A Friends (Quaker) Perspective on Romans and Galatians
Provided several years ago for Illuminate, an adult Sunday School curriculum published by Barclay
Press, a Friends publishing house
Lesson 9
Romans 12:1-8, 14, 17-21
In Romans 9-11, Paul revisits the comparison between Jews
and Gentiles in relation to the faith in God that sets people right with God,
each other, and themselves. Most notable is the cautionary example of the Jews,
the chosen people through whom came the law, the worship, the promises, and the
Messiah (Romans 9:4-5). The Jews, says Paul, look for righteousness based on
fulfilling the law and fail, and are thus outside the life of faith and caught
in a life of works. We in the church are often in the same place as these folks.
It is so human to prefer the known, the law, to the unknown, God’s grace and
God’s Spirit. Jesus told Nicodemus that the wind blows where it chooses and humans
do not understand where it comes from or where it goes, and that this is the
same with everyone who is born of the Spirit (John 3:8).
Romans 12 helps us recognize the Spirit’s work, but it is
not a new set of laws. Instead, because of what Jesus has already accomplished
through identifying with our humanity, our sin, and our death, and through
prefiguring the resurrection we all hope for, we are free to offer our whole
selves, body and soul, to the service of God. We don’t have to be pawns of the
forces that dominate our social world. As we obey God with our bodies, we
worship God in spirit and in truth. God renews our minds so we can see clearly
the good, acceptable, complete actions that are the will of God for us.
We use the gifts God gives us, as Jesus illustrated in the
parable of the stewards. We treasure and care for the gifts of others. We
aren’t tied up in the knots of competitiveness and self-sufficiency. We can lay
down our sword and shield and study war no more.
The most important practical faith lesson I’ve learned
recently is the importance of having a heart at peace toward those who I
believe need to change. This is a spiritual discipline for me and involves
praying blessing on them and for God to judge between us. And this prayer is
frequent, just as frequent as the thought of conflict arises.
Lesson 10
Romans 14:1, 5-17
Underlying Romans 14 is this principle from Romans 13:8-10:
all the interpersonal laws are summed up in “love your neighbor as yourself,”
just as Jesus said. This means that we live honorably as if under a spotlight,
which is where we are (John 3:21).
What about other believers who hold the wrong opinions? Paul says, welcome them, but don’t argue with
them. God has welcomed them. It is before God they stand or fall, not before us.
Like us, whether they live or die, they are the Lord’s because of the death and
resurrection of Jesus. This is one practical application of the law of love. Surely
we can imagine that as we are judging them for wrong opinions, they are returning
that judgment on us, unless we obey the law of love.
The advice not to judge repeats Romans 2. After the list of
sins in Romans 1, therefore, Paul says, do not judge, since all have sinned. Here
he says, do not judge, since you are no one’s boss, and all believers are
accountable to God for how they obey. If a person hears from God that some
behavior is unholy, that person must obey. The Gentiles and Jews to whom Paul
wrote had different boundaries, and all still had to treat others with tenderness
and love.
Another practical application of the law of love is that we
don’t push people to violate their sense of what God wants from them. We
respect the boundaries people believe God has given them. We don’t think we are
better because God allows us different boundaries. Romans 12:3 tells us not to
think of ourselves more highly than we ought and to respect the fact that not
all members of the body of Christ will function exactly like us.
Many times, I think, what causes our brother or sister to stumble
is not a freedom in Christ we live into with joy and gratitude but rather the
judgment that we pass on that brother and sister who does things differently
from us, whether with more or less freedom. When we judge, we place ourselves
as superior to the one being judged. Instead, we who are Spirit-led must be humble
and obey God ourselves.
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