Rom 16:16 Holy Kissing

Paul instructs the Christians of Rome (and Corinth and Thessalonica) to "greet one another with a holy kiss."

It was family members, and those being treated as members of the family, who would greet one another with a kiss in Rome. For this reason kissing cannot be equated with shaking hands (contra J B Phillips) – a greeting we use with strangers and acquaintances, almost never with family members. Therefore, "holy" cannot mean chaste. Rather it reflects the identification of Christians as "the saint" (= "the holy ones," see 1:7). A "holy kiss" is the kiss of the saints, the family of God. Family is a key first-century value. It is your family that is your closest and strongest alliances in life and in business – the only ones you can truly trust.

Therefore, Paul's command is better translated as "greet one another as your closest companions." A command targeted against the divisions among the Christians of Rome (e.g., week/strong, Jew/Gentile, honoured/marginal).

Many of our churches today are too large for us to know one another. [Recently, one friendly parishioner asked if I was new to the church. "No," I replied. "I've been coming here since 1997."] This has led us to treat the sanctuary as "public space" which strangers inhabit according to the rules of politeness – don't sit too close if you don't have to – rather than as "private space" (e.g., homes) where everyone crowds in together. Next time you're in church, get there early and watch the sanctuary fill up; I think you will see lots of distance between people that is only filled in gradually – strangers sharing the same space rather than family gathering together.

We need to hear and obey Paul's instruction: greet one another with a holy kiss.

Romans 12:1-2 Spiritual Worship

Worship is the appropriate response to God (see 1:18-32).

This worship is not just the privilege of the Jews (see 9:4) but is appropriate from each of the one people of the one God (i.e., "brothers and sisters," 12:1). This is a "reasonable" (NRSV: spiritual) act – the act of a person made in the image of God. This worship is "pleasing" (NRSV: acceptable) to God and is done in the midst of this "age" (NRSV: world), that is, bodily.

Our worship is a response to God's mercies ("by," 12:1).

The transforming of the mind is to bring the self in step with the Spirit (ch 8) rather than this "present evil age" (Gal 1:4, see Rom 7). This allows us to know the mind of God without the instruction of the Torah (cf. 2:18; see Jer 31:33) – a sign of the new age of the Spirit.

Romans 1:18-32 Sin is a Religious Act

Our personal sins are not the cause of God's judgment - they are the result of his present ("is," v.18) judgment!

This seems counter-intuitive because we have a tendency to view God as a cosmic judge whose role it is to punish sin. And, we believe, that left to ourselves we are basically decent people.

Observation: repetition of "Therfore, God gave them up...", vv. 24, 26, 28

Because they did not honor God or give him thanks... [this is the essential SIN]

God gave them up to... [the judment of SIN]

• impurity, dishonouring of their bodies [sins]
• dishonourable passions [sins]
• a base mind and improper conduct [sins]

Sin is a religious issue not a moral or ethical issue.

THEREFORE, the solution to sin must be "religious" - a relationship with the living God. This relationship is not "theological" (a statement of belief about God) but religious (a way of life with God, i.e., honour + thanksgiving).