Romans 12:11 (DBY)

Passage

as to diligent zealousness, not slothful; in spirit fervent; serving the Lord.

Nearby Context

Romans 12:9 Let love be unfeigned; abhorring evil; cleaving to good:

Romans 12:10 as to brotherly love, kindly affectioned towards one another: as to honour, each taking the lead in paying it to the other:

Romans 12:11 as to diligent zealousness, not slothful; in spirit fervent; serving the Lord.

Romans 12:12 As regards hope, rejoicing: as regards tribulation, enduring: as regards prayer, persevering:

Romans 12:13 distributing to the necessities of the saints; given to hospitality.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "diligent", "zealousness", "slothful", "fervent", "serving", and "lord". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "diligent", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "as to brotherly love kindly affectioned towards..." into verse 12's "As regards hope rejoicing as regards tribulation...", so "Spirit" and "diligent" belong inside that flow. In Romans context, the local focus is righteousness by faith, union with Christ, life in the Spirit, and God's covenant faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "Spirit" and "diligent" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.