Vibrant Christian Relationships, part 1

Introduction

Paul moves to specific actions that are to be present and growing in the lives of believers. In verses 1 & 2 of Chapter 12 he dealt with our proper response of worship to God for all that He has done for us In Christ. We are to surrender ourselves as living sacrifices. In verses 3 - 8 Paul shares aspects of our life in community as believers. He talks about how the parts of the body work together in unity for a common purpose and relates that image as to how diverse members of a local Church are gifted by the Spirit so that the Church can achieve its purpose in unity.

In the next paragraph of Chapter 12 (verses 9 - 21) lays out some specific aspects of Christians who are surrendered to God in worship and are committed to being faithful members of the body. In these 13 verses the Apostle sets forth about 20 or so actions for believers. We are going to limit ourselves in this message to the directives found in verses 9 - 13.

Believers who are growing in their faith will love one another in a genuine manner (Romans 12:9-10a)

Explanation: The Apostle directs that love is to be without dissimulation. That is a word that we don’t use much, but it simply means that love is to be without hypocrisy. The origin of hypoctrite is found in acting. The word means “behind or under the mask” and it referred to a person playing a part. Paul is commanding Christians that our love is not to be false or deceptive. A positive way of stating it is to say that love is to be genuine.

The Greek word for love in v. 9 is agape, and it refers to a self-sacrificing, unconditional love. This type of love is not fake. It involves a choice to love regardless of the circumstances or the payback. Agape love is not the self-serving emotion that asks, “what’s in this for me?” before becoming involved.

In verse 10 believers are commanded to be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love. A different Greek word is used in this verse. Instead of agape we find the word Phileo - a word that is used of family love and the bond between good friends.

Between these two uses of love believers are told to abhor that which is evil and to cleave to that which is good. This is where we see the objective nature of genuine love. It is sacrificial and giving, but it is not sentimental - it is to have objective standards of right and wrong.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Volumes 1–5 Abhor

To cast away,” “reject,” “despise,” “defy,” “contemn,” “loathe,

Biblical examples of what type of behavior is abhorrent are found throughout Scriptures, but a few quick examples include God declaration that He abhors idolatry and liars. This is strong and sobering language, but it bears careful consideration by believers in our day and age. Our verse in Romans 12 states that we are to abhor evil - a simple statement that is full of moral judgment. How are we to recognize something as evil unless it can be compared to an objective standard of truth? [This is far from the emotionalism that is rampant in our present culture]

Application: Right and wrong, good and evil do not change. What God called good in the beginning remains good in the present; what was evil in the past remains evil in the present - regardless of popular opinion. It is the business of every generation of Christians to remain faithful to the standard without compromise. Each generation is called to have genuine love for others, even when that means taking an opposing position. We CAN stand against evil without being unloving. It is a greater level of love to tell the truth than to compromise in the name of what passes for love.

Proverbs 27:6 KJV 1900

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Believers who are growing in their faith will be enthusiastic in their spiritual journey (Romans 12:11)

Explanation: Paul issues a call to action in verse 11 when he directs us to grab the next gear in our service to the Lord Jesus. He warns us against being lazy in our approach to serving Jesus, and he directs us to be fervent in our pursuit of spiritual issues. The word business in the verse doesn’t refer to trade in the modern sense, but rather refers to zeal or diligence. For the believer, his or her business is to be zealous for the Lord.

Illustration: Todd Jones invited a co-worker to attend Sulphur Springs. He and his wife came and got involved. He told me later that he was disappointed in Todd because even though he issued the invite, he rarely attended church!

Argument: The natural human tendency is to become lazy in spiritual matters. The problem is that we don’t stay in the same place. We will will drift away from the things of Christ. We are not called to simply float down a lazy river in a tube while we wind up half asleep in the hot sun. We are called to a fervent pursuit of holiness. We are to be actively engaged and fully committed - there is no time for napping or daydreaming when running class 4 rapids on a raging river.

Application: Ask yourself the question: “how do others view my service to the Lord?” Do others see a ho-hum approach or do they observe excitement and enthusiasm? Am I an “Eeyore” Christian or a “Tigger” Christian?

More important than what others think about your service is this: How does God view your service? Are you pleasing the Audience of One? You can fool others at times, but not God - He knows!

Believers who are growing in their faith will be steadfast in their service to the Lord (Romans 12:12-13)

Explanation: Paul issues more commands to the believers. They are to rejoice in hope; be patient in tribulation; steadfast in prayer, benevolent to others; and exercising hospitality. In the previous verse the focus was on the believer’s attitude - it is to be one of excitement and vitality; in these two verses the focus is on actions. The Christ-follower who is surrendered to Jesus and excited about his or her faith will produce results

Believers are to rejoice in hope. Too many of us can be cynical about the future. We can think negatively and focus on how dark the world is getting. [I have to guard against this way of thinking] Yes, it is true that evil is present in our society, but we also live in times of great hope. The Word of God is more accessible in our generation than it ever has been. Christ-honoring churches are being started, mission work in unreached people groups is growing, and, most importantly, God is still on His throne.

The truth about God naturally leads into the second command in verse 12: being patient in tribulation. Yes, God is on His throne, and yes, we are on the winning side, but we still deal with the trials and hardships in this present life. God, while more than able, does not throw a supernatural force field of protection around His children. We live in a fallen world and sin has consequences.

The goal for believers is not to avoid the tribulations of the world (we cannot), but to live through them with a patient dependence upon the Lord. As we live with pain, disappointments, and sufferings we CAN respond in a different manner than unbelievers. Christians CAN give a positive witness to a watching world simply by the way we handle the hardships of life.

Our rejoicing in Hope and being patient in tribulation is directly connected to our prayer life. Continuing instant in prayers means that maturing believers are to have a vibrant prayer life. Another way of stating what continuing instant means is to say devoted or committed. If we are going to be patient in the trials of life we MUST be actively depending upon God through the avenue of prayer!

It is so easy for us to get sideways in this area of prayer. We are to avoid that idea that prayer is not necessary because God is Sovereign and whatever will be will be. Jesus acknowledged that the Father knows everything before we pray (Matt 6:8) but He tells us to pray anyway. Prayer is not us informing God of stuff that He already knows. Pray is how we grow in our knowledge of the God who loves us, and pray is the avenue of becoming more in tune with the plans and purposes of God.