Romans 12:9-17 

⁹ Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

¹⁰ Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

¹¹ Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

¹² Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

¹³ Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

¹⁴ Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

¹⁵ Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

¹⁶ Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

¹⁷ Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

What does it mean to be a disciple of Christ? Here in Romans Paul lays out a fairly good list of attributes that would mark you as a disciple of Christ. We are asked to be like this by God, gracious and merciful, loving and kind. It sounds like a lot to remember and if you have to rely on memory to perform these duties, then you’ve failed before you began.

The very first line quoted says love without hypocrisy. Love sincerely. The word translated love here is agape, God’s perfect love. It is not any other type of love it is the love that dwells in your heart, Christ in you. If you have to think about it, it isn’t agape. Agape loves because that is who He is in character and performance. He doesn’t have to think about who He is.

Satan wants to get into your head about your qualifications to be a disciple. Here is the qualifications to be a disciple; you had to have failed as a human being. What I was does not disqualify me, it qualifies me.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Paul recently talked about being conformed into the image of Christ. The new birth John spoke about is not referenced here but is very much a part of this conversation. New birth, a fresh start, our past is behind us, and our sins forgiven. The problem is that we begin this journey of discovery in Christ with an old mind. We have all the memories, attitudes, emotions and it is difficult to grasp the concept of all things new with this old mind.

Our memories and emotions are real but we can and must change our attitudes. We need to stop being victims of our past and become the victorious warriors Paul will call us to be shortly. Our memories and emotions can be used to glorify God if we can find our way to change our attitude.

“I was once like you but now I am changed by the grace of God.”

“I too suffered at the hands of others.”

These statements are meant to give hope to those who have not yet found it. We identify with the position of others by memory and emotion but we can only help them find the way out with a changed attitude.

Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Paul is talking about a change in attitude. For some it is going to be to not think more highly of yourself. For others it is going to be to not think of yourself as more lowly than you ought. You cannot help a victim out of the gutter of despair with a victim’s mentality. You have to change your attitude.

Thinking soberly is seeing the truth in these matters and can only be done by faith in He who is true. We cannot come to that knowledge with our old attitudes. It takes a new mindset, a new attitude.