Romans 12:9-13 | On Love
Notes
Transcript
SERMON TITLE: On Love
SCRIPTURE: Romans 12:9-13 (ESV)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 5-11-25
TURN MIC ON / WELCOME
As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.
And — Happy Mother’s Day — especially to my mom — who’s joining us from Florida.
SERIES INTRO
We’re continuing our series in Romans this weekend. And — to everyone’s delight — we’re actually moving on from verses four through eight which we’ve looked at for nine — count ‘em — nine sermons! And — today — we’ll begin a ten week series on verse nine. Totally kidding.
But we will begin in verse nine today — of Romans chapter twelve — so if you have your Bible — please turn with me there — to Romans chapter twelve — we’re going to begin in verse nine.
While you’re finding Romans chapter twelve — next week we’ll have our friend and ministry partner Mike Kuhn back with us. Mike spoke at Gateway back in 2019 — and it will be good to have him with us next weekend. Then — the weekend after Mike is with us — Ed Grable — our North Main Campus pastor — will be preaching as part of our Westminster Shorter Catechism series. So there’s a glimpse of what’s coming up the next two weeks.
With that — here are the words in Romans chapter twelve — beginning in verse nine.
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.
INTRODUCTION
It’s been awhile — so let me remind all of us what Paul’s doing in this section of Romans. Romans chapter twelve is the pivotal point in Paul’s letter. After eleven chapters of rich theology — explaining to us who God is, who we are, what sin has done to us and God’s creation, and God’s plan to right the wrong we’ve caused — after eleven chapters of rich theology — Paul turns to the “so what” question.
Imagine — after three hundred and fifteen verses explaining the gospel, faith, sin, salvation, and so on — imagine someone in the back of the room yells out loud, “Hey Paul, so what?” Or “What now?” Or “Why does any of this matter?” Or “What’s your point?”
This is what Paul turns to in chapter twelve — he’s telling us why our theology matters. He’s showing us how — what we believe — changes the way that we live.
You may remember me showing you how — in the first eleven chapters — there was very little for us to do — few commands for us to obey. In fact — there are only seven commands in the first eleven chapters.
And things take a significant turn in chapter twelve. Now there’s lots for us to do. Many commands for us to obey. Commands that must not be taken out of the context of the rest of the letter — for these commands are to be obeyed because of the theology found in the first eleven chapters.
To say this another way — what we do is to be based on what we believe. Truth be told — we all can’t help but live this way. What we believe influences what we do. So what we believe really, really matters. Because — not everything we believe is true.
For example, one of the lies we so easily believe is, “If I do this, God will love me.” And that’s not only not true — that’s not biblical Christianity — though it has all of the same elements as biblical Christianity. But “if I do this, God will love me” is not biblical Christianity. Instead — biblical Christianity is, “God loves me, so now I will do this.” And the “this” can be the same thing.
“If I come to church, God will love me.” Not biblical Christianity.
“Because God loves me, I go to church.” Biblical Christianity.
“If I’m generous with my money, God will love me.” Not biblical Christianity.
“Because God loves me, I’ll be generous with my money.” Biblical Christianity.
“If I serve others, or stop cussing, or read my Bible, or pray or ___ (fill in the blank), God will love me.” Not biblical Christianity.
But “Because God loves me, I will serve others, stop cussing, read my Bible, pray, and ___ (fill in the blank).” That’s biblical Christianity.
Which means — all that Paul will now tell us to do — can be done for all the wrong reasons. Especially if we forget why he’s telling us to do all that he now commands. For he’s told us why back in verse one of our chapter when he writes…
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Paul’s appeal to us — to obey the directives he’s about to give — is based on the mercy of God that Paul’s described in the first eleven chapters. That — in response to all that Paul’s taught us about God, ourselves, sin, salvation, and the hope offered to us in Jesus Christ — we now live differently.
So — I beg you — please don’t separate all that we’re about to hear — commands we’re to obey — ways we’re to live differently — don’t separate them from the truths we’ve already encountered. For what you believe will affect what you do. And — if you don’t believe what Paul’s written in the first eleven chapters — obeying his commands will be based on something else you believe — which is not Paul’s intent. For his purpose in writing this letter is that you will live differently — and will do so because you believe the gospel — the news of what Jesus has accomplished for you in his life, death, and resurrection.
So let’s look at some ways that believing the gospel changes a person. And all that we’ll be looking at falls under the umbrella of what it means to love others when — we do so — because we know that we’re first loved by God.
WHO DEFINES LOVE?
Let’s return to verse nine. There Paul writes…
9a Let love be genuine.
Now — all that follows in our verses — are an expansion of — a detailed explanation — of what Paul means by these words: Let love be genuine. One of the issues we face — is how we all have our own definition of what it means to be loving — and — for that love to be genuine — genuine here means “sincere, real, without hypocrisy” — the word we’d use today is “authentic”.
We can do something similarly with Jesus’ words. When he was once asked, “What’s the greatest commandment?” Jesus replied by saying…
37 “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.
Then we each go on to define what it means to love our neighbor as ourselves in a million different ways instead of allowing Jesus to define for us what it means to love our neighbors — and — to love God. I mean — I don’t know that many of us would not raise our hand if I asked if you thought you were a pretty loving person. I mean who wants to be admit to not being a loving person, right? But we often evaluate ourselves against our own definition of what it means to be a loving person — or kind or generous or good or — fill in the blank.
Yet — here at Gateway — we’re followers of Jesus who strive to be both Word and Spirit Christians. Which means that the Word of God — the Bible — is our final authority on all matters — including what it means to love our neighbors as ourselves or — back to Paul — to let our love be genuine. We don’t impose on Paul our definition of what it means for our love to be genuine — he — being inspired by the Holy Spirit — defines for us what it means for our love to be genuine. For your love and my love to be sincere. Not fake. Not hypocritical. Not inauthentic.
TWELVE CHARACTERISTICS OF GENUINE LOVE
So — with that being said — and as we allow Paul to define for us what it means for our love to be genuine — here are twelve characteristics he lists of genuine love. That’s right — twelve markers of genuine love. Twelve opportunities to evaluate how you’re doing at practicing authentic love because of what you believe. Some of these you may be doing well — others not so much — none of us have fully arrived. But the person who believes in Jesus will not settle for a love that’s anything less than genuine. So let’s discover what genuine love is like.
First — love that is genuine…
9b Abhor(s) what is evil,
Abhor isn’t a word we use often these days — and this is the only use of the Greek word translated as abhor in the New Testament — though it’s equivalent uses in Hebrew are used much more regularly.
10 O you who love the Lord, hate evil!
104 Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.
163 I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love your law.
13 The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.
5 The righteous hates falsehood, but the wicked brings shame and disgrace.
16 A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor, but he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.
And — though a different Greek word — about Jesus the author of Hebrews writes…
9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”
The word abhor means to hate — and I mean — really hate. To strongly hate — to violently hate something. And what are we to abhor? All that is evil.
Similar to the question I asked you about love — who defines for you what is evil? Because — if we’re told here that — for our love to be genuine — we must abhor what is evil — our definition of evil is also very important. And — old repeated news here — for the follower of Jesus — God’s Word defines for us what is evil. Not CNN or Fox News. Not our feelings or personal opinions — for we’re not our final authority — God is. And he’s told us what is evil. So how does God define evil?
Evil — as described in the Bible — includes “evil refers to the presence or manifestation of moral or spiritual corruption, wickedness, or malevolence in opposition to God’s will and the principles of goodness, righteousness, and holiness.” (Logos Factbook)
Examples of evil would include — and we don’t have time to list them all…
Idolatry
Taking God’s name in vain
Not honoring your mother and father — an important reminder on Mother’s Day.
Stealing
Greed
Coveting
Jealousy
Lusting
Adultery
Pornography
Lying
Gossip
Slander
Atheism
False religions
Not submitting to the authorities God has placed over you.
And so on.
And we’re to hate all that is evil. Because — and this is the second characteristic of genuine love — we’re to…
9 hold fast to what is good.
And — just like love and evil — God defines for us what is good. Good that we’re to hold fast to — to cling to — the original word has the idea of being glued to or welded to — what is good.
Now — the somewhat easy part for us — when we allow God’s Word to define for us good and evil — is that we can take the short list of evil — that I just rattled off — and create an opposite list for what is good — biblically — of what we’re to hold fast to.
So instead of idolatry — which is evil — we’re to worship the One true God.
Instead of taking his name in vain — which is evil — the good we’re to hold fast to is speaking words that honor and glorify God’s holy name.
We’re to honor our mother and father.
We work hard so that we can provide for our own needs and are generous to others.
We’re content with what God’s given us.
We’re faithful in our relationships — not lusting after others like their objects to be used — which is evil — but treating each other with complete purity and holiness.
We speak words of truth about one another to one another.
We submit to the authorities God has placed over us.
God did not leave us to chaos — where each of us is meant to determine for ourselves what is evil and what is good. He graciously has told us what is evil and what is good so that our love can be genuine. This isn’t a mystery — God’s made it clear. The question for us is this: What do we really believe? For what we believe is determining how we live.
Do you believe that God’s Word is the final authority in your life? If so, I’m sure there’s something God’s defined as evil that you’ve yet to reject to the degree that you need to. And there’s something good you don’t love as much as you can. How does God want to help you — even right now — to love more genuinely by turning from some form of evil and towards a more biblical definition of what is good?
Two characteristics of love down — ten to go. We’re gonna need to pick up our pace a bit. Paul continues defining genuine love with…
10 Love one another with brotherly affection.
Here we’re told to love each other with brotherly affection — with philadelphia — which is why it’s the city of brotherly love. Think of this as family affection towards one another. As you probably know — our desires is to be a family around here — thus — our love for one another should be family-like.
Similar to what Paul describes in another of his letters when he writes…
1 Never speak harshly to an older man, but appeal to him respectfully as you would to your own father. Talk to younger men as you would to your own brothers. 2 Treat older women as you would your mother, and treat younger women with all purity as you would your own sisters.
The apostle Peter tells us…
5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.
When faith and virtue and knowledge and self-control and steadfastness and godliness and — yes — brotherly affection and love are our characteristics — we’ll be closer to reaching our full maturity in Christ as a church.
How are you helping us to be a godly family around here? Loving others with a family affection.
Next Paul tells us that genuine love includes…
10 Outdo(ing) one another in showing honor.
To show honor is to hold someone in high regard. To consider them of high value. This is what Paul reminds us is Christ’s view of us when he writes — in one of his other letters…
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
The word “price” — in the phrase “you were bought with a price” — is meant to demonstrate the value — the honor — the high regard Christ has for us. For the “price” he paid was high — infinitely high — his perfect life. And — if this is the value he has for people — why would we allow our honor to be any less? After all, we are told…
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
And we’re to do so because we remember all that Christ has first done for us.
Continuing on — Paul tells us that — to practice genuine love — means we…
11 Do not be slothful in zeal,
You may remember that Paul recently used the word zeal — back in verse eight — when he says that those with the spiritual gift of leadership are to lead with zeal. To lead with zeal means to be eager, quick, and diligent in your leading. But now we’re told that genuine loves means we’re to not be slothful in zeal.
Slothful is an interesting word — but first — you need to get the cute animal out of your mind. In our verse Paul is wanting us to think along the lines of “lazy, idle, or reluctant.” Jesus used this same word once in a parable — once of his short stories meant to teach a moral lesson — and it’s used in quite the warning!
In speaking about the Last Day — when he will return — Jesus said…
14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
The slothful servant is the one who wasn’t diligent in his responsibilities — who didn’t take seriously the work he was to do for his master — who wasn’t zealous and quick to fulfill to do his duty for his master — even though his master was away. The consequence — for his slothfulness — was being cast into the outer darkness — the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth — eternal torment.
Remember — this is a parable — a short story meant to teach a moral lesson. A lesson about what? Jesus’ return. Will he find you being a faithful servant or a slothful one? Connecting this back to Romans — the faithful servants are those who practice genuine love.
Continuing on — Paul says tells us to…
11 be fervent in spirit,
The word “fervent” means to “be enthusiastic, to be excited, to boil, to seethe, or to be hot” and we’re to be fervent in spirit. Not — for a few reasons — including that Paul just mentioned gifts of the Spirit and that Jesus — our Lord — is mentioned with the next characteristic of love — I believe this enthusiastic, excitement, hot love is about us not quenching the Spirit in our lives — but living our lives in obedience to the Holy Spirit. As Paul said back in chapter eight of our letter…
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
And…
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
And…
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Meaning our love — for God and each other — is to be a supernaturally empowered love because we’ve passionately set our minds on the things of the Spirit, and with red hot intensity we put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit, and boil over in our prayers knowing that the Spirit of God intercedes on our behalf. For this kind of Holy Spirit empowered life loves differently.
And — as I alluded to earlier — this kind of love means we…
11 serve the Lord.
Since we spend nine sermons looking at a variety of ways the Spirit of God empowers us with spiritual gifts that are to be used to make Jesus look glorious as we serve each other — we won’t spend any more time on this characteristic of love.
Another characteristic of love — according to Paul — is that — in response to what we believe — we…
12 Rejoice in hope,
What appears to be a shortened version of something Paul wrote earlier in Romans…
2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Which — since suffering is mentioned — Paul tells us also that — to love — means to…
12 be patient in tribulation,
Again — we’re dissecting what it genuine love is according to God. And genuine love for God — which leads to love for others — includes having a hope that is based on knowing that God is doing all things for his glory. That — when the end comes — God will look glorious. Sin won’t. Death won’t. The people who glorify today won’t. God will be glorified forever and ever. Which — being our hope — is our reason to rejoice. Because God wins — we win.
And this hope endures all things. Including suffering in this world — or tribulations — as Paul now describes it. A word Paul uses twenty-four times in his letters. A word Jesus uses when he said things like this about the last days…
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. 9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.
And — later about the last days — he says…
21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
And then — about the end of the end — Jesus said…
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Therefore — regardless of the kind of suffering we face — or what tribulation we find ourselves in — we must be patient — or as the word is often translated — we must endure. Did you know that enduring tribulation and suffering is a sign of the genuineness of your love for God and others? According to God it is.
Which is why to practice genuine love we must also…
12 be constant in prayer.
A sign of genuine love is a constant prayer life. The opposite of a constant prayer life is a “random, occasional, sporadic” prayer life according to one commentary on this verse. Just as genuine love for another person displays itself in regular, constant communication — so does our genuine love for God — it will display itself in regular, constant, consistent prayer.
Genuine love also means we…
13 Contribute to the needs of the saints
Did you know that your financial giving to the saints — the people of God gathered in a local church — is a sign if your love is genuine or not? Now — to be sure — someone can financially give and do so for all kinds of wrong reasons — go back and listen to my sermon on the gift of giving where I address that — but for us — here in this verse — what Paul is saying is that we can’t claim to be someone who practices genuine love if we don’t financially give to the needs of the saints — at least we can’t do so with any sort of integrity.
Jesus — after all — did say…
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
What does your giving say about your love for God and others?
Finally — genuine love means that we will…
13 and seek to show hospitality.
Hospitality has taken on a definition today that is synonomous with fellowship. Biblically — though — the Greek word translated as hospitality — in our verse — means showing “kindness to a stranger.” We know this because of the one other time the word is used in the New Testament. In the book of Hebrews we read…
2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
CONCLUSION
So — there’s Paul’s lengthy detailed definition of what genuine love is. A definition that I don’t think it’s possible to walk away from and say, “Nailed it!” We all have room to grow in our loving one another genuinely. Which means we all have room to grow in understanding what it means to first be loved by God. Because — remember — the genuine love that Paul wants us to practice is a response to what we believe. And when we believe in God’s love for us — we begin to practice genuine love. And — when we have moments like this where we see what it means to love genuinely — we realize there’s more of God’s love for us to grasp, and believe, and cling tightly to — so we go back to his Word and his promises to us. And — in response — we love each other with a more genuine love than before. And then we’ll go back to God’s Word and his truths and promises and glorious love for us and — in response — love each other even more genuinely. And so on and so forth until Jesus returns or he calls us home. But until that day — dear friends — grow in knowing and believing and receiving God’s love for you. For — as you do — you will grow in your love for one another. Let’s pray.
PRAYER
Loving Father, thank you for loving us with a love that is genuine. All that we’ve read about genuine love today is the love we first experienced in being loved by you.
Holy Spirit, increase our understanding of what it means to be loved with your never-ending, always pursuing, infinite and glorious love for us.
A love displayed most fully and vividly on the cross where you — Jesus — gave your life in love for us.
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — draw many to believe in your love for them right now. And may all of us — who have received your love — be spurred on to let our love be genuine. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)
May you go and practice genuine love for each other in response to God’s love for you. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.
