Not Ashamed-Part 43- Sincere Love

Introduction- Romans 12:9-13

In the previous section of the epistle Paul has written under the inspiraton of the Spirit of God with regard to the function of the body of Christ which is the local church.

The former section spoke of the need for personal humility, of the unity and diversity of the members, of the interdependency of each member upon the others and then of the gifts which are given by grace to each member to be exercised in the context of the body.

Now the focus turns to love and the outflow of that love from the believer in his/her actions towards others both within and without the body.

The rest of this chapter is filled with short concise statments which provide instruction as to how a believer should conduct himself.

The first section deals with sincere love, the second with the pursuit of peace and the third and final section deals with the refusal to seek revenge.

This passage begins with the word “Let” which is a word used in scripture often and is used to denote for us our responsibility.

The first instruction given to us here is that we would...

Love Sincerely (Vs. 9A)

Paul writes to the believers at Rome that their love be “without dissimulation.”

Dissimulation-The act of dissembling; a hiding under a false appearance; a feigning; false pretension; hypocrisy. dissimulation may be simply concealment of the opinions, sentiments or purpose; but it includes also the assuming of a false or counterfeit appearance which conceals the real opinions or purpose.

This simply means that we must love in sincerity not simply pretending to love, but actually loving.

Proverbs 10:12 KJV 1900

Hatred stirreth up strifes: But love covereth all sins.

Matthew 22:37–39 KJV 1900

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

We must recognize that to love is a choice that we make not an emotion that we feel.

Our love must be real and the evidence of real love will be seen in our actions not in what we say.

There are many believers who profess to love God, to love their brothers and sisters in Christ, and to love the lost and yet their behavior tells an entirely different story.

What follows this exhortation is a grouping of behaviors that serve to demonstrate our love for God and for others.

If we love God we will...

Abhor Evil and Cleave to Good (Vs. 9B)

Those who love God sincerely do not have any affection for those things which God defines as evil.

The word “abhor” literally means to hate and to loathe and this is what the believer who truly loves God feels towards evil.

It is tragic that so many believers are so comfortable and accepting of evil. Not only do they not hate it but they tolerate it and in many cases associate with it.

If we love God as we should we will develop a sincere hatred for that which is evil and we will want nothing to do with it and we will do all that we can to keep far from it and to have no association with it.

Those who love God sincerely will also cleave to that which is good. The word translated cleave here involves clinging to/joining with/cementing or gluing together.

Sincere love for God will cause us to hold tightly to that which is good and to associate ourselves closely with what God calls good.

We must remember that it is God who ultimately defines what is good and what is evil not the world or the culture.

Do we hate evil as we should? Do we hold as tightly as we should to what is good?

Those who are willing to hold a close association with evil and are unwilling to hold tightly to what is good merely demonstrate their lack of love for God.

If we love others we will...

Affectionately Prefer One Another (Vs. 10)

The affection and love spoken of here is that which is natural within the bonds of family relationship.

We are to treat one another as we would treat a close member of our physical family for we are all a part of a spiritual family in Christ.

This means that we are not self-seeking but rather we seek to honor one another.

We do not seek to elevate ourselves but rather we prefer to elevate and lift up one another.

Real love causes us to treat one another with respect and to cherish our relationship with other believers as an unbreakable family bond.

There may be times when we have differences of opinion and yet we never cease to love and to respect one another.

If we love God we will...

Serve Him Fervently (Vs. 11)

Those who truly love God will not be slothful (idle/lazy) as they diligently carry out the work that He has called them to do.

These will have a fervency (passion/zeal) as they faithfully serve the Lord.

The passion with which we serve the Lord is an evidence of the love that we have for Him.

So many believers begin to serve the Lord with a fervency and passion at the first but over time they slip into the tendency to lose their zeal and ultimately we find ourselves only going through the motions with little passion or excitement for our service to the Lord.

We have heard often of a believer that is described by others as being “on fire” for the Lord and this is exactly what is spoken of here.

The one who is “on fire” and who remains “on fire” for the Lord is the one who truly loves the Lord and whose service is motivated by this love.

If we serve for recognition, for reward, because of responsibility or duty our passion and fervency will surely fade, but when we our service is motivated by love the passion will remain over the long term.

Revelation 2:1–4 KJV 1900

Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

This is what happened in the church of Ephesus. They were merely going through the motions but their love for God had faded and God warned them to repent and return to the way things once were.

If we love God we will...

Endure Patiently (Vs. 12)

Those who truly love God will be able to rejoice in the hope that is theirs in Christ even in the midst of times of tribulation.

The believer who loves God sincerely does not become discouraged or disheartented when tribulation comes but rather he rejoices in the hope that is his beyond this life.

The love that he has for God enables him to continue to remain faithful as he patiently endures tribulation.

His love also causes him to continue to commune with God in prayer and in this he finds comfort and confidence.

The love he has for God motivates him to remain persistent in the face of troubles and to persist in prayer to God as his source of strength as he faces the trials that come.

They that love God sincerely have learned to depend upon Him completely as the live out their faith in this world.

If we love others we will...

Give Generously (Vs. 13)

Those who truly love others will be willing to give of their substance and of their time to meet their needs.

When we love others as we should we will be always aware of the needs of others and willing to help to meet those needs as God directs.

Love motivates us to take what we have been given and to use it to meet the needs of others.

Many believers are so fixed upon their own needs that they fail to recognize the needs of others. Some may be aware of the needs but are unwilling to sacrifice of their substance to meet them.

This failure to meet the needs of others when it is in our power to do so is a sure evidence of a lack of love.

Believers who love others as they should are also willing to give of their time to demonstrate hospitality towards others.

Hospitality is here the care of strangers, this invovles opening our lives and our homes to others to make them feel welcome.

Those who love sincerely will be willing to expend the energy and effort it takes to host others for the purpose of building relationships and encouraging spiritual growth.

Loving others the way that we should will come at a cost but it will be well worth it for the impact it will make.

Conclusion

Do you truly love God as you should? Is your love for others real or is it merely pretended?

We must let our love be without dissimulation! IT MUST BE REAL!

When our love for God is what it should be, our love for others will be what it should be and the actions described in this passage will come quite naturally to us.

We will naturally abhor evil and cling to that which is good if we love God.

We will naturally be kind and selfless if we truly love one another.

Our service to God will be passionate if we truly love Him.

Trials and tribulation will not rob us of our hope if we really love God.

We will be willing to sacrifice of ourselves to benefit other when we truly love them.