Are the instructions in Romans 12-16 weird or extreme?
No, Romans 12–16 is not weird or extreme. Its instructions are ordinary and practical, not oddball, and would not remove a believer from mainstream community life. Paul calls this reasonable service, using Greek words logike and latria. If people lived it out, their community would be the closest place to heaven on earth.
Les explains that nothing in Romans 12–16 would take a believer out of the mainstream of their community or make them a kook or oddball. Everything in those five chapters is ordinary and just as practical as anything you can get. He says if you could live in a community where 99.9% lived out Romans 12–16, you would be in the closest place to heaven on earth—but we won't do it, none of us do. He also notes that the phrase "reasonable service," as Paul uses it, comes from Greek words logike and latria, meaning rituals or service. Comparing Hebrews 9:1, the same Greek word latria appears for "divine service," with "divine" implying the prescribed ritual according to the Law, where temple worshippers knew exactly what to do, how, and when.