The Scrolls is a weekly Bible study written by pastors and other leaders at Central Bible Church, based on that week’s sermon topic. Use The Scrolls as a personal Bible study tool, for family devotions, and for small group discussions. You can read part of it below. The downloadable PDF also includes discussion questions, more in-depth commentary, end notes, and a kids’ page designed for families to study the topic together. This lesson goes with the sermon "Fighting For What Is Good."
Sanctification is a matter of priorities. God’s priorities are expressions of his will for us—many of which are succinctly stated in concise commands in the paraenetic portions of Paul’s letters. Paraenesis transliterates the Greek term parainēsis, which originally meant any kind of advice, instruction, or counsel. One literary critic writes: “The bodies of Paul’s letters also contain paraenesis (ethical exhortation), and several conclude with a paraenetical section (Gal. 5:1-6:10; Rom. 12:1-15:13; 1 Thess. 4:1ff). Placing these hortatory statements toward the end of the letter is a logical way for Paul to apply the theological truths he has been emphasizing and stress in another way his authority over and responsibility for the churches he had founded” (James L. Bailey and Lyle D. Vander Broek, Literary Forms in the New Testament, 26). Of course, each of these commands is a brief statement of the will of God.
An archetypal example of paraenesis is found in Romans 12:9-21. It reads:
“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Paraenesis is also found in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. In 5:12-22 he writes:
Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil.
Similar wording and similar themes are contained in both. Examples of similar wording include: 1) “Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Ro 12:9), and “hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil” (1Th 5:21-22); 2) “Live in harmony with one another” (Ro 12:16) and “at peace with everyone” (v. 18), and “Live in peace with each other” (1Th 5:13); 3) “Do not repay anyone evil for evil” (Ro 12:17), and “Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong” (1Th 5:15). Examples of repeated themes include: 1) love (Ro 12:9, 10; cf. 1Th 5:13); 2) joy (Ro 12:12; cf. 1Th 5:16); and 3) patience (Ro 12:12; cf. 1Th 5:14).
While Paul doesn’t explicitly state in Romans that his instructions are expressions of the will of God, he does as much in 1 Thessalonians. “For this is God’s will for you,” he writes (5:18).
Central Message of the Text:
Test the interpretations of those who teach the Bible—like the Bereans did—so you can hold on to what is true and reject what is false.
Family Talk:
One of my favorite childhood memories is going to my grandparents’ lake house at Possum Kingdom. We would fish off the dock, ski or run around the woods for hours and, my all-time favorite, cliff dive. Sandwiched between an older brother and younger male cousin, I was determined to not be outdone or left behind. So, I would strap on my life jacket, scurry up the cliff, put my toes over the edge and leap from what felt like hundreds of feet in the air. Every summer we’d arrive at the lake house and instantly beg our grandfather, Bops, to take us to the cliff. We were ready to throw caution to the wind. After all, we had jumped off these cliffs 1000 times. But Bops knew better. He knew tree limbs and all kinds of debris could settle under these cliffs and wouldn’t let us dive until he made sure it was safe. In our immaturity, we were ready to leap before we looked, but Bops’ wisdom said to always test first for safety. Our passage this week tells us to examine everything. Many things in today’s culture have enough Christian verbiage to sound biblically correct. Unfortunately, so much of what is being posted on socials or spoken by the secular worldview as gospel is rooted in progressive Christianity or other philosophies that will lead our children astray. Like Bops, our job as parents is to test all things, to examine everything with the Bible as our plumbline of truth. Parents, we’re praying you fall in love with God’s Word and hold it in your heart so you can share truth with your child!