Romans 12:1–8

Verse 1. With this chapter Saint Paul begins his second part, in which he gives us most excellent lessons of morality, after which every Christian should aim to form his life, and thus resemble Jesus Christ and his saints. A.—That you present your bodies a living sacrifice. And how must this be done? says Saint John Chrysostom hom. xx. Let the eye abstain from sinful looks and glances, and it is a sacrifice; the tongue from speaking ill, and it is a sacrifice, and so forth—Your reasonable service, or worship, [1] from you; nothing being more reasonable, than for men to serve God with their souls and bodies, and so forth Witham.

Verse 2. Take care, lest you imitate the practices of worldlings. Let your heart, your ambition, carry you to heaven: ever despise those things which the world admires, that every one may see by your actions that you are not of the society of worldlings, and have neither regard nor friendship for them. Calmet.—Transform yourselves into new men, by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern on all occasions, what is most perfect, most pleasing and acceptable to God. V.

Verse 3. To be wise unto sobriety. Not pretending to be more wise, or more knowing than you are.—As God hath divided to every one the measure of faith. The sense by what follows is, that every one make the best use, for the glory of God, and the good of his neighbour, of the gifts and graces which he hath received together with the faith of Christ; that is of prophecy, or the gift of interpreting past prophecies, or of foretelling things to come, of exhorting, of ministering as to those functions which belong to the ministers of the gospel, and so forth Witham.