Marks of practical Christianity

Last week, we were back in Romans 12, which is the beginning of the practical expectation on a believer’s life

Offer yourself as a living sacrifice

Do not conform to this world

Do not think more highly of yourself than you ought to think - Do not be prideful within the body of Christ

Now Paul moves into a section that continues this thought with mention of several marks of practical Christianity

“The lightning round” - The game show “Password” - 1961-1967

The purpose of these type rounds is to produce as many answers as possible in a short amount of time

This passage in Romans 12 is almost Paul’s lightning round of practical commands for the Christian

V. 9-16 concerning our relationship towards one another, and v. 17-22 concerning our relationship toward the rest of the world

This follows what we see in verse 2 of this same chapter- That by rejecting the world, we are able to discern what God’s will is for our lives

Paul begins to describe a snapshot of that expectation here in these next few verses

REMINDER

Submitting to or attempting to follow these commands apart from Christ is pointless

The structure of Romans teaches us the clear Gospel truth concerning our salvation- First is relationship, then comes right living- It is not the other way around

Paul is able to issue these expectations on these believer’s lives because they were just that; believers in Christ

NEVER forget that truth concerning biblical commands we find in God’s Word

The mark of love-

“Let love be genuine”-

The NT paints a very clear picture about how our relationship towards one another should be defined- That is, that we are to be marked by love towards one another

The word for “love” here in the original language is “agape”- A description of a self sacrificing kind of a love

Essentially, as you discussed last week, I am placing the needs of others above my own

To love one another biblically, is to do so with agape love. As Christ has loved us. Did Christ sacrifice himself for our needs? Did he place our needs above His own?

As followers of Christ, we are commanded to live that way towards one another

The initial command here is not so much “to love”, but to make sure that our love towards one another is genuine

“Let love be without hypocrisy”- TO say one thing and to act in opposition to that

Can someone act loving without being sincere about it? Of course! - (Think about a REALLY friendly waiter or waitress)

Our love for one another is to be genuine, sincere. In the same way that Christ has loved us

The mark of rejection

“Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good”

“Abhor what is evil”- To abhor means to shrink back in horror

Jump scare videos- To shrink back from fear

This is the reaction that we ought to have concerning that which is evil- Why should we have that reaction?

Because that which is evil/sinful is bad for us — So why do we struggle with rejecting sin?

Because it looks good to us!

What is defined as evil?

The things of the world, the desires of the flesh and the activity of satan against me

Evil can be defined as that which is in opposition to God and His word

That includes the society around us

And even our own thoughts and intentions

So the encouragement from Paul concerning evil is that we must fear it, and flee from it

The mark of clinging to good

“Cling to what is good”

In response to running from evil, that should be replaced by clinging to that which is good

To hold closely to

To keep that which is good close to us like a good friend

How do we define good?

Good is that which is defined as good in God’s Word- God and the things of God

Conclusion

As a follower of Christ we are to Reject evil — Cling to good

This is how the church should live — This is how we should live our own lives

These two defining marks are not specific instructions, but general principles in which we are to live

Does something appear to be evil? How does God’s Word define it? If it is evil reject it!

Does something appear to be good? How does God’s Word define it? If it is good then cling to it!

The beginning marks of a true Christian- recap

Love towards one another should be genuine

We are to shrink back in fear from those things which are evil/sinful

We are to cling to what is good- as defined by God and His Word