Earlier in Romans 5:8, Paul shows that the character of the cruciform God is above all else love. The cross represents God’s deep love for us expressed in Christ Jesus dying for the ungodly to make a way for restored relationship. Likewise, Paul, in Romans 12:9-21 and 13:8-14, extols the marks of Christian character as most importantly an expression of love. Paul writes, “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor,” and later “Own no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who love another has fulfilled the law.” Additionally, this love culminates in the end of violence. Just as Paul commands in Romans 12:19 to never avenge yourself, so Gorman writes, “a fundamental characteristic of cruciform existence in Christ: a life of nonviolence and reconciliation. That is, for Paul this kind of life is an integral part of his vision of justification and of participatory holiness,” which leads to the third and final expression of sanctification:
Earlier in Romans 5:8, Paul shows that the character of the cruciform God is above all else love. The cross represents God’s deep love for us expressed in Christ Jesus dying for the ungodly to make a way for restored relationship. Likewise, Paul, in Romans 12:9-21 and 13:8-14, extols the marks of Christian character as most importantly an expression of love. Paul writes, “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor,” and later “Own no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who love another has fulfilled the law.” Additionally, this love culminates in the end of violence. Just as Paul commands in Romans 12:19 to never avenge yourself, so Gorman writes, “a fundamental characteristic of cruciform existence in Christ: a life of nonviolence and reconciliation. That is, for Paul this kind of life is an integral part of his vision of justification and of participatory holiness,” which leads to the third and final expression of sanctification: