Term Paper on "Romans 12:1-2 the Quotation Guiding"

Term Paper 5 pages (1454 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Romans 12:1-2

The quotation guiding this presentation is, "The Scriptures themselves attest to the importance of our minds in our spiritual formation in Christ." One of the most critical New Testament texts in this regard is also Paul's most important statement of Christian dedication in Romans 12: 21-22. This text serves as an important statement of the vitality of the New Testament. The Epistle to the Romans, often referred to only as Romans, was written by Paul, probably at Corinth, and then sent to Rome. It is only one of a series of letters written by Paul as he set out to explain the scriptures and to link different beliefs and different groups together into the developing church. Paul wrote the entire letter to gain support for his coming trip to Spain, a mission to carry the meaning of the church. Paul has never been to Rome, and he wants to explain the scriptures to the people at Rome so they will not be seduced by false teachers. The specific passage in question.

One theologian notes that this passage serves as a transition to the last major segment of the Epistle to the Romans. He notes that the doctrinal foundation for the Christian life is set forth in the first eleven chapters, and in the next five chapters, Paul disucsses some of the ways of the faith and doctrine that should be seen in the daily life of the Christian: "These transitional verses introduce us to the attitudes and actions which should set the Christian apart from the world n which he lives."

The Epistle to the Romans as a whole is seen to be an invitation to the Christian life. Romans 12: 1-2 is seen to be the reason for the exhortation and an explanation of the proper response to God's mercies. In the Epistle, Paul presents a "dissuasive" that argues against dependence on anything except God's grace and God's justice, as manifested in the cross of Jesus Christ. He argues specifically against dependence on the Law itself. He then presents an argument for what he has called "my gospel," and in so doing he defends it at length against two suggestions that have been raised. The first is that his gospel militated against the moral life; the second, that it implied God was no longer faithful to the promises.

The language used carries meaning, as one analyst notes with reference to this passage, stating that "the Greek root morph is joined with the prefix meta to form a verb (metamorphoomai) that means 'to be transformed or transfigured.' Only in two other places in the New Testament is this verb used and that is in Matthew's and Mark's accounts of the Transfiguration." close reading of the passage shows other linguistic issues. Paul writes, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the compassion of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice, living, holy, and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable worship" (Romans 12.1). Christopher Bryan writes of this passage, appeal to you (parakalo... humas) is the normal expression with which to introduce parainesis, and signals what is to come. Therefore (oun) links the parainesis to what has gone before. By the compassion of God (dia ton oiktirmon theou) indicates the grounds on which it is so linked. This is the only occasion in Romans where Paul uses the word oiktirmos.

What Paul is demanding is that worshippers present their bodies, their total persons, as a sacrifice. This means that the worshipper's body is no longer his or her own but now belongs to God. Such a sacrifice does not involve a death, given that this involves the offering of one who now walks in "newness of life" in union with Jesus Christ. This worship is also described as rational, meaning it is appropriate to a rational, reasonable being and that it is also the only form of worship that is rational as a response to God's compassion.

j. David Hoke links this passage to the idea of becoming a Christian and to the means by which this is achieved: "We cannot cultivate the Christian life before we consecrate the Christian body. This is called our spiritual act of worship. It is true worship. It is an act of worship. It is the most spiritual act we can do." Hoke follows Paul in that… READ MORE

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