Geniune Love

Introduction

A geniune Elvis Pressley signature is pretty valuable. “The King’s” signature on a picture or some other piece of paper is worth about $1500 and if you have a letter or a signed contract with his signature you can fetch upwards of $35,000.

So it is no surprise that there are a lot of forgeries. People creating fake signatures to make some cash.

There is an entire industry built around authenticating signatures in order to weed out the fakes. They look at they type of ink and paper that is used to make sure it fits with the time period of the person.

They compare the signature with known genuine autographs to test the flourish and pen weight in various parts of the letters that make up the name.

They listen to the story of how the seller got the item to see if it matches the history of the person.

When the signature meets these requirements it is deemed a genuine signature and is valuable.

In the same way this morning our text tells us the marks of genuine love amongst the people of God—the saints.

Our text this morning is Romans 12:9-21. If you have your Bible you can go ahead and turn there. If you don’t have a Bible this morning we have some on the tables up here. Or you can follow along in the Bible app on your phone and make notes there and even save them for later. If you need some help with any of this just ask someone next to you and they’ll be happy to help.

We want to be those who have genuine love toward God and geniune love toward people. And this is Paul’s concern as he writes.

If you are a follower of Jesus then you are called to be a “light on the hill” to be “salt in the food”. In other words your life is supposed to be lived in such a way that it draws attention. People look to lights and they notice salt.

Followers of Jesus as Paul said in the beginning of chapter 12 are to be a people who are “transformed by the Word of God, not conformed to the ways of the world.”

Our text will address how we love brothers and sisters in Christ and how we love those outside of the church—even how we love our enemies. But I want us to be aware as we study through this text that all of this: how we love people is first and foremost an expression of our love toward God. How we treat those made in the image of God says something about our love for God.

Just like a signature can be authenticated by certain marks so can the life of the follower of Jesus. Paul opens our text today by saying, “Let love be genuine.”

Transition: Let us first look at genuine love in the body of Christ.

I. Genuine Love for the Saints (9-13, 15-16)

And as we look at this text we are going to see that Paul was not concerned for the preaching styles of 21st century when he wrote Romans. This text breaks up with Paul talking about love amongst the body of Christ in verses 9-13 and verses 15-16. For a moment in v.14 he comments on loving the lost, finishes some thoughts on loving the saints before launching into loving the lost again.

So when I skip verse 14 in this section I’m not hiding anything from you. We’ll get to it.

Let’s read vv.9-13 together now.

Romans 12:9-13 “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”

Romans 12:15-16 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.”

In these verses we see 11 ways to geniunely love the saints.

Abhor what is evil.

Last week we saw in Romans 12:5 “so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” We are not just individuals, but we are saved into a body of Christ. How we live out our life affects the whole body and not just the individual.

One way for you to love your brothers and sister in Christ is to abhor what God says is evil. To be opposed to sin.

And the word abhor is an intentionally strong word. The Greek word also means to “hate exceedingly”.

In your own life and in your own walk with God do you abhor, do you exceedingly hate what is evil?

When sin is embraced in a life it is destructive to all the lives around it. And God calls us to abhor, exceedingly hate what is evil.

But we need to be careful. Let me tell you two things this exhortation is not

1. It is not a call to monastic legalism.

One way you could apply this exhortation is to remove yourself from any influence of evil.

And in one sense you may need to reevaluate the things you allow into your mind, the entertainment you watch, the music you listen to. It is a good question to ask of these things, are they glorifying and promoting sin? Are they maligning my God? You should ask that question of the things in your life.

But what you cannot do is live in a Christian bubble. In order to remove yourself from all evil influence you must leave this world. And the Bible tells us to be in the world while not be of the world.

2. We also do not develop a hatred for the doer of evil.

Have you heard the saying, “hate the sin and love the sinner”?

Well as people we are prone to “hate the sin and hate the sinner”. We also must not abhor people who live in sin and commit evil acts.

What this exhortation is calling us to do is to have a mindset and a decisive attitude toward evil.

You and I are to hate evil—because it is an affront to God and because it is a poison for those made in God’s image.

We are to search God’s word and where God prohibits something, where he warns us against something—like lust, laziness, pride—we are to resolve in our hearts to hate those things and to strive to live in a way that is set apart to God as living sacrifices.

Transition: The next command is related to this one. We are to abhor evil and ...

2. “Hold fast to what is good.”

We don’t want to just put off sin in our lives, but we want to put on Christ increasingly.

Colossians 3:12-14 “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”

While we move away from what is evil---from sin—we are to move toward and to put on what is good.

We seek to grow increasingly in the fruit of the Spirit.

We pursue involvement with the people of God in the mission of God. We put on the good things of Christlikeness. While we put off sin we put on Christ and hold fast to the good things.

Transition: Number 3, We love the saints genuinely by....

3. “Loving one another with brotherly affection.”

John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.””

Jesus says that the way we love each other communicates whether or not we belong to Jesus.

How do you consider the other people @ Covenant Life? Do you consider them family? Do your actions prove that?

Do you have a heartfelt and consistent concern for the other people in your church? If you don’t—you should—and you are missing out if you don’t.

You’re missing out on the gifts that God has given them meant for your good. As we talked about last week.

You’re missing out on loving God by loving His people.

And yes, that means his weird people, His difficult people…ok, I’m just speaking in general here. If your feelings are getting hurt that’s the Holy Spirit not me.

We are to have a love for one another that causes the world to see that within the body of Christ true love exists.

When people hear about your life and they see that you are in consistent and heartfelt communion with the people in your church it communicates that you are a follower of Jesus. And it communicates the love of God is real among His people.

Loving one another with brotherly affection is a service to each other and a witness to the world. Geniune love for the saints means being a family together.

Transition: Number four goes with number three, it’s kind of like a how to....geniune love for the saints means...

4. “Outdoing each other in showing honor”

This means that you and I are not fighting for honor, but we are anxious to give honor to other brothers and sisters in the church.

Simply, give credit where credit is due.

Tell each other what you appreciate about one another. Encourage one another by giving honor to one another.

And I don’t mean in a fake way. One of the worse things you can receive is a fake compliment. It’s like eating something that is too sweet. You know it’s supposed to taste good, but it just makes your stomach sick. You know what I mean? Don’t do that.

If you can’t think of something to say, “Just simply say, I love when you come to church. It’s an encouragement to me when you’re here.”

And if you can’t honestly say that, then go to God with your heart and ask him to fix it.

Tell Dave and Laura they’re doing a good job.

Thank those who are serving in the children’s ministry.

Find ways to honor one another because it communicates a real love. Are you tracking with me?

If we are to love each other geniunely and to love God honestly then we must think about each other before we think about ourselves.

And here’s the thing: if everyone is focused on honoring and serving one another, everyone gets honored and served. Amen. See how that works. It’s almost like God is sovereign and knows what He’s talking about.

Transition: Number 5. To love the saints geniunely we must...

5. “Be set on fire by the Spirit”

Paul says, “don’t be slothful in your zeal, don’t be lazy in your worship of God, but be fervent in your spirit, in your service to the Lord.”

Have you ever been around someone who is on fire for Jesus? Have you ever been around someone who is in love with God in an obvious way?

I had an old evangelist tell me one time. He said, “Son how are you?” And I said, “I’m fine.”

“Just fine?! Boy I feel good enough to swing over the open pit of hell on a rotten corn stalk and spit in the devil’s eye!”

And he preached lIke it too.

From time to time I get the opportunity to spend time with IMB missionaries that are going out to the nations with the gospel of Jesus. They are leaving their lives here behind to take the good news of Jesus to the lost.

By the way this is your opportunity too. We share the gospel in Lakesid during the week and I get to hear their stories and what God is doing and their love for God is contagious. It’s a blessing.

If we are to love the saints geniunely friends we must fight against a lazy and cold life lived to God.

The longer you have been a Christian the more temptation there is to lose steam in worshipping God in every aspect of our lives. The more temptation there is in becoming complacent to the glorious truth of your rescue in Christ and all that means for your eternity.

Pray that God would give you again a fresh desire and excitement about who he is and what He has done and is doing! Amen?

Transition: Okay, take a breath. There’s more. If we are to love the saints genuinely we must

6. “Rejoice in Hope.”

7. “Be patient in tribulation.”

8. “Be constant in prayer.”

Douglas Moo in his commentary on Romans says, “The three admonitions in this verse are closely related in style and content. For hope, patience, and prayer are natural partners.”

Friends, there is great happiness that comes with the body of Christ. It is truly a blessing to have so many brothers and sisters.

But if you truly love them, and truly consider them family, then it also means their tribulations, the trouble in their lives are yours too.

And when tribulation comes geniune love reminds of the hope we have in God. Our God can do anything. And our God always does what is best for us. Even when we can’t understand the how or why?

And even in the face of death we have great hope in Jesus Christ. I’ll see my brother Jeremy again because of my hope in Christ.

So when tribulations come don’t forget to remind yourself and your family of the hope we have, rejoice in that hope.

Number 7. Also, be patient in the tribulation. None of us like to experience heartache—none of us like to deal with discomfort—and if we are not careful our love for ourselves will cause us to become impatient with their tribulation.

“Are we still dealing with this” kind of attitude.

When Job was sitting amongs the ruins of his house, with all of his tribulation falling down around him the best things his friends did was to sit with him in it.

Number 8. Also, be constant in prayer for one another.

One of the most encouraging text messages I get are when you all text me that you are praying for me. It lets me know that you care, that you’re aware, and that you are taking my life to our good and awesome God.

Even when you are saddened by the tribulation: Be constant in prayer. Even when you think you know how it'll turn out: Be constant in prayer. Even though you prayed about it yesterday: Be constant in prayer.

You have to constantly breath to stay alive. If you breathed like you prayed would you be dead?

Are you following me here? You get the idea right? When it comes to prayer let it be your first go to. When something happens or is about to happen or you want it to happen, let prayer be your first go to. Let it be a constant in your life.

Transition: Rejoicing in hope, being patient in tribulation, and being constant in prayer are marks of geniune love for God and His people. But there’s more: Number 9.

9. “Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”

James 2:15-16 “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?”

The needs of the saints should be your concern.

Our society is so individualistic. Your problems are yours and mine are mine and they don’t mix. And if they do it’s a grest social faux pas and a great burden.

And the problem is that this mentality has infiltrated the church. If you want to see who really loves you with brotherly affection, who really is trying to outdo with honor then call someone with a problem. With an inconvenient need. Problems are problematic that’s why they are called that. How do you respond when someone interrupts your schedule with a need?

Friends, our flesh’s first response is to groan and complain when other people’s needs affect our own plans, desires, or resources.

The goal is to see the needs of each other as opportunities to serve God as living sacrifices.

Also, God’s Word says you should seek to show hospitality. It does not say show hospitality if you have to. That’s not hospitality, that’s begrudging mercy.

This behavior of showing hospitality is so important that it’s a requirement for elders. God says if you are going to be a pastor then you must be hospitable. You must give of your resources to help others when you have the opportunity.

Are you willing to contribute to the needs of the saints? Are you seeking opportunities for hospitality?

Transition: Geniune love for the saints...

10. “Shares life together”

Romans 12:15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”

We don’t have to say a whole lot here because all of these build on one another.

Family shares life together. Geniune love rejoices with each other when there are things to rejoice. And geniune love weeps together when there are things to weep over.

Is someone in the body grieving? Grieve with them.

Is someone in the body rejoicing? Rejoice with them.

Don’t be jealous over their graces from God and don’t be burden by their tribulations in life. Good enough?

Transition: Finally, if we are to love the saints geniunely then we must...

11. “Seek harmony through humility.”

Romans 12:16 “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.”

Do not be haughty in your estimation of yourself. Do not be wise in your own eyes. This means do not think that others ought to listen to you and that you always have the right answer. Do not think that you are above being taught or receiving wisdom from others.

Associate with everyone in the church. The gospel puts all of us on the same playing field. We all broke God’s law we all needed to be rescued and none of us deserved God’s grace.

The church should be a place where many people from many different backgrounds come together in Jesus. Let there be no one in the church that you are embarrassed to associate with. Let there be no one that is beneath your brotherly affection.

Live in harmony by seeking to be humble like Jesus.

There’s only been one man who was truly above all others. Who had the right to give wisdom and receive none. Who truly could be lifted up above all other people because he was better than all others.

And that was the God-man Jesus Christ. And he associated with sinners, thieves, liars, and prostitutes. He called them into his family and treated them with compassion and he was lifted up above all others on the cross so that he could save lowly people lIke you and I.

Be like Christ. Associate with the lowly, because you are lowly and Christ associated with you. Amen?

Transition: Now as we transition we will see what geniune love for the lost looks like. Our text this morning shows us three exhortations for....

II. Geniune Love for the Lost (14, 17-21)

Geniune love for the beliver also touches on how we love—not just the family of God we have—but also those who are lost around us.

“Bless those who persecute you.”

Romans 12:14 “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.”

Romans 12:17-19 “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.””

Jesus calls us to the same kind of radical love that he himself displayed.

Romans 5:10 “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”

Friends you and I were enemies of God. We rebelled against him. We rejected his kingship and were his enemies. And what we deserved was punishment. That is what all people deserve because all people have broken his laws. But God did not give us what we deserve, he gave us his son.

Jesus died for sinners. He died for his enemies. Even on the cross he cried out, “Father forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.”

You and I are not called to judiciously hate our enemies, but we are called to bless those who persecute us.

Luke 6:32 ““If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.”

Our enemy is not our neighbor who hates Christianity. It’s not our brother or sister or cousin who mocks us as stupid for believing. It’s not the societal norm that labels us as bigots and homophobes. Who does the Bible say our enemy is?

Ephesians 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

Friends, hate the sin, hate what they are doing to you, hate the suffering, but have compassion on the person. Bless the one who persecutes you.

Yes, this is absolutely against your flesh but you are not a child of your flesh you are a child of God and in Jesus all things are possible.

Richard Wurmbrand was kind to his persecutors, atheist Russian KGB military that tortured him. He sang songs and hymns and no matter what they did to him he had compassion on them. And God used this to save some of them.

Pray often that your own heart would be inclined to bless your persecutors and by so doing love them and bring God glory.

Transition: When we are being persecuted geniune love seeks to bless our persecutors. Another way that we show geniune love to the lost is...

2. “Live peaceably with all”

Friends let peace be your first goal. Again, this is not natural to our flesh.

We all have certain things that really frustrate us. There are evil things that our culture celebrates and champions that make me nauseous and leave me desperate for the return of Jesus.

But in all of these things I am not to seek out confrontation with those who believe, live, or think differently than me.

But Paul gives us a helpful disclaimer. He says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”

The truth is that sometimes it won’t be up to you, sometimes peace is not possible.

Dr. Seuss has a story about “Star-bellied Sneetches”. There were two kind of sneetches on the beaches, a big yellow bird like character—ones with stars on their bellies and ones without stars Upon thars.

The star bellied sneetches believed that they were the best sneetches on the beaches. And so they hated the starless sneetches. And they did not live peaceably with them Going out of their way to antagonize them.

So the starless sneetches put stars on their bellies So they would get along. But then the star bellied sneetches removed their stars to destroy the peace.

Sometimes peace is not possible so far as it depends on someone else.

When peace is not possible resolve things with as much love and respect as is possible and move on.

Transition: We are to bless our persecutors, we are to seek peace with everyone, and the third way we geniunely love the lost is...

3. “We overcome evil with Christ like love.”

Romans 12:20-21 “To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

As we discussed we bless our enemies. We meet their needs and provide for them where we can. If the opportunity presents itself we don’t shy away from taking it.

And what this text tells us is that in this way we overcome evil with good. There are two ways this works out.

Remember Richard Wurmbrand that I mentioned a few moments ago?

Some of his persecutors were overcome with his care and compassion for them despite their treatment of him. And they were saved. They became brothers in Jesus. In this way evil was overcome because by the Cross of Jesus Christ it was put to death! Richard’s persecutors became his brothers.

But not every soldier that tortured him came to be saved—not everyone that he was kind to became a follower of Jesus. And nonetheless evil will be overcome with good because in this scenario the Bible says “we heap burning coals on their heads.”

Hebrews 4:13 “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

This is the verse I have on the arm of my glasses. And I have this there as an opportunity to share the gospel. I remind people that they will stand before a holy God one day and give account of their lives.

All of Wurmbrand’s persecutors will stand before Holy God one day and some will be welcomed because Christ paid for their sins, but for the others that rejected Jesus they will have to answer for their sin in the face of Wurmbrand’s kindness and it will further condemn them.

In this way too, when all is said and done—evil is overcome by the good judgement of a just and holy God.

As it comes to the lost in our lives we are to love them the way that God loves us. We are to bless them, to seek peace with them, and to do good to them when they do evil to us.

Conclusion

A geniune Elivis Pressley signature is a valuable thing. Friends, how much more valuable is the genuine love of God displayed in his people?

Church you and I are called to have geniune love for God that expresses itself to the saints and the lost.

Geniune love shines our lights in the darkness and it flavors the food so that those around us are drawn to come and see the goodness of God among us.

Geniune love proves to the world that the peopel of God truly are changed because Jesus truly saves humanity from their sin.

Geniune love is what you and I are called to and it’s what God empowers us to do.

Let us strive to be geniune in our love with all the marks that prove it. Amen? Let’s pray.