Dedicated, Passionate Service

Romans 12:9–13 NKJV

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

What does the Christian life look like. If you were asked to describe the Christian life to someone who had never heard of Christianity or the church or the Gospel what would you say? Or better yet. If someone who knew nothing of Christianity and there only knowledge of this faith was based of their observations of your life what would they learn of Christianity?

If they then after observing your life for a period of time had to write a paragraph describing what a Christian is like would their paragraph look anything like this paragraph in Romans 12:9-13?

Remember Paul is writing here about the normal Christian life. This is the resulting life of a person who has received the grace of justification through faith in Jesus Christ. Remember vs 1

Romans 12:1 NKJV

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

This is your logical reasonable service if you have received Christ and justification, the forgiveness of your sins, everlasting life. You who were once dead in your sins have been made alive and that life that you have been given has one sole purpose and that is to glorify God in everything that you do. You were nothing and then you were given everything and now all that you are belongs to Him. The normal Christian life should be a life that is sold out for Christ and Christ alone.

Matin Luther said “a religion that gives nothing, cost nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing.”

We have churches today full of people who’s religion is worthless. Their faith is empty their lives are unchanged and their hearts are full of apathy.

As evangelical churches we encourage one another to share our faith which is a good thing, we should share our faith, but my concern is that most “Christians” don’t have a faith worth sharing. You know something that is interesting? In this chapter not once does Paul mention evangelism. It striking to me that in this chapter which tells us what the Christian life should consist of, telling others about Christ is omitted. It’s not omitted from the New Testament. Christ said to go and preach the Gospel to every creature. Paul tells us in 2 Cor that he and the those with him are ambassadors of Christ pleading as though God were pleading through them that we be reconciled to God. But it just that in this chapter on the various attitudes and activities and responses of the Christian life Paul doesn’t say anything about being a witness for Christ. Why is that?

I believe that it is omitted because it is redundant. If a persons life is truely transformed by the power of Christ to look like the life described in this chapter then their whole life will be a witness of the power of God.

1 Corinthians 2:1–5 NKJV

1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

When the Gospel really changes you, and breaks the power of sin in your life and sets you free you will be a witness of Christ both in word and in deed. So what Paul is sharing here in Rom 12 is snapshot of what the genuine transformed life looks like.

It is a life of genuine without hypocrisy. A life that hate evil and embraces what is good. A life of affectionate love for brothers and sisters, honouring them and putting them before ourselves. It’s a life of diligent passionate service to God, rejoicing in hope and patient in tribulation. The transformed Christian life is a life of prayer, generosity and hospitality.

This morning I would like for us to focus specifically on verse 11.

Be Diligent

Romans 12:11 NKJV

11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;

In verses 3-8 Paul talked about the gifts of the Spirit and how that according to the gifts that the Spirit has given us we should use these gifts to serve the whole body of which we are individually members. So we could look at verses 9-13 as the manner in which we ought to serve one another in the gifts of the Spirit. So as we come to verse 11 the idea is not general work ethic in our jobs or business rather Paul is telling us that when we serve one another according to our giftings though the Spirit we should not be slothful or lazy but diligent.

Sometime, when it comes to ministering to one another we can be less than diligent even lazy. Maybe we procrastinate. God has prompted us to visit someone, or to offer to help a fellow member of the body and we think, thats a good idea I should do that sometime” and then we put it out of our mind. As though agreeing with the Spirit that it is a good idea is enough. Perhaps this laziness comes from an idea that our service to others in the church is extracurricular or above the call of duty. But Paul has just told us that absolute surrender is only reasonable duty. At what point do we tell Jesus that He ask too much of us. When we minister to one another we should offer our best service. Serve diligently with zeal.

Our diligence should not just be in our service to one other but in our seeking God and our sanctification.

2 Peter 1:3–11 NKJV

3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Secondly...

Be Fervent

Romans 12:11 NKJV

11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;

Fervent means hot. It means boiling over like a pot of water on a stove or glowing like steel does in the fire.

Revelation 3:14–20 NKJV

14 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

What make us lukewarm?

Thinking we are rich and have need of nothing when in fact I am wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.

We think we are so self sufficient that we need nothing from God.

How do we become hot?

We come to Christ to buy gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.

But in order to do this we must first recognise that we are in fact wretched, miserable, poor, blind ,and naked.

So long as you believe that you are able to live the Christian life you are going to be a lukewarm. It doesn’t matter how much will power you have. But when we come to the end of ourself, then we are poor. As Christ said blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Then if we come to Christ heavy laden, exhausted from trying to do good works and keeping pure, then Christ will take us into His yoke with Him. You may be trying to live this life in the flesh the flesh will fail every time because our flesh is enmity against God. Be filled with the Spirit and you will fervent.

Be Focused

Romans 12:11 NKJV

11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;

Our focus is on serving the Lord.

The word translated serving here “douleuo /dool·yoo·o” means to be in bondage to or to be a slave to.

You cannot be a slave to two masters and yet we are all slaves. So the only question that you must answer is who is your master? I know that I harp on on this point but it is because it is so critical.

Romans 6:20–22 NKJV

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.

See how that being a slave to one make you free in regard to the other. So many Christians are struggling to live the life they have been call to because they don’t want to be a slave to Christ. They believe that they can be free from slavery and serve theirselves but that’s the illusion. Because we are sinners as soon as we try to serve ourselves we sin and then we are slaves serving sin. The only relief is to submit to Christ as your master. Be in bondage to Christ and then you will serve His will and be free from sin.

The working out of Romans 12:11 is actually the reverse of the order of the verse Become a slave of Christ then you will be filled with the Spirit and fervent then you will be diligent unto good works.