Romans 12:10-13

Marks of the Christian life: Relationship towards other believers

Transition of Romans from the spiritual truth of the Gospel to the practical application of it

Paul has entered into a rapid fire exhortation for the believers he is writing to- The Lightning round of practical Christian living

V. 9-13- Our relationship to one another as Christians

V. 14-21- Our relationship with an unbelieving world

Romans 12:10–13 NASB95

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

The commands-

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love-

Two weeks ago we seen the command to let our love for one another be marked by an agape love- This week that love is described as a brotherly love- Philadelphia-

Our love for one another is to be

Unconditional

Sacrificial

Brotherly (A sibling love) -

Brother threw me from his truck

Outdo one another in showing honor-

Outdo- TO lead in front- Be the example

Showing honor- Treat one another as valuable- We need one another.

Show honor and respect to your brothers and sisters in Christ

This is almost worded as a challenge from Paul- Be the first to show honor and respect toward your brother or sister in Christ- Try to outdo them in that

Not lagging in diligence- Fervent in spirit

Do not be slothful-

A sloth at bass pro-

Fervent in spirit-

TO be fervent is to be passionate, burn with zeal- To be consumed by something

These two commands describe how we are to live the Christian life

To desire holiness

To love one another

To share the Gospel and pursue Christ

We are to do these things with diligence (eagerness) and with a fervent spirit (a passionate heart for the Lord, consumed for the things of Jesus)

To be diligent/to be fervent in spirit- In serving the Lord- Serving Him in the church, in your daily life and toward one another

Rejoicing in hope- Hope = confident expectation- To be confident of Jesus’ resurrection, return and our salvation-

These things are our hope- And the source of our rejoicing

Persevering in tribulation- To endure through difficulty in the Christian life- Through tragedy, temptation and even persecution.

Devoted to prayer-

“devoted”- To give constant attention to- Prayer- 1 Thess. 5:17

Contributing to the needs of the saints- To give our time, energy and money to help the church, and other believers around the world

Practicing hospitality- TO show kindness toward strangers- especially believers

The relationship of the commands to one another-

v. 10 - Brotherly love leads to treating others better than ourselves- Showing them honor

v. 11- Not being lazy in the Christian life leads to diligence in the Christian life and a fervent and passionate attitude. These build upon one another and are expressed in serving the Lord. (We do this by serving His church and serving one another)

v. 12 - Rejoicing in hope (confident expectation of Jesus and our own salvation) leads to perseverance in difficult times and being devoted in prayer

v. 13 - Contributing to the needs of the saints leads giving and leads to a practice of hospitality toward one another

These build upon one another and are linked to one another by varying degrees.

We may think these are random but they are not-

These can be summed up in a passage from another letter written by Paul-

Philippians 2:3-5 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

Just like these commands build upon one another, so does our relationship with Jesus

By trusting in Christ for salvation, we come to know Christ

By knowing Christ, we also love Christ

By loving Christ, we want to be like Christ-

Have you trusted in Christ? Do you know Him? Do you love Him? Do you desire to be like Him?