14 Sept. Christians should stand out as being different
"So brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him, which is the spiritual way for you to worship."
"Do not change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but be changed within by a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to decide what God wants for you; you will know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect."
"Because God has given me a special gift, I have something to say to everyone among you. Do not think you are better than you are. You must decide what you really are by the amount of faith God has given you."
"Each of us has a body with many parts, and these parts all have different uses. In the same way, we are many, but in Christ we are all one body. Each one is a part of that body, and each part belongs to all the other parts."
"We all have different gifts, each of which came because of the grace God gave us. The person who has the gift of prophesy should use that gift in agreement with the faith. Anyone who has the gift of serving should serve."
"Anyone who has the gift of teaching should teach. Whoever has the gift of encouraging others should encourage. Whoever has the gift of giving to others should give freely."
"Anyone who has the gift of being a leader should try hard when he leads. Whoever has the gift of showing mercy to others should do so with joy."
"Your love must be real. Hate what is evil, and hold on to what is good. Love each other like brothers and sisters. Give each other more honour than you want for yourselves."
"Do not be lazy but work hard, serving the Lord with all your heart. Be joyful because you have hope. Be patient when trouble comes, and pray at all times. Share with God's people who need help. Bring strangers in need into your homes."
"Wish good for those who harm you; wish them well and do not curse them... If someone does wrong to you, do not pay him back by doing wrong to him. Try to do what everyone thinks is right. Do your best to live in peace with everyone."
"My friends, do not try to punish others when they wrong you, but wait for God to punish them with his anger... Do not let evil defeat you, but defeat evil by doing good."
(Romans 12:1-21)
In this part of his letter, Paul reminds his readers that, as a result of their new relationship with God, believers should stand out as different from the crowd. “Do not change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but be changed within by a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to decide what God wants for you” (Romans 12:2).
Paul encourages each member of the church to use their gifts to enrich the life of the whole community. Those with a gift of prophesy (telling out a message from God) should do so, while those who are good at explaining the Scriptures should teach others. Other gifts like encouraging fellow believers, serving their needs, leading the church and giving to God's work are equally important.
Paul encourages the believers to work hard so they can share their wealth with others and can entertain those in need in their own homes.
He concludes by reminding them never to take revenge on those who have hurt them: "Wish good for those who harm you; wish them well and do not curse them... If someone does wrong to you, do not pay him back by doing wrong to him." (Romans 12:14,17)
Paul reminds them that Christians should always stand out as being different: "My friends, do not try to punish others when they wrong you, but wait for God to punish them with his anger... Do not let evil defeat you, but defeat evil by doing good." (Romans 12:19,21)
The photo shows Christians serving those in need with medical aid during the Rohingya crisis. (Photo by Christian Aid).
You can read more from Paul's Letter to the Romans @ https://www.thebiblejourney.org/…/1…/persecution-by-the-jews