "golden chain" as God links things together for our salvation and His glory. Paul then writes this verse immediately afterward.


The key phrase does not even have a verb in it. εἰ ὁ θεὸς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, τίς καθ᾽ ἡμῶν; This is a first-class condition. As we read this, we should assume that God is indeed for us. We have to supply the verbs as it literally reads, "If God for us, who against us?" Really that says it all, doesn't it?


If we really believe this and really submit to His will then there is no room for anxiety. The command of Philippians 4:16 is hardly burdensome if we truly believe this verse. How can we be anxious? God is for us. That means that no matter what happens it is ultimately for our good and for His glory.


Now I would probably not lead with that to someone in Joplin, MO whose neighborhood was just devastated by a tornado. But I would try to get there. Most people know Romans 8:28 about how God works all things together for the good of those who love Him. This verse is a corollary to that. If we are children of God then God is for us. Therefore, no matter what happens is ultimately part of His will for our lives.


What we then have to decide is whether or not God is worthy of our trust. How we react to trials will give us the answer to that pretty quickly. Do we trust Him or don't we? He is for us. What can possibly stand against Him? Satan can resist Him, but we know how it will all work out in the end.