Missional Economics

Biblical Justice and Christian Formation

Michael Barram

• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781467450409
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

American Christians today, says Michael Barram, have a signifi­cant blind spot when it comes to economic matters in the Bible. In this book Barram reads biblical texts related to matters of money, wealth, and poverty through a missional lens, showing how they function to transform our economic reasoning.

Barram searches for insight into God's purposes for economic justice by exploring what it might look like to think and act in life-giving ways in the face of contemporary economic orthodoxies. The Bible repeatedly tells us how to treat the poor and marginalized, Barram says, and faithful Christians cannot but reflect carefully and concretely on such concerns.

Written in an accessible style, this biblically rooted study reflects years of research and teaching on social and economic justice in the Bible and will prove useful for lay readers, preachers, teachers, students, and scholars.

CHAPTER ONE

Transformation for Life

In Romans 12:2, the apostle Paul urges his Roman Christian readers to allow God to transform them and their behavior for the sake of their gospel-oriented mission in the world: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may know what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.”¹ This verse emphasizes “formation” in at least two ways. First, Paul presupposes that the Roman Christians are to some degree already “conformed” to the non-Christian context in which they live, which is apparently a potential barrier to understanding God’s will and appropriately discerning how they should live in light of God’s perspective. Second, Paul recognizes that his readers will need to “be transformed” in order to move beyond their conformity.

Romans 12:1–2: The Need for Transformation

In the first eleven chapters of his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul sketches the most influential and compelling account ever composed of the cosmos-transforming gospel of God in Jesus Christ. Then, beginning in chapter 12, he turns to explore the implications of that gospel, especially for the community of those in Rome whose own lives have been forever altered by the good news. As is typical in Greco-Roman letters, Paul follows the main content portions (the “body”) of his correspondence with what is known in Greek as paraenesis (essentially, moral instruction and encouragement). In Paul’s letter to the Roman Christians, this paraenetic section begins with Romans 12:1–2. These two verses serve as a critical pivot point in the letter, linking the main theological argument in chapters 1–11 to the moral exhortation that begins in chapter 12.

“Present Your Bodies as a Living Sacrifice”

In Romans 12:1, Paul writes, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Paul then begins to explore the implications of the gospel for his readers’ everyday lives together and within the wider world in light of—and on the basis of (“therefore”)—everything he has written in chapters 1–11. When he urges them “to present” their “bodies as a living sacrifice,” he uses language that evokes both the Jewish heritage of faith and the potential for suffering and difficulty (cf. Rom. 5:8). Moreover, this phrase calls for concrete, communal witness: he is exhorting individuals—embodied people, in all their humanity and specificity—to come together as a single “living sacrifice.” Paul considers this tangible, unified sacrifice on the part of the believing community to be its “spiritual worship.” The Greek word translated “spiritual” here in the New Revised Standard Version is logikos, from which we get the English word “logical” (the New English Translation renders the word “reasonable”). Paul has in mind a form of worship that makes logical sense in light of the gospel of God. Appropriate worship here is neither a kind of disembodied, otherworldly spirituality nor something that pertains to isolated individuals. Rather, Paul is calling for concrete witness to the gospel lived out within the context of the real stuff of life—a witness that is fundamentally communal in nature. For Paul, this is what “logical” worship looks like, given what God has and is continuing to accomplish in the world.

In summary, Paul seeks in Romans 12:1 to ensure that the individual Roman believers offer themselves “as a living sacrifice” to God, in communal unity, a sacrifice that they offer together as an appropriate response to the good news of God’s work in and through Christ on their behalf and on behalf of the entire creation (see, e.g., Rom. 8:18–25).

“Do Not Be Conformed . . . But Be Transformed”

Romans 12:2 then expresses Paul’s deep hope for the community’s formation: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.” This verse in particular provides a fundamental theme for this study, as it presses toward what will be at the heart of this book, namely, the moral formation of the Christian community for its mission in the world. Paul is seeking to form the Roman Christians’ moral logic and reasoning so that their behavior, both within the community and beyond, will be appropriate in light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which Paul has been devoted to unpacking throughout the letter.

In Romans 12:2, then, Paul enjoins the Roman Christians not to “be conformed to” the world as they know it, but to allow themselves to “be transformed by the renewing of [their] minds.” Again, the goal of such transformation is that they “may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Several things in Romans 12:2 are worth noting further, since they relate to the larger approach and purpose of this book. Let us start with the end of Paul’s statement and move progressively toward the beginning. Paul wants the Roman Christian community to be able to discern God’s will—to be able to figure out and recognize “what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Although the will of God cannot be reduced to mere morality, the epistolary context of this statement shows that clarity of moral discernment is the goal of the transformation the apostle hopes to see in the believers.

“Discernment” is not an especially popular word today, but it is a crucial factor for Paul—and for the Bible more broadly—in moral decision-making. Discernment in this context refers to the process of moral reflection by which we decide what behavioral choices we will make in a given situation. Obviously, then, discernment includes the process of selecting, evaluating, and weighing factors that may need to be considered in order to make appropriate decisions. There can be many such factors with which to wrestle: from general moral principles and ethical theories to matters of character and conscience; from norms and laws to the specific circumstances of a particular moral question or dilemma; from mitigating factors to personal experience, and so on.

For the apostle, moral discernment is fundamentally about grasping what God considers appropriate—thus his emphasis on “the will of God” (Rom 12:2). Contrary to what some readers may assume, Paul does not reason primarily on the basis of rules or commands—nor, in fact, does the Bible more generally; instead, Paul thinks through moral situations by seeking to grasp God’s “will” within God’s larger purposes, often in light of God’s actions, past and present—and especially in and through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The context makes it clear that God’s perspective ultimately determines what qualifies as “good and acceptable and perfect.” In any case, adequate discernment in the context of the Roman Christian community should lead to appropriate and faithful behavior, rooted in the “good,” “acceptable,” and “perfect.”

Paul does not assume that adequate discernment will come easily or naturally to the Christian community. On the contrary, he indicates in Romans 12:2 that believers will need to “be transformed,” implying that their lives will need to undergo significant change. The status quo will not suffice. Transformation refers to the radical change that takes place when something in one form takes on another shape or form entirely—such as when a caterpillar becomes, quite remarkably, a gorgeous butterfly. It is not about making minor adjustments or gently tinkering around the edges of something.

For Paul, nothing less than transformation is required in the lives of the Roman Christians in order for them to live out their missional calling in the world faithfully, particularly with respect to the moral choices they make, both inside and outside the community itself. The entire cosmos has been transformed by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the community—individually and together—needs to experience a similar metamorphosis. As Paul points out in 2 Corinthians 5:17, those who are “in Christ” have indeed become “a new creation.” Even so, their moral reasoning and conduct must undergo ongoing transformation so that they increasingly live into the “new creation” that they already are in Christ.

How does such transformation occur? Paul assumes that the Roman Christians’ transformation will come about through a “renewing of [their] minds.” This is a significant and striking assumption—especially, perhaps, for those of us today who live in a social and cultural environment that valorizes intellect and reason. As heirs of the Enlightenment, we often presuppose the value of reason and the effectiveness of our rational capabilities in order to make decisions and to discern possible options for action. Christians may assume that their reasoned perspectives naturally and readily bring them close to understanding God’s will. And yet we have ample evidence that our reasoning does not always lead us to the best choices; indeed, the historical record is replete with examples of times when our human reason has failed us—individually and communally—often with horrific results.

There is a strong sense in the Bible that human reason is limited. By suggesting that the Roman Christians’ minds need renewal, Paul indicates that something is wrong with the ways in which they reason about moral issues. Their natural, human logic is not foolproof. They do not automatically discern “what is good and acceptable and perfect.” For Paul, a renewed mind thinks and reasons differently than does a traditional “this-worldly” mind. Logical categories and considerations typically relevant in first-century Rome are inadequate for those who are “in Christ.” Again, Paul assumes that the resurrection of Jesus Christ has fundamentally altered the state of the cosmos and, whether or not that radical fact is recognized or acknowledged, the state of reality has forever shifted. The kind of moral and spiritual discernment required in this new age necessitates (re)new(ed) minds.

How is such renewal to be accomplished? A second feature of the Greek word for transformation that Paul uses may suggest what he has in mind. The apostle uses a second-person plural imperative: metamorphousthe (“be transformed”). Rather than suggesting that such transformation will come about by their own efforts or ingenuity—as if they would be able to grit their teeth and work hard to transform themselves by force of will—Paul uses a passive-voice imperative, which indicates that the transformation of the Roman Christians will be brought about ultimately by God, the real (albeit implicit) subject of the verb. Biblical scholars call this usage of the passive voice in the New Testament the divine passive. That is, Paul is urging—indeed, instructing—the Roman Christians to allow themselves to “be transformed” by God. Again, the power for transformation will not come from them but from the God whom they serve. In other words, Paul commands his readers to participate willingly and eagerly in the process of their divinely orchestrated transformation. Further, the present tense of the imperative may well imply that the apostle envisions an ongoing and continual need for transformation among the Christians in Rome, not merely a once-for-all change.

Presumably, the same divine presence that effects the transformation in believers is also the operative force behind the “renewing of [their] minds.” Paul’s language suggests that God is the one who has the ability to change the Roman Christians—to transform them—including their cognitive faculties of reason and logic, if only they will allow themselves to be changed. The apostle’s terminology is striking: at one level he is commanding them (the verb is an imperative), but at another level he is acknowledging that they have the capacity to allow God to transform and renew them. God is not forcing transformation and renewal, but Paul is clear that individual and communal faithfulness to God effectively necessitates a willingness to undergo changes brought about by God.

It is incumbent on us now to consider further why transformation is even necessary, according to Paul. Obviously, the words “be transformed” in Romans 12:2 are preceded by the word but: in Greek this word has a strongly adversative force (e.g., not this but that). The apostle is clearly contrasting what he wants to see, namely, transformation “by the renewing of [their] minds,” with something else. And to that we now turn.

The first part of Paul’s statement in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world,” is crucial to our understanding of what he is advocating in the second part of the verse that we have just examined. The apostle is concerned that the Roman Christians may allow “this world”—and presumably its perspectives, values, priorities, logic, rationality, behaviors, and so forth—to shape who they are, how they think, and how they conduct themselves. There is, for Paul, a serious danger inherent in such conformity, because those conformed to “this world” are operating under the terms of an old and vanquished regime—cosmically speaking.

Again, according to the apostle, the resurrection has forever altered the situation in which both believers and nonbelievers find themselves. This means that the reality and implications of the changed situation are not predicated on whether people believe in the risen Christ. Whether or not this world acknowledges the true state of the cosmos, it is now entirely under Christ’s lordship.

For Paul, then, ongoing transformation is necessary for the Roman Christians because they are inevitably shaped by—“conformed to”—the characteristics of a world that fails to acknowledge the true state of reality under Christ’s cosmic lordship. They must be willing to allow themselves to be changed, reshaped, “transformed” by the power of God’s Spirit in their midst. Paul’s command not to be conformed (also a Greek imperative) presupposes that formation is an inherent part of human existence. “This world” shapes and forms people; while this is obviously true for nonbelievers, Paul assumes that this world also continues to shape believers.

Each of us is formed by life; not one of us is a blank slate. We are formed by families, experiences, sociocultural and intellectual paradigms—indeed, by myriad factors. The Roman Christians were in the process of being formed by the world in which they lived long before they would become believers. In that sense, it is legitimate to understand Paul’s imperative (“do not be conformed”) as a reflection of his desire that the Roman believers stop allowing themselves to be conformed to that world. He wants them to turn consciously and definitively toward Christ as the primary shaper of their lives, their perspectives, and their reasoning. They are to be conformed to Christ. That will require, as Paul articulates in the second half of verse 2, a radical process of transformation in which their “minds” will need to be renewed. Being so formed by Christ does not mean that the Roman Christians somehow cease to be human, floating above the everyday phenomena of life. They will continue to be influenced by their families, cultures, experiences, and so forth. Believers do not cease to live in this world; but neither are their lives ultimately to be defined by it.

Families, cultures, experiences, and such factors are not to be the primary shapers of who the Roman Christians are, how they think, or how they conduct themselves. Rather, they are to be formed, first and finally, by Christ. The lordship of Christ in their lives is to trump all other kinds of formation. Paul is aware that such radical change does not come easily or naturally; radical transformation “by the renewing of [their] minds” is necessary. True transformat...