Chapter # 12 Paragraph # 4 Study # 6
May 31, 2020
Humble, Texas
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Thesis: Unhypocritical love is expressed toward "evil" people by both self-restraint and by putting their needs above one's own.
Introduction: In our studies of the larger paragraph of
Romans 12:9-21 we have seen Paul's focus upon "unhypocritical love" as a
second outworking of "the sacrificed life". The
first outworking had primarily to do with the use of one's "gifting" for the sake of the Church. This
second outworking goes further by addressing the characteristics of the sacrificed life in terms of "unhypocritical love" in one's "abhorrence of evil" and one's "powerful attachment to good". In regard to this issue of commitments regarding "evil" and "good", Paul addressed them in reverse order, taking three sets of three issues that are strongly associated with "The Good" (in respect to the brethren, in respect to God, and in respect to circumstances) and then turning to certain issues that focus upon the believer's reaction to "The Evil".
As we begin this section regarding our reactions to "The Evil", I want to pursue Paul's focus upon "evil" in the larger paragraph and then we can get into the details.
- I. Paul's Use of Two Different Words As He Deals With "The Evil".
- A. The first of those words is the one used in 12:9 when he called for "an extreme antagonism" in the heart of the believer toward it.
- 1. In terms of "an extreme antagonism" toward "The Evil" there are three issues we need to consider.
- a. First is the command to be "unhypocritical in love"; the implication being that our "extreme antagonism toward The Evil" needs to be genuine, across the entire spectrum of life.
- b. Second, there is the issue of the precise nature of "The Evil" as attached to the word use in 12:9.
- 1) The word (poneros) itself is used in 72 texts of the New Testament with 47 of them being in the historical narratives of the Gospels and Acts and 12 of them being in Hebrews through Revelation (non-Pauline uses). The remaining 13 are found in Paul's letters, most of which assume an understanding of the word without giving very many indications of its precise concept.
- 2) Matthew uses the word more than any other writer and when we look into his use of the word in his historical narrative we find strong indicators of what the issue of the word is.
- a) For example, when Matthew refers to "persecution" (as Romans 14:9 does) in 5:11, he associates "insults", "persecution", and "slander" with "evil".
- i. This association is with "things designed to diminish" one's reputation in the eyes of others.
- ii. This indicates "The Evil" is related to attacks upon the spirit of man wherein the issues of "reputation" are focused.
- b) Additionally, Matthew's use in 5:37 indicates that anything more than a simple 'yes' or 'no' is "of The Evil".
- i. This use continues the focus upon "reputation" issues because excesses of speech beyond 'yes' and 'no' are, by design, intended to be "impressive to the hearer" ("reputation").
- ii. So, early on in Matthew's use of this word, we find him associating it with the aggressive attempt to either attack another's reputation or to build up one's own.
- c) Plus, Luke's use in both Luke and Acts includes the use as a description of "evil spirits" (strongly linking "evil" and "the spirits" which have followed Lucifer in his attempt to elevate himself above God (Isaiah 14:13)).
- 3) Paul's use in our text/context has the same overtones as seen in 12:3 (thinking too highly of oneself), in 12:10 (giving greater honor to others), and in 12:16 (not being haughty in mind, associating with the lowly, and not being wise in one's own estimation).
- 4) And, Paul's opening issue in 12:14 is the same as Matthew's in 5:11: persecution.
- 5) Thus, I conclude that "The Evil" is "the attempt to exalt one's own reputation over that of someone else's" (for the purpose of reaping the benefits of an enviable reputation).
- b. Second, there is the issue of being "unhypocritical" in the extreme antagonism one has toward "The Evil".
- 1) It is fairly simple to be "strongly antagonized" by "The Evil" when it is a core element in someone else's character.
- 2) It is only "unhypocritical" when that same "strong antagonism" is pointed toward one's own inner motives.
- 3) Thus, Paul deliberately focuses upon the attitudes we take when the "problem" is in "the other" and attitudes that reflect our victory over the "problem" when it is "in us" (the whole part of our paragraph from 12:14-21 involves multiple references to dealing with "the problem" when we are being subjected to it from others, and our "victory" shows up in not cursing, not being haughty in mind, not repaying evil for evil, etc.).
- 2. So we can conclude that Paul's major concern in calling for a "strong antagonism" toward The Evil is not primarily in reference to "the sins of others", but in reference to our own inner tendencies.
- B. The second of these words is the one used in 12:17 and 21.
- 1. The "extreme antagonism" toward "evil" is directed to an associated, but different, concept of "evil" by a switch by Paul in terms: he switches to kakos.
- a. This word is used in 45 texts of the New Testament, but only 13 of them are found in the historical narratives of Matthew-Acts (and these 13 all focus upon both a serious, elemental, inner flaw and any of a number of overt activities that arise out of that flaw, with the idea of serious "damage" being the outcome of the overt activities).
- b. Twenty-two of the remaining 32 uses are Paul's in nine of his letters with Romans being the majority user (12 of the 22).
- 2. The concept involved is presented by Paul in Romans.
- a. The first use that has "context" to tell us what he meant is 2:9 where God's "legal" response to "evil" is "tribulation and distress upon the soul".
- 1) The essence of "legal responses" is, according to The Law, "equivalence" (doing to the perpetrator what he has done to his victims).
- 2) This signals the fact that "kakos" has to do with "squeezing the soul".
- a) This shifts the focus off of "intended spiritual damage" to "piling 'terror' in the soul onto the already present spiritual attack".
- b) Thus, "kakos" is a term that is heavily invested in "creating great fear" in the soul of an intended victim.
- b. In 7:19 and 21 "kakos" is deliberately juxtaposed to "The Good" just as our current text does in its summons to "extreme antagonism" and "a welded unity", and it emphasizes the reality of "a serious, inner, elemental, flaw" that forces overt "damaging activities".
- c. In 13:3-4 Paul repeats the themes of "evil", "good", and "fear' (under the thesis of being subject to "law").
- d. In 13:10 he claims that "love" does no "evil" to a neighbor ("damage").
- e. In 14:20 he reconnects "destroying the work of God" (the brother) with "kakos".
- f. And, finally, in 16:19 he again ties the contrasting themes of "good" and "evil" in his statement of his desire that the readers be "wise in what is good" and "innocent in what is evil".
- g. Summary: the "point", then, is that "kakos" is an elemental flaw that seeks to damage the souls of others.
- C. The larger theme in this part of Paul's focus on "unhypocritical love" is that everyone, including one's self, is to be subject to the "extreme antagonism" toward both the "spiritual" issues of evil as it attacks the spirits of others and the "soul" issues of evil as it attacks the sense of security in which the "soul" thrives.
