A Living Faith Chapter Eight
Romans 12:9-21
In John 3:36 we read these words:
John 3:36, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."
This text is one of many in Scripture, which describes the nature of a saving faith as that of a life-changing, transforming faith. In fact, the very text we are looking at this morning declares the same message: salvation produces a living faith! This morning, let us continue in our examination of this text in which Paul describes the living faith as a faith that will strive for unity amongst the body of Christ.
1A Living Faith Labors for the Unity of the Body of Christ.
A Living Faith Is Called to Unity.
Romans 12:16, "Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits."
The sentence – Be of the same mind one toward another
2 – translates literally to this: thinking the same thing to one another or having the same thoughts one to another.Hodge wrote this:
"[This] phrase expresses the general idea of concord [or] unanimity."
Indeed! The focus of this command is unity! Still a lot of misunderstanding revolves around this command in our day. The questions are constantly asked: what does unity look like in the body of Christ? How is unity maintained? To answer these questions we must focus on the elements of the biblical call for unity.
First unity is not something that we create, it has been established by Christ’s work on the cross.
Ephesians 2:11-16, "Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby."
The unity of the body of Christ is not something that man creates so that we can live at peace one with another. Man cannot of his own volition derive unity. Man cannot get unity out his own willingness to forgive and forget.
4 Rather Christ establishes unity because of His death on the cross. It is only in Christ’s blood that we can be one. The following account beautifully illustrates this:"A missionary who was officiating at a communion service in the church was deeply moved when he looked around him. He saw the chief of the Ngoni, along with many other members of that tribe. He also saw the chief of the Senga and Tumbuka tribes –singing, praying, and participating in the Lord's Supper together. In former years each of these tribes loved to brag about how many men, women, and children of the other tribes they had killed, raped, or maimed. The old chief could remember the days when the young Ngoni warriors had gone out to attack their enemies. They had left behind a trail of burned and devastated villages and had come home with their spears bloodied with the death of Senga and Tumbuka people. But as they once were divided by the spilling of each other's blood, they are now united by the blood of their common Savior, Jesus Christ."
It is the death of Christ that established the unity of the body. And thus, our call in Scripture is not to establish the unity, but to maintain it!
Maintaining the unity of the body is an exercise of the thought processes.
Romans 12:16, "Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits."
Once again notice Paul’s exhortation. The call of unity does not mean that we must copy one another. Neither does it mean that we loose our individuality and become absorbed into the body. This does not mean that we cease to be Berean believers and simply tow the company line. Rather the call of unity means that we labor together and strive to think the same things.
What are we to think the same things about? The answer to this is that we are to think the same way about God. We are to think the same way about man. We are to think the same things about salvation. We are to think the same about our purpose in life. We are to think the same way about God’s kingdom!
This is how unity is maintained. When in our ministry with one another we are quick to affirm that fact that while so and so is a sinner, so am I! While ministering to so and so it becomes obvious that he is arrogant and full of pride, it also quickly comes to mind that so am I, except for the grace of God. When in ministry to so and so it becomes clear that he is a most holy saint, priceless and precious before God, I can quickly affirm that so am I by the grace of Christ! All believers are fellow heirs, saints, and sinners who will spend the rest of eternity in fellowship with God and one another. Dr. John MacArthur wrote this:
"It is not that believers are to be carbon copies of each other. God has made us individual and unique . . . . The apostles themselves were different from one another in personality, temperament, ability, and gifts; but they were of one mind in doctrine and church polity. When differences of understanding and interpretation arose, the first order of business was to reconcile those differences. Ego had not place, only the will of God."
And so unity of the body is maintained as we endeavor to think the same! Henceforth know that barring the case of false doctrine, if you should find yourself at odds with another brother or sister, the unity of the body is compromised. It is not because so and so did this or that. It is because in your or the body's arrogance, the conclusion has somehow been derived that you are better than they are and that your sin is less of a sin than theirs and therefore you are more acceptable to God than they are. Notice Paul's words to the Corinthian believers:
1 Corinthians 1:10, "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment."
Again, let us all see that unbiblical disunity and division in the body of Christ is the direct result not of the sin of other people (though this certainly is involved) but of a poor theology on the part of the body! This poor theology results in the lack of thinking the same thing about God and ourselves. I know that this is rather ambiguous. How are we to maintain the unity of the body? Paul answers this question with three specific commands: humility, ministry, and veracity.
Our Call to Unity Has Consequences.
Romans 12:16, "Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits."
Just as we saw that Paul links the practice of unity to what we do with our minds, here we see that with each of these exhortations Paul address an element of our thought life.
Unity Requires Us to be Humble.
The phrase mind not high things
7is quite expressive and speaks to us of humility. The word high is used in Scripture to refer to things that are physically high – like high mountains.8 Furthermore, the word for mind refers not so much to our thought processes9 but to our outlook, our perception – the way we think. The idea here is that we must not be ones who believe that we are above other people.10 We must not be ones whose outlook on life postulates superiority on your part toward other people. And thus recognizing and confessing the spiritual bankruptcy that brought us to Christ11 we are to cultivate the outlook which says with Paul the following:1 Corinthians 15:9, "For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God."
Ephesians 3:8, "Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ."
1 Timothy 1:15, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief."
Indeed, there is nothing that will more quickly destroy the unity of the faith than an attitude of superiority: the attitude that views the members of the body of Christ not as equals, but as inferiors. Dr. John MacArthur put it this way:
"The point is that there is no aristocracy in the church, no place for an elite uppercrust."
As the living faith longs to preserve the unity of the body it quickly forsakes any thought of being superior to another and endeavors to cultivate a humble disposition. Now this brings us to Paul's next command that maintains the unity of the body—ministry.
Unity requires us to minister.
Romans 12:16, "Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits."
The phrase but condescend to men of low estate
13speaks of "ministry." To show you this, notice the terms Paul employs here, low estate. Low estate was used of ones that did menial work, and thus denotes that which is unimportant, insignificant, and even despised. As a descriptive term, it always is used in the New Testament in reference to people. And thus in a world that believed that hardship was the result of one's sin, this word was used to describe the wretch who suffered tragedy or misfortune.14 And thus, it was used as the opposite of the rich and powerful.15 As with many concepts in Christ's day, this word was set apart and ennobled in the New Testament such that Christ used this term of Himself.Matthew 11:29, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."
In fact all Christians are called upon to be lowly.
James 4:6, "But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."
The word condescend means to be led away or carried off. And yet to stop here is to fall short of understanding this word. Notice: to be led away or carried away by someone would imply a level of union or communion. The Scriptures use this term of Barnabas who was carried away by Peter’s sin implies that he willingly and whole-heartedly participated in it.
Galatians 2:13, "And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation."
To be carried away by the error of unprincipled men denotes an active participation and communion with them.
2 Peter 3:17, "Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness."
Now we understand the mark of the living faith as commanded here to be this: as people who have been saved by grace, we are to be ones who willingly and whole-heartedly in fellowship with the down and out. We are to willingly and whole-heartedly join ourselves with the despised and rejected. We are to willingly and whole-heartedly minister to all that are of low estate. This means nothing less that this: whatever and whoever you consider to be despicable, despised and lowly these are the very ones to whom you must seek to minister to.
16Luke 14:12-13, "Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind."
The unity of the body of Christ will be very difficult in a church, which refuses to minister to the lowly! We therefore must conclude that the living faith is a ministering faith. This brings us to our final point, to cultivate the unity of the body of Christ Paul states that we need veracity.
Unity requires us to tell the truth.
Romans 12:16, "Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits."
The sentence – be not wise in your own conceits
17 – addresses a hot button in our day. We live in an age of self-esteem where we are told that we cannot love until we love ourselves. We are taught that we will not be healthy unless we think good thoughts about ourselves. Yet sadly, all of this is at the expense of the living faith.Notice brothers and sisters, the trend in our day toward thinking "highly" of ourselves is in direct conflict with this text! To be wise in your own conceits or estimation essentially is to consider ourselves better than we are. It's to think that we inherently good when in fact the Scriptures describe as being evil.
18 It is to think that we have potential, when in Scripture the only potential we have as humans is the wrath of God.19 It is to think of ourselves as worthy, when in Scripture only Christ is worthy.20 And so, we must NOT think of ourselves as being anything other than we are. And yet, where does that leave us? How ought we to think about ourselves? We must think ACCURATELY about ourselves. We must think biblically!Romans 12:3, "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."
Accurate thinking about ourselves is crucial to the unity of the body. To falsely assess ourselves – who and what we are is to improperly diagnose the situation. Not only do we improperly assess how we ought to relate to the body of Christ, but also we improperly assess how the body of Christ should relate to us! And thus, James writes these words:
James 2:1-4, "My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?"
To think incorrectly about ourselves will always lead to division in the body! The living faith is a faith that accurately assesses the value of all men, including ourselves.
How important is this exhortation to unity? Brothers and sisters, I doubt that there are few things that are more dear to the heart of God. Not only is the exhortation to unity mentioned numerous times in Scripture,
21 unity is the mark of maturation on the part of the body of Christ.22 During the High Priestly prayer of Christ we read these words:John 17:20-21, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me."
Unity is so important in the Kingdom of God that it was on the heart of Christ during one of His last prayers on earth! When we ask, what's the big deal? Why is this command so important? Why is this call stressed throughout Scripture? It is because the church is not simply an organization, loose association of people, a corporation or a building, rather it is an organic union the living body of Christ on earth. It is such a body that when one member grieves all the body grieves. It is such a body that when one member is honored, all the members are honored.
23 And thus, unity is the BASIS for a credible witness in this world. Remember Christ prayed this:John 17:21, "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me."
Dr. Francis Schaeffer commented on this verse by writing:
"In John 13 the point was that, if an individual Christian does not show love toward other true Christians, the world has a right to judge that he is not a Christian. Here [in John 17:21] Jesus is stating something else which is much more cutting, much more profound: We cannot expect the world to believe that the Father sent the Son, that Jesus' claims are true, and that Christianity is true, unless the world sees some reality of the oneness of true Christians. Now that is frightening. Should we not feel some emotion at this point?"
Through the inspiration of Norman Rockwell, the story is told of a little farm girl, lost in the fields. As night fell, the community gathered and began to frantically search for her. But alas! She could not be found.
The next morning the entire town assembled and, joining their hands walked through the fields no further than a person a part. The last scene of the story is shockingly depicted as only Norman Rockwell could: a bereaved crowd hovers over the body of the newly discovered little girl, curled around her teddy bear for warmth. And the caption at the bottom reads thus: "If only we had joined hands earlier!"
Truly, as we "join our hands" on the Word of God- as we think the same- we thereby will witness to a living faith and a living Lord.
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1
Thus far in our series on a living faith we have found that a living faith has these attributes:1. A living faith is not spiritually lazy, verse 11a.
2. A living faith maintains its spiritual vigor, verse 11b.
3. A living faith serves the Lord on His terms, verse 11c.
4. A living faith maintains a joyful expectancy, verse 12a.
5. A living faith withstands the pressures of this age, verse 12b.
6. A living faith must lead a life of prayer, verse 12c.
7. A living faith loves the stranger, verse 13b.
8. A living faith must be a blessing, verse 14.
9. A living faith must be compassionate, verse 15.
2
to auto eis allalous phronountes3
Charles Hodge, Commentary on Romans, page 3984
When man tries to unite by programs, etc., not only does unity fail to materialize, but more division and strife result. An example of this is the American welfare system. The stated goals were eliminate poverty and unite the people so that crime would decrease. The result is more crime, more poverty, and more strife.5
Quoted in Dr. John MacArthur's Commentary on Ephesians, page 676
Dr. John MacArthur, (Commentary on 1 Corinthians, page 297
ma ta hupsala phronountes8
Matthew 4:89
which would be nomidzo or logidzomai10
i.e., better or more important11
Matthew 5:3, 412
Dr. John MacArthur, Commentary on Romans, Volume 2, page 19913
alla tois tapenois sunapagomenoi14
2 Corinthians 7:615
James 1:9-1016
This command fits in with the command to be hospitable. For it is said of Christ that he was despised and rejected of men (Isaiah 53) therefore by ministering to others we are ministering to Christ Himself.17
ma ginesthe phronimoi par' heautois18
Genesis 8:21; Jeremiah 17:9.19
Romans 2:5; 3:10-2020
Revelation 5:9, 1221
Compare Romans 15:5; 2 Corinthians 13:11; Philippians 2:2; 4:222
Ephesians 4:1323
Compare 1 Corinthians 12:2624
Dr. Francis Schaeffer, The Mark of the Christian, page 15