Bible Study on Romans Session 23

Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans;

A Bible Study Based upon the Homilies of St John Chrysostom (SJC)

Study Guide – February 11, 2020 – Romans 12.14-21 – Homily 22

Prayer before reading of the Holy Scriptures: Shine within our hearts, loving Master, the pure light of Your divine knowledge, and open the eyes of our minds that we may comprehend the message of Your Gospel. Instill in us also reverence for Your blessed commandments so that, having conquered sinful desires, we may pursue a spiritual life, thinking and doing all those things which are pleasing to You. For You, Christ our God, are the light of our souls and bodies, and to You we give glory, together with Your Father who is without beginning and Your all holy, good and life giving Spirit, always now and forever and to the ages of ages.

Chapter 12, Verse 14

  • St Paul leads the people into battle by focusing internally. SJC “If a man has not managed his affairs with his own people, he will find it more difficult to manage matters with strangers.” (Pg 1, #1)
  • Don’t merely avoid cursing others, but bless them. SJC “Just as the man who curses his persecutor shows that he is not very well pleased when he suffers harassment for the sake of Christ, so the one who blesses his persecutor shows the greatness of his love for his Master.” (Pg 1, #4)
  • Your actions reveal your path. SJC “Teach them by the way you act that you are on the road to another life….if you weep and moan, how will your adversaries be able to learn that you are awaiting another and better life?” (Pg 1-2, #5,6)
  • Your enemy will stop attacking you when you stop attacking them. SJC “Both a greater reward and less temptation will be yours, your enemy will stop persecuting you, and God will be glorified.” (Pg 2, #7)

Chapter 12, Verse 15

  • The Christian Way is harder than the worldly way. SJC “For it requires a stronger Christian soul to rejoice with those who rejoice than to weep with those who weep. For nature itself determines this latter reaction, and no one is so hard of heart as not to weep for one who has fallen into disaster and calamity.” (Pg 2, #10)
  • A noble and generous soul unites us. SJC “By your tears you are making yourself a man of mercy; by your rejoicing at his joy, you are freeing yourself of envy and malice. Consider, please, that Paul is not imposing an intolerable burden on us. He did not say: “Put an end to the disaster of your neighbor so that you may not say, in many cases, that you cannot bear it. Paul has enjoined on you a lighter burden which you can handle. For even if you cannot remove the disaster, bring on your tears and you have made a strong step toward removing it.” (Pg 2, #12-13)

Chapter 12, Verse 16

  • Humility is the key to defeating evil. SJC “For nothing divides the Church the way vanity and boasting do. And what does Paul mean by being of one mind with one another? Has a poor man come into your house? Be like him in your thoughts. Do not assume a greater dignity because of your wealth. There is neither rich nor poor in Christ. Therefore, be not ashamed of him because of his outward garb. Receive him because of his inward faith. If you see that he is grieving, do not consider that he does not deserve your encouragement. If you see that he is cheerful, do not blush to share his joy and to be glad with him. Be disposed to him as you are to yourself. For Paul says: “Be of one mind toward one another.” For example. Do you think that you are a great man? Therefore, consider that he is one, too. Do you suspect that he is a lowly nobody? Then pass this same sentence on yourself and do away with all the inequality between you.” (Pg 3, #14-16)
  • A humble man needs others. SJC “So if you are wise, you will need others, and if you think you have no need of them, you will become the most foolish and feeble of all men.” (Pg 3, #19)

Chapter 12, Verse 17

  • We must love all, not just members of the Church. SJC “See how Paul makes no distinction here but lays down an injunction binding on all. For he did not say that you should not repay one of the faithful with evil, but that you should repay no one with injury, whether he be a pagan, one defiled with blood, or anyone whatsoever.” (Pg 4, #21)

Chapter 12, Verse 18

  • Peace is difficult, and even impossible at times. SJC “Do your own part, and give no one an opportunity for war or battle, be he Jew or pagan. But if you should see piety or religion being harmed in any respect, do not put peace and concord before truth, but take a noble and generous stand, even to the point of death. And even here, do not wage war in your soul, nor turn away from the purpose of your will, but do battle only with the topics which the disputant is erroneously attacking.” (Pg 4, #24)

Chapter 12, Verse 19

  • We must love and forgive even our enemies. SJC “Be friendly in your mind, without in any way being a traitor to the truth…For if you do not avenge yourself, God will be your avenger. So Paul says that you should leave it to God.” (Pg 4, #25

Chapter 12, Verse 20-21

  • Paul accepts human nature, but calls us to a higher plane. SJC “For he knows that even if the foe were a wild beast, he will not remain wild if he receives food. And even if the injured man were to the highest degree malicious and small-minded, by feeding his foe and giving him to drink, he will not himself have any further desire to exact a recompense from him who did him harm….And he gently hints that one must not act with such an intention, because to remember old injuries and to bear ill-will would be to be conquered by evil.” (Pg 5, #28-29)

Life Application – Victory is Conquering Evil with Good

  • Offer grace in response to attacks “When you offer insults in return, then you are not beaten by a man, but by what is more disgraceful, namely, by the passion of anger which has enslaved you. But if you remain silent, then you will be the conqueror.” (Pg. 5, #31)
  • Don’t give your enemy your defeat “Let us do this when a blow strikes us and when we wish to strike back. When we wish to strike, let us refrain from striking a blow in return. Do you wish to strike a mortal blow? “Turn to him the other cheek,” and you will strike him with ten thousand blows. For those who applaud and marvel at your act are more burdensome to him who struck you than if they were to stone him to death.” (Pg. 6, #35)
  • Don’t follow the way of the world  “Therefore, I am now almost in tears. Why? Because we, who could have blessings in the present world if only we would listen to the laws of Christ the way we should, as well as gaining those blessings of the life to come, we are losing both because we do not listen to what we have been told. Instead, we follow ways of life that are vain and avail us not. For Christ has set forth laws, all of which are for our good, and he has shown us what will bring us to glory and what will bring us to inglorious disgrace.” (Pg. 6, #37)
  • The Way of Christ is the way of victory “For to conquer by doing evil is one of the devil’s laws. And so, in the Olympic contests, which were consecrated to the devil, all partaking in the games are winners. But in the stadium of Christ this is not the rule for winning the crowns of victory. The law is quite the opposite. It is not the one who smites who wins the crown; rather, it is he who receives the blow. Such is the nature of Christ’s stadium. It has all the regulations, but they are just the opposite to those of the Olympic games.“ (Pg. 7, #40)
  • Put words into action “I know that now you are eager and warm and have become softer than any wax. But when you have gone forth from the church, you will spew it all out. This is why I grieve. It is because we do not show forth in deeds what I have spoken in words, even though we would gain the greatest profit from them. If we show forth our meekness and mildness, no hand will conquer us, no man, be he great or small, will be able to do us harm.”  (Pg. 7, #42)
  • Be like Abel, not Cain “Let us not pursue the example of Cain but, rather, that of Abel. He who suffered from the crime has no evil dwelling within himself, since he did not beget it. Rather, he received his wound from another and made it good by enduring it with patience. He who committed the crime keeps the stroke of his wicked deed deep in his heart.”  (Pg. 7, #45)

Send Off – Be Prepared to Endure Ills for the Sake of Victory “Therefore, since we know all this, let us prepare ourselves to endure ills so that we may be free from bearing ills and attain to the blessings of the world to come.” (Pg. 8, #48)