Published: July 27, 2025 | Speaker: Chuck Hartman | Series: Romans - Part 74 | Scripture: Romans 12:14-16
Transcript
View Full Transcript →
0:02
that aliens came from outer space to our planet looking for intelligent life, but they landed at a four-way stop, so they just went home. So, what about personality? What what about our temperament as we look at the
0:14
admonitions of scripture toward our behavior? What if we are colleric? What what if we are given to uh energetic response rather than rather
0:26
than passive? This is a difficult passage for some of us for some temperaments.
0:37
If someone is prone to that energetic response or even to anger, does does that make them less Christian than the
0:49
one who by temperament basically doesn't respond? Someone whose whose reaction is to fight is they are they less a Christian than
1:01
someone whose someone whose reaction is flight. In other words, is our Christianity actually determined by our personality, by our temperament? And and I think the
1:11
answer we all understand is no. And I think it's very dangerous for us to allow through our Christian devotional literature and preaching and just the attitude of the church to allow us to
1:21
create this somehow this um this amalgamation of what we think are the most Christian attitudes. Because when we go to scripture, as we learned in Sunday school this morning, we see men
1:34
like Moses who was the most humble among all God's creature. Moses said so
1:44
destroying the tablets of God's law, right? And as as Aaron so powerfully pointed out, tearing down the work of of Aaron, sorry, Aaron, his brother's hands, crushing that idol and pouring it
1:55
out into the into the river, into the brook. What kind of a temperament was that? You know, there are times, I think, when we see exhibited in Jesus Christ pretty
2:07
much all four of the the human temperaments because he was a perfect human being. He was not one of them or or even half of one and half of another. He was the full package and without sin.
2:21
And so when we look at these passages, each of you we each of us needs to look at our own heart and say, okay, what what what kind of a response do I have? Does my temperament on the one hand does
2:32
the temperament interfere with my being a Christian? And the answer is no. But on the other hand, may I use my temperament as an excuse to disobey
2:42
scripture? May it never be. And and that's another important side of the same coin is we cannot use our our personality as an excuse and say, "Well, I'm just not like that. God didn't make
2:54
me that way." No. The way we are has been corrupted by sin and is no longer the way God made us.
3:05
But it is the way he's remaking us in Christ according to his son by his holy spirit. And so on the one hand we can say that you know when I became a Christian my
3:17
personality did not all of a sudden miraculously change into some perfect type. And and sanctification doesn't mean me becoming something other than I am by temperament. But what it means is
3:30
the sanctification of my temperament. And in the body of Christ, all just like all joints and ligaments provide what the body needs. So all personalities,
3:41
all types, all benders are needed. There is a role for all of us. And all of us are called to obey the commands of God.
3:52
And so it's not an excuse on the one hand, but it is also in a sense not a prohibition. Let's look at Paul for a moment. What what kind of personality was he? Would anybody who's watched
4:04
Avatar would anybody claim Paul was an air bender? No. I think he was somewhere between an earth bender and a fire bender. But you
4:16
know, that's not in infallible by any means. When we read in the book of acts that John Mark departed from them and and and left them
4:27
Paul and Barnabas in the work of the ministry and went back home later on when they were going back out again Barnabas says let's let's take John Mark and Paul says no way and they had a they
4:37
had a sharp disagreement is what the scripture says. Now, normally those who preach on that passage and commentaries on that passage take Barnabas's side
4:50
because of course Barnabas has that Christian personality, you know, of longsuffering and patience. Paul on the other hand says, "I got a work to do."
5:01
And frankly, I don't need someone who's going to jettison when the going gets tough. No, he's not going. Who was right? Who was wrong? Well, I
5:13
would submit to you they were both right because John Barnabas then took John Mark aside back home, trained him up, and later on Paul actually asks for him.
5:26
I I need him. He's He's beneficial for my work. Okay. Paul, on the other hand, took Silas and then they went off and did great things. So neither one of them was wrong, but
5:36
what you have there is a picture of two different temperaments in the body of Christ. And you know what? Occasionally they're kind of like the kinetic theory of molecular bonding. They crash.
5:50
They collide. Sometimes in Paul and Barnabas's case, it meant they went different ways. But I think within the congregation
6:02
that's not what is meant to happen. What is meant to happen again using that analogy of chemical bonding is that those collisions actually produce something far more beneficial. As iron
6:13
sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. And so Paul was a type of apostle who could stand against Alexander in in Ephesus.
6:26
He could stand against Deeus who loved the world and abandoned the faith. And he can even speak harsh words to Barnabas and to Peter the first pope.
6:44
But on other times, I think he was very compassionate. Read the letter to Phileiman. I think he understood he he understood what his congregations were going through. And and so I think he was
6:54
a probably a coleric temperament being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Now very quickly I want to try to
7:04
disabuse a misconception. Um, and I don't do this, um, you know, I keep using the analogy of the avatar, and I don't do that in in any disrespect
7:15
to scripture, but only because I think it is such a wonderful portrayal of a temperament with which I am very intimate. The misconception is that firebenders thrive on conflict.
7:28
Well, let me tell you that the collaric temperament does not necessarily thrive on conflict. on conflict. That temperament thrives on things going the way they think they should. There's
7:40
a big difference. The difference is that when things don't go the way they think they should, they react differently than a flaggmatic or melancholic or even a sanguin
7:52
personality will. And that reaction can be confused as an affinity for conflict. Now, let me quickly say that they're not
8:05
infallible. They just simply like things to go the way they think they should. We all like that. We just react differently when they don't. they don't. And none of us are infallible such that
8:15
the way we think things should go is in fact the way God thinks things should go. That doesn't work out. But again, I think Avatar gives an excellent example
8:27
excellent example of two men who were both firebenders, but to to each the idea of conflict generated a very different response.
8:38
Fire Lord Sosan and Avatar Roku. Again, I don't know how many of you have watched this. If you haven't, watch it. You you understand.
8:48
Sosan thrived on conflict and sought it out, but to Rooko, it tore him up. And that is brought out so well. That's what
8:58
I like about it's a children's show, but it's great for adults because there's so much psychology in this. And and you see how it's tearing up the avatar who
9:09
desires peace and unity among the four nations. And yet he stands for the fight. things aren't going the way he wants and he
9:20
stands for the fight. He does not desire conflict, but when conflict comes, that particular temperament will stand for
9:31
the fight the fight and hope it's a quick one. And so, I wanted to get that out of the way because it's it's a terrible misunderstanding. And I've had it years and years ago. I remember being asked to
9:42
fill in on a Wednesday evening Bible study and and by the by the providence of God, I don't know what I had done wrong. They were in Romans 9.
9:53
[Music] And in fact, the verse that we were supposed to start with is God will have mercy upon him who will have mercy and will punish those whom he will punish. And so I basically just said it's God's sovereign will and his choice as to the
10:06
election of of of people. And I had one of the attendees try to physically jump down my throat. And one of the accusation was is you just thrive
10:16
on conflict. on conflict. There's a misunderstanding there. All four personality types have strengths and weaknesses. and weaknesses. And we other types, the other three
10:29
types tend frequently to misunderstand the thought processes of the other temperaments. And in the church, we are all one in
10:40
Christ, but individually members of one another. And so when we look at passages like
10:53
we can't help but look to ourselves and our own personalities and our own temperaments and ask ourselves the question, how how do I how do I handle four-way stops in a
11:04
manner that glorifies God in Jesus Christ? That's my personal there are others obviously that's somewhat trivial. I don't think it is, but
11:14
I hate them. I'm sorry. But you know there are things in your life that you don't handle well and and much of it is because of your
11:25
temperament. So what Paul is saying here is not not just we all should be like this perfect model but rather that all of us need to be in our own individual
11:37
temperaments sanctified by the Holy Spirit so that when we come together this is what the world sees. They see rejoicing with those who rejoice. They
11:48
see weeping with those who weep. They see humble-minded people who are not considering themselves more important than they ought.
12:02
But as you read these verses, I don't think your mind should necessarily, as it does with my mind, sadly, go to Avatar. I think there's a a reference here that that all of us can hear echoing,
12:13
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God." See what we have here. Obviously Paul was not in his mind thinking of Avatar.
12:25
I think he was thinking of Jesus Christ. And what he's saying here is is a practical application of the biatitudes. Matthew chapter 5, the sermon on the
12:36
mount. Again, a passage that uh is is not easy for people to to appropriate to their lives. In fact, if you read the commentaries over the history of the church on the sermon on the mount,
12:46
you'll see that it's not been easy to figure out what they even stand for and what we're supposed to do with them. And I'll touch upon that this morning. But we we've seen we've seen before how
12:57
Romans 12 works with Philippians 2 so closely. In Philippians 2, he says, "Have this attitude which was which was in Christ Jesus." That's what Paul is
13:07
enjoining here in these verses. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and curse not. What did Jesus say on the cross? Father, forgive them for they know not
13:17
what they do. Okay? And so everything we're reading Paul admonishing us to do and to be, we see lived exemplary in
13:29
Jesus Christ. And and I know that in in all of Paul's writing where he emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit within us, he is emphasizing what Jesus promised in the upper room discourse.
13:41
And that is, I will come to be with you. I will dwell inside you through the Holy Spirit. I will guide you into all truth. So the first thing we have to realize is
13:51
that we're never going to do these things either through or because of our temperament. We can acknowledge that some things are easier for certain temperaments than
14:03
others. But none of us will ever fulfill the righteousness of God on the basis of our personality type. Each one of us needs our own thinking to
14:16
be sanctified by the word of God. It is Jesus Christ who is the perfect fulfillment of all that we are called to do. And so it is only in Christ that that we
14:27
can even hope to attain these these lofty goals that we read in these verses. And so I want to tie in now a little bit uh Philippians 2, of course, we've
14:39
talked about, but now let's look at the sermon on the mount. Let's look at the biatitudes. We read, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for
14:50
theirs is the kingdom of heaven." And so, excuse me. We we've already seen Paul say that we are to love the brethren, Philadelphia. And and we're to love strangers, phosenon, even those who
15:02
are outside of the faith. But now we we realize that we're also to love and to bless those who persecute us. Not just people who are different from us, strange to us, but those who actually
15:15
oppose us and seek our harm. And that's not easy. I don't think that's easy for any of the four personality types. Um, but let's look at what what Paul or what
15:26
Jesus is saying. What is what are the biatitudes? A very popular view, the dispensational
15:37
view is that the biatitudes and the sermon on the mount in general represent the ethics of the millennial kingdom. The teaching is that these are not
15:48
admonitions to the gentile church, but rather to the Jewish kingdom of God, which was taken from Israel because of
15:58
their rejection of Jesus Christ and postponed until sometime in the future and sometime still in the future in the thousand-year reign of Jesus on David's
16:10
throne that they call the millennial kingdom. And in that kingdom, people will be judged by their adherence to the
16:21
biatitudes. It will be returned to a worksoriented law-based and temple centered worship of Yahweh. I don't have the time to go into that, but it is blasphemous and it is horrible
16:33
exesus of the scripture. And the only logical thing to do if you think that way is to simply cut the sermon on the mount out of your Bible because it has
16:43
nothing to do with
16:57
of the millennial kingdom. These are the ethics of the church. This is how the church, this is basically the law of the church. And it has been a tendency throughout Christian history to want to go back to
17:09
law. Tell us what to do. Tell us what not to do. And so we want to bring back law into our lives. No, no matter what
17:20
the scripture says that the righteousness of God will not be fulfilled through the law and that in the law no man shall be justified. No, we we still want to bring back. We we want to know what to do. What do I do on
17:32
Sundays? Tell me, please. Right. And and here it is. This is what to do. Now, the problem with that, and that's probably equal to the other problem, maybe not so
17:42
bad, but the problem with that is that it tends towards a works mentality and toward a moralistic Christianity. It
17:54
also tends because we are still filled with sin in our members. It tends toward hypocrisy. The all of these things can be imitated.
18:05
All of these things can be counterfeited. We can teach ourselves how to behave this way without actually having any change in our heart at all. That's
18:17
hypocrisy. And remember, the heading of this whole section is love without hypocrisy. So again, you can't use your temperament as an excuse. I'm sorry, that's just the
18:29
way God made me. No, that's not right. But on the other hand, you can't just fake it either. You can't just say that, you know, or on the outward doing something when in your heart you are far
18:41
from not only God but from his people. This whole thing, this whole concept here is remarkably the basis of the the liberal contention that Jesus and Paul
18:53
preached different gospels. The argument in a in a nutshell goes this way that Jesus basically taught people, excuse me, that Jesus taught people that you
19:05
you need to be meek, submissive, mild, and nice. Paul on the other hand says it doesn't really matter what you do you got to
19:16
believe. So those are the two gospels that the modern liberal churches believe are presented to us in the New Testament. The gospel of Jesus which we
19:27
we all kind of like just you know kind of get along with one another kind of rid Rodney King style gospel. Why can't we all just get along? And then Paul who's a who's a much harder hitter than
19:38
Jesus it would seem. Well, that that's a fallacy and again a heresy. Um, but this is where it comes from. But what does what do the biatitudes
19:48
actually mean? What do we do? What do we do with the sermon on the mount? Well, I think we can look at it two ways. Individually and corporately.
19:59
Individually, I would say that what the sermon on the mount does for us is to teach us and to show us a sanctified temperament. Again, we have to read into that. So, I'm I'm
20:11
not going to to die on that battlefield, but I do think we have to come to the scripture in some respects as we are and not as others think we ought to be. And
20:24
so, when we come, we come as to a mirror. The scripture actually says that we come as to a mirror. And we don't all see the same thing. And yet, we do. When we look at ourselves in the mirror
20:35
of scripture, on the one hand is reflected back our inward nature, our temperament, and that's not the same as everyone else. In addition to that is
20:47
our heritage as well as our baggage and that's not the same as everyone else. But when a believer comes to the mirror of the word, he or she sees commonly
20:58
Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. And so when we look at the sermon on the mount, we each one look at it differently. We don't all see ourselves the same way
21:10
in it because we are not all created the same way, but we all see Jesus in it. And that I think is the is the purpose of reading with grace is to understand
21:22
that these things are in a sense like the law. This is the perfect believer who is Jesus Christ. Not me, not you.
21:33
But I would say and submit as I have so often that Paul very, very rarely deals with individual devotion or disciplehip. And more often than that, he looks at
21:45
the body of Christ in a corporate context. And I think that's definitely the context of of Romans 12. We have to remember that he's he's laid out in a very summary form the charismata, the
21:57
gifts that are supposed to operate within the body of Christ. And now he's saying this is what it looks like, the love and the care and the mutual concern that one has in the body for one
22:09
another. And so what does the sermon on the mount mean corporately? Well, I would say in a word it means coinia. that what Paul does throughout his letters when he uses that word meaning
22:20
fellowship or communion or participation coinia he's saying over and over again we are members one with another
22:32
and so this is to Paul the corporate body of Christ functioning as a unified body rejoicing when others rejoice
22:42
weeping when others weep bearing one another's burdens and bearing one another one's own burden. All of the things that he writes, he's writing from this perspective of
22:53
growing up in love into the into the head Jesus Christ as he puts it in Ephesians 4. Ephesians 4. And so the community, not the monastic
23:06
cell, not your your prayer closet, not your your morning devotions, the community is the venue of
23:16
sanctification. We come to that venue as individuals made in the image of God but with individual temperaments, individual heritage, individual perspectives. But
23:26
we come individually as one and each one contributes and is sanctified by the life of the community
23:37
again growing up into the head who is Jesus Christ. So to abandon or or uh even to avoid the congregation, the community is to stifle sanctification.
23:55
Let me say that again. To abandon or to avoid the congregation is to stifle sanctification.
24:07
This is where it takes place. And I really don't know of any other venue in that where sanctification takes place. Paul writes again Philippians 2 the first two
24:19
verses he says if therefore there is any encouragement in Christ these are these are rhetorical statements. The answer is understood that there is and there are
24:29
these things. If there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation in love, if there is any fellowship of the spirit, if any affection and compassion,
24:42
make my joy complete by being of the same mind, which is what he says here in Romans 12. Being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in
24:53
spirit, intent on one purpose.
25:04
to speak to the individual who seeks sanct sanctification individually through his or her own efforts. I must say that you're not going to find it there.
25:15
it there. But to echo Paul in all of his letters, you're going to find it when you individually join with the body of which you are a
25:26
necessary member. necessary member. so that you might both give and receive what is necessary for your sanctification. And that includes
25:38
the mixing and blending and sometimes the bouncing off one another and even the conflict of temperamental differences, differences in personality.
25:51
And so when we come together then that is I think the the the context of what Paul is saying here out of which we cannot either understand or apply what
26:04
Paul says in these verses in Romans 12. But I think modern Christianity because of of the individualism of our culture and because of the the fact that
26:17
we are only limited to thumbs up and that we expect to hear what is affirming to ourselves. That's what we're taught. Now, I think that within the modern
26:27
evangelical church, it's somewhat like uh a community like Monopoly where there's a pile of cards, the community chest, and you take from that card whenever something goes wrong in the
26:39
church. But the problem is it's a pile of the same card and it says leave.
26:52
Just leave. We've talked about this many times and again I know it can be easily m misunderstood but I think in the presence of God two things. First you you need to be really
27:04
certain in your mind in your heart when you attach yourself to an actual community of believers. A church shouldn't do it willy-nilly. You shouldn't do it on the basis of the
27:14
denomination you grew up in. You should do it on the basis of the adherence to the word of God to discipline and to
27:26
fellowship. Having done that, there ought to be a really, really good reason before God before you leave. Because if you believe in the providence of God, and everybody does, okay?
27:37
Because having been doing this now for three decades, the two things that I hear most frequently concerning attendance of the church is God led me
27:48
here and God is telling me to leave. Okay. All right. So, we do take it seriously. Generally, evangelicals do take membership in a body seriously. But I don't know that we understand it the
28:00
way Paul did that that this this is our not just our life. It is our sanctification. God has given us as believers two venues
28:11
in which he intends by his spirit to sanctify us. The world and the church. And there is far more said about the world and our life in it and about the
28:22
church and our responsibilities in it. And this is I think going to maybe upset some of you. There is more said about those two venues than about our own
28:35
families. And even what is said about our families is either said within the context of obedience to the Lord or in the context of not loving mother or father or sister
28:47
or brother more than him. Now I know that it is very popular in our day to be family oriented and I think that is that is a subset of our
28:57
life as a body of Christ. But again looking to the scripture our life in the world as witnesses for God through Jesus Christ and our life in the
29:08
body whereby the Holy Spirit is ministering to the whole body through what each one contributes. That's the context of the New Testament and it transcends any other human
29:27
marriage. For Paul says that if a unbelieving spouse chooses to leave, then the believing spouse is no longer
29:38
bound. remarkable statement for a Jew to make. The relationship we have with Christ in his body is paramount to any other
29:49
relationship that we have in this life. They are not worthless and they are not unimportant, but they are secondary or even further down than our relationship
29:59
to the body of Christ, our relationship to one another through the Holy Spirit. And so it comes down in the end to how do I do this? Especially if my
30:11
temperament is is is not quite conducive to this kind of behavior. I think it comes down largely and and I want to say this carefully. I
30:22
think it comes down largely to our again recognizing that we can easily be hypocritical in our speech.
30:34
And so I I want to again quote Paul from this time from Colossians where he says in verse in chapter 4, "Let your speech always be with grace
30:44
seasoned with salt so that you may know how you should respond to each person." Now that seasoned with salt is really the key because we don't necessarily
30:57
understand what it means to respond with grace. We we tend to think that that means respond nicely and make the person feel good. Okay? Don't say anything that will
31:09
upset. That's not gracious. And so we misinterpret grace. And so Paul's very careful. He says, "Seasoned with salt." Now, we think, "Okay, make our speech spicy and not bland." No. Now, that's
31:22
not what salt did in the ancient world. Salt preserved. Salt preserved. Salt arrested corruption. Salt worked to forestall the natural
31:34
degradation of a corrupt world. That's what salt did. Okay? That's what salt still does, but we have refrigerators now. So when he says season with salt, he's
31:46
he's not saying be spicy and not bland. And he's not saying be nice all the time because a lot of deception can be hidden behind nice talk.
31:57
What he's saying is your speech, if it is gracious, should work to the preservation of the body. And at times that will be words of
32:08
encouragement, words of consolation, words of exhortation and words of rebuke. And with each of our different
32:19
personalities, we will fall into one of those categories. It'll be more natural for some of us to give words of encouragement. Barnabas, for example. Others of us will be more
32:31
like Paul, words of rebuke. I don't think that's the way it's supposed to be. We don't have little signs over our doors for rebuke. Go, you know, to this thing for encouragement. Go to this person. Although we tend to
32:43
learn that, especially in a family, we learn which parent to go to when we, you know, want certain things. No, we are all together to encourage,
32:54
to console, to console, to admonish and to rebuke because each one of us should have speech that
33:04
preserves, speech that arrests and even to some extent reverses corruption because of sin. A and the way to do that, Paul puts it here. He tells us in verse 16,
33:16
"Do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought." It it comes down not to just what we
33:28
say, but what we think behind what we say. And for every personality type, there is the realization that I am fallen, that I
33:39
am corrupt, that in me dwells no good thing, that how I respond to things may be part of my temperament, but is not thereby righteous. thereby righteous. And so we self criticize and we're
33:52
self-aware of our particular way of dealing with things. And then we seek the Lord's grace by the Holy Spirit and his word. his word. to respond
34:03
to respond seasoned with salt. Many of your Bibles say seasoned as it were with salt. The as it were is not in the Greek and shouldn't be in the
34:14
English. It it detracts from the force of what Paul is saying there and makes it sound like that little phrase is just kind of an add-on when it's actually the key to what he's saying there.
34:25
And so going back to the issue of temperament and the commandments of God,
34:36
Paul says, 'Do not be wise in your own estimation, but rather think with humility of mind. Very quickly, that does not mean think of yourself in negative ways. Again,
34:47
based on some people's temperament, thinking with humility of mind comes naturally. That doesn't make it right. Because up in verse three, he's already said, "Think with sound judgment.
35:01
Know that you have been redeemed by the power of God and the power that raised Christ from the dead is now at work in every single believer. Know that the temperament that he has given you is not
35:14
to be changed, but rather sanctified. that your perspective and your mental paradigm is necessary for the health of the whole body just as your individual
35:26
gifts are necessary. And in all of these things, understand and know your temperament and be sanctified in it. Let us pray.
35:39
Father, we do ask that you would sanctify us. We know as you have said through Paul that that is your will, our sanctification. But Father, we pray that by being in
35:50
your word, we would understand what that means and what it doesn't mean. That we would not allow others to set up some standard that they consider to be
36:02
perfect, but in fact is not. The only perfect standard is Jesus Christ. And he was a perfect human. He displayed all the perfect
36:13
the perfect aspects of humanity. And so we pray, Father, that whatever you have made us to be, you would remake us in the image of Jesus Christ.
36:23
That whatever we are in ourselves would be perfected in Christ. That whatever our temperament might be, it might be molded to the glory of your name through
36:36
Jesus Christ. and in doing so that you would build up your body and that we would glorify Jesus in this community and in the world. We ask in
36:47
Jesus name. Amen. Well, please stand for the benediction this morning from Thessalonians chapter
36:58
5. 1 Thessalonians and a very encouraging word. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely and may your spirit and soul
37:10
and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he who calls you and he also will bring it to pass. Amen.
37:35
sketch about the argument. I wanted to encourage this is review. You're in the wrong. I actually thought of that when I thought of that.
37:48
There was a invocating with the lowly they have or give yourself to humble tasks. I think that's probably better. Is that right? Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. They didn't have any qualification on the ore. Usually when they do and
37:58
it's that different, I think, okay, that was the right way and you kick it down. Yeah. Right. Right. Yeah. But not that it diminishes the force at all. Uh, I think it could probably go