Teachers: this lesson has two objectives. (1) Focus students on the natural link between God's mercy and Christian love. Seeing and accepting God's mercy is essential (a) if we are to be living sacrifices, (b) if we are to function as a body, and (c) if we are to love each other as God loves us. Sufficient motivation cannot exist unless a Christian understands how dependent he or she is on God's mercy.
(2) Mutual Christian love destroys hostility and animosity. Conflict and confrontation problems exist among us because we do not have the type of mutual love God intends us to have. Where Christian love exists, the hostility and animosity separating Christian groups cannot exist. Where hostility and animosity separates Christian groups, Christian love cannot exist. Love replaces hostility and animosity, or hostility and animosity replace love. One replaces the other because they cannot co-exist.
The Jewish Christians who returned to Rome and the Christians who lived in Rome struggled in their relationship. Those struggles did not benefit the Christian community in Rome. Their conflict threatened their ability to reflect God's mercy in Jesus Christ. They urgently needed to take their focus off the differences that caused the struggles and place it on God's mercy. The antagonism that polarized the Christian community must end. Jewish Christians and Christians who had been converted from idolatry must understand that they needed each other. They both were saved by God's mercy. They both were in Christ.
When resentment and unloving attitudes exist among Christians, it is common to find Christians who are confident that they do not need those Christians they resent. "Spiritually you need me, but I can do just fine spiritually without you."
What would stop the antagonism? What would allow the Christian community in Rome to reflect God's mercy? (1) Every day each of them would climb on the altar to offer self as a living sacrifice. (2) They would function in appreciation of their diversity as a physical body functions. Each Christian would function to the benefit of the entire Christian community because each understood that they needed each other. (3) They would genuinely love each other.
Help students see and understand that self-sacrifice, body existence, and love are interrelated. All three have the same foundation: dependence on God's mercy. Each declares the same realization: dependence on God's mercy.
How would they know genuine love for each other existed? What were the evidences that such love characterized their relationship? Paul did not suggest that they use some form of our solution to sibling clashes. When our children have their conflicts, we pressure them to say, "I'm sorry," and hug. Though we force them to comply, at that moment there is little genuine about it.
Make certain students realize Paul's emphasis is on genuine love.
Paul urged genuine love. Given the severity of typical first century clashes between Jewish Christians and Christians who were not Jews, urging genuine love appears to us to be quite ambitious if not impossible. Paul's admonition to develop and sustain genuine love was doable. It was no hypothetical solution. It was a real solution. Remember, this solution's foundation began with an awareness of God's mercy. Paul's entire plea is based on God's mercy.
To us, promoting genuine love in a hostile climate is wasted effort. To us, talking about Christian love easily can be a "far out, other world, unrealistic" concept. Because genuine love relationships are under severe attack in American society (in marriage, in parenting, in friendships), American Christians tend to view genuine love as a hypothetical reality. Often there is an "anti-emotion" climate in the church. Some assume if something expresses deep feeling it has no substance. Some declare spiritual relationships depend on the mind, not on feelings. Some believe human logic is the foundation of spiritual truth. They also believe feelings are the foundation of spiritual error. We need to remember that God's nature involves love (1 John 4:7,8), and the greatest commandment God ever gave involved love (Matthew 22:34-40).
If they were to establish the ties genuine love produced, they must allow God's mercy to change their definition and feelings toward evil and good. They [both sides] must despise evil [not each other]. For Jewish Christians, attitudes of superiority and advantage produced by historical ties with Israel and the Law were evil. As evil, God's mercy must motivate them to despise those attitudes. Good, revealed through Jesus' crucifixion, must be clutched in a grasp that would not turn loose. [To first century people, understanding any crucifixion produced good was mind boggling.] To love Christians converted from idolatry was good because that love reflected God's mercy. If they despised evil [and recognized divisive attitudes as evil], if they clung to good [and recognized mutual love that reflected God's mercy as good], genuine love could exist.
Genuine love expresses itself in respectful interaction, in caring behavior, in heartfelt feeling for each other. When a Christian stands humble, awe struck, and silent before God's mercy, those expressions become natural, appropriate reactions. Awareness of God's mercy produces merciful treatment of other people.
God's mercy completely redefines a Christian's understanding of good and evil. In this new definition, as Christians cling to good and despise evil, their behavior changes. The awareness of God's mercy produces the new behavior, and the awareness of God's mercy produces love.
With the understanding that mutual love was good because it reflected God's mercy, they could be devoted to each other in brotherly love. They could "outdo" each other in respectfully honoring each other. If they understood that it was "good" to reflect God's mercy by respectfully honoring each other, Jewish Christians could honor Christians who were not Jews, and Christians who were not Jews could honor Jewish Christians. They could be respectful, appreciative brothers [which was good] and not rivals [which was evil]. It would happen if they despised evil and clung to good. God's mercy should motivate them to despise evil and cling to good.
Human love generated by our awareness of God's mercy is powerful. It is so powerful we will love as bothers and sisters those Christians we formerly reviled or despised.
Nor would they hesitate to accept each other in this genuine love. Neither group would "drag their feet." Because God's mercy motivated them, their godly spirit would be fervent because they knew such love served their merciful God's purposes. It was their God's mercy that gave them hope. It was hope that caused them to rejoice while living in the ungodly city of Rome. It was God's mercy that enabled them to endure opposition.
The emphasis must be on a mutual dedication to a mutual learning of genuine love. Christians mutually must see, be awed by, and be attracted to God's mercy. Christians mutually must allow God's mercy to redefine concepts of good and evil. In these new definitions, Christians mutually must despise evil and cling to good. When we all see God's mercy, when we all see genuine love for each other is good, we all are dedicated to producing genuine love.
Being a Christian in Rome during the reign of Nero [the emperor who succeeded Claudius] was not the popular thing to do! Being a Jew who became a Christian was not the popular thing to do among Jewish people anywhere in the first century Mediterranean world! These Christians needed each other. They needed to take care of each other. They confronted enough opposition without creating opposition among themselves. They needed each other's hospitality. If Christians did not care for Christians, where would they turn?
Paul wanted them to realize that their need for each other was real.
Three basic attitudes needed to characterize their love for each other. (1) They needed to be a source of blessing to all people. Persecutors were to be blessed. Because God gave them mercy, injustice did not give them the right to harm the persecutors. No one should have reason to be afraid of them. They reacted to harshness and pain with kindness.
God was merciful to them when they did not deserve mercy's consideration (Romans 3:10-18). Because He is merciful, God responded to their evil with kindness. God's mercy taught them how to be kind even to those who seek their harm.
(2) They provided full emotional support for each other. If a Christian had reason to be happy, others were not jealous of his or her reason for happiness. Instead of being resentful or jealous, they rejoiced with them. If a Christian had reason to cry, they shared his or her sorrow. Instead of distancing themselves from pain and mourning, they shared it.
Providing emotional support to those who struggle powerfully gives evidence of the genuineness of love. Genuinely rejoicing with someone to share his or her happiness eloquently speaks of genuine love. When good things happen to people who are despised, typically it makes people miserable. When good things happen to those loved, typically people are elated. Because the Christian loves, he or she is elated when good happens.
(3) They were to have the same attitude toward each other. There were be no "big I's and little you's," no important ones and unimportant ones, no significant Christians and insignificant Christians. No one was to be motivated by prideful attitudes. No one was to be so insignificant that you could not rejoice or weep with him or her. No one was to exalt self or hold an exaggerated opinion of self. Why? The merciful God did not interacted with people in that way. To behave in a superior manner was evil, and they despised evil.
We all received and depend on God's mercy. That fact places all Christians on the same spiritual level. Our constant awareness of God's mercy keeps us on the same spiritual level. Before God, we all are equally in need of mercy.
What was the foundation of such respectful, kind interaction? Genuine love. Why did that genuine love exist? It was a reaction to God's mercy. Why did people who struggled with each other learn to love each other? God's mercy taught them a new understanding of good. Nothing could make them turn loose of their new understanding. Their past interaction was evil, and they despised evil.
Christian love is the motivation for Christian interaction with all who are in Christ.
Where struggle and pain exist between Christians today, can the struggle and pain be replaced with the kindness and respect of genuine love? Yes, if we produce two conditions. (1) If we all develop an appreciation and understanding of God's mercy, and (2) if we all despise evil and cling to good, genuine love will replace struggle. If first century Christians in Rome could do it, Christians anywhere can do it.
The keys to producing an enduring love among Christians today involves the same factors. We must develop a love and understanding of God's mercy. We must despise evil and cling to good.
In the Old Testament, Jews were taught by God to maintain their isolation as a people. God could work through them as a people to bring the Christ and fulfill His promise only if they continued to exist. If they were absorbed into other nations and religions, their existence would cease. It took centuries for them to learn they were to maintain their identify. The Babylonian captivity taught them the urgency and importance of maintaining identity. However, when they learned the importance of maintaining identity, they rejected other people. Though God continually maintained that He was interested in all people, first century Israel viewed other people as a danger and threat. Conversion to Christ did not erase that ingrained attitude.
Many people resented the Jews for maintaining isolation and a unique culture. They despised their attitudes and their ways.
Feelings of superiority by many Jewish Christians and feelings of resentment by many Christians who were not Jews created ideal conditions in the church for conflict.
Social differences, economic differences, differences in education levels, and cultural differences can and commonly do produce (1) attitudes of superiority and (2) attitudes of resentment. It is simple for Christians to respect other Christians like themselves and resent other Christians who are unlike them.
Understanding that they all depended on God's mercy to be Christians provided a common ground for relationships. Love for each other reflected God's love shown to each of them in His mercy. A deep love for God in appreciation of His mercy was expressed by loving all in Christ. God's mercy destroyed their reason for despising each other. God's love gave them reason for establishing bonds with each other.
In the same manner.
Link to Student Guide
Quarter 3, Lesson 3