Romanos 12
Ambrosiaster · Comentário Patrístico (catena)
Romanos 12:1
Paul pleads with them through the mercy of God, by which the human race is saved.… This is a warning that they should remember that they have received God's mercy and that they should take care to worship the one who gave it to them.God's will is our sanctification, for bodies subject to sin are considered not to be alive but dead, since they have no hope of obtaining the promise of eternal life. It is for this purpose that we are cleansed from our sins by God's gift, that henceforth we should lead a pure life and stir up the love of God in us, not making his work of grace of no effect. For the ancients killed sacrifices which were offered in order to signify that men were subjected to death because of sin. But now, since by the gift of God men have been purified and set free from the second death, they must offer a living sacrifice as a sign of eternal life. For now it is no longer the case that bodies are sacrificed for bodies, but instead of bodies it is the sins of the body which must be put to death. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES
Romanos 12:3
Here Paul teaches us that we ought to know that the bounds of righteousness must not be transgressed, so that not only will it be of service to us but it will not harm anyone else either. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES
Romanos 12:4
By using the example of the body, Paul teaches that it is impossible for any one of us to do everything on our own, for we are members of each other and need one another. For this reason we ought to behave toward one another with care, because we need each other's gifts. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES
Romanos 12:5
This is what it means to love Christ, that we should encourage one another to live in a way which corresponds to the way in which the body is made perfect in Christ. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES
Romanos 12:6
Paul begins with prophecy, which is the first proof that our faith is rational, for believers prophesied when they received the Spirit. This is given in proportion to the recipient, that is, as much as is necessary for the purpose for which it is given. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES
Romanos 12:7
The minister is strengthened for the service of the church to the extent that he believes he ought to serve, lest he labor beyond his faith and exhaust himself in serving to his ruin.… Likewise Paul says that the teacher is aided in his teaching so that he will be inspired to transmit the divine doctrine to the extent that he has the faith to teach. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES
Romanos 12:8
The exhorter is helped in the same way as the above and is prepared by the Spirit to have the grace to provoke, for he stirs up the brethren to do good and unbelievers to accept the faith. The contributor is likewise given a spirit of generosity so that he will not stop giving.He who takes care of his brethren will receive vigilance and authority in proportion to his faith.… Likewise, he who does acts of mercy according to his intention will do it with a cheerful heart and not as if somebody was twisting his arm to do it. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES
Romanos 12:10
Brotherly love is useless unless it is mutual. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES
Romanos 12:11
This means that we should not be lukewarm in doing God's work or the law, as God says in the Revelation of John: "Because you are lukewarm, I shall spit you out of my mouth." Daily meditation removes laziness and makes people vigilant. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES
Romanos 12:12
Even if the times do not allow us to speak publicly about our faith, nevertheless we must rejoice in tribulation, for this sadness brings joy.… With the joy of hope we can endure tribulation, knowing that the things which are promised to those who suffer are much greater. Prayer is essential if we are to survive tribulation! — COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES
Romanos 12:13
The imitator and lover of the saints will practice hospitality following the examples of Abraham and Lot as righteous men. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES
Romanos 12:14
God makes Christians new people in every respect, so that here too he wants to take away from us the habits of anger which are common to everyone, so that instead of cursing others in anger, which we once did so easily, we might rather overcome our anger and bless them, so that the Lord's teaching might be praised. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES
Romanos 12:15
If you weep with an unbeliever, you may provoke him to accept the Lord's teaching. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES
Romanos 12:16
To be haughty is pride, which is how the devil fell.… Solomon says that "God resists the proud." Put pride aside and make other people's cares your own so that you might be acceptable to God. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES
Romanos 12:17
The law said: "Love your neighbor and hate your enemy," but the Lord says: "Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of God." Therefore, in order for this to be the case, it is taught that we should not repay evil with evil. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES
Romanos 12:18
Paul wants everyone who serves God's righteousness to be peaceful.… The person who is not peaceful is the one who has rejected the law of God and who follows his own law instead.… Even if the other person is not a lover of peace, you should want to be peaceful insofar as you can be. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES
Romanos 12:19
Paul warns us to avoid anger, especially because so often anger is the chief cause of sin. Someone who is motivated by wrath will demand more than the cause of the sin merits or will put himself out to do more harm while seeking revenge.… In the end he will destroy someone when he could have corrected and restored him instead.Paul forbids us to seek revenge not only from those under us but also from those who are our equals or superiors.… We are not to seek to avenge ourselves against brethren who may have sinned against us but rather to commit everything to God's judgment, so that an enemy will find no way of promoting or advancing what is against our interest while we are too angry to notice what is happening. Paul quotes Proverbs [25:22] to back up his point. If we do not do what God teaches, he will show us contempt. But if we give revenge over to God it benefits us in two ways: it overcomes our anger and tends toward our perfection and justification in God's sight. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES
Romanos 12:20
Paul teaches us not just to let God take revenge but also to give good things to our enemies, so that we may demonstrate that we do not have these enemies because of anything we have done. Rather, we are trying to get them to desist from evil by doing them service. If by their ungodliness they continue in their evil ways, our service to them will lead to punishment for them.… Thus the Lord not only forbids us to repay our enemies in kind but also exhorts us to seek friendship by acts of kindness, both because that serves to mature us and because it is a means of winning others to eternal life. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES
Romanos 12:21
It will do us much good if we refrain from evil. The person who appears to be overcome by evil for a time in fact may be overcoming evil, just as the Savior overcame evil by not resisting it. Evil works against itself, and when it is overcome it thinks that it has won! Our enemy acts in such a way as to divert us from our purpose, looking for an opportunity to make us sin. Therefore if we are provoked by him and do not reply in kind, we overcome him with good. Therefore we do not resist, in order to serve the good by ignoring the demands of justice for retribution. — COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES