Christian Ethics in Romans 12:9–21

The following is how Moo describes the structure of vvs. 9-21 of Romans 12, following D. A. Black. (Moo gives a verbal description which I’ve tried to represent visually (cf. pp. 791–792). The translation is Moo’s):

Moo notes the following:

Black’s structural proposal highlights the opening call for genuine love in v. 9a as the overall topic of the section. And most scholars would agree that love, which Paul spotlights again in 13:8–10 as the fulfillment of the law, is basic to the section. But it is basic not in the sense that every exhortation is a direct exposition of what love is, but basic in the sense that it is the underlying motif of the section. Paul is not always talking specifically about love, but he keeps coming back to love as the single most important criterion for approved Christian behavior.

— The Letter to the Romans, 2nd ed., p. 792

For a list of all of my posts related to Moo’s commentary on Romans see here.