Verse 25 is very interesting, “Some of them have become stubborn, and they will stay like that until the complete number of you Gentiles has come in.” There is a dance being described here between our free-will and God’s sovereignty – a dance God leads.

How do I know his will for my life? Romans 12 tells us how to become better listeners to God who has a perfect will for us. Paul, the writer of Romans “begs” his readers to “offer” our bodies as living sacrifices to God. Paul writes that this is our most reasonable response in light of God’s goodness or mercy.

What is God’s mercy?

There are four Greek words that in English we simply translate “love”. Two are in this passage: “Be sincere in your love for others” and “love each other as brothers and sisters”. The first is agape which is unconditional love (the love God has for us), and the second is philia (where we get “Philadelphia”) which is brotherly love.

Followers of Jesus will have a reputation for being peaceful, good citizens, good neighbours, and respected in their community. It is not disrespectful or unnecessarily disruptive to live within the parameters of the law. For instance, in my country a good citizen is free to: protest peacefully, vote, write editorials, run for government, etc. A follower of Jesus will be a good citizen.

Paul here underlines Jesus’ teaching on the Old Testament law. Jesus did not negate the old law, he fulfilled it. He helps us understand it.

For Jesus it was about pathways. For instance, he said, “But I tell you that if you look at another woman and want her, you are already unfaithful in your thoughts” (Matthew 5:28). Implicit here is the path: lust in your heart, imagine, fantasize, flirt, act on the impulse… Jesus says, “Stay off the path.”

Today, as then, many people turn up their noses at our faith. “It’s a hang-up,” they say. “It’s self-deception. You imagine all kinds of ‘answers to prayer’ in what are really coincidences. You have feelings you think come from God, but really they’re auto-suggestion!”

Have you ever been warned about something, did it anyways, and paid the consequences? Maybe it was ordering “spicy” at a restaurant when your friend told you to go for “medium” or better yet “mild” at this particular place. After the initial pain, did you join your friend in laughing at your refusal to heed the warning?