Romans 12:1-13

Conciliation-National

22 Nothing shows the blindness of Christendom more than their severe denunciation of faithless Israel, yet they are following precisely the same course and have not the slightest idea that God will deal with them as He did with Israel.

24 If a wild graft can be introduced into a cultivated tree with good results, how much better will it be to graft back the good branches!

25 The secret that Israel's present condition is not permanent, but only untill all who were chosen are called out of the nations, has never been generally believed, hence the haughty attitude of Christendom toward Israel.

26 Only a few, comparatively, are being saved among the nations, but when Israel again regains its proper place, all Israel shall be saved. Then the whole nation, from the least to the greatest, will know God. And they will become the light of the world, as they were always intended to be.

28 Let us always remember that Israel is still beloved, whatever its present attitude toward

God.

29 God never regrets any favor He has shown. No individual or nation whom He calls ever disappoints Him, for He knows full well what they are and what they will do. This alone proves that Israel will yet fulfill the part He has prepared for it.

30 Mercy can be shown only to those who are in need of it. So God plays Israel and the nations against one another that each in turn may taste of His mercy.

32 God's purpose includes all nations. No matter what their present attitude toward Him, it is all apart of His plan and a preparation for the display of His mercy. Here we have the real reason why all, in turn, become stubborn. God Himself locks them up to it, not that He may condemn them, but that He may have occasion to manifest His mercy.

33 God's judgments and ways are too deep for human perception, but we can grasp His purpose. We do not know how fruit is made, but we can plant a tree and enjoy its product. We can grasp God's goal, but the process by which He attains it is too complex for our feeble minds.

36 This is the most comprehensive statement which can be uttered. God is the source of all, the channel of all, and the object of all. The universe sprang out of Him, it has its course in Him and He will be its ultimate. This settles all speculation as to the origin of all things.

Creation is out of God, not out of nothing. This explains universal history. God is the One back of all the movements of mankind. This reveals the goal of all things. God is so guiding all His creatures that, eventually, He will become their All. To Him, indeed, be glory for the eons!

THE CONDUCT OF THE SAINTS

1 This section is in marked contrast with the conduct of mankind (Rom_1:18 - Rom_3:20), as shown in the literary framework [omitted]. The exhortation is based on the previous teaching concerning our bodies in the sixth, seventh and eighth Chapter s. Our mortal bodies are vivified by the indwelling spirit (Rom_8:11). God is no longer pleased with dead substitutes, but asks for living offerings. He longs for worship in spirit and in truth. Hence we have no altar and ritual, with bleeding victims which did not satisfy God, but we offer our bodies, dead indeed to Him, yet energized by His Spirit, so that they are employed in good deeds, which ascend as a sweet savor to Him. This is real religious service. It displaces the forms of divine service connected with the law. It is the only divine service which He recognizes in this economy. This is the

Godward side.

2 On the manward side our conduct is not to look like that of the world. There is to be a transformation wrought by means of our minds, through the influence of God's revelation. We can never be like the world at heart, so we are not to appear to be like it. We are to become more and more unlike it by contact with the mind of God.

4 Our behavior toward one another is based on the marvelous figure of the human body. We all have distinct functions, designed not merely for our own use, but for the edification of all. This is the key to conduct among our fellow-saints. As the body is a vital unity, so the saints are one in Christ.