Ambrosiaster — Commentary on Scripture

Romans 12:12

Even if the times do not allow us to speak publicly about our faith, nevertheless we must rejoice in tribulation, for this sadness brings joy.… With the joy of hope we can endure tribulation, knowing that the things which are promised to those who suffer are much greater. Prayer is essential if we are to survive tribulation!

COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Romans 12:13

The imitator and lover of the saints will practice hospitality following the examples of Abraham and Lot as righteous men.

COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Romans 12:14

God makes Christians new people in every respect, so that here too he wants to take away from us the habits of anger which are common to everyone, so that instead of cursing others in anger, which we once did so easily, we might rather overcome our anger and bless them, so that the Lord’s teaching might be praised.

COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Romans 12:15

If you weep with an unbeliever, you may provoke him to accept the Lord’s teaching.

COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Romans 12:16

To be haughty is pride, which is how the devil fell.… Solomon says that “God resists the proud.” Put pride aside and make other people’s cares your own so that you might be acceptable to God.

COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Romans 12:17

The law said: “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy,” but the Lord says: “Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of God.” Therefore, in order for this to be the case, it is taught that we should not repay evil with evil.

COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Romans 12:18

Paul wants everyone who serves God’s righteousness to be peaceful.… The person who is not peaceful is the one who has rejected the law of God and who follows his own law instead.… Even if the other person is not a lover of peace, you should want to be peaceful insofar as you can be.

COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Romans 12:19

Paul warns us to avoid anger, especially because so often anger is the chief cause of sin. Someone who is motivated by wrath will demand more than the cause of the sin merits or will put himself out to do more harm while seeking revenge.… In the end he will destroy someone when he could have corrected and restored him instead.Paul forbids us to seek revenge not only from those under us but also from those who are our equals or superiors.… We are not to seek to avenge ourselves against brethren who may have sinned against us but rather to commit everything to God’s judgment, so that an enemy will find no way of promoting or advancing what is against our interest while we are too angry to notice what is happening.
Paul quotes Proverbs [25:22] to back up his point. If we do not do what God teaches, he will show us contempt. But if we give revenge over to God it benefits us in two ways: it overcomes our anger and tends toward our perfection and justification in God’s sight.

COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Romans 12:20

Paul teaches us not just to let God take revenge but also to give good things to our enemies, so that we may demonstrate that we do not have these enemies because of anything we have done. Rather, we are trying to get them to desist from evil by doing them service. If by their ungodliness they continue in their evil ways, our service to them will lead to punishment for them.… Thus the Lord not only forbids us to repay our enemies in kind but also exhorts us to seek friendship by acts of kindness, both because that serves to mature us and because it is a means of winning others to eternal life.

COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Romans 12:21

It will do us much good if we refrain from evil. The person who appears to be overcome by evil for a time in fact may be overcoming evil, just as the Savior overcame evil by not resisting it. Evil works against itself, and when it is overcome it thinks that it has won! Our enemy acts in such a way as to divert us from our purpose, looking for an opportunity to make us sin. Therefore if we are provoked by him and do not reply in kind, we overcome him with good. Therefore we do not resist, in order to serve the good by ignoring the demands of justice for retribution.

COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Romans 13:1

As Paul has already ordered that the law of heavenly righteousness be followed, he now commends earthly law as well, so as not to appear to be slighting it. For if the earthly law is not kept, the heavenly law will not be kept either. The earthly law is a kind of tutor, who helps little children along so that they can tackle a stronger degree of righteousness. For mercy cannot be imputed to anyone who does not seek righteousness.Therefore, in order to back up the authority and fear of the natural law, Paul bears witness to the fact that God is the author of both and that the ministers of the earthly law have God’s permission to act, so that no one should despise it as a merely human construction. In effect, Paul sees the divine law as being delegated to human authorities.

COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Romans 13:2

Paul writes this against those who believe that because of their own power they cannot be apprehended and so therefore they can play fast and loose with the law. He shows them that this is the law of God and that those who by some subterfuge escape it for a time will not escape God’s judgment.

COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Romans 13:3

Rulers here are kings who are created in order to correct behavior and prevent bad things from happening. They have the image of God, because everyone else is under one head.

COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Romans 13:4

Since God has ordained that there will be a future judgment and he does not want anyone to perish, he has ordained rulers in this world who, by causing people to be afraid of them, act as tutors to mankind, teaching them what to do in order to avoid future punishment.

COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Romans 13:5

One must be subject … because of the coming judgment, for whoever escapes now will be punished then, his own conscience accusing him.

COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Romans 13:7

Giving honor to the powers that be in this world may have the effect that, if they see the humility of Christ’s servants, they may praise rather than curse the gospel’s teaching.

COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Romans 13:8

Paul wants us to have peace with everyone and love the brethren. Then we shall not owe anybody anything.He who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law of Moses. The commandment of the new law is that we should love our enemies also.

COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Romans 13:9

Moses wrote all this in order to reform the natural law.… Although there may be other laws which Paul has not mentioned, love is the fulfillment of them all. For if the human race had loved from the beginning, there would never have been any wickedness on earth. For the result of unrighteousness is discord.

COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Romans 13:10

Paul is using the words of the law to arrive at the meaning of the gospel. Therefore when he records the fulfilling of the law he ties it to the gospel, demonstrating that both have a single author. Yet in the time of Christ it was necessary to add something, viz., that we should love our enemies as well as our neighbors.… What does it mean to love an enemy, except to choose not to hate him any longer and to seek to do him no harm?… For the Lord himself on the cross prayed for his enemies in order to demonstrate what the fullness of righteousness, which he had taught, actually was.

COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES

Romans 13:11

Paul says that the time has come when we must hasten to obtain our reward. This is what it means to wake up from sleep—to do good as if it were day, i.e., openly.… It is clear that if we live well after baptism and strive for love we are not far from the reward of the promised resurrection. For the good life of a Christian is the sign of future salvation. For when a person is baptized he is forgiven but not rewarded. Later, as he walks in newness of life, he is near to eternal life.

COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES