Paul, an apostle of Christ and the writer of the letter to believers in Rome while he was imprisoned there writes honestly about the human struggle with right and wrong. His claim is that we are blinded by our experiences to determine what is right and good. Our hope is that God’s mercy intervened because He wants only what is best for us.
His original audience understood that “parakaleo“ (urge, beseech) has multiple connotations attached to its meaning. It was associated with legal, military, and spiritual language to encourage, comfort, and exhortation.
For me, his argument climaxes in what Bible scholars label as Chapter 12. He begins this part of the letter, “Therefore by the mercies of God, I urge you” causing the reader to look back to the merciful plan of God as the motivation for what he is urging us to do.
Legal
“Parakaleo” in the court room was associated with “calling someone to testify or advocate on one’s behalf.”
Imagine you’re in the courtroom. The attorney, Paul rises to give his summation by asking us to look back to the evidence. “I urge you, therefore … by the mercies of God.”
“First, this is good news – the Gospel, the good news from God. Through Jesus, God’s right living is revealed. It is a free gift that is only received by faith. It cannot be earned because no one understands what is truly righteous. Anyone from any nation no matter what one has done in the past can be identified with His righteousness. Therefore, I urge you to fully identify with God, shed those unfulfilling former ideas and not completely accurate educated guesses of man and begin allowing God to transform your mindset to align with God’s perfect will.”
Military Meaning
Paul’s audience would also understand that the word we translate as urge is like the military leader rallying his troops before charging into battle.
Our captain in the previous eleven chapters in the letter to the church at Rome shares the Commander-in-Chief’s plan for overcoming hardships, defeating the unseen enemies of our own ignorance, stubbornness, pride, prejudice, and fear to find in him glory, honor and immortality.
“So, therefore with these unchangeable and powerful promises, I urge to give yourself 100 percent, shake off your doubts and charge into battles of life with confidence.”
Spiritual Exhortation
The understanding of “urge” as exhortation is the way it is most often interpreted. Paul is promoting what follows as reasonable service to God as the path to truly working together with God to do God’s perfect will for the believer’s life.
“I know personally that a full commitment works, because Abraham, a foreigner believed God and God kept his promise to produce through his legacy the promised Messiah. David, Israel’s most respected king said, ‘Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.’
“Besides, we are all slaves to something. Either we are slaves to our own untrustworthy understanding and limited experiences of trial and error or that of others which sometimes leads to confusion , frustration, or failure or we submit to the One Who made us for a purpose and who has the blueprint for how that is best carried out which provides hope and confidence even when things look bleak.
“So, therefore I encourage you to give wholeheartedly to a merciful God.”
What a bargain!
Nothing about Romans 12 sounds easy and is often counterintuitive – open disclosure- and sometimes feels counterproductive. Yet, the bottom line is that this is our best deal, although not a bestseller.
In simple human terms, humanity gives full worship to God and in turn, God provides everything the body, the soul, and the spirit needs to accomplish his will and not only survive, but thrive. Listen carefully to this promise from Jesus.
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.””
Matthew 11:29-30 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.11.29-30.NIV
“Did I hear ‘burden’?” You might ask. Yes, but his burden is light when yoked with Christ. So, we’re either living with the consequences of life on our own or yoked with the One who is always present, all-knowing, and the most powerful force in all creation.
It is even made lighter when we play our part, carry out God’s plan for us as a team or a unit with all other believers who have “presented (their) bodies a living sacrifice” and are being taught by the Holy Spirit what thoughts and actions need to be cast off and which ones align with God’s will for their life.
Categories: Devotional hopeful encouaragement
Douglas Knight
I have the rich life full of a sinner wounded by misunderstanding and punishment but blessed by mercy and forgiveness.
Knight Writer 