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The Romans of those days were very proud of their law which was based on revenge and persecution. In contrast Apostle Paul according to our text gave them a new law of goodness, Love and Grace. While giving this new law Apostle Paul had in his mind the basic teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, as in Mathew 5: 43-44. Ye have heard that it had been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemies. Bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.
In our text Apostle Paul calls upon all the Christians to exercise love by our response to both “good and evil”. Romans 12: 9-13 speak more of our love as towards other Christians and in verses 14-21 describes the behavior of love towards our enemies. This was the new law which surprised the Romans of those days. However it was not new to Apostle Paul. The same truth was taught in the Old Testament as Apostle Paul cites example from the book of Proverbs 20:22, 24: 29 and 25: 29. Similarly our Lord’s teaching calls for us the same attitude and action. (Mathew 5: 38-48, Luke 6: 26-38). The teaching of other Apostles is also the same. (l-Peter 3: 8- 12,4: 7-12, James 3).
Further to that those whom we are to love appear to be primarily non Christians who may persecute us as being Christians because of our faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore we should arm ourselves with a definite purpose to live for the rest of our life in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. We should not forget when Apostle Paul writes about our response to those who persecute us. He writes as an expert on the matter from both sides. Apostle Paul himself persecuted the Church with a vengeance but once he was called, he began to proclaim Jesus as Messiah. He became the target of opposition and was persecuted both from the Jews and the Gentiles. (Acts 16: 19 and 19: 23). Therefore, we are taught to Bless and love those who persecute us. Because blessing and love express the desire for good to overcome evil.
The second new law which Apostle Paul gave was the law of Grace. It means not to curse men but to bless them even though they appear to not deserve it. It is because Grace is not bestowed upon the basis of our status worth or performance. The Grace that we are to show toward men must be the same. We are not too good to associate with and serve the humble and they are not too lowly to receive the grace of God. The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is a great equalizer of men turning the social structures of society upside down. If we would love our enemies, we will also cast off false pride and reject as evil any form of discrimination based upon human merit and external measurement. Apostle Paul commands us to do more according to our text verse. We will then present our bodies as a living and Holy sacrifice acceptable to God, which is our spiritual service of worship. In Romans 12: 2 we read, ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect, will of God.’ We can exercise this through the spiritual gifts within the context of the body of Christ. Apostle Paul calls on all of us to exercise love by our response to both “Good and Evil.”