A Genuine Faith

Introduction

What is good?

Micah 6:6–8 ESV

“With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

What does The LORD require? What is good?

Lays out a bunch of options?

Is good just the actions? Or is it something deeper?

Connection between real faith and real life.

Real faith transforms attitudes and actions.

Theme for this year.

A genuine faith. Threaded throughout.

Paul addresses what a genuine faith looks like in Romans 12.

Be A Sacrifice

vv. 1-2

A couple of contrasts.

First, a contrast with the temple sacrifices.

The goal of which was to cover sins.

An animal was killed and then consumed by the fires of the altar.

Now, Christians are called to be a living sacrifice. What an odd thought!

But this thinking means you give everything to God.

You crawl up on that altar, giving Him your life.

Jesus gave His life to save you. So, what makes sense? What is logical?

“Your spiritual worship / reasonable service / true worship” This is the logical.

To summarize:

You are not your own.

Which is where we pick up the second contrast.

Second, a contrast with the world.

The world says you are your own! Ownership!

Do not be conformed to his world.

Conform - to be poured into a mold. External. Squeezed.

What are things that you feel are squeezing you into the patterns of the world?

Pressures to conform. To keep you from standing out. From being like Jesus.

Instead, be transformed. Literally, a metamorphosis. Internal. Growth.

This growth happens by renewing your mind. Again, internal.

You are not your old self.

Be Honest

vv. 3-8

Spiritual gifts. Many of them listed here in this section.

Inventory to help you discover what your gifts are.

The problem is that many people answer them with what they think they should say.

Yes, I share my faith all the time! Yes, i study and understand the Bible and am able to teach it!

Yes, I love being a host for a variety of fellowships! Yes, I serve people cheerfully! Yes, I am generous in all situations!

Uhm… Probably not.

But, also we are not always honest with where we struggle.

“Think with sober judgment.”

No need to be falsely humble. “I’m not good at anything.” Not true.

Also prideful thinking, “I’m good at everything.” Also, not true.

There are all these ways you serve as a member in the body of Christ.

Be honest in how your faith empowers you to serve.

One of the best ways to think about this is to be in community.

“Members one of another.”

Talk about your faith.

Confirming calling. Sharing struggles.

Allow others to speak truth but then respond.

Connected as a body.

If the eyes see a cliff, what good is it if the feet are not responding?

Be Brave

vv. 9-13

The pattern of the world is one of hate.

You want to gain a following, popularity, power? Conform to the pattern of hate.

As we move to stepping out, we acknowledge how

Genuine faith requires us to love bravely.

Running directly against the flow of the world.

This call for genuine love leads to all the other commands.

Several commands about the life we live in genuine faith.

Often we tolerate evil and admire good. Stronger words. Abhor / Hold fast.

As we turn to love, we do it with an athletes obsession.

Followed the Thunder, very little time off before they were back in the gym.

Obsessed to win.

“Outdo one another in showing honor.”

Not often does the Bible call people to compete with one another!

But asking who can make the other person feel more honored and important?

This connects to the final command, “Seek to show hospitality.”

Seek - pursue, chase down, or hunt.

Don’t wait for an opportunity to fall in your lap. Looking for the opportunity.

All of these commands require you to bravely stand up and stand out, putting others first.

This is what Jesus calls us to exhibit:

John 13:34–35 ESV

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.”

Be Good

vv. 14-21

Paul’s language prior to this used a lot of family language. Emphasizing the love you have for other believers.

Sometimes difficult, but now he’s going to start making it more challenging.

This is not a hypothetical situation - they knew persecution well. Real persecution.

Again, that pattern of the world is to lash out, to hate, to do evil to the enemy.

Our weapon is doing good.

Heaping burning coals on his head.

The necessity for coals in the hearth. If it went out, you’d have trouble.

Warmth, light, and cooking.

Matches not until 1826! John Walker discovered certain chemicals would ignite.

Most common way to start a fire was using flint and steel. Tedious.

So, most people just kept a perpetual fire going.

But, if that went out, what most people in the near east would do would be to go to a neighbor.

Being kind and providing what they need.

Not just handing them a box of matches, or flint and steel, but to reach into your own source.

Giving them the heat to restart their home.

Proverbs 25:21–22 ESV

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.

"In the ancient world, if you hated someone, you let their fire stay out. But if you had genuine faith, you gave them the coals off your own hearth so they could go home and be warm. Paul is telling us: Don't just 'tolerate' your enemies—be the reason they can start their fire again."

The pattern of the world says don’t forgive your enemies, don’t help them, make their lives more difficult, seek vengeance.

Christ calls us to love even the unlovable.

Conclusion

Graphite vs. Diamonds. Both carbon. The difference is the arrangement of those atoms.

Graphite is soft and easily broken.

Meanwhile a diamond is one of the strongest materials in the world.

At salvation, the Holy Spirit takes you out of being conformed by the world into something easily broken.

It rearranges your internal structure to be one of genuine faith.

Placed under the pressure of Scripture.

Then you don’t just survive the world…

Reflect the light to the world.

The world has its plan for you. What it wants to conform you to be.

"Genuine faith doesn't just change how we feel; it changes whose we are and how we respond to a world that is watching."