Why Not Now? Love one another. Rom 12:9-13
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
There is an Our Daily Bread devotion with a story about a professor of psychology who had no children of his own,
Whenever the professor saw a neighbor scolding a child for something, he would say, "You should love the child, not punish him."
One hot summer day the professor was repairing his concrete driveway.
He was tired after several hours of work, so he laid down the trowel, wiped the perspiration from his forehead, and started toward the house.
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a mischievous little kid putting his foot in the fresh cement.
He rushed over, grabbed him, and was just about to discipline him when a neighbor leaned out his window and said,
"Watch it, Professor! Don't you remember? You must love the child!"
At that point the professor yelled back furiously, "I do love him in the abstract but not in the concrete!"
Play on words -
That is a common mistake that we make as Christians as well.
It is easy to tell others to love, but hard to offer love ourselves.
In reality though it is in loving one another where Christianity gets real.
Where the rubber meets the road so to speak.
Last week we saw Paul giving some examples of spiritual gifts.
And how they are necessary to be used with one another.
The point Paul made is to use our gifts in service to our Lord, and in service to one another.
The Bible has a lot to say about how to build God-honoring relationships with one another.
It all starts with God, and your love for him—
something that begins when you come to repentance and faith—
when you experience the new birth and become a believer in Jesus.
Our goal, our purpose becomes to love God - Love others.
Jesus made this point very clearly in what he taught about the first and greatest commandment,
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
From this passage, it is abundantly clear that God intends you to be consciously and carefully loving him and other people.
Your relationship with God and your relationship with others is directly and intricately linked.
When we truly love one another, we are in fact, also growing in our love for God.
The “one another” passages of Scripture give very clear guidance on how to develop and maintain good relationships.
There are many to work through, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Paul’s purpose is to encourage believers to express genuine love for one another.
9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Paul gives in this passage 13 distinguishing marks of love.
The first mark sets the tone for the rest.
Easy these marks are easy to know.
The challenge however is to do them.
Thinking back to our psychology professor, Paul is concerned about people who love in the abstract, but not in the concrete--
people who claim to love, but who really don't.
Their love is counterfeit, phony, unreal.
This is important because as Christians we will be known by our love.
Jesus himself expressed this fact.
35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
To be a Christian, a disciple of Christ, we must forgive and show mercy to everyone and love them
The way we love demonstrates who we are.
The way we live is the first word we speak about the Gospel and the transformational power of the cross.
How we treat others is the living example of the love God demonstrated to us on the Cross.
To be a disciple of Christ means to love others unconditionally, forgiving the inexcusable of the past,
showing mercy, and loving unconditionally with eyes focused on Jesus.
You cannot maintain an outward facade of love for others.
It cannot be skin deep.
You cannot paint a smile on and try to appear friendly and not be sincere.
Paul’s first words in verse 9 say exactly this.
Let love be genuine.
NASB - Let love be without hypocrisy.
NLT - Don’t just pretend to love others.
KJV - Let love be without dissimulation.
Dissimulation is a word we don’t use anymore -
to hide under a false appearance
Paul is saying - don’t be a hypocrite with your love.
If you claim to be a follower of Christ - ask yourself this question -
Am I being hypocritical in my love for others?
What's the answer?
We might ask "Why be hypocritical about it?
If we don't like someone, why should we pretend that we do?
Why not show our dislike right up front and express our anger and irritation with them openly and honestly?"
But that's not the answer.
We don't solve the problem of hypocritical love by expressing genuine hate.
We solve it by learning to love sincerely, without hypocrisy.
Christianity is an awkward realm that brings people from many different walks of life and unites them under one purpose.
Devotion to Christ.
It is not surprising to find people that we would not normally hang out with.
But we are called to love them.
In the first two verses of this chapter, Paul urged us to lay our lives on the altar of sacrifice in total surrender.
That means faithfully using our spiritual gifts to serve one another.
But it's not enough just to serve.
God wants us to serve in genuine love.
These next 12 marks teach us how to truly love!
English Standard Version Chapter 12
Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
Those are strong words.
To abhor something is to hate it so much that we turn away from it.
Paul says specifically to hate what is evil.
To hate what is evil implies that there is a knowable standard of what is evil and what is good.
That this standard does not change with the times or with different cultures.
God has revealed His holy standards of right and wrong in His Word.
It is wrong to lie, to cheat, to steal.
Drunkenness is wrong.
It is wrong sex outside of marriage.
God’s word plainly says that homosexual behavior is sinful.
None of this changes with public opinion.
Whatever the sin is, it is not loving to treat any sinful behavior as morally acceptable, because sin hurts people.
The loving thing to do is gently and with compassion,
tell the person the truth about his or her sin
To point them to Christ so that they can be saved from it before it destroys them.
All done so in a loving manner.
This is holding fast to what is good.
To cling to good as many translations put it.
To cling to something is to be glued to it, cemented to it, joined firmly to it.
And that's the way we need to respond to the good and bad we see in the people we love.
We must hold tightly to that which is good because the enemy is always trying to get us to loosen our grip on the good by being more tolerant of what is evil.
One Satan’s favorite verses to quote out of context is
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged.
Jesus is clear that first and foremost, we must judge our own sin before we judge others for their sin.
Jesus continues a few verses later.
5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
But once we have judged our own sin, we are still to hate evil and cling to what is good.
We reject their sin, but we don't reject them.
We hate the evil that damages their lives and destroys their testimony.
But at the same time, we look for the good things in their lives, and do everything we can to encourage those things and help them grow.
This leads into Paul’s next statements in verse 10.
10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
Paul uses the word, philadelphia, which refers to the natural love among brothers and adds another word that refers to family affection.
Family members are normally loyal to each other.
It doesn't matter what my brother does; he's still my brother.
I'll rejoice with him in his accomplishments, not be jealous.
I'll sympathize with him when he falters, not be secretly elated.
I'll speak well of him to others and support him in front of other people.
I won't pass along stories that put him in a bad light and hurt his reputation.
I won't betray his confidence.
If he lets me down, I'll tell him so graciously, but I'll also forgive him and go on.
I may not agree with him about everything, but when others attack him, I'll defend him and I'll stand with him through thick and thin.
There is a story of a man who was walking down the street.
He passed a used book store, and in the window he saw a book with this title, How To Hug.
He was taken by the title and, being of a somewhat romantic nature, went in to buy the book.
To his annoyance, he discovered that it was the third volume of an encyclopedia and covered the subjects How to Hug.
as I think of that story, that the church is like that.
Everyone knows that the church is a place where love ought to be shown,
and many people have come to church hoping to find a demonstration of love,
only to discover an encyclopedia on theology.
Bible doctrine is extremely important, but it must go hand in hand with family love.
Who is our family? Look around you.
The basis of concern for one another is not that we know each other well or enjoy one another,
it is that we are related to one another -- even though we may never have met before.
If we are Christians, we know that we already have a tie that ought to conjure up concern and care for one another.
The people sitting in the seats around you, they are your brother, your sister.
It is because we are related that we treat our brothers and sisters warmly and with acceptance and forgiveness.
Paul says that we are to outdo one another in showing honor.
Value someone as greater than yourself.
J.B. Phillips paraphrases this section -
"Be willing to let other men have the credit."
Eugene Peterson
practice playing second fiddle.
That is a practical application of this.
If you really don't care who gets the credit, then you can just enjoy yourself and do all kinds of good deeds.
Just be glad that it is done, and don't worry about who gets the credit.
Our flesh doesn't like that.
It is very eager to be acknowledged and promoted and recognized.
But the Word tells us that real love will not act that way.
Paul teaches us in 1 Cor
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
you can, and must evaluate whether your attitudes, words, and actions are in line with biblical love.
In verse 11 Paul continues
11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.
Zeal
swiftness of movement or action
earnest commitment in discharge of an obligation or experience of a relationship, eagerness, earnestness, diligence, willingness, zeal
One of the most noticeable marks of a Christian walking in the Spirit is that he retains enthusiasm, always rejoicing, rejoicing in hope.
Loving other people can be hard work.
It's easy to get tired of expressing our love and doing loving things--even in the family.
Paul isn’t using the same word but the same idea is present in
9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
And
23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
Don’t give up!
If those words applied to slaves, who had the most menial jobs imaginable, then they certainly apply to your job.
Your mindset should be that you are serving the Lord; therefore, don’t be lazy.
Work hard.
The word translated “fervent” literally means to be excited.
Think of a pot of water that is coming to a boil.
Paul is describing a holy zeal or passion for God and His kingdom purposes.
J. C. Ryle describes this godly zeal (A New Birth [Old Paths Gospel Press], p. 235),
“Zeal in religion is a burning desire to please God, to do His will, and to advance His glory in the world in every possible way.”
Think of the story of David and Goliath.
Remember how all Israel was sunk in despair because of their fear of this giant?
The whole army of Israel was helpless because of the taunts of this man.
But young David is fearless.
He is only a young man, a teenager perhaps, but he is not afraid.
He looks at Goliath, in all his impressive height and great strength, and says, "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, who dares defy the armies of the living God? Who does he think he is?" (1 Samuel 17:26).
Now where did David get this kind of enthusiastic response? David tells us.
He says, "The battle is not ours but the Lord's," (1 Samuel 17:47).
The answer to remaining excited spiritually is that you are serving the Lord.
That is why it is important that Paul adds the phrase "serving the Lord" here --
to help us remember that the only thing that will keep our enthusiasm high is an awareness that we are serving the Lord.
When we're walking in the Spirit, focused on the Lord, we never give up hope.
12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
We keep hoping for the best.
And that hope lifts us out of the doldrums and gives us genuine joy, further strengthening our determination to go on.
"Rejoicing in hope," is the way Paul put it.
And as our determination to go on increases,
we are able to be patient with those hard-to-love people who cause us suffering or affliction.
We are "...patient in tribulation."
It's not hypocritical to express patience when we don't feel patient.
It's an expression of true love.
The greatest help we have for stirring up the kind of love that allows us to be patient in affliction is prayer.
That's why Paul follows up his exhortation to patience with, "...be constant in prayer."
If we want to love people sincerely, we will need to be praying for them persistently, even when we don't feel like it.
Are you having difficulty loving somebody?
Then pray for them, regularly and diligently.
Pray for God's best in their life.
It will help you keep on loving when the desire wears thin.
True love accentuates the positive, fosters a family spirit, and keeps on keeping on.
There's one more characteristic of true Christian love in this passage: it ministers to the needs of others.
True Love Ministers to Others' Needs
13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
true love responds to needs.
"Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality." In these days when we have so much social help available --
unemployment insurance, Social Security, welfare, Medicare, etc. --
we tend to forget that there are still human needs and that we have a responsibility to meet them.
Much of the social welfare needs people had in the past used to be filled by the church, which also provided accountability.
I think we need to be reminded at times that people are still hurting and that it is a direct responsibility of Christians to care for one another's needs.
Generosity is a lifestyle that flows out of an attitude.
It’s a bit difficult to define, since there is a subjective element in generosity.
The dictionary says that generosity refers to liberality in giving.
But what seems generous to one person may seem stingy to another.
Also, we don’t know whether a person is giving sacrificially or out of an overflow of abundance.
So what may look to us like a stingy gift may actually be quite generous if the giver is poor,
or what may look to us like a generous gift may be stingy if the giver is wealthy.
So we should not judge others, but seek to please God with our giving and let Him be the judge of others.
Generally, our first responsibility in giving is toward truly needy family members (1 Tim. 5:3-16).
If we read in 1 Tim 5, we can come to the understanding that to fail here is to be worse than an unbeliever.
8 But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
Paul’s concludes these marks the call to show hospitality.
Let’s begin by helping one another feel welcome in church.
Another way that you can practice hospitality is to open your home.
Keep an eye out for new people in church, to make them feel warmly welcomed and at home.
If you’re able to do it occasionally, invite a new person (or someone you do not know well) home for a meal.
Don’t make a huge fuss over having your house in perfect order, or you’ll never get around to hospitality.
Hospitality focuses on people and their needs.
It's using our home and using our resources to meet needs, sharing what we have to meet the needs of the moment. That's true hospitality.
Hospitality is concerned about people.
It's ministering to people in need with what God has given you.
That's true love.
How are you doing with these marks that Paul has listed out here?
All of this begins with the greatest demonstration love the world has ever seen Romans 5:8
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
That's love.
I can't explain it.
My human mind doesn't grasp it all.
Jesus paid the price for my sin upon the cross.
God the Father laid on Him all the guilt and the condemnation and judgment and punishment that my sins deserved, and that your sins deserved.
He did that because He loves us. And now He offers us His gift of eternal life and the assurance of heaven.
Not on the basis of what we can do--as if we were trying to make it there somehow or other--
but simply by acknowledging our sinfulness and our need for His grace, casting ourselves upon Him and His mercy, for eternal salvation.
Have you done that?
Will you respond to His love today and open your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ?
If you don’t have Christ in your life, you can’t begin to love the way Paul has described in these verses.
As a reminder of what Christ has done for us, I wanted to take the time today to celebrate the Lord’s supper together.
Communion
22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.”
23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
Brothers and sisters
9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.