Applied Christianity

There are times in Bible study when an examination of the Greek text is very helpful. This is not always so, because most Bible translations convey the meaning of the original languages accurately and a person who does not know Greek can get along very well with the English. But sometimes the Greek is helpful, and one of those times is now.

As we continue our study of how love functions, we come to the second of Paul’s dative cases, which is about honor and is closely related to what we studied yesterday about brotherly love. This is why the two ideas are combined in verse 10. A literal translation might be, “And in respect to honor, lead the way for each another.” In other words, “Don’t wait around for people to recognize your contributions and praise you. Instead, be alert to what they are contributing and honor them.”

In our study of how love functions, we come today to the sentence which reads, “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord” (v. 11). The word “fervor” (NIV) or “fervent” (KJV) is from a verb meaning “to boil.” So a literal translation of this phrase would be: “In respect to the spirit (or Spirit), boiling.” Unfortunately, since boiling suggests heat and we think of heat as having to do with anger, it would be better to think of this as a Christian “bubbling over” or even, as the Revised Standard Version has it, “being aglow with the Spirit.”

As we continue to learn about love in Romans 12, verse 12 introduces three more items, and these three go together. This might be paraphrased, “In so far as we have cause to hope, let us be joyful; in so far as we have cause of pain, let us hold out; in so far as the door of prayer is open to us, let us continue to use it.”

Did you know that someone who loves is also someone who prays consistently? It’s right here in verse 12. A literal translation of this verse might be “and in regard to prayer, continuing.” Isn’t “continuing” an interesting word to use? We might have expected any one of a number of other words. But Paul says “continuing” because he was aware that this is just the problem. It is not that we never pray. We almost have to, if we are Christians. But we get tired of praying, our minds wander and we neglect prayer precisely when we most need it.