Romans 12:9-21
Notes
Transcript
Indicators of True Christians (Relationship with Saved/Unsaved)
Indicators of True Christians (Relationship with Saved/Unsaved)
9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
Genuine Love - what is the difference between genuine love and dis-genuine / fake love? The love a Christian exhibits, the love of God, must be genuine, coming from the heart given by the Holy Spirit. Genuine / Sincere - without hypocrisy. You can’t say I love some, but hate others.
Dislike/Avoid Evil (be repulsed by) - Paul speaks of a simple and common sense thought, avoid evil. We are in a constant state of conflict with sinful nature of mankind. But we know (should) the difference between what is right/wrong in the eyes of God. We have a choice as to whether we yield to the urging of the Holy Spirit, or give in to the nagging nature of sin.
Hold Fast to Good - Hold onto what we know is true and right with everything in us. It’s hard to be pulled away to something we are holding onto for dear life. This term, hold fast means to join oneself to, to become a part of. We must immerse ourselves totally to God, join ourselves together with Him, and become a part of Him.
10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
Love Like a Brother - We are to love each other - those who are saved and those who are unsaved - with a brotherly love - having a family life affection. We are all created in the likeness and image of God, special to Him, special enough that His love allowed Him to willfully submit Himself to the cross - and we should have that same reverence in how we treat others.
Outdo Each Other Showing Honor - We should do it out on honor to each other.
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Should we should consider the dire conditions of an unsaved person as more of a concern to us than those who are saved? We know the state of their life, we know the penalty they will pay, and we know the One who can change their destiny. We should be humbled and honor others to the point they can look at us and see the same concern for their salvation as Christ did when He hung on the cross for us.
11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.
NOT Slothful in Zeal - Here is speaking to a believers personal attitude. We can get comfortable in our salvation, we can get comfortable in our pew, we can get comfortable with the believers around us and lose our zeal - eagerness and diligence to spread the Gospel.
Fervent in Spirit - we are to maintain our passion for the Gospel -
(Apollos)
25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.
We are to keep ourselves in a constant state of readiness to present the Gospel to a lost and dying world. How do we keep this attitude?
15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
We are to be constantly prepared - through study, prayer, reading of scripture - be able to present ourselves as an expert in our field of study.
Serve the Lord - We become prepared through our service to God. We cannot be a devout Christian with a half-hearted attempt at worship. We literally are to keep our spiritual life like a boiling pot, ready to overflow at any time. How does a pot boil? Someone must intentionally get the pot, intentionally fill the pot with water, intentionally place it on a burner or flame, and the energy associated with that flame with transfer to the pot and into the water, and it excites the molecules to the point they can not stay still any longer. How long has it been since we have allowed the Holy Spirit to transfer His energy to us and we have allowed ourselves to get excited to the point we can’t stay still any longer?
12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Rejoice in Hope - Where does our hope come from? Not from something man-made! Our hope is in Christ, and THAT should give us reason to REJOICE! What does it mean to REJOICE? To experience joy to the highest degree!!!
Patient in Tribulation - But, it does not mean there will not be troubles in our lives. We still live in a troublesome and sinful world, so we can be assured there will be trials. But we are encouraged / exhorted to be patient during those times. How does patience factor into salvation? It gives us a righteous endurance when we go through these trial and tribulations.
3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
Constant in Prayer - How can we achieve a spirit of rejoicing and develop patience in our times of tribulation? Through constant prayer.
17 pray without ceasing,
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Contribute - notice that this requires us to do WORK!!! Yes, I know it is a nasty four-lettered word, however we have not been saved to become the frozen chosen but the bouncing believers!
Needs of Saints - We are to care for each other also. We cannot neglect the needs of believers. There must be a balance between evangelism and internal care.
Seek to Show Hospitality - pursue friendliness to strangers - bot the ministry of the saints and the unsaved requires meeting the needs of others, being hospitable to all, and helping others whenever and however needed.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
Bless Those who Persecute - how easy is it to bless those who are actively trying to tear you down? Stephen and Christ
Bless - Do Not Curse - We are to pray for their hearts to be changed in Jesus Name.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
We should be the go to person who can be happy for things happy, and can be a shoulder to cry on and be empathetic to those going through loss or trials.
16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
Live in Harmony
Not be Haughty - Not thinking too highly of yourself
Associate with Lowly
NEVER be Wise in Own Sight - conceited
7 Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.
Repay no evil with evil
Give Thought
Do Honorable in Sight of All
18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
IF POSSIBLE
Depending on You
Live Peaceably with All
19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
Never avenge Yourself
Leave Wrath to God
“Vengeance is Mine, I Will Repay, Says the Lord”
20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
To the Contrary
Feed enemy
Give drink
Doing So Heaps Burning Coals on Head
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Do NOT Overcome by Evil -
Overcome Evil with Good -